I have been working toward creating a portfolio for my upcoming teacher growth and evaluation at my school. This portfolio is a demonstration of student learning, but it also represents my desire and willingness to learn as a professional. With this project I researched several methods and means of designing units, and I found that I was most drawn to using the Understanding by Design (UbD) planning framework. My primary focus was to create a summative assessment first, then create formative assessments that clearly fit within and indicated student progress leading up to their summative. | |
The unit was centered around the essential question, "Are we born with an inherent sense of morality?" and I wanted students to answer this question in an argumentative essay that synthesized a plethora of informational texts (both of which are standards that I needed to address before the end of the school year). However, in order to make any of this work for me and my students, I needed to do a lot of research on what UbD is and how to properly employ it in my classroom. Therein lies the challenge. Educating myself. And, this gets at the true nature of my current course, EDL 7510 "Improving productivity and practice with technology."
I find that so often I consider a professional learning network as a means to connect and communicate with others. A digital sewing circle in which people share ideas and grow. But, what I am quickly learning is that this is a very one-dimensional view of "network." A network involves being connected, yes. But it doesn't quite matter what I bring to the table. It matters that I can professionally grow and learn through the vast expanse of the internet. I can take a brief YouTube course by Grant Wiggins on Understanding by Design and feel confident enough to employ such ideas in my own classroom. Everyone has the potential to be an expert. That's a pretty cool thought.
I find that so often I consider a professional learning network as a means to connect and communicate with others. A digital sewing circle in which people share ideas and grow. But, what I am quickly learning is that this is a very one-dimensional view of "network." A network involves being connected, yes. But it doesn't quite matter what I bring to the table. It matters that I can professionally grow and learn through the vast expanse of the internet. I can take a brief YouTube course by Grant Wiggins on Understanding by Design and feel confident enough to employ such ideas in my own classroom. Everyone has the potential to be an expert. That's a pretty cool thought.