Reflections & Learning Opportunities for Vocabulary

Structures of Power & Authority

In this mini-lesson (the lesson plan can be viewed HERE), I created a vocabulary lesson in which I highlighted two integral words relating to our understanding of the world: Power & Authority (as highlighted in the video which can be viewed HERE). The reason why I chose these two words in particular, is due to the fact that power and authority are the roots of problems that occur within our community and society as a whole, these two dynamics of rule cause certain policies or injustice to happen within our world, and if we are truly to make our world a better place, we must first understand how to approach these two type basic, yet profound types of rule.

This lesson, and the unit of “YOUth in Charge” as a whole is primarily entrenched in the notion of building upon our knowledge and understanding, while also applying this understanding to take action within our community in meaningful ways. I believe this lesson connects to P.C. 8.2, because I attempted to help students think about power structures within our world, and having them think critically about our vocabulary, as well as understanding when governments/leaders are acting through legitimate authority, or acting egregiously through power and corruption. Being able to recognize the difference these two quintessential concepts allows students to be able better point out when the government, or other people in general, are committing injustices against citizens. This is the core of being a civic citizen, and this application of vocabulary will allow students to be more aware of how they can approach making a beneficial difference within this world. Vocabulary goes beyond the dictionary definition, “power,” and, “authority,” significantly affect the world in which we live, because it is power structures that every single person experiences every day of their lives.

Through teaching this lesson, I learned both positive and negative aspects about my methods thus far. In terms of the positive, I find that I have a calm, and relaxing presence that may make students feel less anxious about being in a classroom. I really try to ensure that there is a positive community and culture that is fostered within my class, because I want every student to feel like they belong, because they do in fact, belong. Secondly, I find that I am able to consistently build off of ideas that students say on the spot, which allows me to connect their participation to central themes in the unit, as well as clarifying how their thoughts connect to both the academic world, and the world at large. In terms of methods/concepts I absolutely need to work on, I need to be more concise and clear about the directions and instructions for activities. I know I have a tendency to be long winded, which has the ability to lose people, and I am really trying to condense what I say to the bare essentials, that way, students can better understand concepts that can either be daunting, or tricky to learn. Additionally, I need to be better about connecting the vocabulary to ideas I was presenting in my slides. I failed to connect Power and Authority clearly enough to the idea of who determines how others are seen in our society. My original intent with the celebration vs. riot slide was that I wanted to highlight how the media and government often times is able to control the narrative of events in our lives, and how perspectives can be skewed in subjective/biased ways. This is an example of a gov’t/organization acting as a source of power and corruption, because they are acting against the interests of their citizens. I have no one else to blame but myself in this failure to connect, but I do feel that time was certainly an issue with being able to connect this central theme to the vocabulary.

                                  Reflections & Moving Forward

I think that I was able to teach vocabulary in a very engaging and somewhat unique manner. I created my own strategy for vocabulary called a “vocabulary tree,” in which the root of the tree is the definition that students put in their own words, because that lays the foundation for the rest of the tree. Additionally, the trunk is the bloodline for the tree, it's what influences the branches and the leaves, so I thought it would make sense to have the trunk represent who/what influences their original definition. Finally, the leaves each represent one unique component of the tree as a whole, and in this particular case, I had each leaf represent an example of the vocabulary word, or how this concept is viewed in our society. Each component of the tree is dependent of the other two parts, there is interdependence, and being able to create these connections in a way that allows students to be imaginative, allows for a more engaging, and meaningful way of understanding vocabulary and being able to apply it into their daily lives.

My next step is to ensure that I am more brief and clear in my directions, and this comes with practice and rehearsal. I prefer to talk/instruct somewhat off the cuff, because it feels more natural to interact with students in that way, whereas if I create a script, I feel that if I deviate, I lose my place, and I lose a sense of natural flow. It is essential that I rehearse the key themes to the lesson, and prepare a couple of connecting questions that align with my standards, but anything else instructional wise I believe works better for me if I do not rehearse constantly.

