Innovation in Education

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2017), innovation is a new idea or method as well as an introduction to a new approach.  Innovation in education calls for new teaching and learning approaches to be used that will actively engage all students.  In my experience, innovative curriculum often (a) changes the role of the teacher and student, (b) encourages students to take responsibility for their learning, and (c) is authentic.  I have found that students learn and retain more when they are actively engaged in the learning process by getting to choose topics and projects.  Project-based and problem-based learning often allow students to do just that while still meeting state standards.  Giving students a choice and more control does not mean that it is a free-for-all, but it does mean that teachers become more of a facilitator than a lecturer resulting in a deeper engagement and learning experience.

It is common to think that when hearing the phrase, “innovative curriculum” one is referring to the implementation of technology in our classrooms.  Lindenmuth (2015) expressed that simply integrating technology into our classrooms does not make it innovative and therefore, is not enough.  Technology is a great tool for any classroom because information is just a click away and it allows students (& their teachers) to connect with others from around the world.  Thus, helping them to build the 21^st-century skills that they need to be successful both in and out of the classroom.  Therefore, as teachers, it is vital that we review and analyze all resources to help ensure the success of ALL students (Green, 2014).  As an educator striving to provide innovative curriculum for my students, I would love to hear about some of the innovative ways you have used to engage your students, especially those with special needs.

 

References

Green, L. S. (2014). Through the looking glass. Knowledge Quest, 43(1), 36-43.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (2017). Innovation. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/innovation

Lindenmuth, D. T. (2015). A model for expanding tech in classrooms. School Administrator, 72(9), 12.

More on Diversity

 “Diversity in education is not a waste of time. It should be a national goal, and it’s a goal we’re going to keep fighting for. “ (Daschle, 2012). We have not always had equal education for all and now that we do we must reach to all students no matter their race, gender, or socioeconomic status. It is important that we accept the always changing world. “We need to educate for the world today, not as it was.” (Nieto). In America’s recent history, equal education and equal opportunities have not always been an option. Many people have fought for these rights and freedoms. With our continually changing culture and the growing diversity we must continue to fight to implement multicultural education into our schools.

In talking with some of the teachers in the school district that I work, I found that more things were done to implement multicultural education than I thought. I was pleasantly surprised with this discovery. Although we don’t have a lot of ethnic diversity in the small community that we live in, we are teaching our children about other cultures anyway. I believe that this helps our children to be open to and accepting of others.

In my school district there does not appear to be any achievement gaps from one ethnic group to another. We do, however, see achievement gaps in those with a lower socioeconomic status. Children coming from a low socioeconomic status may come to school hungry, tired, dirty, or scared and worried about what is waiting for them when they get home from school. These children usually have to worry about things that others do not which causes them to not be able to focus well on their studies. Another thing that factors into achievement gaps in lower socioeconomic statuses is a lack of early education by parents and guardians or parent involvement in their children’s schooling. One of my colleagues shared with a about a student she had in one of her first years of teaching that came from a family that did not have much. This little boy loved sports but was struggling with his schoolwork and his parents were unable or unwilling to help him catch up on his work. In order to make a difference for this little boy my colleague worked with him before and after school to catch him up then allowed him to do odd jobs for her to earn money so that he could buy basketball shoes that year. It was nice to hear because it lets me know that all children are important to her.

As I researched and found the data for diversity I found that there are many implications for us as teachers. We need to be sure that the curriculum reaches to all students. We must be aware of student’s differences and be flexible and willing to change. Building relationships with our students is very important because it plays a big role in their personal success. If we use Sonia Neito’s Seven Characteristics of Multicultural Education we should have no problems in reaching to all of our students.

Diversity

In what ways does your school implement multicultural education?

