GAME Plan Reflection

The game plan that I developed in the beginning of this course has helped me with setting my own goals as a teacher and taking the necessary actions to achieve these goals.  I have learned to start my journey of self-directed learning as I seek more information about authentic problem-based learning and incorporating collaborative tools to encourage students to explain and reflect upon their learning.  Unfortunately, the first part of my GAME plan in using blogs is moving slowly, but I will be starting a new rotation next week, so I plan to start from the beginning of the rotation to start the blogging.  However, the second part of my GAME plan has been extremely beneficial and encouraging.  Joining online discussions, blogs, and wikis through ISTE has opened many new doors for me to explore projects with my students, as well many other tools to use in the classroom.  These resources offer me many opportunities to discuss ways to improve my current teaching strategies, and I really am fortunate to interact with other teachers who are passionate about teaching current skills. 

As a result of the new technology learned in this course, there are adjustments that I would make to my current practices.  Because I teach computer, I am fairly comfortable with the technology part, but I would like to encourage my students to understand the GAME plan and learn how to focus on goals that they can set for themselves.  Dr. Katherine Cennamo explains that self-directed learners plan, monitor and evaluate their actions, and she presents the GAME plan technique as a means to help students develop into self-directed learners by setting their own goals, taking action, monitoring their progress, and evaluating the effectiveness of their learning processes (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).  Currently, I plant to work with the 8^th grade science teachers on a PBL to prepare a presentation about our school being a “green school.”  It will require students to set goals, take action, monitor progress, evaluate effectiveness of learning, communicate through blogs, and work collaboratively. In addition, I will be able to use online collaboration (blogs) and digital storytelling with this project.   I am excited to begin and cannot wait to see how the students accept this challenge.

Technology is always changing and there are numerous tools to learn to improve student engagement and learning.  It is up to me to learn these new tools and be willing to change my teaching practices to expose my students to exciting opportunities and guide them in their experiences.

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.