TPACK Ch 7 TPACK in Mathematics in Education

I found Neal Grandgenett's chapter much more readable than previous chapters. His use of Albert Einsteins quotes throughout were potentially a bit cliche but he pulled it off by elaborating on them and using more extended versions instead of t-shirt and poster sound-bites. I would like to read the Primer and Phillips book, Everything Einstein, 2003.

Technology integration questions are brought up throughout the chapter with the classic math calculator question as a springboard - When should students use a calculator when learning math? I believe this question can now be extended beyond calculators a more philosophical one about any technology that humans rely on for information, computation or decision guiding processes. What knowledge should reside in our biological brains compared to our silicon-based assistants (cell phones, computers, online accounts...)?

In Neal's discussion of what the study of mathematics really is, he notes how the "human" or creative element gives interest and beauty to the subject and how not considering the human element can reduce the spirit and depth of the subject.

Here is a distillation of the Qualities of a Math teacher with TPCK from Chapter 7:

They are:

• relative openness to experimentation
• will "try" technology based lessons on a regular and spontaneous basis with their students
• strive to be consistently "on-task" for the mathematical topic
• know "where" their students are conceptually, "what" they need to achieve the next step
• characteristically embrace the administrative capabilities of technology
  
• do their best to be caring teachers who are comfortable and optimistic for change

I found this chapter the most readable to date. It was full of rich examples and excellent suggestions for teachers of any subject

TPACK Ch4 E-TPACK

Hughes and Scharber's title is pedantic. The word deictic causes me cognitive dissonance; a condition that is encouraged throughout chapter 4 to foster more knowledge development in in-service teachers. Besides the pedantic title, I found Hughes' previous research promotion and E-TPCK claim staking in the second paragraph rather donnish.

Beyond the awkward first impression, this chapter was well organized, had insightful case studies and reinforced the UMF Masters Program organizational philosophy that [technology] integration "can not be accomplished through isolated technology experiences or without ongoing discussion, modeling and evaluation" (Bowman, 2000).

The authors acknowledge that E-TPCK and TPCK in are temporary concepts and it is important to currently differentiate between TK and PCK until technology integration becomes more culturalized in schools. The Ed-U-Tech program at the University of Minnesota that was initially supported by the now archived Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) initiative has a similar structure to our graduate courses. I liked that the co-inqury, multi-genre writing project assigned only 2 to 4 middle school student to each pre-service teacher and that a hybrid form of face time and Internet and Communication Technology (ICT) were used to facilitate the project.

The case studies highlighted differences in technology integration. Contrasting Laura's case with Nell's case was particularly interesting. Laura' s use of general technology resources to support her teaching as opposed to Nell's richer integration experience that was grounded in her English content and pedagogy knowledge really highlighted differences in technology integration quality. Nell's playful, informal learning of different technologies really supported her integration efforts. I believe all teacher's, when motivated to use technology, need time to play with the ICT themselves in order to be comfortable enough to use it in the classroom.

TPACK Ch3 K-6 Literacy

Schmidt and Gurbo begin with paraphrasing Moat's work that identifies teaching students to read as a fundamental responsibility with which 20 percent of students encounter difficulties. This responsibility can be accomplished by 95 percent of students (Fletcher & Lyon, 1998). After some general literacy comments, essential TPC knowledge for K-6 literacy is discussed and then ways for teachers to learn specific knowledge related to TPC and literacy are shared.

Schmidt and Gurbo consider literacy a complex and "moving target" (Kinzer & Leander, 2003) that needs to recognize new forms of literacy (informational, computer, film and video...) that incorporate ICT (information and communication technologies). I found Kinzer & Leander's quote about changing comprehension and decoding processes as the medium of the message changes to be surprising. I had expected that comprehension and decoding processes may be constant and general enough to be applied to all media forms.

Essential literacy content knowledge was grouped by:

• language structure
• vocabulary
• comprension
  
• fluency
• an comprehension

which align with the IRA's (International Reading Association) first standard.

Using literature circles or reader's/writer' workshops where exploratory talks, literature logs and self-paced reading could be incorporated would create effective collaborative and social experiences for becoming literate. It was noted that the use of technology at the elementary level often does not incorporate the whole writing process. Students may use it more for publishing finished work only. Although later in the chapter, several open, type II productivity and creative technology tools that could be used for different parts of the writing process were introduced. For instance, the software from Inspiration Software Inc., Kidspiration, Inspiration could be used in different parts of the writing process. They are great for concept mapping, brainstorming and facilitating concept sortign and organization in a non-linear way.

I am interested in investigating the hand held software like GoKnow, assistive technologies like the Reading Pen, Some of the incredible software from Crick Software like WriteOnline and Clicker 5 (I want to use some of these with my own children!) , other more developmentally appropriate productivity software for younger kids like Storybook Weaver Deluxe, Kid Pix and eZedia, and web resources like ReadWriteThink, atozteacherstuff, thinkport.org and webquest.org.

