Self-directed learning is “any increase in knowledge, skill, accomplishment, or personal development that an individual selects and brings about by his or her own efforts using any method in any circumstance at any time” (Cennamo, Ross, and Etrmer, 2009). Essentially, self-directed learners are motivated to learn and to improve. Self-directed learners are independent, and this ability to be a self-directed learner is a lifelong skill that students need in order to be successful learners. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) developed a recommendation for self-directed learning called the “GAME” plan. The GAME plan suggests that self-directed learners should set goals, take action, monitor progress, and evaluate whether or not the goals were achieved (Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer, 2009). As a high school teacher, I believe teaching responsibility and independence is very important. Students are going to be entering the “real world” in a few short years. Developing a GAME plan is something that will be beneficial for them. At this point in their lives, it is necessary that they begin to set goals for themselves. With the GAME plan, not only do you set a GOAL, you develop an action plan to help carry out your goal. Perhaps most importantly, you continue to monitor your goal to determine where you are in meeting it. I can use this on a smaller scale in my math class by having students set goals about their grades, study habits, etc. Hopefully this skill is something that will carry over into their lives, as it is a valuable skill to have in the real world.
During this course, I developed my own GAME plan for integrating technology into my classroom using the ISTE standards (ISTE, 2012). The first indicator that I set a goal to improve upon was NETS 1b, “engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources” (ISTE, 2012). One question I hear all the time from high school math students is “when will I ever use this?” It truly is important that students see how what they are learning is relevant. This course has really helped me to at least work towards achieving this goal. For the last few weeks, we have been developing lesson plans integrating different technologies. The lesson that stands out in my mind where I really made an effort to connect the lesson to the “real world” was the lesson on problem-based learning. While it was a struggle for me to develop a lesson that is relevant to my students, with the help of my professor and colleagues, I finally turned a trigonometry lesson into a project where students use trigonometry to build a new set of bleachers for our school. Implementing this project with my students was far different than sitting in the classroom working trig problems. My students were learning the same skill, but were far more engaged and actually excited to complete the project. The most exciting part for them was using digital tools such as the flip cam to document their work. Getting out of the classroom was a nice change, and actually using math on a real issue proved to them that what we are learning is relevant in the “real world.” To revise my plan, I want to change my goal to continue to develop lessons such as these for each unit. Because of time, it isn’t realistic for me to do something like this for every lesson; however, I’ve learned that it is important for students to see how what they are learning is relevant. Also, I’ve learned that the students learning was more authentic because they were putting it into action. Therefore, I would like to use a “real-world” lesson, or problem-based lesson, for each unit.
The next indicator I decided to strengthen was NETS 2a, “design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity” (ISTE, 2012). Luckily, during this course I learned many new useful technologies that I can incorporate into my lessons that will indeed promote both learning and especially creativity. First, we learned how social networking could be used in the classroom. Vickie Davis suggests, and I agree, that one of the most important benefits of using social networking is the “authentic audience” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010a). For my trigonometry lesson, students collaborated with peers via social networking. Not only was this an effective means of collaboration, I believe students tried harder knowing that someone besides me was looking at their work. The same goes for the digital storytelling. Arnie Abrams describes digital storytelling as “sharing stories through words, pictures, music, narration, or video” (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). I had students record themselves discussing each step of their problem. Not only were students engaged, they were trying harder than ever before and very proud of their own work. I really believe the use of technology made them more engaged, which in turn promoted learning and creativity.
Overall, this course has really challenged my thinking in developing lessons for my students. I want to continue working on my GAME plans and incorporating more “real world” authentic learning and technology.
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. D., & Ertmer, P. A. (2009). Technology integration for
meaningful classroom use: a standards-based approach. Belmont, Calif.:
Wadsworth.
ISTE, I.S. (2012). Nets for Teachers. Retrieved October 20, 2012 from:
http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-t-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (n.d.) Spotlight on technology: digital storytelling, part 1 [Webcast]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). Spotlight on technology: social networking and online collaboration, part 1 [Webcast]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore, MD: Author.
