Self-directed
learning is a skill highly desired by teachers, but rarely instituted. Self-
directed learning helps teachers determine how students learn best.
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 Ertmer, 2009, p. 2). As teachers go about developing lessons
implementing self-directed learning, a GAME plan is often needed to organize
and develop thinking. Laureate Education (2009) recommends setting goals, taking actions to meet the goals, monitoring
progress of the goals, and finally evaluating
effectivess and extent of learning.
As students are exposed to the unlimited access of the technological world, there
is a wide variety of resources to help students progress to becoming
self-directed.
I
constructed my own GAME plan:
Goals: I will
learn and implement digital-age technologies. I will develop and execute strategies
that include the needs of all learners with the use of technological tools.
Action: The
iPad, Virtual Field Trips, visualization tools, concept maps, blogs, electronic
books, graphic organizers, and digital presentation tools will be used to support
and engage all learners in the classroom. Strategies for authentic instruction
will be used: Inquiry/Discovery Method, Problem-Based Learning, Inductive
Method, Role-Play, and Simulation.
Monitoring: I will
monitor progress by considering behaviors of my students. Are students
responding positively to the new technologies? Are they confused? Reflections
will be noted as progress is made. Do I need to modify my game plan? Formative
assessments will be conducted to help answer these questions.
Evaluation
and Extension: Did all students meet the learning goals? If not, why? Is
there a particular topic that needs to be re-visited? What could I do
differently to improve my instruction in the future?
The iPad was of particular importance to my success of the GAME
plan. The specific student I had in mind with the plan learned best through
verbal and visual stimulation. An app on the iPad, called Proloquo, was
easily customized for my student to help him throughout his day. The iPad
became a friend to him where he could communicate and revisit certain feelings,
actions, and activities throughout the day.
I learned several things in the process of executing the GAME
plan with my student. First and foremost, I realized I am creating authentic
learning environments to develop critical and creative thinking skills while
teaching standards (Laureate Education, 2009). I had to be creative with this
child and recognize his desire for technology. I also learned that I need to
have an understanding of where kids are going to help them succeed in the
future. Students need all kids of skills including “critical thinking and
problem-solving, teamwork and collaboration, ethics and responsibility, and
global awareness” (Prensky, 2008, p. 6). My student got practice with all of these
skills and standards. Assessment was not held in a formative or summative
format, but in a more informal way like observations. I will continue this GAME
plan in the state it is now, slowly weaning the student off of it as he learns
he doesn’t need it to be successful. Initially, I was using the iPad at every
transition and activity throughout the day. As he is learning and growing in
the classroom, he only needs it a couple times as day.
Integrating
technology in the classroom requires knowledge, confidence, beliefs about
teaching and learning, and a supportive culture (Laureate Education, 2009).
Authentic instruction and experiences include learner autonomy, active
learning, holistic activities, complex activities, and challenging activities.
As a teacher, I should be “asking thought-provoking questions and providing
opportunities for students to construct their own understandings and to be accountable
for their own learning (Cennamo et al, 2009, p. 40). Often times I am leery
about relieving control over to students. With the process of implementing the
problem-based lesson, social networking lesson, and storytelling lessons I was
able to realize how independent students must become in order to be successful
in the future. The student performance profiles (Cennamo et al)
illustrate how they should be engaging, collaborating, producing, finding,
evaluating, exploring, demonstrating, and independently applying technological
skills in the classroom (2009, p.8). I plan on furthering my execution of these
types of lessons for my students.
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology
integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach.
(Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage
Learning.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating
technology across the content areas: Promoting self-directed learning with
technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating
technology across the content areas: Promoting creative thinking with
technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating
technology across the content areas: Enriching content area learning experiences
with technology, part 1. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Prensky, M. (2008). Turning on the lights. Educational
Leadership, 65(6), 40–45. Retrieved from the Academic Search Complete
database.
