tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22723108269451307342024-02-06T21:02:19.447-08:00The Big PictureI am a 5th grade English teacher at an all-boys' school. Join me on my journey as I reflect on the thinking and learning that takes place in my classroom.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-43794132097256966742016-03-09T11:45:00.001-08:002016-03-09T11:48:50.354-08:00New Website grammarcloud.org<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YjEQH321ZkDnEuBXLDOovzSE9vfE1yR3gZwu6OC3j-wQM03eQeT0Iilm881ipK_8cvAjnnae7TNaQmFbTjEh7POaLbRcmWt07oDtW8Lbnriuz8m5B29o-7V-WvIfxNv6h-Zns-FpufU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-03-09+at+1.42.05+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="58" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YjEQH321ZkDnEuBXLDOovzSE9vfE1yR3gZwu6OC3j-wQM03eQeT0Iilm881ipK_8cvAjnnae7TNaQmFbTjEh7POaLbRcmWt07oDtW8Lbnriuz8m5B29o-7V-WvIfxNv6h-Zns-FpufU/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-03-09+at+1.42.05+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I am currently building a new website called <a href="http://grammarcloud.org/">grammarcloud</a>
that is a combination of all that I have implemented in the classroom
over the years. My school has provided me with amazing professional
development that ranges from project based learning, implementation of
digital tools for enhancing grammar and writing, as well as the
application of thinking routines after studying at Harvard's Project
Zero. I recently received my master's in Instructional Design and
Technology where I am applying design techniques blended with my
expertise with grammar and writing to create instructional tutorials for
a deeper cognitive learning experience. I would like to offer support
for those who are working towards creating a digital classroom blended
with making thinking visible. My website is a work in progress, but I
hope to develop it over time and help those who are interested.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-74406289387205380872013-07-15T11:02:00.003-07:002013-07-15T11:29:57.033-07:00"Wilding the Tame" with Technology and 21st Century Teaching and Learning <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>I used to think</b> that I was solely responsible for teaching my students. I ran a traditional classroom where the objectives were more skill-driven. I provided lecture-based teaching where I stood in front of the classroom, worksheets were distributed, text books were referenced, students worked independently at their desk, and more standardized testing was given.<br />
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<b>But now I Know </b>that I am responsible for guiding my students as they take ownership for their own thinking and learning, participate in collaborative group work, take part in project based learning where they problem solve real world situations, and receive ongoing feedback making shifts in their thinking and learning as needed. The integration of technology enhances learning and provides immediate access to information, differentiated and personalized instruction through adaptive learning programs and Screenflows, and enables global collaboration as new perspectives are gained.<br />
<br />
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I had the opportunity to participate in <a href="http://www.pz.harvard.edu/">Project Zero </a>which is an educational research group at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University. Its mission is to understand and enhance learning, thinking, and creativity in the arts. I had the privilege of hearing David Perkins who works along side of Howard Gardner give a wonderful presentation that followed the theme “The Tame and the Wild.” He talked about this being in all aspects of our lives. He used a manicured backyard as an example of what Tame is where you have your lawn chairs for comfort and you sit and enjoy a cookout with friends. And then he made reference to a ravine, deemed as wild, that is thick with vegetation and filled with water that is at the edge of the manicured yard. Even though it is considered wild, there is still order to it and contains wild life that thrives within it; there is a system in place. He then proceeded with the same concept for the classroom. It is doing what is comfortable and what is known but carrying it too far before anything is done with it. Some examples were thrown out such as underlining topic sentences, using the quadratic formula, diagramming sentences, and knowing the four causes of the industrial revolution. Then he talked about how to “Wild the Tame” by risk-taking, going from teacher to student-directed lessons, using more collaboration, thinking a certain way instead of about it…which he termed as having “about-itis.”<br />
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Creating and developing skills by doing is the product of understanding. So all of this supports and leads me to share about “Wilding the Tame” with project-Based Learning.
I first became familiar with PBL when reading Tony Wagner’s Global Achievement Gap, the chapter about schools that work. He defined <i>rigor</i> as not how much content is covered but how deep the analysis of the content goes.