Without implementing multicultural education into our schools we will lose the whole purpose behind public education. Multicultural education is a philosophy, a way of looking at the world, not simply a program or a class or a teacher. (Nieto & Bode, 2008). It is important that we as teachers reach to students and their families no matter their race or socioeconomic status. Building relationships with our students and their families lets them know that they are important to us and will help them to be more successful. When I went to my colleagues this past week about how we implement multicultural education in our district I feel that it really got people thinking about what we do as a district. They began to open up and share various stories and experiences. This type of reflection and discussion helps us to continually look for ways to be effective for every child. If we are not careful we as teachers can get in a rut because of the busyness of our day to day lives so keeping in communication with each other keeps us flexible and open to change. “Good schools, like good societies and good families, celebrate and cherish diversity. “ (Meier, 2002).

Creating Confident Learners

“Above all, excellent teachers are engaged every day in intellectual work, the kind of serious undertaking that demands considerable attention and thought. They devote substantial time and energy to their teaching and, over time, they develop extensive expertise and confidence in the work they do.” (Nieto). Having confidence in what you do is very important. If we as teachers don’t have confidence then how can we teach our students to be confident. I feel that being a part of a PLC is a way to build confidence and become more engaged in what we do. When I was working as a preschool teacher we were on our own in anything that we did. We were given goals that each age group was to meet but we were never given the opportunity to sit and collaborate with our colleagues. I feel after the reading this week that had we had PLCs in this school that each teacher would have realized the need “to ensure the success of each student”. (DuFour). Having time for “adult conversations” would have allowed us to feel more in tune with our colleagues. It would have also allowed us to gain ideas from one another that would have benefitted the students.

In reading a fellow teachers’ blog I learned that using the 4Cs of the Common Core Standard, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and Communication, are very important when creating assessments. In her blog she stated the following: “The assessment must have value other than “because it’s on the test.” It has value to the individual student who is taking it. It must intend to impact the world beyond the student “self,” whether it is on the school site, the outlying community, the state, country, world, etc. And finally, the assessment should incorporate skills that students need for their future. That is, the test must assess skills other than the mere content. It must also test how eloquent the students communicate their content.” I never really thought about how beneficial participating in or creating a blog could be until preparing for an assignment for grad school. They let us know that we aren’t alone in things that we face from day to day.

Blogging, Professional Development Groups, Inquiry Groups, etc are great ways to ensure that we stay in tune with current trends and issues in education.

On a Personal Level

I talked some about my youngest son in one of my other posts so today I wanted to talk a little more about that. I know that there is always someone out there that has it worse than I. I  constantly remind myself of this on days where I am feeling very overwhelmed. He started getting chronic double ear infection at 2months old. This lasted until he was 2 1/2. We went from doctor to doctor and to the specialists with no results I finally went to the speech therapist at the school I worked at before I had him and then back to the ENT. This time the ENT finally listened and put tubes in his ears. By this time he was about 2 years behind where he needed to be. It’s so frustrating as a parent knowing that something is wrong and not getting the help that is needed. My advice to those I come in contact with is you know your child better than anyone else so if you feel something isn’t right don’t stop pushing until you have the answers.

My husband pastored in various cities and states from the time our youngest was born until the summer before his 8th birthday. We were finally able to get him speech services through the public school even though we had chosen to homeschool. The therapist was great but didn’t seem concerned about any other delays outside of speech. This became frustrating to me as a mom and a teacher but also to him and we knew it was time for a change. At this point we decided that it was time to go to a school district where they would listen to our concerns and truly care about our son as an individual and want to see him succeed. The speech therapists along with his classroom teacher and other teachers spent a whole semester testing him and trying to figure out the best way to help. I am amazed at the progress he has made and how much his teachers really care. We got no answers really from the testing other than he has characteristics of deaf and hearing impaired children but it helped knowing his strengths. It also gave the teachers direction in how to better help him catch up to where he needs to be.

I always thought because I am a teacher my kids wouldn’t need extra help or special services, or need to be held back but I wouldn’t trade him for the world. He is getting the help he needs and that’s all that matters. I know that he will grow up accepting people for who they are because of the criticism he has personally gone through. I just wish I knew how to help him more outside of school without causing him to shut down on learning again.

