With the completion of my Master's degree requirements it is clear to see the merging of tecchnology into the learning environment extends well beyond the reaches of even a telescope. Through the course of my study, I have come to a framework by which I plan and design effective learning environments. I design instruction based on answers to a few questions in the order they appear below:
What does our curriculum prescribe teaching?
What do the students already know?
What methods of instruction best fit this concept?
(And then during and after instruction.)
Did they gain the knowledge and skills presented?
Why or why not?
Should the concepts be re-taught
or expanded upon more deeply?
After reading The Case Against Standardized Testing I have begun to ask myself how I know that my audience has gained this knowledge or mastered these skills. Was the assessment method I used, or have been using, as reliable and valid as I thought?
I have found the text Human Learning (Ormrod, 2oo8) to be a great springboard in my quest for locating scientifically based research. Along with the ERIC database, it is possible to find research based information about just about anything. I must say that I depend upon my Educatioinal Research(Creswell, 2oo2) to guide my critiques of the research I acquire. I used these resources to draft a proposal for research on a volunteer grandparent literacy program and complete my independent study research in EDU 696.
The CT Common Core of Teaching and the Curriculum Frameworks are also valuable resources that I use to develop curriculum for my classes. One of the largest projects we do in kindergarten every year is our class movie. Many people questioned spending such an immense amount of time on making it, but through research it has been justified and even admired. The PowerPoint presentation can be viewed by clicking this link. I used the authoring cycle for curriculum model (Short,1991) as a means to bring the curriculum frameworks to life.
In my short time teaching, I have encountered many children with varying degrees of autism as well as a number of other disabilities. There are a number of sites that can assist teachers in creating and maintaing quality learning environments. Here are a few that I have found helpful The Autism Society of America, the Autism Research Institute, and Autism Teaching Tools.
One more tool I love is the OSHA E-tool website for ergonomics at computer workstations. It really opened my eyes to the amount of adjusting that was needed to make our computers more accessible to all the children.
Connecticut State Department of Education. (2oo8). SDE: Connecticut Curriculum Frameworks. Retrieved July 1st, 2oo8 from http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?A=2618&Q=320860.
Creswell, J. W. (2oo2) Educational Research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle, New Jersey: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
Ormond, J. E. (2oo8) Human Learning 5th Edition. Upper Saddle, New Jersey: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration.(2oo8). Computer workstations. Retrieved May 6th, 2oo8 from http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/ .
Short, K., & Burke, C. (1991). Creating curriculum; Teachers and students as a community of learners. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann Educational Books, Inc.