Rigor is about the pursuit of inquiry, which results from hands-on learning and showing what you know.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Wagner’s 21st century skills:
</b><br />
Critical thinking and problem solving<br />
Collaboration across networks<br />
Agility and adaptability (quickly move and adapt to situations)<br />
Initiative and entrepreneurship <br />
Effective oral and written communication<br />
Assessing and analyzing information<br />
Curiosity and imagination<br />
<br />
Every bit of these 21st century skills can be accomplished through interdisciplinary projects such as <b>Project Based Learning (PBL)</b> that guide students in inquiry answering a central question (driving question), solving a problem, or meeting a challenge. PBL allows a shift from traditional teaching to an environment where the students become active participants in their learning.<br />
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First of all, with PBL it is important <b>to know my role as a teacher:</b><br />
<br />
<b>Constructivist philosophy</b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>I serve as the facilitator or guide on the side
-</li>
<li>Create a positive learning culture- encourage the students to be risk takers and that it is ok to
make mistakes </li>
<li>Incorporate standards </li>
<li>Develop, model, and nurture inquiry (manager of the inquiry process) </li>
<li>To be flexible prepare for things to go in an unexpected direction </li>
<li>Model the willingness to be a learner- there will be many times that I don’t know the
answer but will model for them how to go about finding the answers. </li>
<li>Assessor of learning- it is important to use formative assessment throughout </li>
</ul>
<b>The role of a student: </b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Collaborators </li>
<li>Self-managers </li>
<li>Conductors of Research </li>
<li>Decision-makers </li>
<li>Problem-solvers </li>
<li>Peer/self evaluators </li>
<li>Innovators </li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Assessments:</b> It is important to begin with the end in mind thinking about the standards that I need to cover as well as thinking dispositions that need to be developed among the students; with that in mind I can come up with the understanding performance or essential questions. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Good questions:</b> The students have to know how to pose real open-ended questions, find resources and determine validity of information on websites, they have to interpret that information, and report their findings while using the inquiry process. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Ways to assess throughout the PBL process:</b>
There are many nontraditional ways to provide formative assessment which is the most important for learning and developing understanding. This can be accomplished through the following: </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Rubrics
Problem</li>
<li>solving guides </li>
<li>Reflection journals </li>
<li>Self-assessments </li>
<li>Reflection essays </li>
<li>Small/Whole Group discussions </li>
</ul>
<b>Technology</b> can be used to enhance thinking and learning in several ways:<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>ePortfolios where students compile a collection of their digital writing where they self-reflect and apply metacognition. </li>
<li>Screenflows for recording instruction for flip teaching, providing reinforcement, or small group situations for one-on-one instruction </li>
<li>Digital tools such as Glogster, Prezi, and Google for presenting research findings or self-reflection </li>
<li>VoiceThread for global sharing, collaborating, and providing feedback </li>
<li>Learning Management Systems such as Edmodo, Haiku, or Google for organizing instruction, collaboration, and assessments </li>
<li> Google Documents, presentations, etc. for creating a paperless classroom and enabling collaboration and feedback to occur outside of the classroom. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>References </b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Edutopia. (2010). Project-based learning: an overview. Retrieved on July 15,
2013 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=
LXpfCfuDqnY#at=545</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Harvard University. (2010). Project zero. Graduate school of education.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Mills, S. (2006). Using the internet for active teaching and learning. Upper saddle
river new jersey: Pearson education.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Perkins, D. (2009). Making learning whole. Published by Jossey-Bass. San
Francisco, CA.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Wagner, T. (2010). The global achievement gap: why even our best schools don't
teach the new survival skills our children need--and what we can do about it.
Published by basic books. New York, new york. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Wagner, T. (2012). Creating innovators: the making of young people who will
change the world. A division of simon & schuster, inc. New york, new york.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-84764760286067548552012-08-16T06:37:00.000-07:002012-08-16T06:38:29.972-07:00Why Collaborate?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-18117614783468163622012-05-02T06:47:00.002-07:002012-05-02T06:47:25.324-07:005th Grade Participates in Global Virtual Classroom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span id="internal-source-marker_0.3363079682458192" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In September, the PDS 5th graders began a collaborative project through</span><a href="http://www.virtualclassroom.org/win10.html#E_CAT" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Global</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Virtual</span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Classroom</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (GVC), a project of the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Give Something Back International Foundation</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Its purpose is to enhance 21st century skills and allow for cross-cultural communication, collaboration, and technology skills. We were partnered with Heng-Shan Elementary School in New Taipei City, Taiwan and Percy Julian Middle School in Oak Park, Illinois. Together we agreed to build a website on the topic of bullying since it is a current and relevant issue as well as a world epidemic.