A Reflection on Assessment: My Journey through CEP813
At the heart of assessment is identifying what students know and don’t know and shaping classroom experiences to deepen student learning. I began CEP813 “Electronic Assessment for Teaching and Learning” with this fundamental view. Over the last several months, my understanding of assessments has deepened in exciting and frustrating ways. I began seeing assessments as […]
Read MoreThermometers, Mirrors, and Pageants: A Reflection on Assessments
“Why do we have to be so fancy? Can’t I just keep my grades focused on tests, quizzes, and homework?” Sitting at the faculty lunch table, our casual conversation about our most recent PD on formative and summative assessments had just turned into an argument. Half of the table lauded the distinction, function, and purpose […]
Read MorePersonalized Learning: A Wicked Problem Solved?
Personalized Learning is a wicked problem. That is, it is a problem so complex that it is nearly unsolvable. Personalized Learning, the educational philosophy wherein student learn and proceed through their content at their own pace according to their own interests and needs, is just one of these problems. My team and I, organized through […]
Read MoreA PASSION FOR CREATIVE HISTORY TEACHING
Starting out as a teacher, I went right back to that which I had become accustomed. Throughout college, professors would assign reading and then in class would tell us about the text in two hour lectures. I loved it. I enjoyed reading. I enjoyed talking about history. And so did most of the other students […]
Read MoreTHE WICKED PROBLEM OF PERSONALIZED LEARNING: A SURVEY
Personalized Learning is an answer to the diverse needs, prior knowledge, interest, and skill of individual students. It is a customized and flexible approach to student learning in which students learn according to their own pace, making choices about their own learning, and adapting the material according to each student’s needs. However, several complexities make […]
Read More10 COMPLEXITIES OF PERSONALIZED LEARNING
Personalized Learning is complex, so much so that it indeed is a wicked problem that seems to be impossible to solve. There are many layers of complexity and considerations from various stakeholders in the education of students—from parents to principals. Three central questions that drive further exploration of personalized learning are the following. 1. Why […]
Read MoreKilling Confirmation Bias in Ed Tech and Personalized Learning
Like most in this social media and smartphone age, I get a lot of my information—either news or stories—through Facebook and Twitter. Indeed, I don’t read the paper nor do I even go to a news website. Instead, I follow news agencies and “talking head” political analysts on social media. I must make a public […]
Read MoreINQUIRY BASED LEARNING AND THE HIGH SCHOOL HISTORY CLASSROOM
The now iconic scene of the monotone economics teacher played by Ben Stein in Farris Bueller’s Day Off hilariously encapsulated the collective experience High Schoolers endured in a Social Science classroom—perhaps any class. The premise of the film strikes a chord with many students: school is boring, and we’d rather feign sickness than attend. As […]
Read MoreFLIPGRID AND DYSGRAPHIA MODIFICATION
Flipgrid fever has struck many teachers. One need only check the hashtags #flipgridfever to catch a glimpse of the excitement. In the age of Snapchat, memes, and gifs, students can often feel disengaged with old-school handouts. Flipgrid is an app used on Microsoft, Apple, and Google products that allow teachers to create digital classrooms for […]
Read MoreASSESSING CREATIVITY: A REFLECTION ON GRADING MAKER PROJECTS
“How am I going to grade this?” That was the first thought that came to mind once the creative and fun designs lay on my desk. This was the first time I used a Design and Making activity in my AP World History class. I was so excited and eager to design and implement this […]
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