Blog post 8

I believe that there is a lot that can be learned about teaching and learning on Mr. Paul Andersen’s blog. Mr. Andersen has created a blog that he has added hundreds of science videos to. Most of the videos have been translated into other languages. His blog has taught me that teaching is not just for the classroom. Teaching can be expanded to others outside of the classroom. Mr. Andersen teaches in a high school and online using YouTube. His videos help students all over the world understand biology. Anyone that has a desire to learn can learn outside of the classroom using resources such as Twitter and YouTube. I watched a few of the videos from his blog and learned that science can be fun if the teacher makes it fun. In fact, any subject can be fun if the teacher strives to make it fun for his or her students.
THE BLENDED LEARNING CYCLE
Mr. Andersen proves the statement to be true “Teachers never stop learning.” Teachers can learn and gain inspiration from others if they allow themselves to keep learning. Mr. Andersen collects many great teaching ideas from other teachers' videos and from trips that he has taken over the summer. His video about the blended learning cycle has taught me some good ways to get students involved in the classroom. This video has taught me to never stop learning from others. He tells us that a teacher must combine online, mobile, and classroom learning. The teacher then introduces the learning cycle, which consists of engaging, exploring, explaining, expanding, and evaluating a subject. When teaching his students, he starts with a good question. He then allows his students to Investigate and inquire about the question. He allows his students to view videos, followed by a period of elaboration. Once elaboration is complete, he requires a review. He sits down with each student and throughly questions them; he makes sure that they understand the lesson before allowing them to move on. After all of this is complete, the students are given a summary quiz.