As I reflect on my teaching and how I think students learn best, I believe that providing learning opportunities that allow for students to build on their prior knowledge and to have hands-on experiences is essential. Based on the Map of Theories, I see myself falling into the constructivism and experimental learning paradigms. Students, in my opinion, learn through doing. I teach at the lower elementary level and there is plenty of opportunity for students to engage in activities that allow them to manipulate concrete materials to support their learning. As we adjust to Covid protocols, some of these hands on tools have had to change to virtual tools. For example, in small group math instruction I would have students use manipulatives to practice the math skill or concept and to demonstrate their understanding. As we are limiting contact points, students could use a virtual manipualtive site like this one to essentially do the same task as in pre-Covid times. Students would still be able to 'touch' the math to help them learn it. When I think about my first years of teaching I did not incorporate nearly enough experiential activities into my lessons. As I became more comfortable with the curriculum and with my own experiences in the classroom, I find that I include many opportunities throughout the day for the use of concrete materials to support our learning.
My Journey in Distance and Online Learning My experience with distance learning goes back to my high school years in the early to mid '90's. I decided to take a few of my grade 10, 11, and 12 courses via correspondence instead of in-person in the classroom. The choice of assignments to complete and the flexibility in time of completion is what drew me to taking courses via correspondence. The classes were not online, rather the material was sent via Canada Post. In university for both my undergrad degrees, I did not take any classes online, all were face-to-face in the classroom. About 4 years ago I started using Seesaw in my classroom. My purpose for using it was so that students could create a digital portfolio. I am not a fan of the pizza box portfolio and found binders to be a bit cumbersome during the student-led conference so I wanted something that required very little storage space and more engaging for students to add their work to. I cannot remember
Hey Kristina,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the need for technology now more than ever in the classroom. I have been using KnowledgeHook and IXL to help fill in the gaps of teaching math during a pandemic. My whole goal with this transition for the 2020-21 year was to make sure as much as possible was already available online in case we have to resume distance learning.
Prior knowledge and experimental learning is great for students to continue scaffolding and building/discovering their learning!
I completely agree that the Covid-19 protocols has made it more difficult to conduct experiential learning activities. Thank you for sharing that virtual math manipulatives site! I look forward to trying out some of those tools with my students during math class. It is a good alternative to sharing hands on manipulatives.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Mckenzie
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