Unconditional Support in the Classroom (El Deafo)

Exploring Identity

The event that I attended was the “Exploring Identity” El Deafo event, which consisted of multiple workshops focusing on the importance of perspective and communication. One of the most striking moments of this workshop was when we were placed into groups, where educators and future educators alike were split into groups and were provided a scenario. In our particular group, we had to think of an accommodation for an art lesson, where a particular student was deaf and would be unable to paint colors and textures they were supposed to hear through a song. The original lesson included the teacher assigning every student to paint a picture that reflected the song they were hearing. In this scenario, our groups worked together to come up with a proposal that included the following options:

• Have peer support where students could say how certain colors reflect certain musical moods/motifs
• Plan ahead of time to have a legend created by the instructor to articulate the mood of the song being played, where the student would then pick colors based on said description of the song.
• Have an alternative assignment with the same content (student has to visually depict an emotion).

Out all of these potential options, it is essential that the student does not feel left out because of the accommodations they might need. Each lesson has to be crafted in a way that both provides necessary provisions for the student to thrive in the class, as well as ensuring they feel included. This scenario pertains to P.C. 8.1, where educators are able to provide multiple types of instruction and accommodations that reflects the diversity of the classroom.

The biggest takeaway I had from this workshop is that though I appreciate what I am able to do, I can often take for granted what I am able to do easily or without thinking about it, versus the fact that other people constantly struggle to do what is considered routine in our world.

I usually don’t delve too much into my personal life, but I believe the formative years of my life have inspired me to be an educator. For the first four years of my life, I was nonverbal, and every doctor told my Mom that I would never be able to speak and function without parental assistance, and the best case scenario for me was that I could potentially have the capability of stocking shelves at a grocery store. I was essentially told that I would never be able to function by myself. Additionally, the principal, and the teachers at my school told my Mom that I should not be attending public school, but rather I should be in an intensive special needs program. My Mom could have decided to listen to the advice of my Doctors/educators and decide that I didn’t have a chance, or she could work with special educators to find ways to help me develop in a more effective manner. My Mom decided that she was going to work with special needs educators and find ways to help me, and to this day, I am not sure why, but someone, for some reason, was able to get me to speak and verbalize again. I don’t say this as an empty cliche, but instead out of complete sincerity, there isn’t a day that goes by where I do not think about how much of a miracle it is that I am able to speak and write to you as am I currently doing. I don’t think I will ever understand why this change happened in my life, but I do know that it was because amazing people in my life, my Mom, and educators decided to give me a chance and that they believed in me.

Connecting this back to the present day, I know that I want to be an educator that will never give up on one of their students. No matter the accommodations that are needed, I will ensure that I put my complete and utmost effort in engaging all of my students, so that they are able to thrive, and that they know they belong here. I will believe in my students like others believed in me, even though I was different and had learning accommodations. I want to be an educator that makes sure every student is heard, and though I acknowledge the varying disabilities students have, I want to make sure that they do not feel like an outcast or alone because of their accommodations.

I have had the unbelievable privilege of being able to write about being an educator in college, when I was told by professionals that was never going to happen. To carry this lesson of support and belief, I will be an educator that will be the dissenting voice, when others may have given up on a particular student, I will be that teacher that gives their unconditional support to ensure their success.

Building a Bridge between Literary Texts & the Real World

Little Rock Nine

In our literacy class at Saint Mike’s, we had the opportunity to create a resource evaluation, in which each student took one text from their respective content area, and analyzed thoroughly, both the literary and academic purpose for the selected reading. My resource evaluation can be seen HERE. In the case of myself, I am teaching a unit entitled, “YOUth in Charge,” where students will have the opportunity to learn about how the youth have historically made a difference in our society, and how they are able to make a difference within our community. I thought the most appropriate text to analyze would be a historical piece from the History Channel, about the Little Rock Nine, which was a landmark civil rights accomplishment in which African American students attended an all-white school in Arkansas.

