Tech-know

I used the lesson plan generator available on Magic School (Magic School, n.d.). You put in the standards and any other information you would like in your lesson plan, and it creates a lesson plan for you using AI. The lesson plan had all the characteristics you would want to see in a plan. It included sections for the standards, objectives, key points, opening instruction, introduction to new material, guided practice, independent practice, homework, closing activities, extensions and differentiation for below, on, and above grade level. Most sections gave options for the teacher to choose from. I liked that the lesson plan had scaffolding through guided practice and independent practice. It also had lots of optional add on and alternative activities for differentiation. The assessment section gave two options for assessing students understanding both of which identified if students met the state standard by 80%.   I did ask for technology to be used, and I felt the original ...

Metacognition is thinking about thinking. All students need to work on components of metacognition. In this blog we will discuss three of those components, executive function, self-control and memory. Our goal, as teachers,  is to help pursue knowledge on their own. As they learn to think about what they are thinking they are better able to accomplish this task. By using technology and creativity we can make learning fun and help students be active participants in their learning.           Infograph: Chapter 4 by Chelsie Courtney created with Canva                 Reference    Gura, M. (2020). Fostering student creativity. In EdTech Digest the state of the arts, creativity, and technology 2020: A guide for educators and parents. EdTech Digest. International Society for Technology in Education. (2026). ISTE standards for students. ISTE. https://iste.org/standards/students Na...

As a teacher I have heard a thousand times from parents and students alike, will they ever really use this math in the real world? The answer isn’t a simple yes or no answer. They may never need to borrow from a whole number to create a fraction they can subtract from, but they will need to apply problem solving strategies and multiple skills they have learned throughout their life.  When I teach students new math problems I teach them the steps then step back and let them see if they can solve a problem with all the steps without assistance. This is not something my students typically come in being able to accomplish. It frustrates them the first time I put that three step problem on the board and say okay solve this, but when they solve that first problem it opens a whole new world for the students giving them the gift of problem solving and using known knowledge to create solutions. They will then color code each step they have learned to share with a small group how they have s...

  Who am I?     My name is Chelsie and I just finished up my 14 th  year of teaching. I didn’t always want to be a teacher, but teaching chose me. Like many of my family member I struggled to learn to read most of which have a diagnosis of dyslexia.  I had some amazing teachers along the way that helped me accomplish my dreams, but I also had some that lowered the expectation they had for me because they assumed I was unintelligent because of my reading skills.  My school experiences created a passion to ensure children, like me, had the ability to accomplish all their dreams and reach their potential.  So, I began the journey to become a teacher. I thought this was the path to helping students learn to read and accomplish their goals in life. I soon learned however I was fighting against a system that did not support my goals. Most of my students were slowly pulled from the general education classroom for most subjects and placed in special educa...