Jason Morosky Feb 2013 EDSC 425 Turning On Learning Lesson Plan Analysis 1 This lesson plan is a great

way for students to learn to use the basic functions of Microsoft Power Point and to learn how diverse their student population is. The first lesson plan was something that was was very open ended and didnt provide much in the way of direction. This could lead to students questioning the assignment or just flat out not doing what was really expected. This all changed in the revised lesson plan - the assignment has specific and measurable items, and outlined specifically what was expected of the students. Also, it outlined why the students were using the programs as opposed to just saying heres the program, go do it. I think these changes are very appropriate. The assignment before would have produced many many different end results, with none of them looking exactly like what was expected. With the revised version, the students know exactly what should be in the presentation and why it should be there. The items arent vague suggestions but items that you can say yes it was there or no it wasnt there, as opposed to saying well, maybe this was what the student meant. That doesnt get anybody anywhere teaching. While my school never had much in the way of a varied student body, I think this would have still been a great assignment as Im sure there was more variation than was implied. Unfortunately we never had to do anything like this growing up. However, the first lesson is the kind of lesson we often received in an english class or reading class. Things were left open and the results were all over the board depending on what piqued someones interests at the time. I would have much rather had the second lesson - then I know exactly what is expected.

Obviously being specific is an important part of Technology Education. If you are having a student design a house or a woodworking project, measurements and boundaries are necessary. If they werent students would possibly create houses that could be measured in millimeters, or cut their projects in the wrong places. Plus, in the case of woodworking, the more specific the instructions the better - you cant go from a block of wood to a CO2 car in one step, after all.

Jason Morosky Feb 2013 EDSC 425 Turning On Learning Lesson Plan Analysis 2 There were a lot of differences between the two assignments. The first assignment didnt have nearly as much connection to the students as the revised assignment did. The first assignment only seemed to be a history lecture/research type of assignment, while the second had the students working in groups and assigning authentic roles and role playing life on the trail as opposed to just reading about it and doing the assignment. Due to these assigned roles in the classroom, the students will be more accurate in their research and will realize the struggles of life on the Oregon Trail. It will be more real to them and the students will be able to relate much more to the actual roles rather than just reading about them and the struggles people faced. I thought the changes to the assignment were good and appropriate. Any time you can get students to appreciate the purpose of a classroom activity or lesson it helps everyones learning and gets the students excited. Growing up there was never an assignment like this. If anything, we would have played the Oregon Trail video game - which while exciting for someone like myself, probably not that exciting for other students. As for taking the assignment into the Tech Ed classroom, I could certainly see using authentic tools and techniques for a history lesson and to help teach just how hard things were on the trail, or in general for how things were back in that time in history.

Jason Morosky March 2013 EDSC 425 Turning On Learning Lesson Plan Analysis 3 This lesson delves into the experiences of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgender individuals throughout history and present day. The before lesson, however, is a disaster. Its barely 3 lines that talks about homosexuality and how it is a thing that exists, but doesnt go into the thoughts, feelings, experiences, or impacts it has on society. Thankfully the after lesson takes something that was intended for a half class period and stretches it into two lessons meant for two class periods each. Is that long enough to go in depth with what people go through in a day to day life? Probably not, but its enough for an overview and hopefully enough to change peoples opinions, and far better than the original lesson. These changes from the before lesson plan to the after lesson plan are extremely appropriate, especially so with the growing population of openly homosexual, bisexual, and transgender students. The first part of the after lesson has the students discussing stereotypes and experiences and opinions, while the second part of the lesson has the students researching historical figures and having a more (hopefully) more educated discussion than the one initially had. The topic is relevant to the student body, again due to the growing population of students that are open about their sexuality. The more educated people can be and the more people can see that its not just this modern thing then I believe its much better in the long run. I for one cannot wait until the day when its not a big deal - they can marry whoever and wherever they want, and if someone is gay or lesbian or transgender it doesn't affect the way people think or treat someone.

Im not very sure how I could use this sort of lesson in the Tech Ed classroom, other than to promote equality and to show that your sexuual orientation (or anything else for that matter) has no effect on a persons ability to run a piece of machinery or design a car or wire a house or build a bridge.

