Master's Showcase
This showcase is an introduction to the work that I completed during my Master's in Educational Technology from Michigan State University. Over two years I completed projects that developed my ability to perform academic research, created lessons and activities that blended technology and constructivist thought, reflected on my teaching, and performed action research to better my own teaching.
Action-Research
Reflective research that is performed by a practitioner in order to solve a teaching or learning problem
Clicker Systems in the Classroom- Wicked Problems Project
Over my time teaching I have used clickers various times to give summative assessments. For this project, I planned and implemented action-research to help improve my teaching. I used CPS clickers and their instant questions to help inform my instruction. I blogged about the experience and created a video to showcase my findings. You can view the video about the changes to my instruction that occurred because of this project. In addition to the final video that I created, I recorded a podcast after the initial implementation of the project. It can be found here. |
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Scaffolding for Student Success
All students deserve to learn. This action research assignment was completed during my internship year from Michigan State and asked that I choose students to assess and implement an intervention upon. I chose to create a mini-unit that used scaffolding to help students who were struggling in my classroom. I found that with proper planning my instruction could help all students succeed. |
Constructivism in Action
A method of teaching where students construct their own meaning of the content with teacher guidance
Flipped History Classroom- Learning Management System
Throughout my teaching I have used Learning Management Systems to help move content online. For my IB history course I developed a CourseSite that flipped my instruction over the course of one unit. I was able to move the majority of my content to an online space. Students were able to work at their own pace and each lesson provided optional activities that met a variety of learning styles. Guiding questions were used and lessons were utilized in the classroom that highlighted primary documents and various activities to help further student understanding. |
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STAIR- Stand Alone Interactive Resource
This stand alone resource was created within Moodle and allowed students to work through my IB History content in whatever fashion they desired. There were additional resources that students could explore and quizzes that had to be completed in order to progress. Students had to construct their understanding of the content through the tasks that they completed. There were activities for visual and auditory learners. When combined with face to face activities all different types of learners were given an opportunity to explore the content. |
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Twitter, Google Docs, and Ipads to Enhance Discussion
Teaching the Russian Revolution is often a complex task. There are a variety of political parties and people who influence the events of 1917. This action research tasked me to construct a lesson that used constructivism to help students understand a variety of viewpoints during the revolution. Students portrayed various leaders in the revolution and had a discussion using Google Docs to argue their own views of the events that unfolded. I taught this lesson using inquiry and asked students to explore the content with myself acting as a facilitator. |
Learning Theories Presentation- Cognitive Constructivism
This project asked that we create a digital story to showcase how constructivism was used in our own classrooms. I created this digital story to showcase my thinking about how my students uncover very complex issues like the Arab-Israeli conflict. I used Windows Movie Maker and Audacity to create a presentation that highlighted my use of constructivism in a lesson on the conflict. |
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Windows Movie Maker Group Tutorial
For this assignment, I was asked to learn about a technology and create a video that could be used to teach other teachers how to use this in their own classroom. My group and I chose to use Windows Movie Maker. Working only online, we created a tutorial that shows how Windows Movie Maker can help students and teachers learn and teach about a particular topic. The focus was on helping teachers using inquiry and their ability guide students through the process of creating videos about topics in their content area. This project helped me participate as a student in constructivist teaching. The link to our video can be found below. |
Reflecting on Teaching and Learning
Reflecting on your own teaching and the learning of your students
Addressing Student Misconceptions- Podcast Interview
Students often have misconceptions about a wide range of topics. As part of a lesson on student misconceptions I interviewed students and asked them about the Arab-Israeli conflict. Using Audacity, I edited the interview and explained how and why my students viewed topics in the ways that they did. The link to the audio interview can be found below. |
Academic Research
Using academic research to discover and use best practices for students
College Readiness Academic Research
Academic research helps educators learn about best practices and other topics that will help them teach more effectively. For this project, I performed a meta-analysis of various educational journals focusing on college readiness. Many students are not ready for the rigors of college and my analysis showed this with data from various studies. I found that college readiness is dependent on many factors but that a rigorous curriculum that is tailored to students is most effective. |