Proposition 4

Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.

Artifact: Makey-makey and Scratch programming language:

Description: the Makey-makey and Scratch programming language are tools that help me meet proposition 4, which reads that:

NBCTs collaborate with others to improve student learning. They are leaders and actively know how to seek and build partnerships with community groups and businesses. They work with other professionals on instructional policy, curriculum development and staff development. They can evaluate school progress and the allocation of resources in order to meet state and local education objectives. They know how to work collaboratively with parents to engage them productively in the work of the school.

The Makey-makey is an electronic component developed by the MIT Media Lab for use as an open-ended learning tool. Its power lies in its ability to make everyday objects conduct electricity such as a desk, chair, book, or even people. This enables learners to manipulate computer programs developed in the Scratch programming language by touching virtually anything found in the classroom. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination of students and teachers.

Rationale:

I began experimenting with Makey-makey one year ago. In my ESL classroom I sat 29 students in a circle. Each placed their feet on conductive duct tape which is then wired to the Makey-makey. These contacts are connected to my computer running a program I wrote in Scratch. In my game designed to teach grammar, students take turns forming sentences by running around the room touching students' hands, which when tapped complete a circuit that triggered an audio sample of a vocabulary word.

Since this class I have developed numerous games using the technology, such as a new take on the video game Dance Dance Revolution; and most recently I used it in a percussion class that combines drums with audio samples. Here each student is given a hand drum. Attached to the drumhead are triggers that when struck by the student play a vocabulary word through the PA system. My goal with these is to activate all students by appealing to multiple intelligences, specifically kinesthetic, auditory, and visual learners.

Reflection

I have found an online community of educators with whom to share new ideas on how to make use of this seemingly limitless tool. It is exciting to see research on multiple intelligences I completed in my Differentiation Theory and Strategies course applied in the classroom with such success. Reluctant learners who typically withdraw to the back of the class are often the ones who become the most active.

Standards for NBPTS | The Five Core Propositions. (n.d.). Retrieved August 16, 2017, from http://www.nbpts.org/standards-five-core-propositions/