</span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Connecting with a diverse group of students from schools around the world was a very rewarding experience. Twiducate, a private social network, was used for introductions where the students learned about each other’s language and cultural differences. They also used a private wiki called </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Students Meet World</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> where all of their collaborative work was shared for uploading to the website. They saw purpose in what they were doing as they set out to answer their guiding question of “What are the impacts of bullying on our society and what can I do to prevent it?” </span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After many months of brainstorming, researching, collaborating, and creating many different end products, the boys thought critically and creatively as they demonstrated how they could make a difference by bringing awareness to bullying through our GVC website. Their work reveals deep thinking as the they used various thinking routines, created on-line surveys and quizzes of the information they learned, wrote original slogans, filmed role-playing, and reflected on their journey along the way. They used technology such as glogs, iMovies, Google docs, Haiku (Learning Management System), Excel for graphing statistics, and much more. One group even designed a pen with the words “Control, Escape, and Delete Cyber-Bullying” and collected money within their group to purchase the pens so they could raise money for the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Boys and Girls Club</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of Memphis</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. They spoke to all fourth, fifth, and sixth graders about their experience and collected over one hundred dollars in donations so far. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to the great work the boys contributed to the website, the US Attorney, Ed Stanton and Debra L. Ireland, Assistant United States Attorney agreed to come to PDS to speak on the topic of Internet safety and cyber bullying. The boys learned about Internet safety tips and how to conduct proper and ethical behavior when using technology in addition to learning strategies for putting an end to cyber bullying.</span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Global Virtual Classroom project was a competition that involved sixty-four schools and twenty-two countries from around the world, and over twenty-two websites were submitted covering an array of topics. The 5th grade PDS boys earned the Silver prize in the primary school category that included a plaque and a $1,500 cash prize. They plan on adding their portion of the prize money to what has already been collected for the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Boys and Girls Club</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">of Memphis</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to help to further raise awareness to bullying. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 12px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-13646828222967502532012-04-19T06:58:00.001-07:002012-05-03T09:03:17.075-07:00Voting for My Blog<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Thanks so much for all of the support on voting for my blog! It came in second place and I couldn't be happier. I felt like a winner when it was nominated:) </div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-46136090890197963242012-04-10T10:20:00.003-07:002012-04-10T12:31:33.302-07:00Global Virtual Classroom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<b style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://gvc1103.gvc11.virtualclassroom.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bullying 101 Website</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></b><br />
<b style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back in August, I ran across an opportunity through </span><a href="http://www.virtualclassroom.org/win10.html#E_CAT" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Global Virtual Classroom</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to involve the 5th grade PDS boys in a collaborative project with other schools around the world. We were assigned to schools in Illinois and Taiwan, and together we agreed to build a website on the topic of bullying since it is a current and relevant issue as well as a worldwide epidemic.</span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="color: #222222; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">After many months of brainstorming, research, collaboration, and creating many different end products for bringing awareness to bullying, the website is now in its final stages of editing. The website reveals deep thinking as the boys created CSIs, reflections using thinking routines such as “I Used to think... but now I think,” glogs, iMovies, slogans, and much more. One group even designed a pen with the words “Control, Escape, and Delete Cyber-Bullying,” collected money on their own and bought one hundred pens to raise money for the Boys and Girls Club of Memphis. They spoke to all fourth, fifth, and sixth graders about their experience and have raised over one hundred dollars so far. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This contest involves over sixty schools and twenty-two countries from around the world, and there will probably be over twenty websites submitted covering an array of topics. I wanted to share the link to our website so that you can see the great work that will soon be published as the contest comes to an end next week. