Business Education Curriculum and Foundation of Business Education

We discussed tonight the history of the Business Education Curriculum in the Education System and the Foundations of Business Education. Below is the power point presentation that was used in class. After the presentation our teacher than provided a sample Keyboarding Technique and Evaluation form that she uses in our class. This is an example of one that we could use in our own classroom.

Keyboarding Technique Evaluation and Writing Record by

Learning Styles and Strategies

I was required to take a learning style inventory. The professor stressed to us that it is important for ourselves as well as our students to understand how they prefer learning. Knowing the different learning styles and how to teach to them ensures we are targeting every student in class.

The learning style inventory that I took can be found here.

Learning Strategies:

Learning Strategies Links:

Visit these links to learn about reading and note taking strategies:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/reading.html

http://www.englishcompanion.com/Tools/notemaking.html

UVU has information on to improve study skills: click here.

Formative Assessment Techniques

Formative Assessment Techniques by Karin Dunaway-Petty

Daily Alignment

Learning Objectives 1 by Karin Dunaway-Petty

Distinguish among global objectives, educational objectives, and learning objectives. (Note: "Learning objectives" are also called "indicators.")

·         Global objectives are the goals society has for all students

·         Educational objective is the official curriculum that the state and school system determine

·         Learning objectives is the objectives most important to the classroom teacher because they specify what the student will know, understand, and be able to do at the end of the lesson.

o   They are based off of lesson plans

Distinguish among transfer knowledge, conceptual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and meta-cognitive knowledge. (We talked about transfer knowledge in class last time.)

·         Conceptual knowledge is the knowledge of classifications, principles, generalizations, theories, models, or structures relevant to a particular disciplinary study.

·         Factual knowledge is the knowledge of terminology and of specific details and elements

·         Procedural knowledge is what we need to know in order to perform a task. It is the knowledge that is accumulated about how to do something and knowing when to use specific strategies and procedures.

·         Meta-cognitive knowledge is the ability to analyze, reflect on, and understand ones’ own cognitive and learning process. It includes information about learning, in general, and awareness of one’s own learning, in particular.

Define the following terms: scope, focus, sequence, alignment.

·         Scope – is the breadth and depth of the content that will be addressed in the classroom.

o   Your content core

·         Focus – how you are going to narrow the content core. What are you going to emphasis? Usually comes from the teacher’s passion and strengths.

·         Sequence – is the order of the subject matter. The sequence can be ordered chronologically or thematically

·         Alignment – the correspondence among objectives, assessment, and instruction.

Distinguish between formative and summative assessment.

·         Formative Assessments are assessments that provide information to the teacher and student about how the students are progressing toward the goals. Formal assessments are typically not evaluated for a grade.

·         Summative assessments are assessments that occur at the end of a unit. Summative assessments provide information about student learning that is frequently translated into a grade.

Explain how core standards, objectives, and indicators relate to unit and daily lesson planning

Refer to Learning Objective #1 upside down triangle diagram

Example: Reading Hiroshima

·         Global objective: (empathy)

o   To examine a focal event in American History through the eyes of “the enemy” (to place students in the position of “Other”).

·         State Core/Educational objectives (Unit objectives):

o   1.2 Comprehend and evaluate information text.

o   1.3 Comprehend and compare culturally and historically significant literary forms.

o   2.1 Evaluate ideas and information to refine thinking through writing

·         Daily Learning objectives (indicators)

o   1.2b Evaluate the effectiveness of internal text structures in a variety of texts.

o   1.2c Identify an author’s implicit and stated assumptions.  

o   1.3d Evaluate the impact of setting and historical context on literary works

o   2.1a Evaluate the merit of opposing opinions

Identify the steps of backward design (beginning with the end in mind)

·         What do I want my students to know/do?

o   Determine your objectives

·         How will I know when they know and can do it?

o   Design your assessment

·         How do I prepare them to know and do it?

o   Plan your lesson

Bloom Taxonomy by Karin Dunaway-Petty

Compose learning objectives at all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy

Refer to Bloom’s Cognitive Taxonomy sheet

·         Characteristics of a good daily objective (indicator)

o   Measurable

o   Specific

o   Starts with a Verb

·         Learning objectives are important because they help you…

o   Focus on your content

o   Select instructional models and strategies

o   Develop and select instructional materials

o   Determine your assessment

o   Demonstrate what you value

o   Keep teaching and learning focused.

·         Creating, Evaluating, Anayzing, Applying, Understanding, Remembering

o   Remember Under the Apple tree Adam and Eve Created 

Basic Neuroanatomy

The video below is a pretty cool musical that talks about the study of the brain.

Watch the presentation and complete the practice activities that are embedded in it to better understand how the brain learns.


*Note: I am mainly putting this presentation in here to remind me that I want to offer lectures in an online format and this is my favorite way that I have seen so far.

Below is another video of a pretty cool review of the brain and some implications of neuroscience findings for learning.

One of the theories and methods of teaching I learned about today was Whole Brain Teaching. This next video is an example of it. I really like the concept and want to try to implement it in my own classroom one day.

