This week was a busy one! Aside from fitting everything in before Thanksgiving break (because as teachers, we can’t leave loose ends, right?), I’ve been exploring intersectionality and universal design for learning. Those are some big words. They’re even bigger ideas. IntersectionalityA term coined by Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989, intersectionality is the overlapping of our various identities. Crenshaw likens this concept to intersecting roads. If there were to be an accident in an intersection, the cause was likely due in part to both parties driving down the streets that crossed paths. This intersectionality means that challenges one may face due to his or her identity complicate when overlapping. For example, a black woman may face both racism and sexism, but it is impossible to put a finger on exactly which causes what. In our classrooms, it is important that teachers are aware of these intersections and intentionally structure our classrooms and lessons to support students in these crossroads rather than further isolating them. Check out this brief video or this TED talk by Crenshaw herself to better understand this complex issue. Universal Design for Learning (UDL)According to CAST (2010), “research shows that the way people learn is as unique as their fingerprints.” One way to make our classrooms accessible for all learners, regardless of identity, challenges, and intersectionality, is to use the UDL framework when planning instruction. It focuses on providing students with multiple representations of three main brain networks: recognition (what students learn), affective (why students learn), and strategic (how students learn). Follow this link to a professional development slideshow I created for teachers at my campus to better understand and use UDL in their classrooms! References
CAST (2010, January 6). UDL at a glance [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDvKnY0g6e4&feature=youtu.be CAST (2018). UDL and the learning brain. Wakefield, MA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/our-work/publications/2018/udl-learning-brain-neuroscience.html CAST (n.d.). About universal design for learning [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/our-work/about-udl.html#.XdnC7-hKjIW Crenshaw, Kimberlé. (2016, October). The urgency of intersectionality [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality?language=en National Association of Independent Schools. (2018, June 22). Kimberlé Crenshaw: What is Intersectionality? [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViDtnfQ9FHc OldSimo. (2017, August 22). Intersectionality is bad: It’s a form of fetish and pppression Olympics [Image]. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@Old_Simo/intersectionality-is-bad-its-a-form-of-fetish-and-oppression-olympics-a3f5571670b2
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You know those bubble soccer games where players can run around, bumping into others, and not get hurt or even touch someone else? They are completely protected by their bubble, and to be honest, it looks like a blast. This silly game makes for a great visual of the “filter bubbles” that Pariser described in his TED Talk. Depending on who you are, where you live, and what you do, the web is filtered and customized for you. Filter bubbles are “your own personal, unique universe of information that you live in online” (Pariser, 2011). And these bubbles are not nearly as good or fun as the giant soccer ones. As our world becomes increasingly more connected and educated thanks to the internet, we can also become more isolated and secluded. Filter bubbles allow us to live comfortably with like opinions streaming into our news feed instead of sitting with discomfort and diversity. I was challenged this week to examine my own media consumption and add opposing ideas and viewpoints to my sphere of the web. I’ve been considering deleting Facebook because it. sucks. so. much. time. Instead, however, I have decided to a) get a handle on my self-control and b) use it to expand my perspectives and professional development. Two of my favorite pages are Cult of Pedagogy and Angela Watson’s Fewer Things, Better book conversations. I then headed over to Twitter. It is incredibly easy to commiserate about the challenges we are presented with as classroom teachers. As a start to push my own thinking on standards and privatization, I followed @NoToCommonCore and @TXPrivateSchool. I may not always agree, but I will definitely learn and be challenged by diverse perspectives on these topics. I hope you’ll join me in intentionally “bursting the bubble.” References
Imgur.com. (2014 Jan 7). Bubble soccer [GIF]. Retrieved from https://gfycat.com/determinedwideafricanrockpython Pariser, Eli. (2011 March). Beware online “filter bubbles” [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles Copy and paste. CTRL + C, CTRL + V. One of the few simple actions I learned years ago that has saved my sanity when working on computers (which is basically all the time). But when the copy part also plays a role in copyRIGHT, one must think before she/he pastes. This week, I have been learning about copyright, fair use, licensing, etc. and it has made my head spin. Quite frankly, I did not enjoy it much to begin with. But, as I do with my fourth graders when they become frustrated, I reminded myself of the purpose. In working toward a Master's degree in educational technology, it just would not make sense for me to skip right over the legality of finding, using, and transforming online works - writings, images, ideas, videos, sound clips, and more. I had to put my time in and simply learn. After a dizzying dive into the depths of the internet, I give thanks to Creative Commons and Common Sense Media for their work on educating others, including me, about these topics. I have created a quick guide to help others like me in assessing what to do with copyrights. Now, check out the video I remixed (following newly learned copyright guidelines) to help other educators understand copyrights. References