Through reflecting on this article, I realized that when I evaluate students for texts, I want to see that students are able to make connections into their own world, and use these texts as a valuable tool for how they as citizens can make a difference in their society. My philosophy in regards to instruction, primarily consists of the fact that I want every assignment to have some kind of clear connection to the real world, and I want students to understand how these texts are relevant in their lives. For example, when my students would read this article on the Little Rock Nine, I might ask them to write a short essay/diary in which they talk about what they would do if they attended Central High School with these students. I would connect this towards injustice in society and what role can we play as citizens to curb injustice. In class we may review the branches of government, to reflect how students can reach out to their leaders (this would be drawing upon a previous lesson), and conduct a think-pair-share on what we could do as individuals. Having the ability to go over in class what students can do allows them to make a choice, and better articulate how they would solve an injustice and why they took a certain approach.

It is imperative to realize that no single student reads at the same reading level as another student. Each student has their own strengths and weaknesses, and being able to accommodate for both of these is absolutely necessary if we are providing a quality pathway for students to be successful. Speaking in general terms, there are three solutions I have to ensure students are engaged and being fairly challenged with their reading: Use reading resources like Newsela, where students are able to change the readability on their own command. Secondly, I believe choice is essential, there are multiple instances of student leadership taken place over the country, and I would provide opportunities for students to choose which article they would like to read, and I would have them present to each other in small, carousel like groups, that way students would be able to learn about multiple leaders, while also feeling empowered as they are teaching their peers. Lastly, I would also edit certain articles or provide vocabulary sheets, that way students on multiple reading levels would be able to better understand the text that is provided. These strategies connect to P.C. 8.1, where I have provided multiple strategies to accommodate the diverse and real needs of all students within my class.

The Great Debate!

Background

Throughout this semester, I have been working to design a lesson plan that is completely oriented around the belief that everyone has the ability to change their community for the better. The unit I have created entitled, “YOUth in Charge,” where students will learn the multiple ways in which we can be civically engaged citizens and make a difference. During our class for the week of November 8th-10th, we were provided with the responsibility of creating a mini-unit which would pertain to our lesson. Since my first class would be taught on election day, I thought it would be very fitting to have a lesson on the importance of debating, and how we can debate. The art of debate is something that has been lost in our presidential stage (regardless of party ideology) which has resulted in less discussion around policy, and more arguments around appearance and demeanor. I knew that the students I was instructing had a basic level of understanding as to what a debate is, as well as being able to discern why debate is essential to our society, but I wanted to build on those foundations and have students debate with positions they don’t necessarily agree with, because it allows for a better understanding of the differing perspectives people have, and when we are able to understand where a position is coming from, we can counter said position in a constructive, and thought-provoking manner.

Connecting to Students

To connect to P.C. 7.1 & 7.2, I constructed my mini-lesson in a way that would draw in the interest and content knowledge from my fellow classmates. My class of four had two history majors, and two science majors (environmental and physics, respectively). I knew that the two history students most likely had a better background knowledge on the art of debates, but I wanted to ensure that there would be equity in the level of engagement within this class, so I asked the science students topics they would be interested in debating, and we were all able to agree on debating whether or not NASA should receive public funding. For each team, there was one science major, and one history major, to create near equal teams. This garnered everyone’s interest, because it connected everyone’s content knowledge together through recognizing their personal interests, as well as placing low stakes, but potentially high pressured debate that would be rigorous for a 20-minute class. There was a strict time limit that was put in place throughout the debate, in which each student had one minute for an opening remark, a total of 6 minutes for rebuttals, and one minute a piece for a closing argument. Students were also expected to bring citations and sources for their arguments to demonstrate their ability to research, as well as identify problems (in this case, it was potentially seeing flaws in a case being made). This also gave students the opportunity to think on their feet, and practice how to civically respond to a potentially contentious topic of discussion, which is a valuable life lesson if we are to communicate effectively with our audience, whether it is for science, or history.

