Reflection on Developing Creative Thinking Skills/Learning Theory

Technology can be useful in teaching most lessons. In some lessons where I've used technology it is teacher used and students follow along. In other areas the technology component is student used and I assist. The lesson I will be using for this example is a lesson where I (the teacher) use the technology for a first grade class of 22 students.

This lesson was focusing on the Emperor penguin and their habitat. I used the document camera to draw parts of a penguin habitat and the students then drew the same part on their habitat. We labeled each part of the habitat. After the habitat was complete, students got to color their habitats using true to life coloring. I modeled this coloring using the document camera. (In a previous lesson, students were shown a penguin video and images on the iPad).

This lesson was so much fun. The students learned more than I expected and their attention to the lesson was far better than expected. The student’s attention to detail on their drawings was impeccable. They were creative and they used colors that would be seen in the penguin’s habitat.

In this lesson, technology didn't play a crucial role because I could have just drawn the picture on a very large piece of paper for the students, but it did assist with the lesson. When I use the document camera to draw, students are able to see my fine detailed strokes of the pencil better and this helps them to focus more on their own drawing.