TPACK Lesson Plan Reflections

Lesson Plan for TPACK integration

Application
One of the greatest benefits of technology is that it allows us to find material most suitable for our lesson plans. If we are short on a book, then we can easily find a video on YouTube of someone reading it. YouTube is an excellent resource for introducing a book as it shows the images and can be easily understood. Aside from YouTube, there is a multitude of educational apps to aid our lesson and I have an app that will do just that! Today we will be learning about antonyms as part of our Dr. Sues unit!

• Learners: I will be teaching and modeling my activities to a first grade classroom. First graders tend to be between six and seven years old.

• Learning outcomes: My students will gain information regarding antonyms. We will have preciously discussed what synonyms are so we will touch base on that before our lesson. At the end of this activity, students will be able to answer questions regarding first grade level antonyms.
• Assessment: With the help of the educational app I chose, students should be able to write sentences, or fill in the blanks with the proper word, quiz themselves with flash cards, play memory games, and match opposite pairs of words. I will be walking throughout the classroom to ensure my students are staying on topic and I will answer any questions that may arise. Furthermore, I will utilize a PowerPoint I have created and by taking anecdotal notes, I will be able to determine how well my students understand this concept.

1. I will introduce to my students the topic of our lesson, which is taking antonyms. We will review synonyms as we already have background knowledge to what those words are. I will ask my students for what they think an antonym is and will ask for a definition and then I will recite this definition: A word opposite in meaning to another. Since we are discussing Dr. Seuss and what autobiographies are, I will pull up The Foot Book on YouTube for my students to get an idea of wacky opposites! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSd8n9joPX8)
2. Students will then spend 7-10 minutes exploring the educational app I am going to introduce to the classroom. They can pull it up on their iPhones or iPads, whichever is more accessible to them. The app is called First Grade and Second    Grade Antonyms and Synonyms. There is a Full Version for $3.99 but we can get by with the free version! Students are to explore the app and play with in the First Grade Antonym level only. Students can test themselves with flash cards, play a matching game, a memory game, or fill in the proper blank in a sentence.
3. After students have completed the game, or the 7-10 minute time limit has expired, I will pull up my PowerPoint that I created to informally assess their knowledge on antonyms. There are ten students in the class, not counting Mrs. Wu, or myself, so I will split the class into five groups of two. Each pair is to discuss what the antonym of the word of choice presented on the board. Each pair will go up to the board to click on the “foot” to reveal the correct answer. Three teams will get to go twice. I will be taking notes to see if everyone knew the correct answer. The order and the list of words are as follows: 1. Slow, quick 2. Down, up 3. Front, back 4 Big, small 5. Right, left 6. Night, morning 7. Wet, dry 8 Low, high

Reflection
Considering your learning activity described above, write two paragraphs or three for each section below addressing the questions. It may be helpful to keep in mind the followings when reflecting:

1. How will the use of this technology support your teaching strategies in this activity?

I believe that in playing the YouTube in front of the class, students are better able to hear the story and better able to see the illustrations in relation to my small book. The video was able to project to the students in the back. It’s a fun way to introduce to my students what antonyms are. Furthermore, by using the app “First grade and Second grade Antonyms and Synonyms,” students were able to gain a clear explanation as to what antonyms are and they are able to practice with a variety of words in a variety of games. Lastly, by using the SmartBoard to play Antonym Feet, students were able to move around and select the correct foot to reveal the proper answer. I’m aware that I taught to a group of college students, but when I did this portion of my lesson to my first graders, they absolutely loved it and were so excited to get to the board to click on a foot!

2. How effectively will the use of this technology enhance students' understanding of and learning from your particular content in this activity?
   First off, I gave a clear definition as to what an antonym was. Students were also able to conjure up their own idea as to what an antonym is. After introducing The Foot Book through a YouTube video, every student in the classroom, if properly paying attention, should create a knowledge base with the words presented in the story. As students are creating their own idea as to what antonyms are, it is beneficial to further their idea of what they are. Some students, I’m sure, fully understand what antonyms are after watching the YouTube video, while others are more skeptical. By playing “First grade and Second grade Antonyms and Synonyms,” students will become reassured in their thinking. After presenting Antonym Feet to the entire class, I was able to ask each group what the opposite word of “night” was, for example. Each group had an opportunity to answer and were rewarded by selecting the correct foot on the SmartBoard.

--Pedagogical-Content:

Now, forget about the technology for a while…..Just tells us about your teaching strategies that you employ in your activity (e.g., analogies, demonstrations, illustrations, examples, explanations, group work, drill-practice, simulations, role-play, lecturing, self-guided learning, inquiry-based learning, problem based learning or etc). Specifically:

3. What are your strategies and why do you think your strategies are appropriate to teaching this specific content?  What makes you believe it would help your students comprehend this particular content? Give specific examples from your described activity.

