I had previously used Fink's guide to design a course, specifically the 8th grade AVID elective. As I created the 3 column table, I was able to successfully align outcomes, activities, and assessments for the course. Fink's guide was excellent for a holistic approach and allowed me to really see the big picture. Wiggins and McTighe's UbD approach was also very helpful in helping me identify the goals for this course and how the activities as well as the assessments aligned. However, the UbD approach allowed for more details, which I found would be more effective to use for specific units as opposed to the entire course. Below you can view the UbD template I developed for a Careers unit of the 8th grade AVID Elective course. It would be necessary to develop a UbD template for every unit this course consists of and use the 3 column table as a guide of the overall goals of this course.
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With so many demands placed on both teachers and students, it can be easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of details which consist of assignments, local assessments, state assessments, standards, etc. This week I was able to use Fink's guide for designing courses. This guide really pushed me to see the big picture and really apply the idea of beginning with the end in mind. The first step I took toward creating the Learning Outcomes 3 Column Table was to answer questions regarding my learning environment and situational factors. These questions led me to think about the logistical aspects of my course and more importantly the people that would be involved with the course. View the document below to see those questions and my responses.
I had been hearing many fellow educators rave about the positive impact vision boards can have, so I decided to have my students create them as a project for the end of the year. Here are a few examples of the finished products:
This past week I had the opportunity to attend the AVID Summer Institute 2017 in San Antonio, Texas. Once again, this was a wonderful learning experience. The AVID Summer Institute is composed of strands and site team meetings; the strands are specific to your role on campus or content area, while the the site team meetings are based on your campus. This summer I attended the strand titled, "Advancing the AVID Elective in MS/HS". The wonderful thing about this strand was that all of the members present were the AVID elective teacher at their campus and were searching for ways to improve the elective to better benefit the students. It was great to have the time to engage in conversation with members from one of my professional learning networks face-to-face in a structured setting. Through discussion and collaboration, we were able to draft up many ideas and set goals for the upcoming school year.
Every year during the fall semester our school district celebrates College Week. During the 2016-2017 school year, in order to prepare for this week, my AVID elective classes worked on a project in which they had to research information about different universities and present this information to their classmates. In an effort to raise college awareness school wide, I had their Power Points streaming during all lunches that week. Something that took me by surprise was how excited the students were to have their final projects displayed during lunch. As I walked by the cafeteria I could overhear the students eagerly talking about their projects with other students; it was beautiful.
Brianna Crowley defines a Professional Learning Network as “a vibrant, ever-changing group of connections to which teachers go to both share and learn.” (2016) Prior to taking my first graduate course in the Digital Learning and Leading program, I was involved with two of the PLNs listed, but I did not realize that is what they were. I will admit that I have not been a very involved member of my PLNs, I do a lot more learning than sharing. The Facebook group for AVID teachers is the one that I use the most as I am the only AVID elective teacher on my campus and this connects me to AVID elective teachers all over the nation. I go to this group to see examples (in picture or video format) of team building activities other teachers are using and occasionally ask questions when I face difficulty finding resources on my own. The technology department in my district has a twitter account and they host twitter chats a few times per semester. I participated once did not return because I was frustrated with the twitter app; I will admit my fixed mindset took over and instead of viewing the hashtags/handles/retweets as a challenge I could grow from, I gave up. I recently discovered the Teaching Channel and I am very intrigued by it because it offers video sources and gives teachers a space for Q&A over any topics.
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AuthorMiss E. Garcia Archives
September 2018
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