1.1 Candidates will be able to design meaningful activities and learning experiences that incorporate the guiding principles of Universal Design for Learning and appropriate technology tools and resources.
For this artifact, I redesigned a unit from teacher-centered to a learner-centered lesson. The unit was taken from a BCPS mathematics curriculum. I changed the lessons, so that the main focus was student engagement and hands-on activities. The students had to understand the importance of digital clocks and how to read them correctly. The students were able to walk around the school building and identify where they see the clocks at and what type (digital or analog) of clocks. Then in the classroom, I had a huge clock made out of tape on the floor. In small groups, they were able to have their own analog clock to practice with. The backs of the clocks would tell them the answer, so they were able to self-check. The students were in charge of their learning and were able to represent their learning in multiple ways. There was whole group, small group, and individual activities.
1.2 Candidates will be able to apply a learner-centered framework, including learner-centered principles, to the development of learning activities.
I applied learner-centered framework to a first grade math lesson. The students were able to explore their environment to learn about clocks and how to tell time. I had the students take charge of their learning and complete multiple activities in small group and whole group. At the end, they had student choice in order to represent their learning.
1.3 Candidates will be able to design learning opportunities that facilitate creative problem solving, communication, collaboration and critical thinking.
I created a Powerpoint that showed teachers how to create a Breakout EDU for their classroom. Breakout EDU can be created to accommodate a certain set of students based on a subject. Teachers create a game where students have to solve problems to unlock the locks. As a team, students have to communicate and collaborate in order to solve the problem. Critical thinking has to be done in order to “Breakout.”
1.4 Candidates model and promote diversity, cultural understanding, and global awareness by using digital-age communication and collaboration tools to interact locally and globally.
This artifact is a website that my group created in order to get teachers involved to have their students collaborate with other students around the world. The main focus was for students to use Skype to work in small groups and discuss what makes things “unique.” Then they learned about different games and how people around the world play different games. As a group, the students work through Skype to create a new game, come up with rules, and what materials you need to play. Then they had to present their new game to both classes. This lesson was based on collaboration with other classes from around the world through the use of technology.