Breeana+Merryman

My personal learning style was tactile / kinesthetic. I knew I always needed something in my hands and I had to complete something myself successfully in order to fully understand the concept. Many of the suggestions offered to improve my study skills are one that I already partake in. The one new one that I think I may try sometime is to walk back and forth while studying. This makes sense because I will be moving/doing something different with my body as I am retaining needed information. The CAST website is very user friendly and provides many examples and materials for educators on how to provide instruction to all students in their classroom. In addition to providing resources it also gave explanations and history to why it is important to provide UDL in today’s classroom. As a special educator I need to differentiate all of my lessons and this website provide me with examples when I am working with a student with needs I am not as familiar with. Chapter 6 discussed the individualization of instruction and how instruction needs to be set up in a fashion that provides multiple ways for students to access information, work with information and show an understand of the content. The book provides many supportive arguments for UDL and how it is necessary in today’s education. It provides tools both general and special educators can utilize to help them plan curriculum in a UDL fashion. Another student commented on Chapter 6 and remarked how valuable it is for developing lessons.
 * 1. In completing the learning styles survey, did you learn anything new about your personal learning style, or did the information confirm what you have already determined about how you learn best? Were there any suggestions offered for improving your study skills that you had not considered before? **
 * 2. What was your overall impression of the CAST website? **
 * 3. Did you find any interesting information in the electronic version of //Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age//? Describe how you might incorporate that information in your teaching. **

As a special educator I have worked with the CAST website in previous courses and have gotten many examples of how to differentiate how my students access the content as well as explain their understanding of the content. I have gotten students over the year with unique needs that I was not as familiar with. It is important to understand that no two children learn the same, so I had to develop new ways to teach these students so they would successfully understand the material. It is also important to remember that what works for a child at one point in their educational career may not work for them later and your techniques will change. The CAST website is designed well in that it states various learning styles and several techniques to help each of those styles.
 * 4. Differentiation of instruction is a topic that is stressed in public schools today. Did any of the resources provided at the CAST website give you some new tools in helping you plan lessons for all learners? **

I completed the activity where I was creating an Indian and Italian dinner and I had to look at all three elements of a UDL and list my strengths and challenges. This is a good resource to use in the beginning of a unit with students’ strengths and needs to help guide your instruction to meet their needs. I thought it would be a good idea to have students reflect on their own strengths and what they can contribute to a group project before they begin work on a cooperative learning experience. I also completed an activity where I had to look at pictures and list elements that catch your attention quickly. This was an interesting activity because it justified how each person may look at the same picture/object with various outcomes. Students in a classroom will take one object/concept and interpret it based on individual characteristics. As a special educator I have to differentiate everything my co-teacher and I teach, not only for those students with special needs but for everyone because of the different learning styles. We tend to teach using various stations, especially in math, because it allows us to differentiate the material and provide strategies to teach students based on their individual needs. The CAST website provides many examples of how material and teaching styles can be tweaked to meet individual needs. When I feel I am ‘stuck’ on a lesson or concept, the CAST website is a beneficial resource. I find the research interesting. They are continually changing their thoughts on how things should be and why. I think it is helpful to know this information so I can best provide accommodations/differentiated lessons for my students. After reading research, I can have a better understanding as to why something needs to be the way it is and can explain it to parents I work with.
 * 5. What was your reaction to the 2 activities in which you participated? Did you gain any new insight into your strengths and talents through these exercises? **
 * 6. Many of my graduate students who are teachers have expressed concern that they don’t feel equipped to sufficiently plan differentiated lessons for their students, but they have responded quite positively to the materials at CAST. Is this a resource that you may put to use in your teaching or share with colleagues at your school? **
 * 7. What would you like to know/explore more at CAST? **

Virtual Fieldtrips are a wonderful addition to classroom instruction. They allow for technology to be integrated in the classroom and provide students with real-world examples. Although many of these fieldtrips seemed to be more beneficial for older students, I enjoyed [] because it showed how children lived long ago. This would be a good experience for students to get a firsthand sight as to how children lived and what they wore. I would use this in the classroom and have students write a comparison as to how they live today versus how students lived long ago. I like the idea that you could have students make comparisons to how they dress today and how they would like to have to dress like children did 200 years ago. I also would like to incorporate the [] - fieldtrip in my classroom because it provides a visual for students to better understand the rock cycle. Virtual Fieldtrips seem to be a wonderful tool to use in the beginning of a unit to engage students about upcoming curriculum content. It also is beneficial to incorporate when creating UDL with differentiation because it provides instruction to a diverse audience in that multiple components of learning styles will be addressed. Often funds in schools are being cut and one of the first to go are field trips. By incorporating virtual fieldtrips, students are able to experience different education settings where they can link what they are learning to the real world. Providing the linking between these two is so important because it gives children the answer to ‘why’ they’re learning something and make it more meaningful for them.

Lot's of fun, sure, but don't you want them to actually, physically play, too?

John Dewey and Progressive Education media type="custom" key="19637648"

I enjoyed creating my glog because it allowed me to be creative as to how I presented the information I found. This website was VERY user-friendly and was easy to learn how to input various resources. This woud be a great tool for students to use to discuss book reports, or any research project on mostly any topic; however I feel it would be more appropriate for older students rather than my primary elementary students.

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Great job on this, Bree, regardless of our technology problems in the classroom!

Final Project -

http://mrsmerrymansclassroom.wikispaces.com/

For my final project I created a classroom wikispace. This is my first year teaching 2nd grade and having my own classroom so a wikispace is a beneficial way for parents to recieve information about content areas as well as helpful resources. I also used the wikispace to create a based page where information can be exchanged and shared such as monthly book clubs, star of the week, and birthday celebrations. On this page there is also a class calendar where information will be updated.

This class wikispace will continually be updated and changed based upon current events and up to date information.