I have learned.....

I never thought I would learn as much as I did in this class. There were many fun challenges we faced such as the movies, the final project, and the blogging. These activities taught me how to use different aspects of technology as well as help me as a teacher implement them in my classes. Students love technology and use it on a an everyday basis. We as teachers need to embrace it and help change our curriculum to fit the need. These challenges were not comfortable at first but as the semester went on got easier to do. I have made at least three other movies since I learned how to make the one for class.

I found it very interesting how little is done to make the schools the best they can be. Many of the schools are doing the bare minimum to get by. This is where creative teachers must come in with their new ideas and tools to help revamp curriculum and make it exciting and important for their students. I believe this class has helped me gain some of those tools and knowledge to be able to do just that.

I believe the proposal we present in class is one that many schools need to adopt. I would love to put this into use in the future. I feel as if that is possible now that I know how to take the steps to change the curriculum.

Orange

The idea of making the smaller units for the kids is a great idea. Kids that live in impoverished areas face so many issues and problems. The last thing we can expect them to do is come to school excited to learn. It is our job to help them stay focused and interested in their studies. It is also our job to help them see there is hope, and education can change their lives. Smaller groups of kids and teachers will make it easier to do that. When kids feel like they are just a number they do not get the individual attention they need to grow. Smaller groups help keep their individuality. The teachers can collaborate, and discuss what the best tools are to help their students. They can meet on a regular basis. Most of these tactics can not be done in a large school due to space and time. I believe this idea will work for the students. The teachers will have more personal relationships with their students, and the students will feel cared about and encouraged on a constant basis. The testing puts pressure on schools and Orange middle school has felt that pressure yet focused on change and not blame.

Unfortunately impoverished areas do not have parental involvement like other schools. Parental involvement is a key factor in a students success. Teachers can do so much for that student and some of that progress can be lost by just going home. There needs to be activities planned to get parents to come and be involved with their child learning process. This is a change that will help reinforce what Orange is already doing for their kids.

Curriculum Mapping

The Purpose of Curriculum Mapping is to make sure the teachers are all on the same page, and teaching the same content. It also produces a team approach for the staff members forcing them to collaborate. Bloomfield Does not map its curriculum, but I would say the PE department does collaborate and teach the same ideas to a certain extent. We are not required to do curriculum mapping, yet we have meetings with each other and team teach.we have a fitness day twice a week where the PE teacher and all the classes do the same fitness workout. We have an idea what teachers are teaching in each gym based on the space they have. I believe curriculum mapping keeps up with the new trends for our students. If teachers want to help their kids, they must keep up with what is out there and what seems to be working.

Online Classes

I really enjoyed the online classes. I love technology and learning the new forms of it, so doing the online classes were like an added bonus for me. The you tube videos and blog made learning the material more fun and interesting. I am the type of learner that needs constant stimulation so this fit my learning style perfectly. Thursdays are usually a busy night so having some online classes freed up the night and gave me a break from sitting in class. I would definitely like to be part of another online class in the future. I believe the way you ran the online class was great and informative. The information was not useless and we were able to see what our fellow classmates wrote as well. I felt like I was part of a little community online. The only negative aspect of the online classes is they are very time consuming. I found this with the movie because that was my first time creating one. It was bittersweet. I learned a new way of using technology but it took me forever.
I believe the way you conducted the online classes were very clear and well thought out. I loved it.

How was it?

UBD is a great way to develop good lessons but also very involved. Every month I turn in a plan book that is not anywhere close to this template. The school I used to work at in Pittsburgh had very high expectations and required detailed lessons every Friday. The school I work at now does not have that same requirement. I turn in a hand written plan book that has a few sentences of what I am doing each day. It is sufficient but not detailed.
I enjoyed creating the lesson but found it hard to come up with some of the information becasue I am out of practice. It took me a while to get back into creating a lesson in this format. I liked the format but I believe most of the lesson plan creating goes back to the same basics. As long as you have those basics the lesson will flow properly.

Lesson

STAGE ONE
DESIRED RESULTS


Established Goals:
Students will

Recognize the uniqueness of each gender as it relates to human sexuality, interactions, and relationships with others

Understandings
Students will understand that

They must demonstrate tolerance for people with different sexual values and lifestyles
They must examine messages about sexuality that they receive from society

Essential Questions

What is sexuality?
What are the sex roles?
What are the sex role stereotypes?
What is my role?
What is my sexual responsibility?

Students will know

Masculinity and femininity
Traditional sex roles
People viewed as individuals
Society’s changing ideas about sex roles
Making decisions about sexuality

Students will be able to

Understand that sexual attitudes and behaviors are learned, examine the messages they receive from a variety of sources, and identify their own beliefs and values regarding sexuality.
Research development of gender identity and identify how one’s sexual orientation develops.

STAGE TWO
ASSESMENT EVIDENCE


Performance Tasks

The students will be in groups where each group receives a scenario. They will answer the scenario using notes from class, and their book. The answers will be shared with the class.
1st scenario: You are a parent discussing “the birds and the bees” to your son or daughter.
2nd scenario: You and your boyfriend/girlfriend have been dating for a while and the topic of sex has been brought up. What do you do now?
3rd scenario: You are a writer for a newspaper and you are comparing the traditional sex roles of men and women to today’s sex roles of men and women.

Other Evidence

Discussion of scenarios
Hot seat activity
Group brainstorming

STAGE THREE
LEARNING PLAN

Learning Activities

Picking a sex role from a hat and role playing that role
Buzz groups
Opinion paper on masculinity and femininity
Create a poster on the female and male reproductive systems and how they work
Videos on family dynamics showing the differences of traditional roles compared to present roles in society.
Students find an article in the newspaper, magazine, or internet pertaining to sex roles, sexuality, or stereotypes in sexuality. They write a one page summary on the article.