Tay's Educatonal Path

EDU 652: Topics as a Learning Activity

Early Childhood Education Researcher Project:  Topics Learning Activity

Students who participate in this activity are a part of a post-secondary education class pursuing their Associate’s or Bachelor’s degrees.  The activity is meant to be self-guided with frequent feedback at checkpoints by the instructor.

A “topics” learning activity is “the lowest-level learning object in a course or other knowledge product, it is the building block of instruction that accomplishes a single learning objective” (Horton, 2012).  The learning objectives, as stated in the Needs Assessment, are to

-Create a presentation that summarizes research.

-Know basic facts about an Early Childhood Education researcher.

It is of great importance to the work of Early Childhood professionals that they are rooted in the work of the past.  “Knowledge of history of early childhood education gives early childhood educators a sense of their roots in the past and an idea of how current approaches to working with children and families have grown out of previous thought and practice” (Feeney et al., 2010).

First, read the Needs Assessment to fully understand the purpose and objectives of this activity.

Needs Assessment

Next, follow the link to view the wiki assignment created through WikiSpaces.  Notice how each step is outlined clearly and has feedback options attached to it.  Each step of the learning activity could be considered a “topics” learning activity, in that it is a basic accomplishment of the learning objective attached to the assignment.

Early Childhood Education Researcher Assignment

Once the assignment has been viewed, it is important to go back to the previous mentioned learning objectives to note if and how the assignment accomplished them.  

Some additional resources for student reflection are as follows:

• Think about ways that the history of your family, community, culture, or country has influenced your life.
• Reflect on why it might be important to know about your own history and history in general.
• How did programs that you attended as a child, or that you have observed or taught in, seem to reflect what is described in the history of Early Childhood programs?
• Which of the programs researched could you picture yourself working in, teaching in, or running the overall program of?

(Feeney et al., 2010)

Resources

Christensen, D., Feeney, S., Moravcik, E., Nolte, S.  (2010).  Who Am I in the Lives of Children? An Introduction to Early Childhood Education (8th ed.).  Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Merrill.

Horton, W. K. (2012). e-Learning by Design (2 ed.). San Francisco: Pfeiffer.

Fun with Blogging

EDU 652: Creating and Implementing a Connect-Type Learning Activity
                                                                     

                              What is a Connect-Type Activity?                                     

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Horton describes connect type activities as those that prepare students to close the gap between learning and the rest of their lives. He also encourage learners to integrate what they are learning with what they know. Connect activities bridge gaps. There are six different types of connect activities: Ponder activities, Questioning activities, Stories by learners, Job aids, Research activities and Original work (Horton, p164),

The connect type activity that I have selected to use was based on the need assessment of my Pre-kindergarten class of seventeen students. The need assessment was performed to see what the student knew about the book: The Very Hungray Caterpillar. As we did the discussion about the book, a lot of the children understood that  a butterfly  would occur at the end of the story.

So I decided to use the Stories by learners” as the connect-type activity for this particular group of students. It was selected due to the age of the students and the limited capabilities these students would have when it came to the other connect-type activities listed above. Stories are what Pre-kindergarten students enjoy the most whether it be listening to a story or telling one on their own. The students will listen to an absorb-type activity and will then tell their own story as a connect-type activity (Horton, 2012).  This will be a good way to observe the students for listening skills.

Horton (2012) tells us that storytelling activities allow students to tell stories that are related to what they are learning about.  Horton also explains that storytelling should be made optional where students are encouraged to share but are not demanded to.
Tompkins(2002) also stated that children responds to stories in different ways.  In the article he list five ways children respond:
Dramatizing. Children spontaneously act out the story in both nonverbal and verbal ways
Talking Back. Children talk back to the characters, giving them advice or criticizing and complimenting them.
Critiquing / Controlling. Children suggest alternative plots, characters, or settings to personalize the story,
Inserting. Children insert themselves or their friends into the story,
Taking Over. Children take over the text and manipulate it to express their own creativity; these responses are usually humorous and provide an opportunity for children to show off.
 In this activity, the students will share their experience about the Book: Very Hungry Caterpillar. .  At this age level it would be a good idea to have the students participate in a do-type activity of drawing a picture to illustrate the different items the Hungry Caterpill ate because some students  may feel more comfortable sharing with a picture rather than just telling their story aloud. Horton (2012) five elements for a simple story structure that would be good to follow:

1.   Setting: When and where does the story occur?
2.   Characters:  Who is involved?
3.   Conflict: What difficulty had to be overcome?
4.   Resolution: How did things work out?
5.   Moral:  What is the point of the story?
Activity:
      This is a youtubevideo by Stillfran(2009) Book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carles

The activity will begin with the students watching a youtube video of a book. Afterward we would have a group discussion about the story. The children would be given an assignment of a do-type activity which would be creating a book of their own with the different items that the Very Hungry Caterpillar ate. They would also be challenged to see if they could remember the sequence and how many fruits the caterpillar ate each day. This activity would also help with the days of the week.

