TPCK Chapter 8--Placing the magic in the classroom TPCK in arts education

Was it just me, or was this chapter begging to be published online? There were so many wonderful links embedded in this chapter that I wanted to just stop and play with all of them. I wanted to read and click and read more and click more so I could see all the great opportunities the author was talking about. I thought this chapter was fantastic; there was so much content to explore.

I am pleased to say that in our school we have four of the five arts areas covered. We offer wonderful art courses and a thriving theatre program (which I taught for 13 years). We have a first rate music program and even have our own recording studio, thanks to winning the NESCOM competition two years in a row. We have a burgeoning technology program. My friend and colleague Jeff Bailey teaches broadcasting and video production and next year is thinking of expanding his offerings. Truly, the arts are alive and well at MVHS. The only area that we are lacking in (as a school) is dance, but there are multiple dance studios in our area, and the kids take advantage of them.

I also enjoyed the emphasis on incorporating the arts into our classrooms. I do a fair amount of this. When I used to teach freshmen, art was an inderdisciplinary strand that I taught in conjunction with English. It was fun teaching the kids about the three periods of Greek art, and I loved learning new things. Now I try to incorporate art and music when I teach poetry. This reinforces my opinion that literature cannot be studied in isolation. The reader needs to understand the history and culture of the period in order to truly understand the work. This, of course, means more reading, more studying...but I find it endlessly fascinating.

This year, I tried using multi-genre papers in my classes. As a result, many kids utilized skills that I did not know they had. I got many pieces of artwork and some pieces of music. No one has tried dance yet, but I bet it would be really great to see that.

I loved this chapter. It seemed to me to be the perfect blend of useful links and ideas and helpful guidance for how to incorporate TPCK in our classrooms.

TPCK Chapter 7: Perhaps a matter of imagination TPCK in mathematics education

OK, I am not a "math person." I admit it. I have, in fact, a bit of math phobia. I find that I am intimidated by it. So I went into this chapter with a bit of trepidation. Would I understand it or get anything out of it?

I am happy to report that I really enjoyed reading this chapter. I found the writing to be of very high quality, which is always pleasing to me. I loved the description of mathematics as the "discipline that helped mankind build pyramids, navigate oceans and send rockets into space" (p. 150). Math has always been a bit of a mystery to me (in fact, I adore this Calvin and Hobbes cartoon strip that calls math a religion), but the author's love of and reverence for his subject resonates through this chapter. It's almost enough to make me begin to like math. Gulp.

Dave (who is the resident math genius in our household) and I engaged in a discussion about fractals as I was reading the chapter. He mentioned that before the advent of computers and technology, computing fractals was nearly impossible and could take decades. Now, technology has opened up this (and many other) areas in mathematics. Again, the rapid changes in technology and the impact technology has on different subject areas is evident. Our world is rapidly changing, whether we want it to or not. We must not be afraid to embrace those changes.

One thing that I have found in many other chapters is the notion that their discipline (whatever it is) is the most complex subject out there. Not so in the math chapter. The author readily admits that all disciplines are complex and have their own quirks. All disciplines need to incorporate technology in different ways. However, in listing what qualities teachers and programs need in order to utilize TPCK, all you need to do is replace mathematics with English, or science or any other discipline in order to get a good idea of what is needed for successful integration.

I was also interested in the discussion of the National Council of Mathematics Standards. I think that I will be spending some time on the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) website in order to investigate their standards and recent publications. Do they have any information about the impact of technology on teaching English? I need to find out.

TPCK Chapter 9: Science, technology and teaching: The topic-specific challenges of TPCK in science

Sometimes I describe reading these chapters as "looking for the pony." In other words, I'm trying to find the sometimes buried gem of information that I can use in my classroom. I am sorry to say that for me, there was no pony in this chapter.

I tried, I really did, but this chapter seemed to be very wishy-washy and non-committal in tone in regard to utilizing technology in the classroom. Much of this was repetitive as well, echoing the first two chapters of this book. I was shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, to read that "teachers need to know how to teach" (p. 201). We do?!?!? Why was I never told this before?

Ahem...sorry about that. But I really could find nothing in this chapter that I can bring into my classroom. This chapter told me things that I already know: technology is constantly changing, people are afraid of change, technology is often "messy" and may not work well on the first try, not every teacher has the same materials with which to work. We all need to make choices about what to use in our classrooms in regard to technology. We all need to decide what works best for us in light of what is available to us. This chapter seemed to say, "Yes, you should use technology, but we really can't tell you what you should use or how you should use it. That's up to you."

The next chapter I am going to read is about math TPCK. I'm not a math person, but I hope that I will be able to find the pony in that chapter.

TPCK Chapter 3--TPCK in K-6 literacy education: It's not that elementary!

I read this chapter with great interest because our school has been on the AYP "naughty" list for several years. Therefore, in the past few years we have begun a real push for literacy education. We have a consultant who has been working with our staff to teach us various literacy strategies, but she is rather "old school" and (can you believe it?) resistant to technology. On her last visit with us, she was teaching us about using storyboarding as a literacy strategy. When I mentioned that there are several digital storyboarding sites available online, she was uninterested. I was appalled. There is a wealth of digital literacy strategies online just waiting to be used! Why reinvent the wheel? I was once told a good teacher is a good thief...take what works and use it in your classroom.

