The goal of my research was to answer the question "how does technology contribute to inequity within the classroom?" In order to answer this question I examined two factors, access and technological skill. Additionally, I attempted to analyze the amount of support that is provided to students with regards to technology.
The paper can be found at the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hb0jjBB9v7CLJKO287suJa04-Cp7G7VKkftwk0p1pFU/edit?usp=sharing
Reading through all of my old blog posts I am reminded of how much we have learned during this class. It feels like so long ago that we were sitting in the garden singing and writing poetry. This class showed me many new ways that we can think about and teach math and physics. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the embodied learning activities we did and hope to include many of them in the classroom wherever I can. I will be sure to come back to these blogs to remind myself. Even if I forget some of the activities that we did, the new avenues of thinking that we have explored will allow me to conceptualize math and physics in different ways.
Overall, this class was a enjoyable experience. I appreciate the classroom environment that Susan established. It truly was a space of collaboration and exploration and I can't wait to continue our work in inquiry 2.
In order to attempt to answer my inquiry question I talked with teachers and students throughout the duration of my observational practicum. I tried to gather multiple perspectives on how technology can be used in the classroom and the attitudes towards tech. In addition to the classroom I looked around the school as well for other resources (library, computer lab, etc.).
Reflection: During the course of my research I was surprised by a few observations. Considering that teachers were forced to shift to online teaching last year, I was surprised by how many teachers went right back into their old habits and didn't incorporate any of the technologies they used. A few teachers that I saw continued to maintain their online resources. This discrepancy between what different teachers are doing was of particular interest to me. I was also surprised by some of the student attitudes towards technology. As I mentioned in my presentation, I observed a debate in a science class. When considering whether they should incorporate other research from their phones the majority of students voted on not using them. If I were to plan a debate I would have allowed students to research on their phones without a second thought. I think we often take for granted both our students access to technology and technological skills.
I still haven't found all the answers in terms of how we can incorporate technology in our classrooms, but I hope that I will at least be more considerate and aware of any unintended consequences.
Link to Slides:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1hk2EOKap6DbxDJHn2nUEHWPAWB3Nf3BV30QZI6Dw9NQ/edit?usp=sharing
Link to poll (I'm not sure if this link will work permanently): https://www.menti.com/qwxnkkhqr6
Today we worked with combinatoric permutations in a myriad of different ways, including sound, poetry, and visual art. I noticed how my engagement changed in each activity. The most interesting to me was when we incorporated the bells into our movement. The combination of sound and physical movement held my attention more than the poetry or art. This was likely not the case for everyone in the class. Perhaps others were more engaged at different points in the lesson.
I wonder how a more traditional lesson on combinatoric permutations would have sounded. I imagine it would have been much less fun.
Here is the link to my annotated bibliography:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13SJxHJLm-8cixD-m7H2FJtZn5k4mB-OcDn9niB6QIQs/edit?usp=sharing
In class we talked about gender and mathematics. We discussed the first woman to win the Field's medal as well as Donna Strickland's Nobel prize.
The subsequent discussion about women in stem was interesting. Jenny brought up the danger of tokenizing women in stem while promoting them. It was not something I had considered while watching the video, but after hearing it I can definitely see what she was saying. While promoting gender diversity and science we must work to include all people. One easy way to do this is with posters and decorations. Posters celebrating diverse people in science can immediately begin to break down pre-existing stereotypes, but our efforts must not stop there.