BET-TER Skills

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a method that is designed to minimize barriers and maximize student learning by supporting the needs of all learners (CAST, 2010; Morra & Reynolds, 2010 ). UDL takes into account that different areas of our brains process the what , how , and why of learning. Teachers need to identify goals and the barriers that might interfere with accomplishing them. To overcome barriers, there are three principles that allow for flexibility in the ways learners engage, receive content, and demonstrate learning. These principles are to provide multiple means of: (a) representation, (b) action and expression, and (c) engagement (CAST, 2010; Gronseth & Hutchins, 2019). Planning with UDL leads to proactively planning for differing needs of learners instead of planning for the average learner and then accommodating. (Gronseth & Hutchins, 2019).  Technology can be used in all of the UDL principles. My students all have Chromebooks, which include...

Reproduced by permission of the publisher, © 2012 by tpack.org TPACK is a method to help teachers integrate technology in the classroom and to use technology to enhance learning (Rogers, 2018). It combines three types of knowledge needed for effective teaching: (a) content (CK) – the knowledge of the subject matter, (b) pedagogical (PK) – the knowledge of the processes and methods used to teach the content, and (c) technological (TK) – the knowledge about technology and the best tools to deliver instruction (Harris, 2012; Robertson, 2013; Koehler, 2012; Rodgers, 2018). These knowledge areas should not be viewed in isolation (Koehler, 2012; Lehotsky, 2016). The framework also focuses on the overlaps between the areas of knowledge: (a) Pedagogical Content (PCK) – pairs content to the appropriate pedagogical method for teaching it, (b) Technical Content (TCK) – relates how content and technology influence each other and make the content more accessible, and (c) Technological Pedagogical...

Photo by  Areous Ahmad  from  Pexels             What does it mean to be future-ready in the post-Covid-19 education world? In seeking to answer this question, I found several ideas emerging for these three main audiences: teachers, districts, and students. The major focus of many sources I reviewed was teachers.             Post-Covid-19, future-ready teachers are learners, leaders, good digital citizens, collaborators, designers, facilitators, and analysts (ISTE Standards for Teachers, n.d.). The picture of the new future-ready teacher that emerged as I researched looks like a person who: ·         Helps students build real-world skills, ·         Provides personalized, student-centered learning opportunities using technology tools and by focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of indiv...

In the past 5 weeks of this course, I have learned many things. The biggest challenge was trying to find the time to do the readings and all of the writing in such a short amount of time. After looking for articles and doing the first article analysis, I realized it was difficult to switch gears between trying to absorb information from the book and also keep up with all of the articles at the same time. After that week, I decided that I needed to really work to get the reading done as fast as possible, so that when it was time to start doing more writing, I could focus just on that. In a past position, I was the science fair coordinator for my school. The students had to write a full research paper to go along with their project, including a literature review. Thankfully, that experience helped me with APA formatting and in understanding the flow of the full research paper.   When coaching students, I followed guidelines given to me to teach them how to write their papers, so I ...