T-Pack Presentation
Teaching Problem:
Second language learners have trouble with reading comprehension due to limited vocabulary.
T-PACK solution:
The students are given a list of relevant words each week. They take each term on the list and search for different definitions on the internet, and use Diigo to highlight the definitions they have chosen. They then create a picture themselves that visually "defines" each term. They take a photograph, or draw an image and capture it digitally, and upload it to a Flickr set. Using the comment tool on Flickr, they create a sentence demonstrating their understanding of the word. They have a database of all the students images that they can refer to if they need ideas.
a. What is the TP knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how does the technology you have chosen support the teaching strategies and methods you have chosen?)
On the internet, the students can find many different definitions, allowing them to find one that makes more sense to them. [VARIETY] [INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING]
Using Diigo lets me check their sources.
Taking the pictures themselves, students are creating their own definition of the term. [VISUALIZATION-CREATING]
By uploading to a Flickr, the student can share with other students and see how they represented the word. The sharing allows them to learn from their peers. [PEER LEARNING]
b. What is the TC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically does this technology make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about representation.)
By using a camera to turn the written word into something visual, they can grasp the meaning. [VISUALIZATION-CREATING]
Using the internet to search for multiple definitions allows them to see many different definitions, and maybe find one that makes it easier for them to understand. [VARIETY] [INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING]
Using Flickr as a common sharing place for all their pictures and definitions, the students can compare their definitions with others’ and make sure they’re on the right track. [PEER LEARNING]
c. What is the PC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically do your pedagogical choices make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about how the student will experience the content given these instructional strategies.
They might have trouble conceptualizing the written word, but if they can turn the definition into something visual that they create, they might be able to better grasp the meaning. [VISUALIZATION]
Peer sharing can also help a student understand by showing different representations of the word. [PEER LEARNING]
By allowing the students to interact with the vocabulary, they will better identify with the words. [CREATING-INDIVIDUALIZATION]
Writing a sentence demonstrates the ability to use the word effectively.
How can I help build the vocabulary of second-language-learners in elementary school?
Have the students find the definition of the "words of the week," through traditional (dictionary) or other (internet dictionary, images, etc.) means, then take or create a picture themselves that visually "defines" each term. They then post their visual "definitions" on a site (class Edmodo or Wiki) and write a sentence that demonstrates proper usage of each term, that pops up when each image is clicked. The students have access to each other's postings, and can refer to others' posts for help.
a. What is the TP knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how does the technology you have chosen support the teaching strategies and methods you have chosen?)
b. What is the TC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically does this technology make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about representation.)
Because the students have the freedom to see other students' contributions, they can get an idea of how to represent the word for themselves. The internet can offer many different variations and images of a definition that a simple dictionary might not.
c. What is the PC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically do your pedagogical choices make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about how the student will experience the content given these instructional strategies.
Although the student is looking to external sources for the definition, they are then representing the definition in their own "terms" (the pictures they create). Once the students have had to find or create their own example of the word, they then can demonstrate their being able to use the word effectively and correctly by creating a sentence.
Second language learners have trouble with reading comprehension due to limited vocabulary.
T-PACK solution:
The students are given a list of relevant words each week. They take each term on the list and search for different definitions on the internet, and use Diigo to highlight the definitions they have chosen. They then create a picture themselves that visually "defines" each term. They take a photograph, or draw an image and capture it digitally, and upload it to a Flickr set. Using the comment tool on Flickr, they create a sentence demonstrating their understanding of the word. They have a database of all the students images that they can refer to if they need ideas.
a. What is the TP knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how does the technology you have chosen support the teaching strategies and methods you have chosen?)
On the internet, the students can find many different definitions, allowing them to find one that makes more sense to them. [VARIETY] [INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING]
Using Diigo lets me check their sources.
Taking the pictures themselves, students are creating their own definition of the term. [VISUALIZATION-CREATING]
By uploading to a Flickr, the student can share with other students and see how they represented the word. The sharing allows them to learn from their peers. [PEER LEARNING]
b. What is the TC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically does this technology make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about representation.)
By using a camera to turn the written word into something visual, they can grasp the meaning. [VISUALIZATION-CREATING]
Using the internet to search for multiple definitions allows them to see many different definitions, and maybe find one that makes it easier for them to understand. [VARIETY] [INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING]
Using Flickr as a common sharing place for all their pictures and definitions, the students can compare their definitions with others’ and make sure they’re on the right track. [PEER LEARNING]
c. What is the PC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically do your pedagogical choices make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about how the student will experience the content given these instructional strategies.
They might have trouble conceptualizing the written word, but if they can turn the definition into something visual that they create, they might be able to better grasp the meaning. [VISUALIZATION]
Peer sharing can also help a student understand by showing different representations of the word. [PEER LEARNING]
By allowing the students to interact with the vocabulary, they will better identify with the words. [CREATING-INDIVIDUALIZATION]
Writing a sentence demonstrates the ability to use the word effectively.
How can I help build the vocabulary of second-language-learners in elementary school?
Have the students find the definition of the "words of the week," through traditional (dictionary) or other (internet dictionary, images, etc.) means, then take or create a picture themselves that visually "defines" each term. They then post their visual "definitions" on a site (class Edmodo or Wiki) and write a sentence that demonstrates proper usage of each term, that pops up when each image is clicked. The students have access to each other's postings, and can refer to others' posts for help.
a. What is the TP knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how does the technology you have chosen support the teaching strategies and methods you have chosen?)
b. What is the TC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically does this technology make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about representation.)
Because the students have the freedom to see other students' contributions, they can get an idea of how to represent the word for themselves. The internet can offer many different variations and images of a definition that a simple dictionary might not.
c. What is the PC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically do your pedagogical choices make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about how the student will experience the content given these instructional strategies.
Although the student is looking to external sources for the definition, they are then representing the definition in their own "terms" (the pictures they create). Once the students have had to find or create their own example of the word, they then can demonstrate their being able to use the word effectively and correctly by creating a sentence.
You have done a nice job of identifying key pedagogical strategies and explaining how asking students to complete this process online will support the development of their understanding. The core of your proposal seems to be the idea of multiple representations and the ways in which working with those online enable students to engage with the content in ways that support them in understanding, interpreting, and internalizing it--particularly when such processes are collaborative in nature. You summarized it beautifully when you said that students, "Learn, interpret, create, and restate."
ReplyDeleteYour Prezi was especially helpful in assisting ME to visualize these ideas. I especially appreciated the fast-paced nature of the presentation and its accompanying images, and the concrete examples you included for each step of the process. (I loved the photo of the brown fox jumping over the lazy dog!) Your visual reminder of the TPACK Venn was useful, and the contrasts you included between what students typically do and what they would do using this process were especially instructive in allowing me as the viewer to envision the value of the approach you are recommending here.