Communication is Key

In addition, I created my lesson around two more P.C.’s that are connected, 5.1, and 5.2. For the first P.C., I intentionally connected our lesson to the presidential election, to make connections to our community and our nation. The importance of being able to see that effective communication through debate, allows us to discuss serious national issues that have very real implications. Sometimes it isn’t necessarily clear how a lesson connects to our world, but I tried my best to make our lesson more than an academic experience, but a valuable life tool that will allow us to be the agents of change in our communities. In regards to P.C. 5.2., students during this lesson were required to think critically and on the spot, when debating the other perspective. What’s more, students also had to collaborate both inside, and outside of the class in order to create the most articulate, and meaningful debate points. In real life, a debate is simply between two people, it is instead, a continuing discussion of policy that citizens must present their reasons for either supporting, or being against legislation or decisions in the hopes of persuading and convincing others. There is a reason why there are political parties, lobbyists, as well as even having a union, so that people can collectively convey their points to the community in the hope of convincing others that their solution is the best solution.

Within my lesson, I also connected my accommodations matrix to P.C. 8.1., where I had a nonverbal student in our class. During a debate, this could potentially be an anxiety-ridden time for this student, so I prepared ways in which this student would have the equivalent opportunities for learning. The nonverbal student would create a written debate on a topic of their choice and they would hand in their paper. Additionally, I would have this student be my co-judge (along with other students) to decide who the winner of the debate was. This still allows for this student to have a stake in their education, and to feel empowered through making an important decision for the class. During the presentation, I would have also provided this student with presentation notes ahead of time, that way, if they had any questions, they would be able to ask me, and I would gladly be able to answer them.

One of the most important lessons I have learned while teaching last week is to be flexible with your schedule. As long as the essential and focusing questions are being addressed in a way that is both meaningful and engaging to students, the rest of the lesson is extraneous. Though I was able to do essentially everything that I wanted to do, I wasn’t always able to allow enough time to make it as meaningful as possible. I also learned the valuable lesson of being impartial and neutral when I speak with students. I made a terrible mistake my first day and referred to one of the candidates as, “scary.” Which a couple of students commented on via their written feedback. I immediately emailed the students in the class to let them know what I did was unacceptable, but it also taught a great non-example of what a debate point should be. Claims should be factual and supported with details, not simply a value-laden judgment. Between the first and second class, I also prepared an exercise of reflection for the students the day after election, in which they could write their thoughts (whether positive or negative) and share out to the class if they felt comfortable. A lot of what the students said pertained to the idea that they felt the presidential debates lacked substance, and there was too much name calling, which I was able to tie back into our lesson review for how we debate in a professional manner.

In terms of assessments, I had one diagnostic assessment, which consisted of philosophical chairs, where students presented an issue they thought was worthy debating and why (this allowed me to analyze their reasoning). In addition, I had two formative assessments, the first day, where we had a selected response paper where students demonstrated their knowledge (so far) about reputable sources, and we also did a whip strategy at the beginning of the second class, where each students said one thing they learned from the first class. The summative assessment consisted of a full-scale, timed debate, where they were previously given a rubric.

Connecting back to my educational philosophy of being a humanist, I constantly gave my students elements of choice and freedom within what they wanted to do. I trust students to be leaders in their learning, and my role is to help facilitate their learning. If we are truly to believe that the goal of education is to cultivate an environment where students will become independent, critically thinking leaders, then we must give them they time in school to practice their independence and their leadership with their education. The challenge of allowing freedom in a classroom means that I as a future educator will have to raise the bar for myself to make sure that I can help students devise lesson plans that are oriented around themselves, and not simply teaching to the “average” student (which does not exist).

Reflection

Through my comments, I was told that on one hand, I presented myself calm and collected, but I
also didn’t allow enough opportunities for students to ask questions, nor did I provide enough time for students to digest information. At the collegiate level, our ability to focus and process is much greater than that of a high school senior in their spring semester, so I need to make sure that I provide students to reflect and think about what they have learned, as well as creating opportunities where students can ask questions (whether it is in front of the class, or through an exit slip). This opportunity in class has allowed me to feel more comfortable and confident in my ability to be a future educator, and truthfully, I am incredibly humbled to see the amazing educators in our current class!

Evidence:
Mini-Lesson
Presentation
Selected Response
Rubric

Digital Citizenship Letter & Contract

Digital Citizenship Letter & Contract

When creating both the digital citizenship contract and letter, I had the privilege of being able to collaborate with Bailey, Kristen, and Emily, all of whom are passionate future educators that aspire to create the best learning environments for their respective students. Unlike most other majors, when education majors get to work with fellow students, they are learning essential skills as teachers, since the vast majority of schools incorporate core planning time with multiple teachers.

