Part 3
CONTEXTClick to enlarge.
I currently am a secondary Social Studies teacher in the Upper School at University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe Woods, MI. I have taught a variety of core classes and electives to 9th, 11th, and 12th graders in such diverse subjects as World History, American Government, Comparative Government, Global Issues, Ancient Rome, and African History. For this Dream It grant proposal my specific setting will be a combined 11th-12th grade classroom teaching Human Geography for the first time. The classroom size currently resides at 10 students, however it could settle anywhere from 8-14 students depending on schedule changing necessities. The students are of varying abilities and levels of academic achievement as every class in History and English at University Liggett School (ULS) is mainstreamed.
At ULS we support the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy so as to satisfy the needs of every type of learner. Students that do not have their own portable device are encouraged to use their smart phones when applicable, but also can check out resources from multiple laptop (Chrome Books) carts and utilize two computer labs (PC and Mac) that are updated with software for most current and popular programs. Specifically in this class I hope to integrate current geographic and non-geographic technology to provide differentiated lessons when discussing such topics as population, migration, ethnicity, religion, and politics. |
ContentClick to enlarge.
Students often consider geography in terms of specific places, directions, or terms like longitude and latitude. Though these basic terms and understanding of specific places will still be essential to the content of the course, these are not the big ideas and questions that I would like my students to consider.
The textbook I will be providing highlights and explains the major concepts and terminology of human geography by covering topics such as diversity, ethnicity, language, population, migration, nationality, politics, religion, and several other topics. Though my students must know the specific meaning of these terms and concepts, I want them to use the information and tools around them to provide information and pose solutions to larger themes. It will be difficult for them to differentiate between the basic concepts and major questions as first time learners in the subject. Therefore, I must provide strong essential questions and assessments that will allow them to overcome this misconception and look beyond the surface of the content information. Specifically, two major questions I hope to pose to my students include, how does interaction affect the human population physically and politically and what are the major geographic issues that face the human population? Students can use the major themes and concepts described in the text to come to a conclusion, but they will need experience and research in these issues to truly solve them. Howard Gardner states, “It should be evident that I believe even less in ‘core knowledge’ or ‘cultural literacy’; not only is this an idle pursuit, but it conveys a view of learning that is at best superficial and at worst anti-intellectual.”[i] Like Gardner, I hope for my students to become intellectuals in this content. This will involve experience with research and the current state of their topic for them to reach the goal of seeing human geography as interactive. [i] Howard Gardner, “The Disciplined Mind: What All Students Should Understand,” in The New York Times, accessed on July 24, 2013, 9.
Photo credit: Copyright © 2000-2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., or related companies. All rights reserved. |
TechnologyThe specific technology resources necessary to make my goal of seeing human geography as interactive will involve the integration of iPads into the classroom. iPads are essential to this process because they are mobile, easy to access, and will allow everyone to communicate throughout the course. Though laptops and PCs could be used to make this possible they are not as mobile as the iPad and also are less cost-effective. The ability to use the technology that exists on a laptop or desktop for a fraction of the cost is an important factor in making this a feasible outcome. Integration of iPad technology will allow students to interview, record, take photos and videos, and integrate with their classmates on the go and allow the classroom to live beyond its four walls.
Programs like Google Earth, World Atlas, New York Times, Associated Press, CNN, etc., and Edmodo are just a few of the applications students will be able to use in the classroom. In my CEP 811 class we studied mobile learning, which gave me an advantage in this assignment as I researched the mobile aspect of learning in a social studies context.[i] Applying aspects of mobile learning and specific applications to this human geography classroom will allow students to experience human geography instead of simply learning it. Due to this functionality the iPad makes most sense to further my goal of making human geography more interactive. [i] View my blog response on mobile learning here: http://spcep811.edublogs.org/2013/04/21/mobile-learning-experience/
|
PedagogyClick to enlarge. From Day 4 PP.
