Key Concept 1:
Student- Centered Learning
1.1 Candidates will be able to design meaningful activities and learning experiences that incorporate the guiding principles of Universal Design for Learning and appropriate technology tools and resources.
In ET 605, we were asked to work as a small group to redesign part of a unit from the BCPS curriculum. In this unit redesign, we were asked to take a current unit and modify it to incorporate the guiding principles of UDL. We did this by adding meaningful activities to a third grade ELA unit that included the use of technology. Activities promoted collaboration among peers, student engagement, and multiple ways to represent student work. The technology we used in our lessons were Wixie, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, Padlet, Socrative, and Discovery Board Builder, which were easily accessible and user-friendly for third graders.
Because this project had so many parts, it was put together in a zipped file. Below I have included pieces of that zipped file.
1.2 Candidates will be able to apply a learner-centered framework, including learner-centered principles, to the development of learning activities.
In ED 602, one of our assignments was to redesign a lesson from our curriculum to make it more learner-centered. My partner and I redesigned a lesson from the BCPS third grade ELA curriculum which was mostly teacher- directed with no student choice. We made this lesson student-centered by adding more student engagement and a variety of choices for students. Within the revised lesson, we incorporated engaging activities to maintain students' interest and opportunities to revise and rethink their understanding. We used the UbD template to modify this lesson and also included a reflection at the end of the lesson plan stating how we changed the original lesson.
1.3 Candidates will be able to design learning opportunities that facilitate creative problem solving, communication, collaboration and critical thinking.
In third grade, one of our ELA units is a Roald Dahl author study. During this unit, students read a variety of books written by Roald Dahl while also learning about his personal life. As the author of the book, "Matilda," I had my students complete the Matilda STEM Challenge. (The link is provided if you are able to open ActivInspire, otherwise the screenshot is below.) For this activity, students had to collaborate and work together in a small group to design and build a teapot for Mrs. Honey (the teacher from the story) using the provided materials. Each group was required to use all of the materials, and the teapot had to hold water without leaking. After the challenge, students had to reflect on why their teapot was successful or unsuccessful and what they would do differently if they completed this challenge again. Below are a few pictures of my third graders completing this activity. Faces are covered for privacy purposes.
1.4 Candidates model and promote diversity, cultural understanding, and global awareness by using digital-age communication and collaboration tools to interact locally and globally.
In ET 630, we were tasked with working in small groups to create a telecollaborative project which would connect our students to students elsewhere. We designed "Wild Robots" which is a telecollaborative participation project designed for students in the 9-12 age range. This project requires students to partner with a class from a different area and learn about their partner's local environment. In this project, students are provided the opportunity to explore biomimicry and how scientists study animal traits to create an invention or innovation. Students are also required to use their STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Mathematics) skills to design a robot in order to achieve a particular purpose of their choice that can be useful in their partner's local environment. This project promotes cultural understanding and global awareness by using digital-age communication and collaboration tools to interact locally and/ or globally through the use of technology, specifically the ePals website.