Common Sense Education. (n.d.). Copyright and fair use animation [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/copyright-and-fair-use-animation Trust, T. (2019). Web Design Basics for Educators. EdTech Books. Retrieved from https://edtechbooks.org/webdesign I don’t like messing up. It’s embarrassing, it makes me feel vulnerable, and I don’t like that either. My mom told me that I’d cry if she raised her voice at me as a little girl. I’m still that way. But as a teacher, my fourth graders and I make mistakes every single day. Recently, I was working with a small group on area models and lattice multiplication. In these strategies, students multiply partial products and add to get a total. Both have merits in helping organize numbers and understand place value, but they also require students to know their multiplication facts. I told one of my students, “Be careful. You don’t want to make a silly math mistake and get the answer wrong!” To which she responded, “But Mrs. Kramer, isn’t making mistakes how we learn?” What food for thought; she stopped me in my tracks. Fumbling for a response, I explained that I would rather my students made mistakes in the learning process instead of working too fast and accidentally writing 3x3=6. But, what’s really the difference? Is there one? I want to say yes: one shows a student needs help mastering a strategy and the other shows a small error in calculation. I still don’t have the answer, but I have been intentional in how I have designed my classroom to inspect, respect, and correct mistakes. Check out the infographic below for one strategy I use, and for how we construct and make meaning in my classroom. All links are clickable! FailingI encourage students to see tests as opportunities to show what they know. Students aim to demonstrate mastery, and if they do not score well, we use it as a conversation about what’s not working. Part of my assessment requires students to make corrections. I watch lightbulbs go off as students are able to identify and correct their own math mistakes, and I see joy in students proudly submitting a corrected assignment. Students needing support are able to ask for help with corrections, and the tricky problems give them a starting point for vocalizing what they are not understanding. My intent is that my students see “failure” as an opportunity to grow and learn. It is simply an iteration in their journey towards mastery. ConstructingOne of the aspects I find most interesting about teaching is educational psychology. Knowledge, according to Piaget, is constructed by the learner. As Resnick (2017) explains in Lifelong Kindergarten, “children don’t get ideas, they make ideas” (p. 37). This sums up Piaget’s theory of constructivism. Later, Papert expanded this theory into constructionism, described by Udacity (2016) as constructivism, but when the learner makes something to show what they know. So what does this look like in my classroom? It’s not perfect, but I’m working on it. Students are invited to construct their own ideas about math in a variety of ways. For example, I conduct number talks where students use mental math and share their creative thinking in finding solutions. We also work on math tasks in which students create a representation of their solutions to a real-world problem. In this task, students define multiplication instead of me providing it. MakingIn Lifelong Kindergarten, Resnick (2001) also championed that all learning should look a bit more like the exploration students undergo in kindergarten. He stated that, “to thrive, [students] must learn to design innovative solutions to unexpected problems” (p. 50). One project my students worked through during STEAM was designing a cooler. Collaborating in groups, where Sir Ken Robinson (2010) says great learning happens, students chose materials and built a prototype to develop a deeper understanding of thermal energy transfer and conductors and insulators. We also make many cross-curricular connections. My students create Piet Mondrian artwork to demonstrate their understanding of parallel and perpendicular lines and comic strips to reveal characterization in a novel. Some days my classroom looks like the outdated one Sir Ken Robinson (2010) describes, but my hope is that each day and each year I am moving toward reimagining learning as Richard Culatta (2013) describes and create a safe makerspace. My next step? Explore Genius Hour with my kids. References
Brack, Tyne. (2016, December 3). Using test corrections as a tool for mastery [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.maneuveringthemiddle.com/using-test-corrections-tool-mastery/ Chattanooga Public Library. (2020, April 13). STEAM power [Image]. Retrieved from https://chattlibrary.org/event/steam-power/2020-04-13/ Cliparts.Co (n.d.). Lightbulb clipart #10788 [Image]. Retrieved from https://clipartion.com/free-clipart-10788/ Education Closet. (n.d.). What is STEAM education? [Web page]. Retrieved from https://educationcloset.com/steam/what-is-steam/ Kesler, Chris. (2013, September 6). What is genius hour? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMFQUtHsWhc Pearce, Kyle. (n.d.). Donut delight [Web page]. Retrieved from https://tapintoteenminds.com/3act-math/donut-delight/ Resnick, M. (2001, September). Lifelong kindergarten. In presentation delivered at the annual symposium of the Forum for the Future of Higher Education, Aspen, Colorado. Resnick, M. (2017). Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating creativity through projects, passion, peers, and play. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. RSA Animate. (2010, October). Changing education paradigms [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms/discussion TEDx Talks. (2013, January 10). Reimagining learning: Richard Culatta at TEDx Beacon Street [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0uAuonMXrg Udacity. (2016, June 6). Constructionism [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qsiqetMlCg Youcubed at Stanford. (2014, July 31). Number talks [Video file]. Retreived from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXNG6GKFhQM&feature=youtu.be |
Hi there!I'm Sarah! I have a passion for powerful teaching and lifelong learning. I am a 4th grade teacher turned instructional designer, and this is my blog documenting the journey. Click here to get in touch with me. Archives
February 2021
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