Charlie's+Page

I am Charlie F. and I teach chemistry at Hereford High School in Baltimore County. I have been teaching for 18 years, 13 of which were in PA. I live in Towson with my wife Claire and son Jake,who is 12, and we will be adding a new member of the family in late October.
 * __﻿Introduction - Welcome__**

I am involved a great deal in my county association as my building rep and as a member of the government relations committee. Last spring I was elected as a local delegate (as was my wife) to the NEA convention. So last week we were in Chicago doing the business of the NEA. During the week Vice-Presdent Biden addressed the assembly. By the way, it takes about 3.5 hours to get 9000 delegates through security.

Also during the summer I spend my time renovating our house, and traveling to Rehoboth and Myrtle Beach.

**__Willing to Be Disturbed__**
__group 1__ used mind map listening to others, change, beliefs, needs

__group 2__ complexity (work together, different thinking), curiosity (forms and betters relationships) and confusion (creativity and change)

__group3__ graphic organizer confusion, listening, sharing, curiosity, solutions, discovery, realization


 * all used a type of graphic organizer
 * all used a variety of color
 * easily understood
 * must work with others to reach change
 * the goal is growth in perspective

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 * __National Center on UDL Examples and Resources__**

[] [] h[|ttp://quizlet.com/] [] [] [] [] []
 * huge amount of free resources
 * variety of age groups
 * multiple formats
 * visual dictionary
 * flash card creator
 * visual display
 * wordle
 * rubrics


 * __I am from...__**
 * __﻿__**
 * //Special items found inside my home//:** Claire, Jake, soon to be baby boy, and Molly (dog)


 * //Special items found in my yard//**: vegetable and flower gardens


 * //Names of relatives that link to my// //past//:** Larry (father), Sharon (mother), Robert and Charles (grandfathers), Margaret and Hilda (grandmothers)


 * //Special foods at gatherings//:** turkey, ham, stuffing, macaroni salad, mashed potatoes, gravy, deviled eggs


 * //Places for special memories//:** Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Rehoboth Beach, Baltimore, Antigua, Disney, Badlands, Montana, Yellowstone


 * //I am most proud of//:** providing a comfortable life for my family in a great neighborhood and house

__**Jigsaw Chapters 3, 4, 6, 7**__
 * Group 1**
 * Key Ideas:**
 * Learners' capacities are not inherent; capacities are defined by the interplay between learners' abilities and the tools they use.
 * Traditional classroom __ [|materials] __ and __ [|media] __, like books and speech, come in "one size" for all, but they do not fit everyone. Inflexible __ [|media] __ actually create barriers to learning.
 * New classroom __ [|media] __, like digital text, sound, images, and the World Wide Web, can be adjusted for different individuals and can open doors to learning.

The brain processes sound, printed text, and images in three networks that potential problems can occur for learners: http://rdflash.itgo.com/jawsscript.html
 * 1) Recognition
 * 2) Strategic
 * 3) Affective

[]
 * Group 2**

UDL = access for all = learning


 * be sure of purpose for learning
 * flexible methods for engagement
 * recognition
 * expression

use of various formats networking

[|Concept web]
 * Group 3**

 [|ClassProfileTemplate.pdf]

 [|CurriculumBarriersTemplate.pdf]

 [|UDLSolutionsTemplate.pdf]

**Gro﻿** **up 4**

Recognition learning
 * Provide multiple examples
 * Highlight critical features
 * Provide multiple media formats
 * Support background knowledge

Strategic Learning
 * provide models
 * provide practice with support
 * provide ongoing feedback
 * offer multiple tools for skill expression

Affective learning
 * offer choice of content and tools
 * provide adjustble levels of challenge
 * offer a choice of rewards
 * offer a choice of learning content

Assessment issues
 * Group 4 **
 * individual learning differences
 * media constraints
 * lack of appropriate support
 * lack of integration with curriculum

Assessments with UDL
 * flexiblity in presentation
 * flexibility in expression and supports
 * flexibility in engagement

HTML = presentation of content XML = can be changed

collaboration through various means


 * __ wordle __**


 * __GoogleDoc__**

[]#

**__Reflection #1__**

// At the core of UDL is the premise that often the curriculum is disabled (and disabling!). It is not flexible; it often poses barriers, and consequently prevents rather than supports optimal learning experiences. Do you agree or disagree with this view? Why or why not? //

I agree with this view. One example is the benchmark assessments I must give my students. These assessments are county created; therefore, I must teach to the test when many times, especially with my lower functioning students, this does not serve their best interests. The questions are sometimes poorly worded or are worded in such a way that if I were able to edit the questions, my students would be much more successful. In addition, the benchmarks questions sometimes go beyond the curricular expectations. For example, when learning multi-step problem solving, the assessment questions go far beyond what is necessary for a good foundation for problem solving in a first year chemistry course. So, rather than keeping it simple, the benchmark creators have authored much more difficult questions than are necessary just for the sake of difficulty.

After our discussion, it is evident that there are many issues with the assessment of our students. Until admistration as well as teachers are educated in UDL, I believe this issue will persist. Perhaps policy should also dicate that not only do teachers need to participate in professional develpment to keep up with latest trends and theories of best practices, but also administrators. The result would then be that when policies are made regarding assessment and curriculum, all education stake holders will have the proper knowledge to do what is best for all students.


 * __ UDL __**__ Slides __

curriculum:
 * goals: benchmarks or expectations
 * methods: specific instruction methods
 * materials: media and tools
 * assessments: measuring student progress

__** [|www.udlcenter.org] **__ __** [|www.slideshare.net] **__ __** [|www.voicethread.com] **__ __** [|www.prezi.com] **__ [|__xtranormal.com__] [|__http://www.toondoo.com/Home.toon__] [|__http://www.fluctu8.com/__] [|www.delicious.com] []
 * __ Online Tools __**
 * __﻿__**

__**Reflection #2**__ __**﻿**__ // What are the benefits of analyzing the curriculum for strengths and weaknesses rather than focusing on the student’s strengths and weaknesses? What are the challenges of this approach? //

Analyzing a curriculum is beneficial because the curriculum is something you have control over. Once written and adopted, the curriculum generally does not change much over a long period of time. Therefore, once you have analyzed the curriculum, one can create lessons that support the curriculum or supplement it in areas of shortcoming. Because teachers have instructional freedom, we can tailor our lessons to complement the students' strengths and weaknesses.

A ﻿challenge in this approach is that though we have instructional freedom to create the lessons we want, we are still bound by the state standards and must follow those standards regardless of how we might feel about the curriculum.

After our discussion, it was evident that many of us have the same idea that analyzing the curriculum rather than analyzing the students is the better of the two choices. It is easier for us to adjust our lessons to help our students based on the curriculum proposed. Furthermore, issues with curriculum came back to how that curriculum is assessed.

5 new technologies to try

 * prezi
 * xtra normal
 * pod casts
 * wikki pages
 * wordle

4 ideas to share with others
 * wikki pages
 * pod casts
 * vioce thread
 * toon doo

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3 principles of Universal Design for Learning =====
 * =====representation=====
 * expression
 * engagement

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2 changes in your teaching to reach all learners in the Digital Age =====
 * =====integration of wikki pages for homework help=====
 * use of prezi instead of power point

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1 BIG idea to implement “on Monday” =====

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 * use wordle to create word splashes for vocab review
 * __﻿__**
 * __﻿__**
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