Jason Morosky March 2013 EDSC 425 Turning On Learning Lesson Plan Analysis 4 This lesson was about the national anthem. The before lesson had students learn to sing the national anthem and learn why it was written, and are then assessed on how well they can sing it with and without a recording. How this could even be a lesson? Its terrible, and doesnt even go into the meaning of the song or anything similar. I think thats why I really liked the after lesson. Not only did it discuss the national anthem, it goes into mother anthems for other national groups and ethnicities within the United States. The students get to still learn about the Star Spangled Banner and learn the history about it, but they can also learn about the other anthems and the history and meaning behind those. The students are split into groups and learn about a specific anthem, and then present to the class. That is such a better idea than learning a song and singing it, with no regard to the lesson at hand about the song. This lesson would be better fitting with adolescents as it gives them meaning to a song that they have probably heard for a lot of their lives, and broadens their knowledge of other anthems that they probably had no idea about. I know I certainly didnt know about any of the examples presented in the lesson, so I can certainly see how that would be productive. This is something that we never really touched upon in my schooling. Sure, we learned the national anthem and its history, but that was it. Ok, heres this thing. Lets spend a day on it, and wrap it up because we have to. was the vibe I got, and thats what the before lesson looked a lot like. That is not good education, that is keeping the students busy with a boring and unnecessary lesson. Again, why I love the Tech Ed department - you never have any of that.

Jason Morosky March 2013 EDSC 425 Turning On Learning Lesson Plan Analysis 5 This lesson is about creating and designing a newspaper from start to finish. While the before lesson was ok and at the end a newspaper was made, it wasnt exactly diverse in its opinions or audience. The after lesson does a much better job in diversifying the audience and the content of the paper, going to great lengths to investigate the different cultures around the newspaper and the audience that will be partaking in it. The after lesson also stresses a variety in guest speakers/articles and has a variety of people writing the same columns as opposed to the same person with the same view time after time after time. That is a huge benefit to keeping a paper running as opposed to running it into the ground. Fair and Balanced is a good game to play. I feel this is a great lesson for adolescents for two reasons. First, it forces them to work in teams - if they dont work together then the paper doesnt get made, and then everyone fails the assignment, so the students are working together for a grade. Second, because of the focus on diversity it can force opinions that may not have been stated or shared into the spotlight, which can help change many minds or just inform people of another side to a story or idea. Though, I do not think an assignment like this would work in a school like the one I was from - I think this would need a much more diverse student population to pull from otherwise it just becomes the same stuff all the time. You would need rotation or ideas and people, which my student body didnt really have. A lesson like this could work in a Tech Ed classroom, especially in the graphic arts curriculum. LAyouts of print materials can take upwards of a semester or more, and Ive known classrooms who run the class as a business - you dont do well you fail and you dont make any

money, which causes the class to not run, which leads to a downward spiral. So the incentive is there to do well, both GPA-wise and financially.

Jason Morosky Feb 2013 EDSC 425 Turning On Learning Metaphor Paper 1 Teaching those students that are labeled at Exceptional or Culturally Different could be like offering your students a buffet of food. There are many students that will take advantage of the wide variety of food offered and try new things, while others will gravitate towards their old standby favorites. You may also find differences in the manners of students - some may pile their plate high with as much food as they can, and then only eat with their fingers, while others will take a normal plateful and then use the silverware. Your buffet shouldnt run out of any one food, because that will leave the customers, or students, looking for more. Sometimes this may work in your favor as they may go find something just as interesting or tasty, and other times this could backfire and the customers or students may complain and demand more.

As a future Tech Ed teacher, if I dont offer enough variety of food or subject matter, then my students will go hungry if they want other things. Or if I only offer breakfast or dessert, then it might be too much of a good thing and the students will get bored or overloaded, and then not do as well as they should.

