Overall, I agree with the results offered by the TPI. Here are my more detailed observations:
Dominant perspective: Transmission
I do agree that my dominant perspective is transmission. I believe that a teacher's mastery of the subject matter is crucial to effective teaching. Students learn in different ways and have varying strengths and weaknesses. When concepts or ideas are presented by a teacher in one way, some students will absorb the information in its delivered form, and others will ask for clarification by offering a seemingly identical idea in a different form or from a different perspective. Without mastery of the subject matter, the teacher will be ill-equipped to offer effective communication and learning.
Back-up perspective: Apprenticeship and Nurturing
Apprenticeship and nurturing perspectives are important, but I may not be practicing these perspectives as much as I could be. Students often ask, "When will I ever use this in real life?" Offering practical advice that students respect can act as a bridge of communication between teacher and student. Also, I find value in hard work, that in many cases, hard work can outperform brains. I do encourage students, whether at the top or bottom of the class, to simply do their best and I would reward those who show dedication.
Recessive perspective: Developmental and Social Reform
Although my TPI result concludes otherwise, I would like to think that I have at least a back-up developmental perspective. I do offer multiple ways to understand an idea and attempt to conduct my lessons from the learner's perspective. I placed right on the boundary line of recessive perspectives. I guess this may be a result of my more definite recessive social reform perspective. While I do think that social reform and challenging the status quo are important, I don't believe that it is appropriate for every student. Therefore, I would rather teach students to follow the status quo and be successful in it. I would like to individually challenge those students who may show the capacity to challenge common practices.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
What did you learn about the design of online courses this week that will affect how you think about this form of instruction in the future?
When it comes to online courses, I was most afraid of courses that may simply put a textbook on your screen. That's exactly what I found on one of Aventa Learning's Geometry lessons. This could be a very detrimental learning experience to many students. If students could read (or be read to) from a math textbook and teach themselves the materials, they wouldn't need a teacher. Aventa Learning provided zero interaction (at least in the demo) and read the lessons to you from the screen, occasionally highlighting portions of a diagram, which can also be easily done in a textbook.
Other demos, such as from K12, Inc., offered a little more interaction (I understand that interaction in an online math course is, by nature of the subject, difficult). They used multiple modes of delivery of content and made it very possible for students to really learn at their own pace, referring to previous lessons if reinforcement is necessary and advancing to subsequent lessons when ready. I see such uses of technology to be only the beginning and really look forward to ways technology will not only supplement, but change the way we learn.
Other demos, such as from K12, Inc., offered a little more interaction (I understand that interaction in an online math course is, by nature of the subject, difficult). They used multiple modes of delivery of content and made it very possible for students to really learn at their own pace, referring to previous lessons if reinforcement is necessary and advancing to subsequent lessons when ready. I see such uses of technology to be only the beginning and really look forward to ways technology will not only supplement, but change the way we learn.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
How has your thinking about online schools and online schooling changed since the first week?
I certainly know a lot more about online schools and online schooling than I did the first week. The first week was really an eye-opener for me; I hadn't realized how wide-spread online schooling already is. Our small research of virtual schools and their websites has taught me a lot more about virtual schools and how they operate. My respect and appreciation for online programs have really grown over the past week and I feel that many more people will begin to feel the same way once these programs become more commonplace and new standards are established in our views of what an education should encompass.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Tweet-length response to for-profit online schools
After having tried sample lessons offered by K12, Inc., I wonder how successfully and efficiently a student may be able to absorb so much information strictly through text, especially at the primary grades.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tweet-length response to online schools
What interests me most about these online schools is the ability to customize the learning and their offering of personalized attention to each student.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Week 1 Reflections
What did you learn this week that surprised you?
The biggest surprise this week through the readings was to find out how far along we already are in the development of virtual schools. According to Weintana Abraha in the article, "Cyber Charter Schools: The End of Public Education or a New Beginning?", 217 out of the 5000 charter schools in the nation are cyber charter schools. Fully functioning charter schools! Online! Additionally, it's apparent that these cyber schools are doing quite a good job already, shown by Pennsylvania's virtual charter schools out-scoring both state and national ACT and SAT averages. Seventy percent of Pennsylvania's cyber charter school students matriculate to a 2- or 4-year college. Now that says something about the potential of these schools once experience and further developments play their parts.
What was the biggest question you were left with at the end of this first week?
How can I, as a teacher, get ready NOW in order to experience the full benefit of virtual schooling for both educators and students?
The biggest surprise this week through the readings was to find out how far along we already are in the development of virtual schools. According to Weintana Abraha in the article, "Cyber Charter Schools: The End of Public Education or a New Beginning?", 217 out of the 5000 charter schools in the nation are cyber charter schools. Fully functioning charter schools! Online! Additionally, it's apparent that these cyber schools are doing quite a good job already, shown by Pennsylvania's virtual charter schools out-scoring both state and national ACT and SAT averages. Seventy percent of Pennsylvania's cyber charter school students matriculate to a 2- or 4-year college. Now that says something about the potential of these schools once experience and further developments play their parts.
What was the biggest question you were left with at the end of this first week?
How can I, as a teacher, get ready NOW in order to experience the full benefit of virtual schooling for both educators and students?
Friday, January 21, 2011
About me
Hello everyone!
My name is Jung S. Rhee. Many friends also call me Paul, a name my father gave me when I arrived in the U.S. at the age of 6. Paul was actually my father's name, but gave it to me to use in school and renamed himself, Peter.
This is my second semester at TC, attending half-time in the Computing in Education program. I have taught Mathematics at a private enrichment school in Pennsylvania for the last 7 years, a school I founded in order to provide enrichment programs and courses to students in grades 1-12. Over the years, the school has grown to offer approximately 60 programs to an annual student body of 520-550.
We are currently in the final stages of our plans in the online division of the school. As you know, this is an area of research that is still in its infancy, and I am very interested in learning about various models offered by other online programs, as well as the ideas and discussions we will have in this class. I enrolled in the Computing in Education program largely to supplement the school's progress; this class will probably be most directly related to that intent.
I've taken two online courses thus far here at TC. Both were asynchronous, discussion-oriented courses. At first, I was nervous about taking the courses online; I had no idea how they would be facilitated. As it turns out, my experiences with them have been quite positive and engaging. The most important advantage I found in an online course was that I was given a chance to think about discussion topics and carefully respond to them after sufficient thought.
My name is Jung S. Rhee. Many friends also call me Paul, a name my father gave me when I arrived in the U.S. at the age of 6. Paul was actually my father's name, but gave it to me to use in school and renamed himself, Peter.
This is my second semester at TC, attending half-time in the Computing in Education program. I have taught Mathematics at a private enrichment school in Pennsylvania for the last 7 years, a school I founded in order to provide enrichment programs and courses to students in grades 1-12. Over the years, the school has grown to offer approximately 60 programs to an annual student body of 520-550.
We are currently in the final stages of our plans in the online division of the school. As you know, this is an area of research that is still in its infancy, and I am very interested in learning about various models offered by other online programs, as well as the ideas and discussions we will have in this class. I enrolled in the Computing in Education program largely to supplement the school's progress; this class will probably be most directly related to that intent.
I've taken two online courses thus far here at TC. Both were asynchronous, discussion-oriented courses. At first, I was nervous about taking the courses online; I had no idea how they would be facilitated. As it turns out, my experiences with them have been quite positive and engaging. The most important advantage I found in an online course was that I was given a chance to think about discussion topics and carefully respond to them after sufficient thought.
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