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by Kristen Gallagher
Showcase
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Throughout the Master of Arts in Education (MAED) program at Michigan State University (MSU), I was challenged to demonstrate and apply my understanding of the coursework by completing a variety of assignments, projects, and lessons. I am very proud of the variety of assignments I have created. Because my concentration was in technology, the majority of the projects I take most pride in come from the creations utilizing technology. Below you will find a "showcase" highlighting many of the activities I completed, I hope you enjoy!
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*To view the assignment, click on the picture to the left of each description*
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Transfer of Heat Unit
This was a science unit focusing on the Next Generation of Science Standards (NGSS), focusing on 6th grade NGSS standards to teach about Heat Transfer. NGSS instruction is set up more inquiry based, with discussion questions led by the students, so this unit focused on that style of instruction. With the creation of this unit, I began changing my method of instruction to a similar inquiry based style in other content areas as well.
Webquest Learning
A web-quest is an interactive, online lesson that can be completed on a student laptop or iPad. I created a "place value" web-quest, with the use of the 4th grade Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in mind. Since completing and finding the value of web-quests in the classroom, I have tried to incorporate them in more of my units in all subject areas.
The Basics of Teaching
After reading different articles on the "basics of teaching", I created a summary of my findings. This presentation was created using google slides to summarize what we learned, then screencasted and posted to teacher tube for easier viewing. Often times, I reflect on and think back to Hattie's six basics of teaching when creating or modifying lessons to meet the needs of my students.
iDigital Tools
I had the opportunity to learn more about using technology to create presentations and share information. Piktochart, which is a way to make what you might call a "digital poster", is one tool I learned about. The piktochart I created focused on highlighting different digital tools you can use to assess students in the classroom. I have shared this piktochart with colleagues and often refer to it for technology resources in my classroom.
Re-purposed Lesson
This is an example of how technology can easily be incorporated by simply modifying an already created or familiar lesson. My re-purposed lesson simply took a review I may have done as paper/pencil in the past, and utilize kahoot.com, a quiz creator, to review with my students instead. The concept of this assignment was very easy to carry over into my day to day instruction in all other subject areas.
Google Classroom
I learned the value of using an online Content Management System (CMS) to create a student assessment for an ecosystems science project. I used google docs for my CMS platform, and made a screen-cast of me describing and navigating through the project. After the completion of this project, I was eager to share with both my students and colleagues the benefits of google classroom, for its assessments and formative feedback.
Professional Development
I gained leadership skills working with a partner in the creation of this presentation created using google slides. The presentation was created with the intention of running a "professional development" session. The presentation was intended for teachers interested in learning ways to use google docs in the classroom and ways to use it collaboratively with other teachers. By completing a project of this nature, I learned I have gained the knowledge to share information successfully with my colleagues.
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Reflection of My Own Learning
This is an essay describing my own story of growing up learning and working with technology as it became more enhanced through my educational career-both as a student, and now a teacher. In this essay, I reflect on how I learned to, or sometimes struggled with, welcoming technology in education. To this day, there are many times I am reminded to consider how each of my students may learn differently when creating my lessons.