EDIM-513 Inquiry Based Learning

EDIM-513 Inquiry Based Learning

 Week 1 - Initial blog post When I first started reading about Inquiry based learning I thought it could be very different than the current structure of teaching in my classroom. The first part is to create student interest (ASK). Next, is for students to INVESTIGATE or find background information and research the topic. Next, students should CREATE something such as a presentation or some type of product (brochure, Glogster Poster, Prezi presentation. Lastly, students PRESENT, DISCUSS and REFLECT. Most of the projects and activities in class already include similar components of class discussions and student reflections. When I looked back at the structure and also an example of an Inquiry Unit on careers I found that what exists in my classroom is not that different.

What new insights have I developed? I am hesitant to loosen the reigns of my class and have lessons be more students driven. I think that I am looking for certainty in each lesson. The students are programmed to look for certainty also. In many lessons students needs a specific desired outcome to achieve the level of expertise and grade that they want.

The questions that I have are how do you use and implement Inquiry based learning and also make sure that students are prepared for the assessments and exams? If the students drive the direction of the lessons how do you make sure that they are getting exactly what they need?

EDIM 516 - Sustaining Digital Literacy

My Introduction -

I live in Doylestown, PA with my husband and 3 children. I have a son at Penn State and a daughter at the University of Pittsburgh. I also have a son who graduated from Penn State and has a full-time job. I worked in finance and business for a number of years before starting my teaching career. I teach at CB South High School in the Central Bucks School District. I teach Personal Finance and several technology classes. I love teaching at the high school and the kids in our district are terrific. I am currently enrolled at Wilkes as a graduate student in Instructional Technology. This is my fifth class in the program.

Week 1 - Sustaining Digital Literacy blog questions I find many of teaching resources from the school districts website on staff professional development. The district has links to PA Business standards and CBSD course standards-based objectives. The district also has links to sample formative and summative assessments. We also focus on implementing strategies and lessons that promote growth mind-set, deepening learning and how to give effective feedback. I also use an online lesson planning system from the National Economic Financial Literacy program. (NEFE resources) The resources are free and provide up-to-date financial literacy content. I like using the NEFE resources because they updated their entire system with strategies for financial well-being based on economic changes since the 2008 Financial crisis.

I also review current financial websites - CNN Money, Yahoo Finance for articles and video on current events. I also reach out to the community and business owners who would like to participate in our class discussions and learning modules. I've had guest speakers, Skype interviews and email and chat interviews. The challenges that I face have to do with timely access to outside resources. A lesson or activity on Investing or the stock market often needs to be changed as our economic situation changes. I also run into our district blocking access for students to financial websites and our district is very cautious with the use of technology. We are not usually front runners in allowing students to try new technologies.

EDIM516 – Week 1 Reflection

I enjoyed working this week on the blog for this class.  I haven't used a blog in a year and had an opportunity to make adjustments to the blog I use for Wilkes classes.  I changed the background colors, text titles and links.  I also had an opportunity to respond to comments placed on my blog by classmates.  I only used the discussion reply at the Wilkes site previously.  I also thought that Blackboard collaborate was a very interesting way to view the recorded session on Tuesday, June 26^th.  I was not able to view the session that evening but I did the next day.

I also enjoyed watching the video from Linda Yollis on Engaging in Civil discourse.  She had several very good ideas about how students should use social media and commenting.  The Prezi presentation on content curation was interesting also on making sense of all the information available on the Internet.  It is overwhelming to try to determine what Internet resources are the most useful for students as well as teachers.