Though Watson and Kopnicek discuss conceptual change mostly in the subject of science, I believe their findings on overcoming misconception in the learning process to be useful pedagogical approaches to my own human geography class. I expect that when my students struggle with conceptual understanding that I will need to stress relevance of the topic, force them to make predictions on the outcome, and push for consistency in their research methods.[i] These approaches seem appropriate considering Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development and the ability of secondary students to have formed the ability to produce logic and consider moral reasoning. Therefore, I will need to use a differentiated approach that provides real world application of the topics of human geography, provide instances and problems that do not have an immediate solution, and force them to question the material they are observing for bias and have them seek out opposite opinions.
In our class we discussed a portion of Girod’s dissertation on aesthetic versus systematic learning. Using Dewey’s principles, Girod questions, “could powerful and meaningful learning be facilitated? If so, what are the effects of such efforts?”[ii] I agree with Dewey and Girod, that if successful this is the most effective method to making learning meaningful and for acquiring understanding. As I implement this process, I must consider what specific strategies will help continue to prove Dewey and Girod correct. I believe for my specific classroom these processes will include scaffolding and the aspects of behaviorism known as prompting and fading for them to become comfortable with the main concepts of the class. Next, I hope to use intrinsic motivation as the students and myself discover and try to solve current issues that exist in the field of human geography. Through these pedagogical approaches I will create the powerful aesthetic learning experiences described by Dewey and Girod and move students closer to viewing human geography as interaction. [i] Bruce Watson and Richard Kopnicek, “Teaching for Conceptual Change: Confronting Children’s Experience, Phi Delta Kappan, last modified May 1990, http://www.virtual.ufc.br/cursouca/modulo_3/Teaching%20for%20Conceptual%20Change.htm, 680-4.
[ii] M. Girod, “Teaching for the Aesthetic Understanding,” 2001, http://www.wou.edu/~girodm/cases.pdf, 1. |
The Total TPackagePhoto Credit: David T. Jones
Mishra and Koehler caution in their article on the impact of the TPACK in the classroom that “creative repurposing is important because most technologies that teachers use typically have not been designed for educational purposes.”[i] That is why it will be important to remind students of the focus of this class: to understand how human geography is interactive. Though the applications will assist students in this area it will be through a balance of teaching methods, content knowledge, and technological competency that the student and the teacher will be successful in this course. Levstik and Barton state, “To understand information—not simply repeat it—students must connect it to their previous understanding. Textbooks cannot do that; instead, teachers—the people who know students best—have to find out what they know and how to build on that knowledge.”[ii] This quote on inquiry seems extremely relevant to my topic because it will be my job as an educator to figure out students understanding of basic human geography since this is the first time we have offered this subject. It will only be through the balance of pedagogy, content, and technology that this will be achieved.
Therefore, my approach to creating the total “TPACKage” will be to create lessons at first that revolve around what my students know and what they would like to know. Based on this early information I will be able to develop more complex lessons, using differentiated instruction, to apply the content necessary for the class. Finally, through the integration of technology I will introduce assessments that ask the students to first research the major themes and questions, compile their data and argument, then present this information using the technological tools at their disposal to the best of their abilities. [i] Punya Mishra and Matthew Koehler, “Too Cool For School? No Way!,” Learning and Leading with Technology, May 2009 and accessed on June 28, 2013, http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ839143.pdf.
[ii] Linda S. Levstik and Keith C. Barton, “The Theory Behind Disciplined Inquiry,” in Doing History: Investigating With Children in Elementary and Middle Schools (Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), 12. |
The SAMR ModelPhoto credit Tim Klapdor
In considering the SAMR model and my approach to this grant proposal, I believe the implementation of iPads in this human geography course will be seen at each level that the SAMR model (i.e. substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition) discusses for technological change in the classroom. In terms of turning in assignments or receiving information directly from the teacher, the iPad will substitute for this by allowing me to upload this information digitally onto a course page provided through Edmodo. Augmentation will take place by discussing maps and graphs that would exist on print outs or in textbooks digitally through the use of applications like Google maps. This will also enhance knowledge, as students will be able to take direct annotations on maps and graphs and save them for later use. Through the use of online databases, media outlet applications, and Google Drive the research process will be modified to exist digitally. The ability to share this information via the internet will improve and speed up the process of peer and teacher review. Finally, the assessment process will be altered, as students will have a multitude of Web 2.0 tools and software at their disposal to present their understanding in creative and unique ways that are most efficient to them.
|