Through the process of creating a letter, we all had wanted to ensure that the letter used positive vocabulary, as opposed to negative vocabulary (for example, instead of saying, “I will not…” we instead inserted the language of, “I will…”). We feared that negative language in regards to technology would make the administration appear to lack trust or faith in the students of their respective school, by using language that emphasizes what one will do, it places both responsibility in the hands of the students, as well as keeping a standard that they must uphold. Another component to our digital literacy contract pertained to the idea of the unique opportunity our particular students will have with a 1:1 initiative. We felt that it was necessary to highlight that not all students/families have access to technology, and our community has varying degrees of access to electronic devices.

In regards to the digital citizenship letter we hypothetically sent home, we agreed that the paragon of an appropriate letter home would need to include opportunities for all stakeholders to learn how to use technology accordingly. Each of us had a perspective on the need to have accommodations for different citizens within our community at large. For example, Bailey highlighted that we should mention the opportunities for ELL students with integrating technology, while Emily pointed out that we should mention the disparities in access to technology our community faces. In addition, Kristen articulated that the language within our letter should not sound dictatorial towards parents, instead we should incorporate language that includes parents as a part of digital age.

We connected our letter home to P.C. 10.1 by providing essential technological seminars for all community members to take part in during and after school hours. Considering that many our alumni were not born in the digital age, they may face difficulties with learning how to use devices without the natural integration that many of our youth have experienced today. Through providing these free seminars, we felt that our civic obligation to the community is quality in education, and we aimed to achieve this quality through the implementation of experiential learning with experts in the field of technology. From an employment point of view, digital literacy makes students and adult employees have a great advantage to enter or re-enter the workforce. More importantly, these seminars would shatter both the proverbial and physical communication barriers that people incur either due to distance, or learning disabilities.

Technology is the Greatest Opportunity our Education System Has

Truthfully, I do not have any genuine fears for incorporating any technology, other than seeking the “proper” balance of teaching with, and without technology. If my goal is based around the methodology of differentiated instruction and personalized learning, I see this as less of a fear, and more as an opportunity to let students learn in ways that make the most sense to them. I also am excited about what students will be able to produce through creating digital products, or using technology as a tools to express themselves in an academic way. Technology is the greatest opportunity our education system has ever experienced, and unfortunately we treat it as a burden, in regards to how we communicate with our students. Often times, digital learning is taught in a top-down process without any reciprocity. It is essential that we do teach our students how to be safe with technology, but we must avoid the pitfall of abstinence-only style learning, because instilling fear into students when learning about technology will push them away, and potentially make more harmful decisions with technology, due to a lack of proper understanding. A simple fix (albeit I am oversimplifying this a bit) would be to work with students to learn about what they want to know with technology, as that is a necessary step in order to better learn where students are, and where they need to be with the principle of digital learning. From an administrative/policymaking standpoint, I would want to also collaborate with a sample of students through all of the grades in the school to create a contract, which allows students to have a say in what rules are otherwise being imposed upon them. This also creates a culture in which administration and students trust each other more, and are more open to communicating with each other on a more level playing field.

Template for Class Unit & Performance Assessment Ideas

Planning Template

(p. 30 Tomlinson and McTighe)