Assignment: Answer and discuss the following questions:

Sleep

Questions to answer:

• How does sleep impact attention and memory?
• How much sleep do adolescents need? Adults?
• How do circadian rhythms change during adolescence?

My response:

Harvard has been doing research studies that show how sleep plays an important role in memory. As I read their research on their website I was reminded of an episode from The Big Bang Theory. This episode is about Sheldon trying to solve a physics problem but can't find the solution and stays up for days trying to solve it:

Bernadette: Sheldon, when was the last time you got any sleep?Sheldon: I don’t know, two, three days. Not important. I don’t need sleep, I need answers. I need to determine where in this swamp of unbalanced formulas squatteth the toad of truth.Penny: Toad of truth? Is that a physics thing?Leonard: No, that’s a crazy thing.Bernadette: Okay, Sheldon. What happens to our neuroreceptors when we don’t get enough REM sleep?Sheldon: They lose their sensitivity to serotonin and norepinephrine.Bernadette: Which leads to…?Sheldon: Impaired cognitive function.

This is a perfect explanation of what happens when we do not get enough quality and quantity sleep. Webmd says that Adolescents need an average of 9 hours a night of good quality sleep. Adults need an average of 7-8 hours of sleep. It was interesting ot me that they went on further to say that depending on factors some adults need anywhere between 5 - 10 hours of sleep. I feel that I fit into this category. There are times that I feel I do not function or work effectively if I have less than 9 hours of sleep. According to Medical Discovery News circadian rhythms is the internal body clock that regulates biological processes in a 24 hour period. When teenagers are going through puberty, their internal clocks shift and their natural sleep-wake cycle changes. This shift in the circadian rhythms causes adolescents to have a hard time going to bed early and want to sleep in longer. Medical Discovery News goes on and talks about how this shift makes teenagers excessively sleepy in the morning. 

I did not realize that the shifts in circadian rhythms cause these side effects in teenagers. After understanding that I think it will help me as an educator. Knowing that lack of sleep impairs the memory and now knowing that most teenagers do not get the sleep they need it makes me want to find other memory devices to help students retain the information I am going to be teaching them. The Medical Discovery News article talks about a study where teachers did late start days and they notice an improvement in studies. If I do work for a district that does not provide a late start day I would want to take the initiative and try to persuade them and provide research that late start days is better for the students.

Below are some sample test questions for me to study

Educational Standards

What is meant by "transfer" and "transfer knowledge"?

·         Transfer is the ability to extend what one has learned in one context to new contexts

·         Transferable knowledge is a process through which students learn how, when, and why to apply specific knowledge to solve problems in other areas.

·         Students must be able to apply knowledge and skills to real world, or other content areas.

Briefly explain the what, why, and how of meta-cognition.

·         Meta-cognition is the act of thinking about ourselves as information processors

·         It is thinking about thinking

·         Technical word for reflective thinking

·         Happens anytime a student is thinking about how to approach a task, how to monitor a goal, and evaluate themselves on the depth of understanding a subject.

What is the Zone of Proximal Development and how will you use it when you teach?

·         Zone of Proximal Development is the distance that a learner can do with help and without help.

·         Determine prior knowledge of the student; build on this prior knowledge by building connectors that connects previous knowledge to new knowledge.

·         Start where a student is but to challenge them to move one step ahead.

·         Scaffolding – to move students beyond their current skill set into challenge tasks.

Explain what standards are and why we have them

·         Society’s expectation of what you are supposed to teach your students.

Identify standards, objectives, and indicators in your core

·         Core or subject matter will be split up into standards

·         Standards are a baseline. They are a guideline of what to teach. There is plenty of room to bring your own personality and your own strengths.

·         Standards are broken up into objectives

·         The objectives are then broken up by indicators.

·         Indicators are very specific and usually start with a verb. 

Purposes of Education

Assignment: 

• Tell what you think are the top 3 reasons we have schools or provide education.
• Add a 4th reason that is “sad, but true” reason that the public thinks we should have schools. An example would be, “ Some people think that it is the purpose of schools to make sure that students get fed properly each day.”
• After you have posted your 4 reasons, make sure that you respond to at least 2 team members’ posts to earn full points on this discussion and all future discussions.

My response:

The first reason why an education is provided is so that the children can contribute to society. The children our are future. We need to teach them and help them to aspire and reach their dream goals. We need the children to be educated so that they can continue to contribute to businesses and help grow our economy.

A second reason why an education is provided is to provide academics that they normally would not get at home. For example, you could have a parent that is great in math but does not know anything about science or writing. In addition what if the math concepts they are teaching their children are too advance for the child to understand? Teachers are trained to provide knowledge to children on a level that helps them grasp and build off of those concepts.

The third reason why an education is provided is to help children develop self-confidence and have high self-esteem. Some children are coming from various backgrounds and the child may feel useless and like they are not going anywhere in life. This child just needs one perosn in their life that can see their potential and who they can become. A teacher can see that and encourage them and instill that confidence in them. By doing so you may impact at least one child who will be grateful for that, work hard, and become successful.

The fourth reason that education is provided that is "sad but true" is that school is a child day care. Sending children to school free's parents so that they can work, pursue interests, and other activities.