Hayley O'Reilly

As I reflect on this class experience, I am really happy with the unit I created! I like that this course focused primarily on the development of one unit, instead a series of smaller assignments. I feel that using this platform helps because I will actually have use for it during the next school year. I also liked that I was inspired to include new tech tools that I may not have otherwise known about into the unit design. By creating and completing this unit on Extreme Weather Events, I feel like I will have a quality unit to begin the school year with for my group of gifted readers. It will be an awesome way to start the year so that they understand expectations that will be consistent throughout the year. I appreciated the peer feedback during our course, and it helped me to refine my products. It also encouraged me to try something new as I was inspired by the units that the other teachers created! We definitely have some talented people who teach in our district and I am honored...

As my second artifact for this course, I chose to use the Student Road Map which I developed as an introduction and guiding document to the unit. I am really proud of how this turned out, and I really am excited to show it to next year's students! While completing this assignment, I really thought about the model of PBL and how creating engaging situations connected to real life situations are motivating and exciting for students. With this mindset, I created this Road Map while pretending that the students were meteorologists who were attending a "National Meteorologist Association Summit on Extreme Weather" and chosen to conduct research while answering the essential questions for the unit! I think having the students role play during class will really connect them to the goals of the unit, and I'm thrilled to see how into it they get!! Student Road Map

This course was definitely one that I've enjoyed!! I had the opportunity to explore a variety of tech tools and consider new ways to incorporate them into my classroom. I have been inspired by Scott, our instructor, and other members of class to think differently about how I teach, ways which materials are presented to students, and how they can show what they know. I really enjoyed learning more about PBL Lessons because I can see how excited students would get about working on them! I struggled with making appropriate essential questions at first, but after some practice and discussing it with other class members, I felt more confident with following through with my project. I am thrilled with the relevance of this class! I feel like the units and activities I created will be perfect additions to what I already teach and will be able to be added fluidly to my current curriculum. Often, I feel like there are so many cool, new things I want to try, but I don't have the time t...

One artifact from this class I am very proud of is the eLearning Unit which we developed throughout the course of the class. Through researching and becoming comfortable with Problem Based Learning, we were asked to develop a unit of our own through which the students would learn content as well as incorporate technology to solve a problem and answer the essential questions. I created a unit based on the weather unit in science for 4th grade. I decided to make this unit for my small group of gifted readers as our first project for the year. Through the use of TrueFlix ebook called Extreme Weather, students would learn about the various types of extreme weather, discuss, analyze, connect, and compare or contrast the events to one another. Through the use of scaffolded lessons, students would ultimately be able to create a concept map to show their understanding of extreme weather events and their answers to the essential questions. I am looking forward to the excitement of the stu...

Flipped learning to me always seemed a way to remove the teacher from the students. To be honest, I wasn't a fan of this teaching method! After this class, I have started thinking differently about flipped learning. Instead of removing the teacher from the learning experience, flipped learning actually individualizes instruction because it gives the students more one-on-one time with the teacher or their peers. By taking direct teaching time and moving it to homework, it frees up time for activities which foster deeper connection to content and more time to develop critical thinking. As I developed this flipped learning lesson, I picked a topic that students usually have trouble mastering. Division with area models is often a topic that students and parents need a lot of practice with! I thought this would be a great unit to assign interactive videos through EdPuzzle. This will encourage family members to learn with their student, and open up class time to work collaboratively...

After learning about Problem/Project Based Learning, I was excited to think about a way to creatively integrate it into my classroom. I think that engaging students in a fun and interesting way is a goal that all teachers strive for and PBLs seem to do it all! As I thought about how to incorporate this into my class, I wanted to find a way to start the year that would encourage students to adopt a growth mindset and incorporate collaborative opportunities for students to get to know one another. Keeping these goals in mind, I developed a growth mindset pbl in which the students would define, characterize, reflect on, and embody the characteristics of growth mindset. Through the use of picture books, new vocabulary, and various technology tools, students will gain new knowledge that we will continue to use throughout the year. I am really looking forward to using this unit in the fall! As I created this unit, I was surprised how easy it was for me to create activities for th...

Flipped learning offers many advantages to the teacher and students. Through short video instruction, students can view lesson content on their own time, and spend class time with interactive activities and meaningful interactions with the teacher and peers. In an age where students are so well versed in using digital tools, the hope in flipped learning is that students will be intrinsically motivated to learn and participate in class time. Flipped learning offers many opportunities to support a diverse group of students and connect school to home. What’s really neat about flipped learning is that the student is in complete control of how they view the video. For example, a student who struggles to understand the concept may choose to watch the video several times, perhaps pausing to jot down questions for the teacher the next day. On the other hand, a student who feels confident with the material presented may choose to move onto the next sequenced video to move ahead in the conten...