Stage I – Desired Results
Established Goal(s) [all standards/proficiencies]: (VT H&SS7-8:14): Identifying problems, proposing solutions, and considering the effects of a course of action in the local community, state, nation, or world. INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, AND INSTITUTIONS (National Standards for Social Studies Teachers): Social studies teachers should possess the knowledge, capabilities, and dispositions to organize and provide instruction at the appropriate school level for the study of interactions among Individuals, Groups, and Institutions. Learner Expectations Institutions such as schools, religions, families, governments, and businesses all play major roles in our lives. These and other institutions exert enormous influence over us, yet they are no more than organizational embodiments to further the core social values of those who comprise them.
Understanding (s): Students will understand that… - Local, State, and National governments allow citizens to participate in different manners, each level and branch of government serve a different purpose for the people. -When students identify the potential problems in the world, they have a responsibility to propose solutions to reconcile issues within their community. - Citizens may have competing interests, some of which people may disagree with, but that does not mean these people do not deserve a voice equal to ours in the political process. - Many decisions that are made both by representatives and citizens have profound and meaningful change to our society, and we hold a responsibility to ensure that we do not restrict the rights of others in the process.	Essential Question(s): -What purpose does the government serve? -What does a civically active citizen look like? -How can we make a difference and propose solutions?
Students will know…                                                           Students will be able to…                                            -that as the largest stakeholder in education, they do in fact have a voice,  and will find various outlets to be heard properly. -Critically examine past legislation and actions, while connecting the legacy that said legislation has carried. -Defend their own personal convictions in an academic manner while maintaining decorum appropriate for the intended audience. -Become active citizens that take stake in their lives through creating projects and volunteering in their community to ensure that they are leaving the world a better place.

Performance Assessment Ideas

Performance Assessment Map

One of the most basic functions of education is to ensure that students are actively engaged citizens within their local, state, and national government. The youth population (10-19) makes up nearly 42 million Americans, or 13% of the total population. These 42 million citizens are going to become eligible voters, and participants in our society, yet oftentimes, students are not necessarily taught how to make a difference within the government and their communities. Most civic classes (if they are even offered) merely teach about the branches of government and the history of government, as opposed to how one can be an agent of change in society. As a future educator within this field of study, I feel it is my obligation to ensure my students know that they matter in our world, and they can in fact, make a meaningful difference.

My unit is geared towards proposing solutions to the problems that students face in the world. This reflects with the VT Proficiencies (as seen in the Ubd table), students should be able to make critical inquires about our government and sociopolitical issues and discuss how they can resolve these matters. The first performance assessment idea I had is to have students create a TedTalk like presentation, in which students choose an issue of their choice and present to the school. Members from outside of the school will be invited, including the school committee, and local representatives. Considering that 7th grade is an age where many students are unsure about their identity and their self esteem is typically lower than at other ages in life, it is important that students will feel comfortable enough to present to the school, and that starts with two factors: Creating a positive, and supportive community in the school, and also having periodical practice presentations and reports within the class. This establishes a sense of confidence for the students to have, as well as time of honest, and constructive peer feedback.

Another form of performance assessment would be a blend of community service, or a service project involving some type of change within society (whether locally, or globally). Students would get to choose their form of community service, or advocacy work to ensure that students can properly question and inquire about their world, while simultaneously proposing solutions to societal problems. For both of these types of civic engagement opportunities, students would collect evidence of their progress through a portfolio. This portfolio would include a weekly blog/report (1-2 paragraphs), as well as having a reflection paper at the end of the unit, explaining what they have learned, and how they can make a difference. I understand that some students may not have the access after school to get to volunteering opportunities, and I would never want to add that burden to a struggling family, so an alternative component would be that students could write a paper of how they would propose a solution to common problem in the community, and what avenues they could take to resolve said issue. Providing choice for learning styles is an integral component towards fostering high levels of engagement for students. Every student has different learning personalities, and I want to be able to harness their preferences so they can build their confidence of making change in our world.

I would connect this unit with PC 7.1: Knowledge of Content Area, because this incorporates my prior knowledge of history and political science in order to establish a rigorous learning experience. In high school, my sophomore history teacher had us take the time of learning how to send a letter to our representative, and ensuring that we would get a response. Representatives (or their staff) are legally obligated to write back to people if they end their letter requesting a response. In addition, my teacher had our class research a subject that we were writing about, and he had us explain to our class why we chose a topic, and what we learned about this concern. This helped us look into research, and dissect policy that can seem foreign and not very intuitive to most readers. I am also adamant as a political science major, that we need to inform everyone of how government officials are public servants that work for us, and are meant to serve our interests. The apathy of our current government and lack of voter turnout has been deeply concerning to me, and I am more frightened by the negligence of our school systems not teaching how students can be civically engaged.

