What Drives the Instructional Decisions of an IB/IGCSE History Teacher?
AND... where do Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) fit?
Some quotes have been influential in my thought processes:
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"There is now a great amount of hard evidence to suggest that the most effective schools are those with an educational vision which is reflected in clear intentions and expectations, structured within a well-coordinated curriculum. The focus must be on the individual learning needs of each student, which are known and responded to by their teachers. The research indicates that the teacher is the most significant factor in improving the learning outcomes of students."
Greg Whitby, Executive Director, Catholic Diocese of Parramatta in Sydney, Australia
which leads me to think> I/we have an important job...
hence, I ask>How can I do my best for the students in my care?
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"An idea is always a generalization, and generalization is a property of thinking. To generalize means to think." GWF Hegel
which leads me to think> formulating generalizations and heuristics are important 'thinking' skills in History...
hence, I ask>How can I get the students to formulate generalizations to help them understand History better?
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Best professional PD happens when "stimulating professional conversations" occur. Alan Luke
which leads me to think> students also need stimulating conversations with each other...
hence, I ask>How can I get students into stimulating environments?
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"Creativity is a pathless land." Timothy Evans
which leads me to think> sometimes you simply have to let creativity flow... it can't always be scripted and planned, creativity sometimes just has to happen...
hence, I ask>How can I stimulate creativity in a content driven curricula such as IGCSE and IB History?
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"Be a 'guide on the side' not a 'sage on the stage'." Dr. Roger Taylor
which leads me to think> I don't always have to be in control of the learning in the classroom...
hence, I ask>How can I be a better facilitator of learning?
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"answers may reveal a high level of conceptual ability..."
"an awareness of the reasons for
circumstances that produced differing and
often conflicting historical interpretations is
present..."
"Synthesis is highly developed, with knowledge
and critical commentary fully and effectively
integrated."
Assessment markband comments on IB History Syllabus for 2010 Examinations
which leads me to think> If a student wants to reach a band 6 or 7, they must venture beyond the classroom environment...
hence, I ask>How can I facilitate a system to help these students?
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Main Skillsets in IGCSE and IB History:
ICT applications in RED
Critical Thinking
* upper Blooms (apply, analyze, synthesize, evaluate)
* every class possible... to 'train' them
Thesis Formulation and Substantiation with examples
* getting ready for the exam freight trains coming in grades 10 and 12
* there is no substitute for practice...
Research Skills
* IA and EE
* online databases eg: Questia
The Affective Domain (not really a skill, but vital)
* creating an environment of 'intellectual and emotional safety'
-reaching every student possible
* fostering, if at all possible, a love of History
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ICT in my mental sky...
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The Value of Presentation Helps
youtube and its wonderful cousin Tubesock
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Storage Issues
Elsewhere: eg: youtube, flickr, picasa, voicethread, deli.cio.us
Space Rental: eg: .mac (10 gb/$99 a year)
or ipowerweb (1.5 tb/$60 a year)
At School: eg: server, firstclass
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Website(s)
School Site: the public face and more...
A Private Site: you control, lots of storage, portable: goes where you go, once in code...
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W2 emerging technologies
collaborative knowledge bases eg: wikis eg: pbwiki; role playing eg: gaming/simulation; prediction markets eg: intrade; artificial/virtual worlds eg: avatars; public bookmarks eg: delicious, diigo; social utilities eg: facebook, ning; self publishing methods eg: eblogger; presentation/productivity technologies eg: Google Docs, Evernote; collaboration technologies eg: voicethread, skype...
key characteristic: willingness to adapt to/adopt new technologies and try new things in the learning process...
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AN EXPERT TO GET STARTED!!
However, there is a downside: if what you try doesn't work, you still have to cover the material, which places pressure on other units.
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Trying to foster critical thinking skills...
Utilizing the immense resources on the web, but my input vital to make pages workable... and to be effective in raising student achievement
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we are finished!!