Knowledge as Stories, Week 4 - Madi Welton

Activity: My activity is show and tell. This involves asking the students to bring in as aspect of their life they find interesting and would like to share with the class. The teacher can ask for the item to be related to the material being covered in class. Students are then connecting their experiences/ interests to new material. 

 


 Reflection:
           My diagram shows that learning happens when students are able to connect new information to past experiences or stories. This is true because our knowledge of this world is based on schemas. We draw up conclusions and judgements about every situation based on our experiences that relate at all to that situation. New information can add additional knowledge onto our schema or alter our preconceived notion of a schema.
        My activity is show and tell. I think this activity relates to my theory because students are bringing in something that interests them and says something about their life and past experiences. They are sharing and communicating their schema of something to the teacher and the class. This could also be taken a step farther and the teacher could make a themed show and tell. This means asking the children to bring something that relates to the material the class is currently learning. The material would become more meaningful when the students are able to directly connect it to their own life. This activity is especially important for the teacher because the teacher can learn more about a child's background knowledge. By knowing more about a child's background knowledge a teacher can see what connections this child is basing things you teach off of. The better a teacher gets to know his/her students, the better they can communicate and build lesson plans to better fit to their students' schema of this world.

Redesign of Learning Model

Big Idea: Learning means making connections to other experiences or previous knowledge. Students will learn best from a teacher who has gotten to know his/her students backgrounds because the teacher would know what past experiences or knowledge the students are basing everything he/she teaches from. The teacher can better communicate with students when the teacher knows where the student is building from.

Big Idea:  Learning grows when kids have fun. What they have learned will stick in their head better when they associate it with something they have interest in.



Activity: A teacher takes her students outside to teach because she knows her small children like to play outside. They can then associate learning with the fun times they have playing outdoors.






Reflection:
         I chose to keep my diagram and activity the same. I felt like they matched up with the readings. I did, however,  add another big idea that fit in with my diagram. I added that "learning means making connections to other experiences or previous knowledge. Students will learn best from a teacher who has gotten to know his/her students backgrounds because the teacher would know what past experiences or knowledge the students are basing everything he/she teaches from. The teacher can better communicate with students when the teacher knows where the student is building from."
        I feel that my previous diagram and activity, in addition to the one new big idea, went along with the readings because they draw parallels from the "Theories for...Educators" chapter. This chapter explains that learning is a process of active construction, a social and individual experience, and learning differences are resources not obstacles. My diagram and activity go along with the idea that learning is a process of active construction because the children are building off of their knowledge of how to have fun and play outside. It is safe to say that most children like to play games and have fun. Children all come from different backgrounds and so often their interpretations of what you teach vary because of this. However, having fun is a background knowledge all children share in common and a good common ground to teach from. My diagram and activity relate to learning being a social phenomena because fun activities involve social behavior and communication. Also, this means that learning happens when we are part of a community and apply it to real world situations. Children are going to play outside of class, so when you connect the learning to the types of games they enjoy, they can use what they have learned in class in their own lives, making it more useful and easier to understand. Finally, my diagram and activity relate to learning differences as resources because playing games with your kids gives you a better understanding of who they are. I feel that kids are more likely to be themselves when they feel comfortable and you can learn more about their various backgrounds. It is necessary to learn about their different backgrounds so you can better communicate with them and understand what's going on in their heads. It is important to remember that we as teachers have a lot to learn from our students.

Week 1: Introduction, Learning Model, and Reflection

Introduction:

    

 

         My name is Madilyn Welton and I'm a sophomore at Indiana University. I am studying the Teaching All Learners Program, which is a double major in elementary and special education. I am also considering a minor in Spanish. I would love to travel around the world and teach to less fortunate kids. Even if I were to teach in the US, I would like to teach in low-income areas to help children who are having difficulties. I had some teachers in elementary school who were really there for me through rough times and made a big difference in my life. This is what motivates me to make a difference for other kids. I am a firm believer that education is power and teachers can make a real difference.

 

Diagram: 

 

Big Idea: Learning grows when kids have fun. What they have learned will stick in their head better when they associate it with something they have interest in. 

 

Activity: A teacher takes her students outside to teach because she knows her small children like to play outside. They can then associate learning with the fun times they have playing outdoors.

 

 

 

Reflection:

       My big idea for my diagram was that learning happens and grows when kids connect it to having fun. In my experience with school (and life in general), I have found that it is easier to remember things when it connects to something I already have an interest in, and doing something interesting is considered fun. For example, I still remember stories that were read to me from years ago because they sparked my interest. Also, when I was younger I used to make up songs to help me remember things for class. The songs were fun and so I was able to remember things a long way down the road I would have never memorized otherwise because I could link it to a fun song in my head. Taking interest in what you are doing inevitably sparks your brain to pay more attention and have more motivation to process whatever it is you are supposed to be learning. This idea is standard for anyone of any age, but especially to younger kids. They have a hard time having the self-discipline to sit down and learn when it’s not necessarily what they feel like doing. However, if teachers can plan their lessons to be directed toward the children’s interest, kids won’t need to force themselves to do anything, because they’ll enjoy it.

The activity I created was simple, a teacher deciding to take her class outside to learn. I think it is safe to say that when kids think of outside, they think of fun. It’s where they have recess, the best time of their school day! Therefore, I think when a teacher decides to take their students outside, it automatically sparks more energy and excitement needed to learn. Almost any subject could be taught outside if the teacher is creative enough. For example, pretend like the teacher wants to teach a math lesson on division. The class could play “clump.” This game requires students to run around freely and then when the teacher yells out a certain number, they must quickly clump together in a group with that many people. The teacher must shout out a number that is not divisible by the number of students so that there will be some left out and then those students will be out. After each round the class can count how many groups of that number they were able to form and how many students were left out (the remainder). The game then continues until there is only two people left and they are the winners. This is just one example of what a class can do outdoors. This activity relates to my big idea because it is getting kids to have fun and connecting it with learning.