Step by Step With Teacher Zee: Lesson Sampler on Tech Integration, Collaborative Teaching & Learning and Direct & Explicit Instruction

This is part 1 of my answers to the interview questions of the Music teacher in the family, also known as Teacher Val.

a.       Can you describe a lesson or unit where you effectively integrated technology to enhance student learning, and what impact did it have on student engagement and achievement?

Go to these links

-> https://lovealibrarian.blogspot.com/2017/05/teacher-and-school-librarian.html

-> https://lovealibrarian.blogspot.com/2017/05/teacher-and-school-librarian_24.html

b.       b. How do you handle diverse learning needs and abilities within your high school classroom, ensuring that all students are challenged and supported appropriately?

Addressing diverse learning needs begin with assessment – both clinical and pedagogical.

 Clinical assessments can inform teachers of students’ special and unique learning modalities. However, even without a formal and clinical assessment, classroom teachers can use strategies and approaches that foster inclusion, accommodation and diverse learning. Teaching methods are employed with the principle of meeting learning objectives as evidenced in formative and summative assessments, as well as aptitude tests. Another way to look at teaching that is proactive is to consider methods as on-going assessments of current progress.

 The Collaborative Teaching and Learning Approach is one approach that can address inclusion, accommodation and diverse learning needs. Strategies and techniques specific to collaborative learning can be deigned.

 To structure a collaborative learning activity, here are some recommendations.

Set roles before or after presenting a task, a problem or a project.  Roles can be: facilitator, scribe, reporter, gopher, time-keeper, devil's advocate, cheer leader, researcher, and analyst. These roles may change depending on the collaborative task or project. Identifying each role and the contribution he or she can bring to the table help facilitate the process of completing the project.

Think-Pair-Share is a strategy for collaborative learning. Students think through on their own the task or the project assigned to them. Working individually in gathering data to solve a problem or initially identifying steps to complete the project. A student finds a partner or work with one as assigned by the teacher. They share their data, findings, discuss the better course of action, plan and then solve the problem or perform the task.

Another strategy is the Jigsaw Puzzle. More cooperative learning in approach, but can be adapted into a collaborative learning experience, the Jigsaw Puzzle is aimed at allowing students to work on tasks and projects from their context and cultural backgrounds. These students are then grouped together to share and partake in a discussion of their output and how it fits in a bigger piece. The literary circles are one example of a Jigsaw Puzzle, I think.

The Fish Bowl technique can be used as well but for a specific task like discussions on topics of ethical and moral issues. A group inside the fishbowl discuss the topics. A group outside of it records the discussion and take notes of the dynamics in the smaller group. It can be a pre-writing activity that allow students to think in a group. Both groups, the one in the fishbowl and the one outside of it will benefit from the discussion. This technique can be a research strategy as well. Good to use in gathering of data, documentation, valuation and evaluation of information generated in the discussion groups.

Direct and Explicit Instruction

 As teacher use these widely popular strategies, it is important to note that collaboration takes     time especially in building trust with the teacher and among students. It is highly likely that teachers establish rapport at the beginning of the school year and build on this as the days progress.

 Another strategy that is proven to be effective is the Direct and Explicit Instruction (DEI) and the Gradual Release of Responsibility (GPR).  DEI works well with students who are in the spectrum and those who have ADHD. DEI is focused on a specific skill for mastery wherein the teacher models, directs and explains the content and the skills to be learned. The teacher then guides the student/s in the process of applying the skills with an awareness of criteria or guides, standards and progress charts. Once the skills are completed showing a level of competence and the content is understood as reflected in the output, the teacher allows the student/s for independent practice. Here is where the GPR is applied. To close the teaching and learning experience, student/s and teacher discuss the experience and the process before formal or summative assessments.

BA Library Online for the Month of March 2020

Since quarantine began, I have created links, directories and resources for our learning community in the Academy. Using Workplace, I regularly posts resources and helpful links there. I use the blog to compile them into an archive.

As the academic year draws to a close, here is a monthly listing of blog posts on online learning, tech integration and school library services in the time of COVID-19. This is culled from actual practice and may prove beneficial for further research and study on the role of libraries and the leadership roles of school librarians.

Learning in the Time of COVID-19 - from a Facebook post, I was able to generate opinions and "think-alouds" from practitioners in the field of educational technology and instructional design.

The School Library is a Vital Support System  - a reflection on the school library's vital role as support system and communicating to the learning community the commitment to serve in the time of COVID-19.

Google Classroom and Eric Curts - Tech tips and exert advice in using Google Suite.

The Flow and Structure of MOOCs - sharing a personal experience in participating in the 23 Mobile Things (2014). It is still a useful resource and example of an online learning module.