Jason Morosky Feb 2013 EDSC 425 Turning On Learning Metaphor Paper 2 The human relations chapter can honestly be compared to the Technology Education classroom. In the Tech Ed classroom, there are no prejudices. There cant be with all this equipment. If the person next to you isnt as comfortable with the equipment as the next person and the next person, then the room doesnt function properly and its a safety concern. There should be a respect for both the equipment and the students using them. If a student in the classroom is scared of a piece of machinery or scared of what a colleague is going to say about them using said equipment, then thats a problem. The great thing is that in a Tech Ed classroom is that should there be a woodworking project, then everybody should end up with the same project, no matter the person making it. This leads to equality in the classroom, because while someone may be better with equipment than someone else, they are still just as comfortable with the equipment, which means they can function at the same practical, safe level no matter the project.

Jason Morosky March 2013 EDSC 425 Turning On Learning Metaphor Paper 3 Single-Group Studies is all about learning about a particular cultural group in depth, from the particular groups perspective. Because of this, the phrase walk a mile in their shoes comes to mind. If a student really wants to learn about a particular cultural group, then having them study about the group as a member of that group should be very eye opening. There students can investigate all the hidden nooks and lesser known things about the cultural group. The book made a good example of the fact that while a White European American teacher teaches a week on African American culture, the class is taught the things that are best known to White European American. It doesnt really celebrate African American culture that way - its celebrating famous people who happen to be black. The whole purpose of Single Group Studies is in fact walking a mile in their shoes. If you dont appreciate a groups culture and heritage, how can you expect to go into detail about the group? Its like saying that Star Wars doesnt have any redeeming stories and that its all about lightsabers and clones, when in fact it happens to be much more than that. Its a story about overcoming oppressors and raising families amongst turmoil and dealing with political issues and social issues, all with a sci-fi spin. However, if all you know is what is in the movies, then you might know Star Wars the movies but not Star Wars the Universe. Its for this reason that getting down into the bits that make a culture what it is is important and is often necessary to appreciate ones perspective.

Jason Morosky March 2013 EDSC 425 Turning On Learning Metaphor Paper 4 Multicultural Education is an idea that combines all the previous, separate techniques and combines them into a easy to use, comprehensive approach. This is very much like one of my favorite snacks that combines square pretzels, melted hershey hugs, and m&ms. (See the end of the paper for an example.) It takes three separate and unique items and combines them into something great and useful, not to mention compact. I see the Multicultural Education concept as something that is very similar, but still very useful in any classroom. The Tech Ed classroom could benefit greatly from such a technique, as it would let you discuss ideas and concepts from many different directions as opposed to the right and wrong way to do something. Some cultures may view architecture and engineering in a completely different light, maybe due to materials or just their system of beliefs. And this doesnt just incorporate different cultures. One big divide is the gender gap. This is especially a big issue in Technology Education as female enrolment is small. Multicultural Education may be a technique used to increase enrolment and make the courses content reach more than the typical tech ed student. Expanding reach and grabbing unusual ideas and concepts is something that every student can benefit from. Multicultural Education is a technique that can help to benefit the classroom environment and culture as well. It can be used to inspire decoration and organization. Often times in the Tech Ed classroom there will be certain sections meant for certain things - like a woodworking corner or a metals corner. Other times it could be spread out, which probably isn't the best for the classroom culture or the organization of the classroom.

Jason Morosky March 2013 EDSC 425 Turning On Learning Metaphor Paper 5 Social Justice Education. What comes to mind when you combine those three words together? I see it as learning the civics of our nation from all the various backgrounds and points of view that come from the cultural background of your students. This could sort of be like making soup. In order to have a final product that tastes good (or works well) you need to know what goes into it or how to tweak it to better suit your needs. If you dont understand how your government works, then how can you expect to partake in it? That is the whole point of the Social Justice Education idea. Welfare and insurance could be a large part of a study, as can registering to vote and the functions and purposes of each branch of government. These all are like ingredients in a soup, that come together to make a larger, more cohesive thing. Thats one of the great things about our government and our country - its basically one big melting pot of people with different ideas that need to be represented, and our government officials are the people who are elected to represent our ideas. These ideas can be from all different cultural backgrounds and ideologies, which makes our government so powerful.