I would be measuring if the students can create a book and remember the sequence or order of the fruits the caterpillar ate through and what happen on each day.   They would also be asked the following questions:

• Who was very hungry?
• What are some of the items that the Very Hungry Caterpillar ate?
• What did the Caterpillar turn into at the end of the Book?

The information will be collect in a class book and reported back to the children as a story by the class.

 Reference:

Horton, W. (2012). E-Learning by design (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Wiley

Stillfran, (2009) The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Retrieved on November 8th from: http://youtu.be/48kywlA0gqw

Tompkins, g. ( 2002) How do Children Respond to Stories. Retrived on Nov.9th from: http://www.education.com/reference/article/how-children-respond-stories/

EDU 652 Creating a Do-Type Activity

Creating a Do-Type Activity for EDU652

Do-Type Activity

Match the Memory

Letter*Sound Match

According to Horton (2012), Do-Type activities convert information gained from an absorb activity into skills and knowledge.  There are several types of Do-Type activities such as practice, discovery, games and simulations (Horton, 2012).  

Drill/practice is generally used to increase a student's ability in a newly learned skill or to refresh an existing one (Newby, Stepich, Lehman, Ottenbreit-Leftwich & Russell, 2011). There are some critics that suggest drill/practice activities can be boring and passive learning experiences (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2011).  Online, interactive drill/practice games can provide worthwhile supplemental learning events for students who need to gain mastery in any skill area.  Lever-Duffy and McDonald (2011) discuss how drill/practice software allows students to review and practice skills as often and as long as needed to help them reach the goal of mastery.  According to Newby et al. (2011), in order for drill/practice to be effective, the activities should provide feedback to correct errors students may make while participating.

Horton (2012) describes a three-step sequence of practice activities:

1. The activity is explained in detail and given to the student by the teacher or the computer software.
2. The student directly participates in the activity.
3. The student is given feedback from the teacher or the computer software.

Educators should carefully research and examine drill/practice software for academic alignment and value in the classroom (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2011).  Selecting a drill/practice game that students are familiar with makes learning to play the game easy and quick (Horton, 2012).

After much research, I selected and created an online memory game/practice for my assignment.  I chose a memory game because many of my kindergarten students would be familiar with this type of activity which would take less time to explain and give us more time to play.  My choice was also based on the results of the needs assessment I conducted through observation and data collection while assessing my students for their first quarter report cards.  The needs assessment as well as the data sheet were the tools I used to gauge which students needed extra practice on the letters and sounds that have been introduced to this point in my kindergarten class.  A small group of my students are well below the class average in letter naming and sound identification.  My hope in creating this online memory game is to provide these students with an engaging and fun activity to help them master their letter and sound skills.  

Here is the link to the memory game I created through the site, "Match the Memory":

Letter-Sound Match Memory Game

If you would like an introduction video on how to create your own memory game, Giddy (2012), from the Match the Memory site offers one to you:

Get Started Quickly on Match the Memory

I plan to use this Do-Type activity on my Smartboard with the small group of students mentioned above.  I will introduce the activity, going through it with fine detail and then we will work on it together.  After we have taken some time to work as a group, I will give the students some independent time to play the memory game on their own.  The can play as many times as they would like because the cards get switched around after every game.  I will even encourage the students to work together collaboratively.  With the introduction to the game, practice of the game together and some time for independent play, I anticipate this activity to take well over ten minutes.

This program allows you to create a game that offers instant feedback when the student correctly makes a match.  A window pops up and a bell rings.  An example of the window is below:

If the student does not correctly make a match, the cards simply turn back around and they are to try again.  When the student successfully completes the game, another window will pop up with cheering/applause and will provide a message along with the time it took for the student to complete the game and how many times the student turned over the cards.  It also tells the student an average of how many seconds and how many flips per card.

EDU652 Creating and Implementing a Connect-Type Learning Activity

What is a connect-type activity? What type was selected for this activity?

Horton (2012) describes connect activities as those that prepare students to apply learning in situations they come across at work, in their personal lives and in future learning efforts.  Connect activities bridge gaps of knowledge and skills that are already known to with new knowledge (Horton, 2012).  There are six different types of connect-type activities; ponder, questioning, stories by learners, job aides, research activities, and original work (Horton, 2012).
 

The connect-type activity selected for this assignment was based on a needs assessment of a Head Start class of seventeen students.  The needs assessment was performed to determine what knowledge these Head Start students had of Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) safety.  In a group discussion it was determined that several students had some knowledge of Mardi Gras safety.  The needs assessment determined that the students would be able to connect some prior knowledge to the knowledge that would be presented to them in after they participated in an absorb-type activity about Mardi Gras safety.
 

