Prensky Chapter 9: Continuous Improvement Through Practice and Sharing

I absolutely love the idea of partnering. I love the idea of students discovering on their own terms, and the teacher acting as a guide. I have the opportunity to work with all grade levels N-12 in one week and although I think partnering can be done at all levels , I think it needs to be facilitated in different ways. Obviously, a Kindergartener will not be able to navigate the internet as well as a twelve grader. Yet, kindergarteners are great at group inquiry type questions. I like to ask them as a group, “what do you think will happen if…”. I give them an opportunity to discuss and then we work together to find the correct answer. It’s a great way for them to learn and be active participants during lessons. Older students do great when they are given guiding questions and then are able to self research and develop their own types of assessments to show their knowledge. Although, I am working at incorporating this flipped classroom and the idea of partnering, I have not yet mastered it. I as a lot of teachers, both new and experienced are working to perfect this new type of learning. These teachers are learning new ways to engage their students on individual basses!

Prensky Chapter 8: Let Your Students Create

How can I elicit maximum creation from my students related to their learning? In order to elicit maximum creation from the students in my class, it is important to give them opportunity. Students should be given choices and multiple ways to express themselves. As teachers we should take an interest in what interests our students. From that we should design lessons and projects. By given students choice and gearing the learning to their interests I can work to elicit the maximum creation from them! How can I help my students engage in world conversations? I agree with Prensky that world conversations can work to benefit our students. By connecting to the world around them, my student’s learning will be enhanced greatly. A great way to have my students engage in world conversations would be through using partnering and collaboration in the classroom. I will encourage my students to take part in world conversation through the use of the internet and educational web 2.0 resources. By doing this I will allow my students to collaborate with not only their classmates but other students around the world. How can I continually raise the bar for my students’ creations? In order to continually raise the bar for my students’ creations I will design lessons to encourage my students to take part in collaborative web 2.0 websites. Here they could learn with their classroom peers as well as others. Using these tools, I will allow my students to express their creativity in whatever way most inspires them and my students will learn to their best ability! This type of atmosphere will allow my students more freedom and allow them to revisit topics they need to review while others can move forward to more advanced topics.

Prensky Chapter 6: Using Technology in Partnering

The Prensky Apostasy believes when it comes to technology in the classroom the teacher is the guide and the coach, never the user. The "Prensky Apostasy" basically states that teachers should allow their students to be the ones using the technology rather then the teacher herself. I think teachers and students can learn from each other. I do agree that yes, the students should be using the technology in the classroom to learn. Since students are children of “today” they usually know how to use many of these technologies, but in my opinion, in some cases the students do not know. It is the teachers responsibility to incorporate the proper use of technology to keep students engaged. Teachers and students should work together to investigate new technologies and use them to better themselves. During my time as a teacher I have always agreed with administration that cell phones are a distraction. Distracting us and the youth of this world from “real life” and what is going on right in front of them. I never really allowed my students to use their cell phone in class except for the occasional, “I forgot my calculator, can I just use my cell.” I never thought about incorporating cell phone into my lessons until I read this article. After reading, I completely agree with the article. I think that as a partnering teacher it is very important to use the tools our students use. Many cell phones that our students have are like a small computer, being able to access all internet website. Some even have word processing application on them! What about the students that don’t have those capabilities in their phone? Or better yet, what if a student does not have a cell at all? I love the idea behind this, but to be honest I am still a little torn on this topic.

Prensky Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Planning (Content to Questions, Questions to Skills

Guiding questions are key to successful partnering! There are many good ways to guide a student to success. It is very important to guide students to the information and learning that they need, The partnering pedagogy is all about asking questions the students before they learn the content rather than after they learn it. The questions should be answered by the content of the lessons. As a teacher we should always begin with formulating a series of guiding questions for students to answer. Good guiding questions should ask why followed up by a how. The questions should be formulated by the students so that they have an interest in what they are learning. The key is for us as teachers to RELATE to our students through our guiding questions and content!

