Thursday, January 26, 2017
This week we were introduced to the conceptual lens. I found it a little hard to understand so I looked a bit deeper into it. As we know the. Conceptual lens is synergistic thinking. It is a concept or concepts that you chose to focus on in the unit your teaching. You will chose your conceptual lens after you have the unit title. What we are looking for is a way to make our students engage in a deeper thought process and engage each other in conversation. This benefits the students in many ways; it allows them to feel that their opinions matter, to explore the concept fully, to think beyond two dimensional thoughts, and make them a part of the learning process. I found a good example in an online article by Lynn Erickson which I will post on Twitter this week. The title "Our Community" for a unit can have many different conceptual lenses. Some examples such as Beliefs/Values or Relationships/Interactions could be chosen for our lens. Students can then break into groups or individually brainstorm on the relationship between our factual concept and the lens. I hope this blog helps you better understand the conceptual lens.
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I am thrilled to see that you are tapping into Lynn Erickson's resources on the internet. GREAT! How dd you make connections to your future classroom? Did you truly elaborate on information you have learned this week? How did you make connections to your future classroom?
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteI feel like when teachers look at the overall concept or conceptual lens, then they are following along with NCPTS III, Section C, which states that "Teachers Know the Content They Teach: Teachers Recognize the Interconnectedness of Content Areas/Disciplines" We, as future teachers need to understand the vertical alignment of the content in which we are teaching. This fits right in with what you are talking about with the conceptual lens. I like how you further explained the meaning of "Conceptual Lens." It really helped with a further understanding.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteI believe you absolutely hit the nail on the head when you said the students feel like "their opinions matter" and that they are "part of the learning process." This deeper way of thinking of things is exactly how I look at the conceptual lens as well. I also appreciated your inclusion of the beliefs/values and relationships/interactions that so very evidently affect and often times dictate the conceptual lens. I appreciate your willingness to broaden your understanding in your own personal research rather than only relying on the information that we are given.