Challenging essay prompt - CLCE

I would like to see how my students would respond to such an essay prompt from the Children Leading Change in Education Facebook group:

IF A MIRACLE WERE TO HAPPEN...

If the school system as you know it (including teachers as 'experts', the National Curriculum, compulsory subjects, timetabled lessons, tests, grades, levels, homework, detentions and school uniform) D I S A P P E A R E D in a cloud of smoke and you woke up tomorrow morning to find an entirely NEW system of education in place...

WHAT WOULD YOU WANT THE NEW SYSTEM TO LOOK, SOUND AND FEEL LIKE?

The Utube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tahTKdEUAPk

and 50 questions from teachers who watched the video from Kevin W. Rileys Blog.

Obama recognizes Mass has clear Standards

I was surprised that President Obama recognized the clarity of the Massachusetts standards in his blog on March 10th. I agree with him, - as noted in the previous collaboration post.

President Obama said:

"We will end what has become a race to the bottom in our schools and instead, spur a race to the top by encouraging better standards and assessments. This is an area where we are being outpaced by other nations. It’s not that their kids are any smarter than ours – it’s that they are being smarter about how to educate their kids. They are spending less time teaching things that don’t matter, and more time teaching things that do. They are preparing their students not only for high school or college, but for a career. We are not. Our curriculum for eighth graders is two full years behind top performing countries. That is a prescription for economic decline. I refuse to accept that America’s children cannot rise to this challenge. They can, they must, and they will meet higher standards in our time. 


Let’s challenge our states to adopt world-class standards that will bring our curriculums into the 21st century.

The solution to low test scores is not lower standards – it’s tougher, clearer standards. Standards like those in Massachusetts, where 8th graders are now tying for first – first – in the world in science.

And I am calling on our nation’s Governors and state education chiefs to develop standards and assessments that don’t simply measure whether students can fill in a bubble on a test, but whether they possess 21st century skills like problem-solving and critical thinking, entrepreneurship and creativity."

--March 10, 2009

Stage 1 colleague support and communicaiton

When working with my colleague, John MacDonald, there is a important foundation of mutual respect and openness in our conversations. In order to collaborate, it has been beneficial for us to be flexible with our personal teaching styles and expectations. When describing Stage 1, I considered John's teaching experience and perspective when describing it to him.

Specific standards for vocational programs are in flux. Over the past few years vocational schools have been working on cross-walking what they do with academic standards from the MLR, but more recently they are focusing on national and technical certification standards as guidelines for their programs. We looked at the MLRs for the 9-12th grade Science and Technology B2:Technological Design process standards and compared them to Massachusetts' Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Frameworks. The big ideas are essentially the same as the MLRs but the Massachusetts' Frameworks are clearer and more comprehensive with regard to engineering and technology standards.

John recommended we consider having students start with some seed money or materials and upon a the presentation of their conceptual design they could be granted additional resources for building the prototype.

TPACK Ch6 Toward Democracy

John K. Lee describes his content area as complicated and lacking lacking clear academic and disciplinary structure. The subject matter comes from history, geography, political science, economics, behavioral sciences, cultural studies and other content areas.

I found it interesting how the author referenced Schwab's 1964 work that considered structures in academic disciplines as enablers of new knowledge contributions by scholars. Schwab also attributes those structures to being able to verify the legitimacy of the new knowledge. Is the author saying that new knowledge in social studies can not be contributed or verified? I do not think so. I believe he is just trying to set up a social studies framework as one that grows not from the traditional ill-defined subject of social studies but from Thorton's (2001) idea of selecting, adapting and transforming disciplinary content for teaching.

In the authors second of six technological pedagogical actions he describes how to facilitate students' work in non-linear environments where students select from many resources and navigate many interfaces. My colleagues and I have been experiencing this in our graduate class. Dr. Grace has been teaching us how to use many tools and resources in a non-linear environment. I like to learn in this kind of environment. I find non-linear class environments similar to how Landlow (1992) describes hypertext. It is empowering and gives the reader (or student) the freedom to navigate various nodes according to their needs. And navigating non-linear web resources is an active process that I find engaging.

Finally, I see incredible opportunities for using technological pedagogy in social studies with online survey and poll tools to make civic decisions. We have been using online surveys with our staff and students to help guide decisions about the day to day environment at our school. Surveys that fully disclose the results to all participants are great springboards for discussion and allow more people to contribute meaningfully to important issues. Our active survey includes issues about teen pregnancy, school health clinics, birth control distribution, student academic apathy and student run winter carnival events. Online survey tools really can help facilitate active and authentic interactions. I would like to use the online survey tools for our spring student council elections.