Professional Theory and Philosophy – 2008

This year in computer lab, I changed how computer labs for teacher prep periods have been run at my school site.

I have communicated with and sought input from the regular classroom teachers to align what I am teaching with their goals and themes. Below is the front page of the wiki I use for online planning (you can click on it to go to that page).

wiki1.jpg

I have studied both the Technology Standards –NETs– and grade-level content standards and made both a priority.
Because I’m at a Program Improvement school (PI), I have made sure that I am supporting the focus standards that each grade level set (as you can see in the image from my planning wiki below).

wiki2.jpg

I have focused on language development for ELLs.
I have created activities that develop higher order thinking skills and have students working on inquiry based activities.

To sum up, it’s not about the technology, it’s about the thinking. I plan for that, I scaffold for it, and I make sure that it takes place:[slideshare id=87011&doc=pp-about-me1100&w=425]

My philosophy of education…

I believe that students need to experience, and create to truly learn a new concept or idea, but I have also had the experience of seeing students struggle to understand how to do this. It is my position as an educator to provide a structure and instruction so they can make the connections needed to understand what they are learning, and be able to use that knowledge effectively. To get this done, I do the following in my classroom:

• Establish clear rules and procedures for my classroom to make it a safe learning environment for all students
• Have a clear focus on standards based instruction
• Use a variety of technologies and resources to engage students while teaching standards.