Renee Milano

1. Renee Milano Spring Has Sprung Journal Reflections 3 &4

2. The Hustle & Bustle Before Break Planning to Standards • Group presentations; The class divided into five groups and each group researched the standards for the different subject areas in education. My group covered the National and State Standards for The Arts. • Role play “Curriculum Night for Parents” The presentations were thorough and well prepared, we shared all the information each group had gathered with the whole class in an exciting “role play.” I thought this was a creative and interesting way to present the material we were learning, as fellow students acted as curious parents. The inquiries from the class allowed each group to think of the standards as they actually relate to the classroom and how they will need to explain them to parents in the future! • A Quiz A quiz is given to ensure some of the vast amount of information has been absorbed. Studying for the quiz helped me to grasp most of the standards, it was a great self assessment tool to wrap up this unit.

3. Webquests are Lurking • The Webquest’s surprised the class as we were whirling with standards. As the dead line approached some of the class was still confused as to what exactly to do. Dr. S. gracefully extended the due date…fhhheewww! The class was relieved to say the least. The assignment to explore, evaluate and compare webquests of our choice, allowed the class to explore an area of education that is new and exciting for both teachers and students. • With an extension I was able to spend more time exploring webquests that relate to my UP topic (weather). I found incredibly interesting webquests and one I will absolutely use in my UP. There are many creative ideas and resources entangled in the webquests. There are many resources for students to utilize when learning or researching topics of interest. I learned a great deal about where education stands as far as technology in the classroom is concerned.

4. Half Way There With half of the semester completed, there is still much more to do. Wendy wraps it up for the class with her Micro teaching. She presents an activity to the class where we all have to brainstorm the material and content we’ve covered in this class up to spring break. Here’s what we came up with: Concepts Learning styles, National standards, State Standards, Curriculum, Pedagogical Systems, Multiple Intelligences, Planning & Assessments! Philosophies/Theories Educational Theories; Existentialism, Perrenialism, Progressivism, Reconstructivism & Essentialism Learning Theories; Cognitive, Brain based, Multiple Intelligence, Constructivism, Mental Age & System Approach Experiences Microteaching, Group Presentations, Research, Reflections, Learning WebCT, Online Classes & Curriculum Library Skills Cooperation, Presenting, Teaching, Group Work, Planning, Organizing, Public Speaking, pdf skills, Reflections, Self Evaluations & Peer Evaluations. Can our brains handle the 2nd half of the semester?

5. What Spring Break? ~ Content Analysis ~ • Erin introduced Content Analysis to the class with her yummy presentation of how to make a Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich. As she broke down the procedure into very specific steps, she demonstrated the basic idea of content analysis; • “The process of breaking down, structuring kind of learning experience that the teacher expects the student to know how to perform.” • Dr. S. asked that the class design a graphic organizer that illustrated our understanding of Content Analysis, by using the materials and resources she provided on WebCT. By designing a graphic organizer, I was able to develop a stronger sense of what CA entailed and how it relates to my UP. I find graphic organizers to be a great way to organize the information my head. When creating one I can be imaginative and it seems to be a successful method for me to grasp the material. Now we’re rolling……

6. Piecing Together our UPAs we begin to unfold the pieces of designing a UP we discuss the implementation and importance of assessment • Assessment ~ is the means to determine a student’s mastery and understanding of the information, skills, concepts or processes. It is a system that uses variety of tools and procedures to obtain information and collect data regarding student’s progress. • The assignment: • We each completed a graphic organizer that demonstrated our understanding of authentic assessment and how it relates to the UP. There are three types of assessment, namely Diagnostic, Formative and Summative. Each type has a particular role throughout the planning process. The components of assessment are measurement, evaluation and assessment (reflection). As a result of reading the provided material on the topic and filling in the concept graphic organizer, I learned that is it is vital to pre-assess before planning or as an initial step in introducing a new topic or unit. By pre-assessing a teacher can gain a better understanding of the skills the students already possess and then plan for the need areas, in other word, decide which area to hone in on when planning. I also found that assessment is an ongoing process or systematic tool used in teaching. It is beneficial to the teacher’s methods of teaching and for the student’s learning processes.

7. Aims, Goals & Objectives More Pieces of the UP Puzzle • Aims ~ are the most general statements that provide direction or intent to educational action. • Goals ~ are the statements of educational intention that are more specific than aims. • Objectives ~ are the most specific statements of educational intention that describe general or specific outcomes. While discussing Aims, Goals and Objectives I realized how they apply to my UP. I feel I would apply them when planning my UP by beginning with the Aims. The Aims would give me the basis of what requirement I will need to incorporate based on the National and State Standards.

8. Time is Ticking Away! Oh No!…the end is nearing rapidly, so our class has been moving at a fast pace. There has been so much information divulged to us and we have had to process it all and apply it to our ever so evolving Unit Plans. As we are getting further along the process of putting everything together I am more excited about what the end product might be. I have much more to do though so planning and organization are crucial. With weather being the theme of my UP I’m even more enthusiastic because the topic is an interest of my own. At some points throughout the past few weeks I’ve felt as though I’m holding on with clinched fists to keep up with the work but I know it will be worth it in the end. I will have learned a great deal about curriculum planning while strengthening my organizational skills. I have also found that there has been an incredible amount of peer tutoring. This has been a great way for us to work together and I have learned a lot from my fellow classmates. I have even used some of their ideas to gain better understanding of specific areas from our discussion forum. I’m proud to be a part of such an intelligent and hardworking class.

9. The End