In working on my Master’s I came across an article on a teacher who used an IPad to bring a child up a full grade level in reading in a 6 week time period. My son has an IPad and LOVES it so what better way to help teach him than through using what he loves?! The article didn’t go into detail as to what she used so if anyone has any thoughts or advice I would greatly appreciate it.

From Reflection…

From Reflection to Action

“Personal reflection is a way of life, not just an interesting intellectual exercise. When you begin to acquire and value the habits of personal reflection your professional life will be enriched.”

My Challenge

Since I am not currently teaching full time I am going to write about a challenge that is on a more personal level. My youngest son suffered chronic ear infections for the first two and a half years of his life. We went to doctor after doctor and even to the ENT to try to get him some help since I knew from my teaching experience that his speech wasn’t developing properly. Finally at two and a half they put tubes in his ears and what a difference it made but by then he was behind. We moved quite a bit over the last few years and it seemed no speech therapist or teacher shared my concerns of his delays in academics. School became very frustrating for him and lowered his self-esteem. As parents we knew that something had to change so we moved back to my hometown to a school district where we knew he would get the help he needed. The principal didn’t want to listen to my concerns or even hear any history so she would have an idea of how to deal with him. Through all of this he got one of the most amazing teachers in the world. She is someone I would love to have as my mentor. Even with a number of kids in her class that needed extra help she made sure that each child was getting what they needed. I sat in meetings with her as she told me the progress he was making and how thrilled she was and as she is telling me this she has tears in her eyes. How easy it would have been for her just to let him get by but she pushed and encouraged him all year and the results were astounding. She truly lives by the quote, “failure is not an option.”

What I’ve Read

I read two articles that discussed ways to help students with literacy that dealt with learning difficulties. The first article was called, “A Breakthrough for Josh: How Use of an IPad Facilitated Reading Improvement”. It talked about how a teacher was encouraged to use an IPad as part of a diagnosis and tutoring project with a fifth grade ADHD student. This young boy was in fifth grade but read at a second grade level. He was very drawn to the IPad and could stay focused for quite a while when using it. They used it to (a) record him reading, (b) play reading games, and (c) read books. Within this six week tutoring project he went up a whole grade in his reading level. “The device not only helped the student focus attention, it facilitated his becoming much more metacognitive in his reading.” (McClanahan, Williams, Kennedy, & Tate, 2012). Although he was still behind he now had the confidence in himself that he could learn. I chose this article because my son loves using the IPad and although I have installed many educational apps on it for him I felt that this may have ways to help him with reading that I hadn’t found.

The second article I read was called, “Language Delays, Reading Delays, and Learning Difficulties: Interactive Elements Requiring Multidimensional Programming”. This article talked about how delays in speech can cause delays in learning to read and other learning difficulties. This article caught my attention because I felt it dealt with the challenge I am facing with my son. The axiom stated byMcGee and Purcell-Gates (1997) holds true: “Children learn to read and write successfully if their teachers accommodate their instruction to the children, and they struggle if they do not.”

New Insights

I gained a lot from my research this week. Technology is so important to our life today that anyway we can incorporate it into helping our students learn the more they will gain. I am always looking for ways to help my son in his reading struggles and what better way to do it than using what he loves, his IPad. I plan to use these ideas I learned in the article not only to help him overcome the challenge of reading but to also help my future students.

Actions and Evaluations

In order to monitor how these methods are working I plan to do an assessment on the students before I begin using the IPad in my goal to improve reading levels and then again at the end of the six weeks. I will use an assessment test to find out what reading level to start at so that self-confidence is built along the way. I believe that reading comprehension and fluency will be gained by using what I learned in this article.

“Reflective teaching means looking at what you do in the classroom, thinking about why you do it, and thinking about if it works – a process of self-observation and self-evaluation.” We as teachers need to continue to learn, not just from reading and attending conferences, but also from our students. When we do this we show our students how important it is to become lifelong learners.

Introduction

My name is Jami. I have decided to try to do some blogging as a way to become a more reflective teacher and to gain insight from other educators. This a new thing for me and a little out of my comfort zone, so if you have ideas on ways to improve things along the way please feel free to let me know.