Kinesthethic Learning
-A learning style in which learning takes place by the students carrying out physical activities, rather than listening to a lecture or watching demonstrations. Also know as active learning.  

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I can not speak for everyone, but I learn best hands on.  I found through my experiences in the military, that I need to be shown as well as understand the material.  A 2014 study in STEM education examined how technical items were learned best by students interacting with  their peers.

"As a whole, when trying to enable better student motivation and learning results, enough space must be given for students' contributions." (Rissanen 2014).

My most vivid memory of active learning in the military was earning, then teaching  and grading for the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB).  EIB is were Infantry soldiers must complete 34 tasks in three days, most of which are highly technical and require precision (no more than two mistakes through all 34 tasks).  EIB candidates will spend multiple hours perfecting these tasks using active learning; cadre and peers readily provide tips and strategies to employ.  This task would be nearly impossible without the active learning method..

WATCH one example of the 34 tasks below!

Correlating my military experience to the classroom may seem like a stretch, however when you teach, coach, mentor and train over 1,000 soldiers in a two week period, you see first hand how individuals learn.  The statistics will of course not back up my rant, since the attrition rate is typically somewhere near 93%.  In my mind I think 7% passing rate is somewhat high, it is that tough.

A 2015 study of a biology class found that we need to "...move to a reduced lecture and increased interactive tutorial/workshop and practical approach to promote student learning and development" (Downs & Wilson 2015).

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I will leave you with a quote and a couple links to resources.
​"It is the context in which IWBs are integrated into the classroom that could have the greatest effect"-DiGregorio, Sobel-Lojeski, 2010.

Click on the video below to open a great resource for IWB activities or ​click me to visit my favorite SMART exchange resource.

Current students excel faster and are more engaged in communication than I ever was as.  Their ability to adapt is unbelievable, as a teacher I must constantly adapt or I will be left behind, or worse, loose touch with my students. How do I keep up?

The method of communication says a lot about our character.  Often times email is preferred method of all formal correspondence.  Do students check email outside of school?  I would assume not many.   Is it ever acceptable to send a text message or post to twitter to reach a parent or a student?  I think so,  maybe you need to get a message out, or you need to remind parents of conferences.  There are many ways to communicate and involve both students and parents.

While I was in the military I learned to love text messages.
In the beginning my soldiers were in constantly sending me text messages, at all hours day or night, it was irritating!  It took me a while, but I realized they just needed reassurance or needed to be reminded of timelines and tasks. I came up with two conclusions; either I was not providing the information clearly through verbal means, or there was some forgetfulness.  It was most likely a combination of both.  This problem was easily solved through technology.  I could send text messages to my soldiers pro-actively which allowed me to effectively and efficiently relay information.  One advantage was they could refer back to that message at any time to review the content.  This eliminated long conversation or explanation and held both my soldiers and myself accountable for dissemination of information.  

​How does this relate to teaching?
As teachers we have access to technology that many of our students or their families have access to.  They may not have ready access to the internet, computer or cell phone. As teachers we must constantly be aware of how we present communication to ensure we are inclusive.  A best practice would be for the student and parent to both fill out a form that suggests their preferred form of communication outside of the classroom.  An idea would be to have many options such as Facebook, Twitter, text messaging, phone call or mail.  Of course you should check with your school policy before incorporating any of these ideas.  The point is that I should not use the method of communication that I am most comfortable with (which I believe is what traditionally has occurred), rather the use the method that suits the student best.

I plan on communication with students by adapting to the method that they will respond to most consistently.  I will have to adapt to the current trends and technologies.  A study was conducted using twitter to "encourage students to engage in convergent communication inside and outside of the classroom" (Parcha, 2014). The study was reinforcing the Communication accommodation theory (CAT) that students learn more when they interact (Giles, Mulac, Bradac, & Johnson, 1987).  Each student may or may not know how they learn best, so I will provide information in a medium in which they are familiar.

According to the National Education Association (NEA)"...​interviewed leaders of all kinds to determine which of the 21st century skills were the most important for K-12 education. There was near unanimity that four specific skills were the most important(NEA, 2012).
The "four C's" are 

• critical thinking,
• communication,
• collaboration, and
• creativity.

These topics relate to students so they can thrive in the world after they have completed their education.  As a technology education teacher [a very broad description] all of these are essential in successful education.  For example I must be creative and think critically to bring new and exciting content to our students; one essential way is to collaborate with teachers in other content areas such as mathematics, science and special education. 

The use of "four c's" combined with the International Standards for Technology Education(ISTE) are staples in planning, execution and evaluating ourselves as teachers(ISTE, 2016).  Continued collaboration with other content areas is imperative to inspire student learning by providing context, utilizing technology and communication similar to what they will experience with a global digital society.  

As an educator I should be able to reflect on my teaching(daily) and ask, Have I supported, emphasized or enabled the use of the "four c's"?  In my preparation, design, execution and assessment have I inspired creativity, student learning?  The most difficult benchmark for me is modeling the digital world.  I will strive be a facilitator and enabler.

References
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)., 2016. ISTE Standards for Teachers. Retrieved September 13,         2016 from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-teachers

NEA, 2012  An Educator's Guide to the "4 C's".,  Teaching Strategies Retrieved September 13, 2016 from http://www.nea.org/tools/52217.htm

Hello,

This blog is intended for my course at St. Cloud State University.  The intent is to give you insight into my classroom, teaching philosophy and personality.  I plan on writing periodically as items peak my interest.  This is a public forum, feel free to comment, but it is for the world to see. Please exclude from using names or specific topics that can be related to individuals.  This should be a place for freedom of expression and learning.
With that out of the way.  I decided to pursue a career in education after the experiences I had serving as an Infantry Non-Commissioned Officer in the United States Army's 82nd Airborne Division.  It was the most eye opening experience of my life; specifically being a mentor, a leader and sometimes a parental figure to young adults.  I experienced a feeling of importance in young adults that I have never felt before; providing purpose, motivation and direction in their lives.  Most importantly watching them succeed after they had never given themselves the chance