My proficiency in being civically engaged has been mostly experiential and having the privilege of merely being in the right place and the right time. My past experiences have included serving on the Massachusetts Board of Elementary & Secondary Education, where I represented the concerns of my peers, as well as working with the National Association of State Boards of Education, where I was able to advocate for how policymakers could incorporate student engagement as a part of best practices. I am currently working with the Vermont Agency of Education, the D.C. State Board of Education, and Apple to work on creating meaningful student constituencies that have a voice in their education, since students are the largest stakeholder in education. Through these experiences, I have learned how people can participate and advocate for themselves to create policy that benefits their demographic. I vehemently oppose the notion that I can ever learn enough to be an expert in a field. Instead, I believe that I am the least important, and least knowledgeable person in the room, because that allows me to learn from others. Learning about government participation is constantly evolving, meaning that I will be forever learning more about how we can become advocates for our concerns in government.

Explain Everything/Shadow Puppet Reflections

One of the quintessential aspects of being a quality educator is the ability to digest complex information within one’s content area, and be able to illustrate the central themes in a way that makes sense to all students.

I am taking two ED classes currently (Literacy & Curriculum), and within these two classes, we have recently worked on creating a visual tool to display our content areas, as well as our preferred content theories in a way that demonstrates our comprehension of the material. For my literacy class, we were assigned the task of making a Shadow Puppet presentation with a partner, to demonstrate collaborative efforts, as well as presenting our content areas in an engaging manner. Additionally, for my curriculum course, we were designated the responsibility of designing an Explain Everything presentation that shows our ability to both navigate through multiple apps so we can utilize programs effectively with our future students, and to display our understanding of what content theory we best align with.

Within my study of political science, ideologies and texts is continuously expanding since it is very much a study of the human condition. When Katelyn Crandall and I worked on our Shadow Puppet Project, we both collaborated and discussed what might be our central themes within our respective disciplines (Katelyn is a math major). We both were working together to firstly figure out what essentials can we pick out from our other majors to ensure that we convey the key elements to both math and political science. We both had a conversation, and drafted an outline of a script to ensure that we could attempt to condense the breadth of our studies into a five minute presentation. When we both finished our script, we provided evidence for P.C. 5.2  to show our collaboration efforts and that link is provided HERE:

Through this collaboration, we were also able to articulate the primary ideas within our respective fields of study, which connects P.C. 4.1. Being able to condense an augmenting field of study and showcase the provisions within a content area demonstrates a high level of comprehension in regards to working with the material. Within our Shadow Puppet, I discussed how civics and history are more than just text oriented documents, they are living breathing accounts of the world in which we currently live, and to better understand who we are as a society, and as the human race, it is pivotal that we understand the major events and socio-political movements that preceded us.

In addition to history being a study of the human condition, it is necessary to break the barriers between your students and your audience when dealing with the misconceptions of a particular study. In our shadow puppet, we both described common misconceptions of the way people view literacy within both math and political science which connects to P.C. 4.2.. For example, people may assume that history deals with primary and secondary documents. Though this statement is true, it is also misleading in the useage of the word, “documents.” Documents can be more than text oriented artifacts, the discipline of history and political science deals with all aspects of human life, whether this is artwork that demonstrates personal or societal struggle, or perhaps history is analyzing Star Wars, and viewing with a critical eye and connecting parallels between the fictional Sci-Fi Thriller, and World War II. There is tremendous brevity in regards to how an educator could demonstrate that history and political science is more than books, history is the culmination of our lives!

Furthermore, I utilized Explain Everything, an app that allows people to make tutorials of presentations to educate others. For example, my Explain Everything was about Humanism, which is an educational theory that promotes personal choice, and having an educator act as a facilitator in order to best engage the students which instills the desire to learn. Within this Explain Everything, I discussed what drives me to excel as a future educator. We have a substantial population of youth in the United States, yet the interactions between adults and students are so sparse, in terms of having a meaningful dialog about what future do we envision for ourselves, whether it is a vision of government, education, or how we treat others. When the current education system has largely (not in all cases) decided that education is a top down process in which no experience or learning can be received by educators, administration, or policymakers when students are talking, we completely shut off and hinder how successful our society will be. I vehemently oppose the notion of having a classroom be a top down process, when we have the ability to learn from each other and grow as citizens in our world. I don’t merely want to teach my students, I want to learn with my students and ensure that we are doing our part to create a better world and better community. I believe this aligns well with the Saint Michael’s Education Department and their mission statement including the section on having passionate educators.