Prensky Chapter 4: Always Be Real (Not Just Relevant)

What is the difference between real and relevant? The difference between real and relevant is a simple concept. It means simply that we as teachers are keeping the content and delivery modes relevant to our student’s interests. If we as teachers are able to do this, I feel we will be able to reach our students on a deeper level. If we keep our teaching relevant we the students will not only see “the point” in learning the content but have fun while doing it! How can I always be real? It is extremely important as a teacher to always be real. To accomplish this, a teacher has to try to make his or her lessons and units as relevant to the students as possible. We have to strive to incorporate aspects of our students lives to keep them motivates and interested. As a physical education teacher this past year I did a Video Games Active Unit. I was able to bring in my Wii and Xbox Kinnect and share them with my students grades Pre-K thru 8th. That day, I set u a few stations, some utilizing the systems and some not. The students were able to move around the stations with their small groups and participate in physical activities. It was great to see all my students enjoying themselves! How can I teach for the future? I can teach for the future by always remembering the as a teacher I am a lifelong learner. I have to stay up to date on what is relevant to my students and their interests. I can do this by attending conferences, staying abreast of new developments in my field and of course by taking an interest in my students likes and dislikes. As we know CHOICE is very important. Allowing our students to have a choice in what they are learning and how they relate that information to one another is key to success.

Prensky Chapter 3: Think People and Passions Rather Than Classes and Content

Each student in a class has their own personality and interests. No two students in a class will have the same personality, passions and interests. It is extremely important for us as teachers and facilitators in the partnering classroom to get to know our students. It is useful for the teacher to know the students passions and interests. With this information the teacher will be able to reach the student and really make a difference. Knowing the passions of our students we can work to motivate each student on an individual basis. I feel that knowing the passions of each student will really help during the assessment period as well. As I said, no two students are alike and what one may do great another may struggle with. Being open to different types of assessment may work great in a partnering environment. What I mean by this is, by giving the students options about how they want to present the information they have found. Perhaps one student wants to role play, while another wants to write a song. You may have one student that wants to write a story. It is important to be flexible and allow the students to share what they have learned in a way that works well for them. Another way we can use passions and interest is to use this information to base our teaching. Student learning can be filtered through their preferences, likes, and dislikes. Using partnering we can see how students learn best and what they want to learn about. Within this partnering environment it is also important for the teacher to remember that he or she should act as a coach or guide. I agree with Penskey that the teacher should be there to coach the students through the subject and lesson at hand rather than be there to “instruct” them. In this partnering environment, teachers and students can work together to find the optimal learning and assessment mode for every individual.

Prensky Chapter 2: Moving to the Partnering Pedagogy

Teachers and students can do many things to facilitate or assist in partnering. The term partnering or partner often refers to a pair if group of people collaborating together for reach an overall goal. I agree with Prenskey that in order to have a successful partnership in the classroom, most teachers needs to see their student in a different light. Also, that as the teacher it is your responsibility to present material in a meaningful and challenging way to our students. I feel that this idea that in a partnering atmosphere teachers will be “leaving the stage” is not the case. Yes, the teacher will now be sharing the stage but it is still the sole responsibility of the teacher to facilitate and guide the instruction. The teacher must be the center or leader of this partnership. The teacher must work to help their students learn by their own means. I love the idea of setting up your classroom in order to ensure the best possible outcome for each lesson. I feel this will help keep the students engaged because they will not get bored in the ever changing classroom. If a lesson calls for students to be actively engaged with one another, physical set up the classroom for this will help to motivate students to share with one another. Obviously, when using partnering in your classroom it is important to change the type and level of partnering for different lessons and units of instruction. The partnering verbs or the ability to take what has been learned and apply it to the “real world” is what teaching is all about for me. This is a huge part of my teaching philosophy. As a physical and health education teacher, I plan my units and lessons so that students learn real life skills that they can use within their own lives.