678 Course Reflection
Hello Class,
First, congratulations on another great class! My favorite part of my journey at SFU is the fact that much of what I learned this semester, and my classes in the past, I have already incorporated in my lessons this year or have plans for next school year. That is the true definition of authentic learning, actually applying what I've learned in the field! I hope my instruction in class mirrors this as well and students feel they apply what they learn in my Biology class in their everyday lives.
In this class, 678, I learned so much about making my class more authentic to my students. That was already a huge goal of mine before I started the course, but through our modules I developed a new game plan for next year to make every kid's experience in my class applicable and valuable in their life outside of school. I joke all the time that I have an unfair advantage teaching life science... It's automatically about my student's lives. During our Designing a PBL unit I learned a lot about Problem Based Learning and developed not just an understanding of the process and benefits, but also a greater appreciation for how much engagement it creates. I plan on using the unit I planned next year in Anatomy, and am currently working on rewriting the curriculum to be based on patient profiles that students will have to problem solve, and in the process learn about each system.
I also enjoyed the grant writing assingment. In fact, I met with the company Z-space this morning to acutally put my grant for the assignment into actual practice. I never knew how to write a grant and this project forced my hand. I decided to "double dip" and actually write a grant for 3D technology that I can use in both of my classes called Z-space. The rep and I went over the possiblilities today and I am crossing my fingers this assingment was the match that added a really cool piece of technology to my classroom.
The slide I made for Module 7 has also impacted my practice. I struggle with rules and regulations and holding students accountable. I have already added that slide to my first week presentations for next year. Hopefully, this will help me hold students accountable for respecting the rules, and promote sustainability at the same time!
Thank you for a great semester and class and I truly enjoyed collaborating with all of you! Have a great summer, and continued journey at SFU next year. This is my final course, and I appreciate the wealth of knowledge I have obtained over the past 3 years!
Take Care,
Jim Nielsen
First, congratulations on another great class! My favorite part of my journey at SFU is the fact that much of what I learned this semester, and my classes in the past, I have already incorporated in my lessons this year or have plans for next school year. That is the true definition of authentic learning, actually applying what I've learned in the field! I hope my instruction in class mirrors this as well and students feel they apply what they learn in my Biology class in their everyday lives.
In this class, 678, I learned so much about making my class more authentic to my students. That was already a huge goal of mine before I started the course, but through our modules I developed a new game plan for next year to make every kid's experience in my class applicable and valuable in their life outside of school. I joke all the time that I have an unfair advantage teaching life science... It's automatically about my student's lives. During our Designing a PBL unit I learned a lot about Problem Based Learning and developed not just an understanding of the process and benefits, but also a greater appreciation for how much engagement it creates. I plan on using the unit I planned next year in Anatomy, and am currently working on rewriting the curriculum to be based on patient profiles that students will have to problem solve, and in the process learn about each system.
I also enjoyed the grant writing assingment. In fact, I met with the company Z-space this morning to acutally put my grant for the assignment into actual practice. I never knew how to write a grant and this project forced my hand. I decided to "double dip" and actually write a grant for 3D technology that I can use in both of my classes called Z-space. The rep and I went over the possiblilities today and I am crossing my fingers this assingment was the match that added a really cool piece of technology to my classroom.
The slide I made for Module 7 has also impacted my practice. I struggle with rules and regulations and holding students accountable. I have already added that slide to my first week presentations for next year. Hopefully, this will help me hold students accountable for respecting the rules, and promote sustainability at the same time!
Thank you for a great semester and class and I truly enjoyed collaborating with all of you! Have a great summer, and continued journey at SFU next year. This is my final course, and I appreciate the wealth of knowledge I have obtained over the past 3 years!
Take Care,
Jim Nielsen
Hey Jim!
ReplyDeleteI wish you the best of luck with your grant! Z-Space sounds awesome and I know that you are fond of using MergeCube. I learned a ton from your discussions as well as I wished I had you as my life science teacher! I believe that we share the same sense of humor and I think that it helps make learning more enjoyable for our students. I wish you the best in your teaching career and thank you for the kind and thoughtful words on my blog! Cheers!
Jim,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for recommending Z-Space! I also plan to move forward with trying to get this technology in our building, too! It sounds like you are much further in the process than I've gotten. I want to see if I can get the anatomy classes here on board as well as our LMC. I appreciate the suggestion! Best of luck with the rest of your school year!
Jim,
ReplyDeleteZ-Space is AMAZING! The students love it and are amazed each time they are exposed to it! I hope you get it! The two artifact that I selected to highlight in this course were also the grant writing and the PBL unit. I think student accountability and student motivtion are huge as well. I enjoyed reading your contributions in discussions. Good luck with your grant and best of luck in teaching!