Standard6

Standard 6 Teachers communicate well. The teacher uses effective verbal and nonverbal communication techniques as well as instructional media and technology to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.

Evidence 1: Business Mall Blog Lesson Plan Rationale 1: This lesson plan was designed for a high school entrepreneurship course. The final project of the course was for each group of students to develop a business plan, get the business plan approved, and run a business for a week. To document each group’s progress and provide feedback quickly the groups set up a business blog. They then would use the blog to record all business progress made, discuss items within the group, and communicate with me how the business plan was coming. By having the students set up a business blog the students and I were able to have a journal showing what they had learned and accomplished throughout the final unit. I also found this to be very effective because the students could ask questions or submit ideas to me from outside the classroom and still receive timely feedback. When I facilitated this lesson I discovered that using a business blog helped the students to learn several different skills than the set objective. The students learned what a blog is, how to create a blog, and different ways to use a blog. The students also learned the importance of communication within a group and with the instructor. By using the blog the students were able to communicate with me throughout the day and not only during the given time in class. This opportunity provided them with the opportunity to ask questions when they formed or to submit items when they were finished instead of just in class. For me, it was helpful to see the different benefits of using a blog in my classroom. When I developed this lesson plan I had started to use Moodle in my courses but it was not a large component of the classrooms. Since the completion of this unit I now use online sites with several of my courses to provide students ways to access course materials and contact me outside the classroom.

KSD

6. K.3 The teacher understands the importance of nonverbal as well as verbal communication.

When I was facilitating this unit I was able to observe student verbal and nonverbal communications in a group setting in the classroom. By using a classroom blog, I was also able to see student communication online. This was important because I was able to use more than just classroom observation to grade the students on participation. This was also important because in the classroom I could interact with the students based on their verbal and nonverbal communication. By having access to the students online I had a second medium to access and communicate with the students about their progress and understanding.

6. S.3 The teacher knows how to ask questions and stimulate discussion for particular purposes (e.g. probing for learning understanding, helping students articulate their ideas and thinking processes, promoting risk-taking and problem solving, facilitating factual recall, encouraging convergent and divergent thinking, stimulating curiosity, helping students to question).

I found that by using a classroom blog I was able to ask each group questions to promote a better learning process because I could aim the questions individually for each group. I would use the blog to start each area of the business plan with examples and questions to guide the development of each section. I would then use the blog to read the students first draft of each section and ask driving or high level thinking questions to each group to help them better develop their business plan. This was helpful because all questions were individualized by group and the students could always go back and revisit the questions on the blog at any point.

6. D.1 The teacher recognizes the power of language for self-expression, identity development, and learning.

Each group was able to develop their business blog to express their learning, business concept, and ideas. After learning what a blog is and how it is used, they were able to freely set up a blog that reflected their personalities and ideas. In using the business blogs I never told the students how the information had to be document to encourage creativity and self-expression in the groups. I feel this was important because they were able to use several different ways of sharing their progress and business ideas. They were able to build mind maps, add images, add specific business information, load attachments, or add an online journal. I think that this helped them to better learn the process and share their learning because they were able to express their knowledge through a method they were comfortable with and preferred. ​Home Standard1 / Standard2 / Standard3 / Standard4 / Standard5 Standard6 / Standard7 / Standard8 / Standard9 / Standard10