Outside of school, I have been working closely with high school students in Vermont, and Washington D.C. to create student advisory councils, or an entity of students that can present information to the state boards of education. These two boards also have student members that preside, and by allowing the student representatives on the board to have a constituency, they can work together to implement and promote well-constructed educational initiatives that will better the lives of all stakeholders in education. When I work with these students, I do not simply tell them what they should do, nor am I trying to teach them a lesson. To the contrary, I believe that the only way one can truly learn is that one must genuinely believe they are the least important, and least knowledgeable person in the room. When I work with these students, I ask them what they want to do on a local, state, and national level and what their short term and long term goals are. From here, I do my best to suggest the best practices involved with making their goals an actuality. Through my political science, and secondary education program at Saint Mike’s, I have learned both theories and strategies that help me take my content area and apply it to meaningful issues on a local and national level, to ensure that all students can be heard, and I believe this connects with P.C. 5.1.

In the future, I do want to be an educator, but I feel that I would be better suited for working at an educational agency, or consortium, in which I could do field work to learn more about what is going on in all of the classrooms, and what experiences are missing in schools, in order to enhance the quality of learning within school systems. I want to continue to work with secondary students from across the country to build the largest stakeholder in education and to affirm their role and solidify their voice so other stakeholders will be able and willing to hear their voices.

The Digital Literacy Disconnect: Ignoring the Elephant in the Room

The Disconnect: Policymakers & Educators

Recently, my education courses have inadvertently highlighted a significant discrepancy between how digital literacy is being implemented and what students actually need to learn. In the past week, I was assigned to read an article from The Atlantic, entitled: “Digital Natives, Yet Strangers to the Web, which can be viewed below:

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/04/digital-natives-yet-strangers-to-the-web/390990/  

This article offers compelling insight into the fact that the fears of adults have largely driven what students have been learning in terms of digital learning. This article poses both an intriguing and engaging question in regards to whether or not our school system is adequately teaching students how to integrate technology into their lives in a meaningful way.

This skepticism can also be validated with substantial research that has been conducted by Digital Learning now, an initiative with the ExcelInEd Foundation. Digital Learning now has 10 different metrics in terms of how to measure how a state manages digital literacy/digital learning, some of these metrics include, but are not limited to: Quality content, instruction, eligibility, and accessibility. As of the 2014-2015 school year, out of the 50 states within America, 24 states have received the grades of a D or an F. In other words, this means 48% of students in America are receiving below normal, or even abysmal services in regards to digital learning, which is not only incredibly disadvantageous to our students, but it is a complete disservice to any other stakeholder in the education system (for more information, please visit: http://www.digitallearningnow.com/report-card/).

The Elephant in the Room: Students

Stakeholders have been working diligently to resolve the daunting issues pertaining to the technological boom, and how students can learn effectively with technology and instruction of technology, yet nearly every policymaker has completely and utterly disregarded the elephant in the room. In fact, this elephant happens to be, by far the largest stakeholder in education, the students. Why haven’t we engaged our students in the discussion of technology? Why aren’t we tapping into the first generation of students that have been born in the age of the internet or the computer? Why aren’t we asking what they think is the quintessential aspect of digital learning? The boards of education are silent in this country, and so is the state legislatures when it concerns the inclusion of students in the conversation, and that is the greatest disservice of all within this potential educational crisis. That being said, there are some state agencies, such as Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education that have a student serve on a Digital Learning Council, but a sporadic instance of a couple of students serving one some agencies is not enough to engage the 14.8 million high school students within these United States. Let’s change the conversation and ensure that all stakeholders are being engaged and invited to policy discussions. This can be accomplished through existing student advisory councils across the country creating a digital learning task force that reports to their respective Departments of Education.