“Stories by learners” was the connect-type activity selected for this particular group of students. It was selected due to the age of the students and the limited capabilities these students would have when it came to some of the other connect-type activities listed above.  Stories are what Head Start  students enjoy the most whether it be listening to a story or telling one on their own.  The students will listen to an absorb-type activity and will then tell their own story as a connect-type activity (Horton, 2012).  This will be a good way to connect the students to their real-life experiences of parades on Mardi Gras day.  Horton (2012) tells us that storytelling activities allow students to tell stories that are related to what they are learning about.  In this case, the students will share their experience with parades.  This is relevant to the upcoming activities these students will participate in on or before Fat Tuesday. 
 

Horton (2012) explains that storytelling should be made optional where students are encouraged to share but are not demanded to.  He suggests that the students be given the assignment ahead of time so they will have time to think through their story.  At the Head Start level it would be a good idea to have the students participate in a do-type activity of drawing a picture to illustrate part of their story because some may feel more comfortable sharing with a picture rather than just telling their story aloud.  Horton (2012) offers five elements for a simple story structure that would be good to follow:

1.     Setting: When and where does the story occur?
2.      Characters: Who is involved?
3.      Conflict: What difficulty had to be overcome?
4.      Resolution: How did things work out?
5.     Moral: What is the point of the story?

At the Head Start level the students will need a model and example of how to tell their story.  Using a presentation type video of an example of the teacher telling a story following the simple story structure would help the students have an idea of what to include in their story.  Porter (2012) explains that digital storytelling helps to transform facts into easier understanding.  She shares that when students explore lessons learned they go beyond telling about the content and find a deeper significance.  Newby, Stepich, Lehman, Ottenbreit-Leftwich & Russell (2011) explain that multimedia and hypermedia are good choices for writing and storytelling.  They describe digital storytelling as a new type of storytelling using short multimedia narratives often created with video/audio to tell a compelling and/or personal story.  Porter (2012) suggests creating a docudrama where students step into the shoes of a person or character as an imaginative approach for weaving together important facts.  She explains that students will students demonstrate understanding of key concepts and deliver a lesson learned to disclose deeper thinking about their topics.

The Activity!

Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) is just around the corner and on the minds of the young and the old.  Head Start students in particular are very excited about dressing up and catching beads and toys.  Since Fat Tuesday is a big part of the end of January and beginning of February in most Louisiana schools, discussing Mardi Gras safety is important.  There is a need for this based on a discussion had with the seventeen students in this Head Start class.  The activity that will be used to determine whether or not students in this class connect their prior knowledge to the knowledge shared with them in the absorb-type activity is story telling by the learners.  The activity will begin with the students watching a short video describing Mardi Gras parades and the safety tips.  The video is posted below:

 Mardi Gras Safety Tips from Tom Lawyer “Mardi Gras safety tips from NOPD”

After the video is presented, a discussion will be had describing the tips given in the video.  The students will also share what they do for Fat Tuesday.  The students will then be given their assignment, a do-type activity where they will draw a picture of themselves at the parade on Fat Tuesday.  They will also be told that they will need to think of a story to tell (connect-type activity) of them going to the Mardi Gras parade and how was their experience.  They have the option of telling the story as themselves or they can try to imagine themselves as a character and describe in their story how they will follow the safety rules presented in the short video they watched.  This connect activity will be easier for some students and difficult for others.  The option to tell a story will be given or they may just share their picture.  Those students with higher level thinking skills and who are able to share stories on a regular basis of their world will be more apt to participate.  An example of storytelling will be presented to the students prior to them drawing their pictures and taking time to think up their stories.   The link to the example is below:

Mardi Gras for Kids

http://goneworleans.about.com/od/festivals/a/mgforkids.htm

 The students will present their stories or pictures to the group.  This activity may be broken up into a few segments due to the attention span of students at this level.  I am excited to have the students give this connect-type activity a try to see who will be able to connect their prior knowledge to knowledge they have learned in class and to relate it to their own lives.  I look forward to seeing what students at this level will be able to do with this type of activity.

References:

Horton, W. (2012). E-Learning by design (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Wiley.

Keating, Sharon. (2016).  "Mardi Gras for Kids". (n.d.). retrieved from http://goneworleans.about.com/od/festivals/a/mgforkids.htm 

Newby, T. J., Stepich, D. A., Lehman, J. D., Russell, J. D., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. (2011). Educational technology for teaching and learning (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Porter, B. (2012). Digital storytelling across the curriculum: Part 2-find contents deeper meaning . Retrieved from <http://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/v05/articles/Digital_Storytelling_Across_the_Curriculum>.