So I was glad to read in this chapter all about the various websites and programs that can help with literacy techniques. I was already a fan of ReadWriteThink, but this chapter gave me some other websites and links to explore. I may have been most excited about finding National Standards and performance indicators for technology. In our district, we must align all of our rubrics with either State or National Standards. Our State ELA standards really don't deal much with technology, so in order to grade any work with technology I need these standards. I have now downloaded them and now I can make up rubrics with which to grade technology use by my students! Hurrah!

I enjoyed reading the examples of how TPCK could be used in various classrooms. I like the idea that technology does not have to be a burden. So many of my colleagues feel that technology "takes too much time" (and sometimes it does) but I think that technology if used well can save you time in the long run. This reminds me of the link that I found urging all of us to "do just one thing" related to technology in our classrooms.

Lastly, I enjoyed thinking about my student teachers. I have had three student teachers and none of them really emphasized technology in thier student teaching with me. When next I have a student teacher, I think that will change. I want to help encourage the use of technology in the classroom. Hopefully, I will get some great tech tips from the student teacher as well.

TPCK Chapter 10--The role of TPCK in physical education

I was interested in this chapter not so much because I love phys. ed. (obviously I don't), but because I wanted to see just how technology fit in with PE. When I think of PE, I think of athletes. And when I think technology, I generally think of geeks (in a good way! I'm a geek, after all. I love geeks.) Athletes and geeks generally do not go together. I am guilty of thinking of PE only as "gym" class, learning sports and games. I am also guilty of thinking that technology does not apply to that. But this chapter, and changing my outlook on just what technology is, has changed that impression.

So when I read about using heart monitors and databases as ways of using TPCK in PE class, it made sense. I sympathize with the idea of the cost of the equipment and the lack of budget money. I get that, we have similar problems in all areas of the school, however gym equipment is very expensive. One of the new pieces of technology being used in our school (and in our home, for that matter) is the Wii Fit. From personal experience, I can tell you that the Wii Fit is an amazing tool for for exercise and motivation. We often refer to our Wii Fit as "Wii-habilitation."

You see, about 5 years ago, Dave (my significant other) suffered a stroke due to uncontrolled high blood pressure. He has made a remarkable recovery, and much of that can be attributed to the Wii Fit. One of the things most affected by the stroke was his balance. Through using the Wii Fit he has gotten stronger, fitter and has improved his sense of balance significantly. The Wii Fit is used much like physical therapy. The difference? It's fun. Dave and I both love it, and we look forward to using it. How many people look forward to physical therapy? Not many. The Wii and Wii Fit are also being used for senior citizens as a way of getting them up and moving while having fun. This is something people of all ages can participate in and enjoy.

I think that video game programs like Wii Fit or Dance Dance Revolution have a place in the PE classroom. No, they are not "traditional" sports. But they get kids up and moving, they are motivated and they are having fun. They are becoming "fit" without even knowing it. I think that technology is going to have a profound impact on PE especially with the development of motion capture video. As that becomes less expensive and more common, I would expect to see that turn up in PE classes to help students get immediate feedback about their bodies and skills.

I did take issue with the idea that PE in unique in that it using building blocks and then proceeds to more complex skills as the grade levels increase. That is also the case with English, math, and most other disciplines. After all, you can't write an essay until you can write a sentence or paragraph, can you? But other than this, I found the chapter interesting.

Reflection on Stage One--Integrated Unit

It's difficult to find time to meet with a partner, especially a partner in a different discipline. I have had grad school, illness, family obligations, professional obligations and home life. He is the Social Studies department head, the President of our Educators' Association, a devoted dad and a great teacher.

In addition, I felt a bit like I was imposing. Now don't get me wrong, Chris wants to work with me, but all of the work I am doing is for my grad school class, not his. I do not like to burden him with additional work when he has so much on his plate already.

We finally were able to carve out some time to talk about our upcoming unit. Chris and I are very excited to work together. We hope to come together for a few more units during the next school year. The basis of our discussion was about Stage 1 and Stage 2. We talked about essential questions and how to frame the unit.

One of the most debated topics was that of "coverage." In our UbD book, the authors really seem to emphasize that we should not get hung up on coverage But Chris still feels that it is vitally important. Therefore, we talked about coverage and uncovering for quite a bit. I do not think that I changed his mind, but I at least gave him something to think about. He feels the pressure form our district to "get through" all the material. It's hard, I think, especially for a Social Studies teacher, to break away from this mentality. It's hard for me too! We shared these frustrations with each other.

I was able to share the student sample that I had worked on and Chris was impressed. I really want him to be involved in grading the sample I will need his historical expertise. He was very willing to help me grade and to give the students feedback about the historical applications.

We have another meeting planned in which we are going to talk about Stage 3. Here's hoping that it will go as well as our first discussion did!