Reflective Teaching in the Time of COVID-19 - More reflections focusing on assessment, building relationships and connecting humanity with the use of technology for teaching and learning.

A Heart Map: An Online Bibliotherapy Session - An activity for mental health and well-being that children and adults can participate in.

Free eBooks and Audio Books - a list / directory of freebies

The Lighthouse Diary: An Ongoing Reflection on Remote and Online Learning - Thinking about professional practice never ends.

BA Library Online: Google Classroom and Eric Curts

How is everyone holding up amidst the enhanced community quarantine?
In the Academy, we are on the second day of our online classes. I have sent announcements regarding library services that are available online. Due dates of borrowed books are put on hold. This will be settled when we all go back to campus in April. The feeling of uncertainty is palpable. Flip the coin and there is hope. I put my bets on hope. So, we go on!

Apart from Managebac, we are using Workplace to communicate internally and among ourselves. The library has a group over at Workplace and this has become a platform for micro-blogging. Contents I put together in Workplace are then organized in the library's Google Site. And, some of them, I share in my blog such as this one. A review of a YouTube Channel by tech integration specialist Eric Curts.

For those who favor Google Classroom as a learning management system (LMS) and Google extension apps, I am recommending Eric Curts' YouTube Channel CtrlAltAchieve. He presents simple and easy to do teaching activities. He has a video tutorial on using GoogleForms for Math quizzes and surveys and a video guide for creating Blackout Poetry in Google Docs. The podcasts and screencasts of his talks on teaching with technology and integrating it across subject areas are well curated.   

Eric Curts used to teach Math but issues on educational administration became a challenge. So, he turned to technology to manage the paper work, to design learning environments and embrace change. In this IDEA TALKS, Eric Curts tells his journey of towards technology.  In this video he asks, what is your big blank wall? He tells his story. How teachers, like himself, have difficulty letting go of old processes in light of new and better ones to achieve a purpose. He lends advice on mindful and well thought out approach to integrating technology and presents the value of feedback (yes, it is mentioned once more) as a way of informing the teacher and the learner of adjustments and changes that need to be done when learning online.

Do visit the blog for more sharing of good practice in teaching and learning! 

Learning in the Time of COVID-19: Where is Teaching in Online Learning?

As of writing, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that COVID-19 is a pandemic. Countries have locked down. Celebrities and public figures have been tested. Here in the Philippines we scramble for meaning amidst an incomprehensible mandate from the president of a community quarantine. What a wonderful time it is to live and to learn!

One of the many things we can all learn from all these is the transition to online learning. I am proud to say that our learning community has dealt with this change in a well thought out manner. More on that in another blog post. For now, I am sharing a Facebook exchange I had with friends from the Edtech and Instructional Tech disciplines.

I posted the question, where is teaching in online learning? 

Here are the interesting replies:

Johann Frederick A. Cabbab I'd say in the constantly provided feedback towards the outcome initially set.
Johann Frederick A. Cabbab Which is why whether synchronous or asynchronous means easily understood and applicable feedback must be given.

Jamie Bautista Johann Frederick A. Cabbab Agree. Also, if doing a live stream or even a video lecture, the ability for students to give immediate feedback as well (similar to how we react in social media to content) may allow teachers to also adjust their content for better comprehension or more engagement either mid-lecture or for the next session. Difference is this can be done discreetly and simultaneously, unlike in a live class where someone would have to raise their hand and can just be addressed one at a time. Watching how YouTubers do love streams with live chats is enlightening in this regard.

Galvin Radley L. Ngo I think it can be in a couple of things: The careful curation and creation of resources, the design of activities to process the resources and make meaning/ and the sequence of activities (most specially for novice learners), and yes, I agree, in the feedback that students get in both synchronous and asynchronous environments. However, the assumption here (most specially in asynchronous activities) is that the learner themselves would be able to "teach" themselves - so the learner plays a new role - and I think that's quite crucial. If in case it helps, we wrote an article to help guide students :) Hope this helps! https://ateneosalt.org/a-quick-guide-for-first-time.../

Jamie Bautista Imagine also a class discussion, but done as a chat or message thread. It would be a discussion untethered by time where every question can be addressed even a day after it was asked, where the pressure of having to speak in public doesn’t hold back students from asking questions, and visual aids are not fleeting and can be returned to by students without having the whole class stop. The teaching comes in the facilitation of the online discussion.


Maria Criselda Santos Ang plano ko po ay gamitin ang existing FB group namin para doon maglabas ng lecture, in script format, para accessible kahit sa walang data. Q&A sa comments. Worksheets uploaded at pwedeng i-email for submission.

This is going to be a running post given the rise and the demand for online learning methods, pedagogy and resources. Other than COVID-19, I have another series to maintain. Yay! The reason to keep blogging in the time of social media goes on.