In a whole group setting, students were able to focus on their own learning. When learning something new, sometimes students don’t perform as well, or understand the concept as well, when it is presented to groups of students at a time. For some students, things click faster than it does for other students and sometimes those slower learners get sidelined and put in less effort towards learning the concept because they feel their peers will judge them. For the most part, students were also able to play around on their iPhones individually. This gives them ample time to work through any confusion they may have had. Of course, I was walking throughout the classroom and checking each student’s phone. If a student was struggling with words or with what to do, which fundamentally comes to what an antonym is, I would have been there to help and give direct instruction. Lastly, students were able to have reassurance in their knowledge as they collaborated with their partner(s) during Antonym Feet.

4. What would be some conceptions and pre-conceptions that students of different ages and backgrounds bring with them when learning this particular content? What would you be concerned about students' prior knowledge, experiences, and motivation? Again focus on the content and your teaching strategy, not the technology!

The younger the students, the more likely they’ll try to break the word apart and by using their schemas, try to make meaning of the word. Students may think that the word “antonym” has something to do with “ants,” or maybe because the end of the word is similar to “synonym,” they’ll think it has something to do with like words or unlike words. Older students may get confused with the meaning of “antonym” because they’ll likely be introduced to words like “synonym” and “acronym” and misconstrue the meaning of either three. As far as students from different backgrounds, some may automatically refer to the root word “onym” and know through prior knowledge that its’ root definition means “name.”

--Technological-Pedagogical:

In the previous section, you talked about your instructional strategies. Keeping these strategies you stated in mind, now tell us how the technology is used in your activity.  Specifically:

5. What main instructional strategies would this technology use serve in your activity? How would using the technology support the way you teach this activity? Please give examples and be specific to your described activity. Think about your main teaching strategies that this technology would support.

In reference to the YouTube video, I feel that I have explained myself well as to how it grabs my student’s attention, particularly those in the back. Something that I have not touched on is that by having a book read to students, it helps them auditorily, but by providing pictures along with it, like most books at the elementary level do, students are able to learn visually. It’s easy to read a book at the front of your classroom, but by showing a YouTube video, it’s something different teacher’s can throw in the mix to continually keep their students involved. By doing so, students will be engaged in the lesson and will better learn what is being taught. The educational app hones in on what is being taught and reinforces the topic I introduced and it highlights the YouTube clip. The final piece of technology I used was incorporating a PowerPoint presentation that requires partner groups to discuss what the correct answer is. It provides self-check and ultimately reassurance.

6. What different classroom management strategies you might need to consider when using this technology in the activity? Give examples and be specific to your described activity.

When students are using their phones, smartphones in particular, I need to be careful that they aren’t doing anything on their phones aside from the assigned app. It is easy to do that even with iPads and laptops. By turning on airplane mode, it will keep students off the Internet. However, Apple users are able to text and do like things if their Wi-Fi is turned on with their airplane mode turned on. There isn’t much to do to get around that, though. Plus, a variety of apps, especially web-based, require Wi-Fi. I just need to better patrol my students. I could even pair them so I can check on a group of students at once. Obviously this applies to the second part of my lesson.

--Technological Pedagogical Content:

Now, let’s focus on the content you’re teaching in your activity. Think about your decisions to incorporate this technology and the teaching strategies in relation to your particular content area. Tell us specifically about:

7. How would using this technology enhance the way the content is represented in your activity (e.g. demonstrations, explanations, examples, illustrations, analogies, and etc.)? That is why you think the selection and the pedagogical use of this technology may enhance what you teach (the content in your activity). Give specific examples from your activity to support your answer and keep in mind the learning objectives that you stated previously. 

Using the educational app “First grade and Second grade Antonyms and Synonyms,” I was able to strengthen my lesson in a way that engages students even more. These individuals are growing up in a world that is more technological savvy than the world my generation grew up in. Technology to them is everything. This app on the iPhone and iPad is a “means to aid students memorize words” (Memory Game), create their own sentences, and match opposite words (Matching Game). This app instantly shows me how well my students are understanding the material. As I’m walking around taking notes, I will become fully aware as to how easily my students are moving along through this app. Through repetition, students are able to individually learn and build their knowledge base concerning the language learning content area.

8. In what different ways students practice or understand the content in your activity that would otherwise not be possible without the use of the technology? In addition to motivational benefits, what else can students do with this technology as they are learning the content?

It would potentially not be possible for students to quickly, and confidently, answer questions that he or she could on their personal iPhone or iPad. I mentioned earlier that sometimes students need to work through their skepticism on their own and educational apps allow students that freedom. If students have motivation to begin with, they’re automatically going to want to learn. In addition to their already high excitement levels, students will gain experience. These apps provide these students with knowledgeable, influential, and impactful ways to help them better understand and succeed in areas that either they strive to succeed at, or are struggling at.