FIS Numerology

"When will I ever use this in real life?"

This is one of the most common questions asked by students on a daily basis. As teachers, we should always try to break the barrier between school walls and the real world; to bridge the gap between what happens in the classroom and what actually takes place "out there" in the real world. Students should not only learn certain concepts and skills, but rather how they can apply what they have learned in the real world. This, in my opinion, is the essence of education.

We are currently at the end of our third unit in math, which is centered around decimals, percentages, and fractions. This unit will soon culminate with a summative assessment, whereby students will use the knowledge, skills, and concepts they have learned during this unit in order to complete their summative assessment.

When first planning this unit, like our students, we also asked ourselves, "How will our students use decimals, percents, and fractions in the real world?" Real-world applications are endless, and the challenge was in creating a structured, inquiry-based lesson that allows students to explore how they can use decimals, percents, and fractions. Through collaborative planning, we came up with FIS Numerology, which involves quantifying personal and cultural expression by using different forms of numbers (i.e. fractions, decimals, and percents).

FIS Numerology was a four-day, project-based learning experience. Our students were divided into groups, and given a survey topic related to personal and cultural expression. They had to come up with their own responses, and then conduct a survey by visiting classrooms and staff rooms. After gathering their data in the form of a tally chart, they had to convert it into fractions, decimals, and percents. The next step was to display their calculated percentages in a hand-made double-bar graph. Students had to also incorporate a technological aspect, where they learned how to input data and create a bar graph using Microsoft Excel. All of this culminated with a display of their work, a Gallery Walk activity, and a personal reflection of what they learned from this in-class project.

As a result, our students were able to quantify student and staff's personal and culture expression. They learned how to apply percents, fractions, and decimals in the real world as a means of conducting surveys to gather, interpret, and display data. I'm truly proud of their work!

Powers of 10 Lapbook

Earlier this year, my students created lapbooks to learn about multiplying and dividing by powers of 10. These lapbooks involve identifying powers of 10 less than and greater than 1, and the rules for how to multiply and divide with powers of 10. After creating their lapbooks, they then used them as a guide to complete both their classwork and homework. My students were able to express themselves through their creative lapbooks, which also enriched their learning process!

The template for this lapbook is available for purchase in my TPT store. This is the first lapbook I created, and there will be definitely be more to come!

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Looping...Yet Again!

"Looping, in eduction, refers to the practice of a teacher remaining with the same group of students for more than one school year. For example, a teacher who teaches a third grade class and then goes on to teach the same students, the following year, for the fourth grade." (Wikipedia)

I was introduced to the term "looping" a bit over a year ago during a series of EdTech workshops. It was summer time back then, and I was looking forward to moving up with the same group of students from fourth (4M) to fifth grade (5M). It felt exciting to get a chance to continue with the education process where I had left it as opposed to starting allover again with a new group of students. Another year passed by, and I'm still with the same group of students (6M)! Unlike the previous two years however, I only teach them two sixth grade subjects (math and science) along with teaching math to three other sixth grade classes.

Looping with the same group of students has been both a unique and enriching experience. It gave me a chance to continue building upon my students' knowledge as they moved up to new grade levels. It also beame easier to design inquiry-based lessons that suit each of my students' learning styles.

Although there are disadvantages to looping (i.e. students not being able to adapt to changing environments due to interactions with the same teacher and classmates), they are outweighed by the its benefits. I've enjoyed watching my students grow in all aspects (i.e. intellectual, academic, physical, etc.) and acheiving highler levels of success.

The Benefits of Using Technology in Education

"Change is Imminent"

How many times have you heard the above expression? Why is change imminent? What causes change to occur? History maps the numerous changes that mankind has witnessed; changes driven by curiosity, questioning, inspirations, discoveries, and technological advancements. Without change, our world would be static; devoid of any form of development. Change is therefore an essential requirement for development and advancements to occur.

Similarly to all the components in our society, the teaching and learning strategies of education have evolved drastically throughout time. Education must parallel the technological developments present in our world today. Why? It's simple: our world has been transformed by technology. If you look around you right now, or even at the screen you're using to read my blog, you'll notice that your environment is surrounded by technological gadgets you use daily. Furthermore, today's work force relies greatly on technology whereby people need to have specific skills in order to succeed in their job. Daniel Newman identifies how technology has impacted the work force in "6 Technology Trends Transforming the Workplace." Students should therefore be equipped with the tools that will enable them to succeed in the 21st century - the Digital Era.

Although some are still skeptical about intertwining technology with education, there are those, including me, who believe in the importance of having students use technology in order to learn. The following video provides a few reasons as to how technology helps students learn better in today's world.

As can be seen, our role as educators today have changed from being the sole providers of information to guiding students into learning how to use technology in order to nurture their intellectual minds. As I always tell my students in class:

~My job is not to give you information; it's to show you how to find information on your own.

Collaborative Writing with a Twist

Q: Do your students do collaborative writing activities in class?

A: Of course they do!

Q: What are some collaborative writing activities you use with your students?
A: Roundtable and Jigsaw

Q: Did you know your students can use Google Docs as a collaborative writing activity?
A: What's Google Docs???

Although I already do collaborative writing activities in my class, yesterday I discovered how students can use technology - specifically Google Docs - to complete these activities. Google Docs is a powerful platform that allows students to work together as a team in order to complete a specific assignment/task.

Unlike the collaborative writing activities I do in my class, Google Docs enables students to collaboratively work on a document simultaneously. For example, when my students do a Roundtable activity, they take turns using a single pencil and paper to jot down their ideas and pass the paper to the next person in their group. However, if they were to perform the same writing assignment using Google Docs, not only would they be able to work together, but they can peer-edit and comment on each other's work instantly. This would also be beneficial if I were to assign a group homework, whereby students would not necessarily have to visit each other to work together on an assignment. Instead, they can simply meet online in a virtual world filled with a multitude of resources, all of which are at the tips of their fingers.

It's truly fascinating how technology offers students multiple learning experiences, especially those that allow them to collaborate and learn from each other.

Teacher-Student Blogging

How would you, a teacher, use blogging?

If you had asked me this question two days ago, my answer would've have been completely different than how I'd answer it today. It's fascinating how knowledge attained within a short period of time can extremely change a person's perception on a certain topic.

Blogging is a useful educational tool that can be applied in various ways. It can be used by both students and teachers. Bellow are some ideas of how I would apply in my class.

Create a Digital Writing Portfolio

One way I'd use blogging is to display my students' writing process, beginning with the graphic organizer, and ending with their final/published draft. As the year progresses, students can go back to their different writing assignments and determine how their style in writing has improved. I'd also allow students to comment on each other's writing portfolio, and discuss their comments in class. This writing portfolio can also boost my students' self-esteem, especially since they'd be aware their writing is viewed by the public. It can also be used as a means to show they parents how they have progressed during the year, and discuss improvements that can help strengthen their writing.

Reflection Alley

Another way I'd use blogging is as a means of monitoring and assessing my student's progression. For example, I could begin a discussion on my blog related to a specific topic, whether it is about English, math, science, or social studies. My students can then read the blog, post their comments, and we can then discuss these comments in class. Through their comments and class discussion, I'd be able to monitor and assess how my students have progressed, how I can challenge them, and which areas I need to focus on more.

These are only a couple of ideas of what I have in mind about blogging. Blogging is definitely a powerful tool that I will use in my class to enable all my students, regardless of their learning-style, to attain knowledge, become independent self-learners, and ultimately excel in the 21st century.