Final Reflection

EDLD 5318

by Emily Montellano
 INTRODUCTION

I have designed, created, revised, and completed a five-week online course for third grade

students. The theme of this course is called ‘Thinking Outside the Box’ where students will

construct a new creation using recycled resources such as cardboard boxes, newspaper, and

paper. Learners will be capable to collaborating, manipulating, and discovering methods of

becoming real-world problem solvers to enhance learning and creativity in their home

environment through a makerspace approach to learning. I tried to bring the learning to life in

my online course. My third-grade learners will learn about 2 and 3 dimensional shapes and

make connections to real-world objects around them. The whole purpose of my course is for

students to use their creativity and knowledge to create a structure of their own. They will watch

and read the story called, “The Most Magnificent Thing.” Once students have finished their

creations, they will have to recall the procedures they used to create their designs to present a

final presentation at the end of this course using sequential order of events. I have taught across-

content areas such as Reading, Writing, Math, and Social Studies. Students will display their

knowledge and experience at the end of the course when they present their designs in a form of a

video.

Instructional Design Theories

My teaching style consists of digital hands-on learning! I love to also incorporate hands-

on learning through the COVA (Choice, Ownership, Voice, and Authentic learning) method

where students can make real-world connections. Which leads me to my understanding of the

learning theories I follow in my teaching: Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, and

Connectivism. I have experience as an online educator and student. Through my master's

course, I meet virtually with my instructor and classmates once a week. Furthermore, I have
taught virtual summer school for two weeks. I met virtually with five students for two

consecutive weeks. using the LMS called Nearpod. I love the option of learning at my own time

virtually. I am a kinesthetic learner which shows my passion for Makerspace learning

environments. I have noticed that students learn more by doing and they can retain information

more when they can make connections to their own experiences.

UbD Plan Implementation

My Understanding by Design document was my outline for this entire online course. I

have my standards aligned with my content calendar and it perfectly outlined my idea for this

course. I constantly had to remind myself to keep my Big Hairy Audacious Goal at the center of

the planning and implementation process. In Stage 1, I was able to list all my desired results by

planning backwards. Questions I asked myself were, ‘How do I get my students to learn all this

at the end of the course? What resources should I use? What materials do my learners need to be

successful in this course?’ This helped me develop my outline for the course and plan

accordingly. I used my essential questions section on the UbD document as a form of formal

assessments at the end of each week as exit tickets. I gave students the option of submitting their

assignments in a variety of different formats to show their understanding of concepts throughout

the course. Furthermore, in Stage 2, I decided what resources I will need to access student

learning in the course. Which leads me to the overall layout of the course in Stage 3: Learning

Plan. All of my resources were already there, and it was just a matter of dividing of the

assignments to fit accordingly into a five-week course.

Importance of Online Learning

I categorized my course into five weeks and used colored folders to designate the

different weeks.  I have taken the time to think about which resources I will use and the great
thing is that I can put all my resources on Schoology!  Assignments, tools, introduction videos,

and even assessments are located in the folders of my LMS.  I take ownership of my course

because I want my students to take ownership of their learning.  It is important to make sure that

all troubleshooting answers are available for parents and students. Technology is taking over the

world day by day and students are growing and learning with it. It is only necessary for me to

learn alongside them. This is a method of delivering learning at the moment and I am very

efficient at providing instructions and support when something doesn’t go as planned. In my

introduction video, I provided additional resources for my students and most importantly parents

to easily understand and have access to. I have already learned to be very flexible because just

as us humans have bad days, technology does too.

Providing organization and structure will help my students navigate their way through the

course. Furthermore, Bates (2015) states, "The teachers provides a space and structure on the

LMS for students' learning materials in the form of an e-portfolio, to which students can load

their work."  I think students will have a wonderful time learning in my online course,

because they are in charge of their own learning! With the world around us today, we have

turned to technology and online learning as the way to deliver our learning to our students. I

have learned so much about free online resources to enhance student learning. No, it is not the

same as being in a classroom, and getting the physical feeling of having your students around,

but its is possible for me to explore all the ways I can make learning possible for my students

while engaging them at the same time.

Enduring Understanding

Now that I have finished the outline of my instructional course, I have taken some time to

familiarize myself with my Learning Management System, Schoology. Schoology is a user-

friendly place where students, families, and educators can come together to easily access online

learning. I posted all resources and assignments on Schoology. I also used the online resource

called Seesaw. This is a way for students to access engaging assignments and also submit their

assignment through the form of a video. This tool provides students with complete ownership of

authentic and meaningful learning in their own unique way. As I said before, I will say again, I

have to be flexible with my course and all of my learners. Yes, I can have a nearly perfect

outline and plan, but online learning comes with a of practice and adjustments. Just like a normal

day in the classroom, I can have a million and one things on my to-do list and one check off one,

but as long as my students are progressing and continuing to learn, I will continue to search for

ways to make online learning fun, effective, interesting, engaging, and most importantly, fun!
 Resources

Bates, A.W. (2015) Teaching in a Digital Age: Guidelines for designing teaching and learning.

Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/

McTighe & Wiggins. (2005). Understanding by Design, Unit Design Planning Template.