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://gvc1103.gvc11.virtualclassroom.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bullying 101 Website</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/104645741644567674471/GVC1112#">Picasa Pictures</a> of Participants from around the world</span></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-7725652325292594862011-03-24T12:38:00.000-07:002012-10-07T12:27:22.573-07:00PDS Spirit 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><object><param name="movie" value="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v1/IssuuViewer.swf?mode=embed&documentId=110304150413-8efa60a5bea943b4ae4b05bb865014c1&documentUsername=pdsmemphis&documentName=pds_spirit_winter_2011&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed src="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v1/IssuuViewer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" style="width:600;height:450" flashvars="mode=embed&documentId=110304150413-8efa60a5bea943b4ae4b05bb865014c1&documentUsername=pdsmemphis&documentName=pds_spirit_winter_2011&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Flight%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true" /></object></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-12645624937918822512011-02-03T11:04:00.000-08:002011-02-04T05:49:07.505-08:00Thinking Routines & Inquiry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT7lSXZZ43btblm65clPrqMaDZHsKe4vIWIe-BSho4gBsvI7cJ5sQR7dkHzIEUHYMPLP81ugeA2Zh-EAjNlACxv1XJRsPVBwwO6C6c8bphz0TTmvXLeoUGGLhs3luHPamMqyqykaEl5RM/s1600/DSCN2448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT7lSXZZ43btblm65clPrqMaDZHsKe4vIWIe-BSho4gBsvI7cJ5sQR7dkHzIEUHYMPLP81ugeA2Zh-EAjNlACxv1XJRsPVBwwO6C6c8bphz0TTmvXLeoUGGLhs3luHPamMqyqykaEl5RM/s320/DSCN2448.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCIX5pl_RsENXqEeZDc_ypiuIAZRWWajfmi4sl0YHx8HoRwuVCJeR5sGLjdXH6jWdIkCWMwr9Itipx-2l4bg1dhY7l4ZllhkIU5rdrgReHgJEWyWEyCDtHJCraxZzh3T_ukR77fgOtyA/s1600/DSCN2441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div>I have been implementing many thinking routines throughout the year where the boys are routinely asked to think a specific way for certain results. I have intentionally chosen thinking routines that would help to develop or enhance inquiry as well as lend itself to an English classroom. The following are thinking routines, their explanations of how they have been implemented, and how they expand and deepen students' thinking:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">Ladder of Feedback:</span></b></span><br />
The students worked on varied sentence structure, word choice, specificity, and reflexive pronouns to answer a writing prompt. They read these aloud and then received feedback from their partner by clarifying with a question (what they didn't understand), valuing the work (what they found impressive, innovative, and strong), sharing concerns (problems/challenges), and suggestions on how they can handle the concerns.<br />
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This thinking routine allowed the students to practice asking questions when they needed clarification. The following are some examples that I heard:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">KWL:</span></b></span><br />
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What I know, what I want to know, and what I have learned<br />
The boys used this before research of a topic to distinguish between what they already know and what they don't. This helps to use questioning to get a clearer understanding as they sort through what they know to guide their research for what they don't know.<br />
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<div style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Question Starts: </b></span></div><br />
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The kind of thinking that this routine encourages is developing good questions that lead to inquiry of a topic. As stated on the website Visible Thinking at Harvard Project Zero, "The purpose of asking deep and interesting questions is to get at the complexity and depth of a topic. " The site further states how Question Starts deepens the thinking of students and has them more curious and questioning about the what they are learning. It is ideal to use them to introduce new material but can also be used in the middle of a study of a topic to 'enliven students' curiosity. Using the thinking routine at the end of a study of a topic is a way to revise questions using the knowledge gained to ask even more interesting questions. The following Question Starts are being used in my English classroom to have the boys to look at parts of speech in a different way and to gain a deeper understanding. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGhYslzRoZvgD4SGrPSHJLQCZMNevbQrAKe9znRmkelr4JvS0LecI9gJzEAxjEjJHoElQNyvbSQiqiRfhUFeFPiB25doVohE2u15md-9UIdaMVhVNdHMsmqp4xj0J6U4LTMU1tTH89u_g/s1600/DSCN2445.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGhYslzRoZvgD4SGrPSHJLQCZMNevbQrAKe9znRmkelr4JvS0LecI9gJzEAxjEjJHoElQNyvbSQiqiRfhUFeFPiB25doVohE2u15md-9UIdaMVhVNdHMsmqp4xj0J6U4LTMU1tTH89u_g/s320/DSCN2445.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQD1AdYFyv7CgwaIybjNCzvkYnS4KgxOUvTAkUvCyGOfx4Ct1swzsEgv5C8VBpdXYpSLl7lZtQR_NFbfusz2qa0dqrv2FQt7hTm46k2DwCmBWyJzv1JFVzyEyHl1Gyw9OfQ9hmtzQH-Q/s1600/DSCN2446.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQD1AdYFyv7CgwaIybjNCzvkYnS4KgxOUvTAkUvCyGOfx4Ct1swzsEgv5C8VBpdXYpSLl7lZtQR_NFbfusz2qa0dqrv2FQt7hTm46k2DwCmBWyJzv1JFVzyEyHl1Gyw9OfQ9hmtzQH-Q/s320/DSCN2446.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLVBJ6M5VfhUJ4-EqP8qv8S5TNcMZZ-JNAvDGotsjwXlrhyJAuiM3yHSBX1XoDMQJACCSrbTWzh8UoKYFHlkZtXcSQuTwSClF8C8cdG5j8gsAOrQYQrErMre5IwuWc-DxCFgeR4IP3x0/s1600/DSCN2447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBLVBJ6M5VfhUJ4-EqP8qv8S5TNcMZZ-JNAvDGotsjwXlrhyJAuiM3yHSBX1XoDMQJACCSrbTWzh8UoKYFHlkZtXcSQuTwSClF8C8cdG5j8gsAOrQYQrErMre5IwuWc-DxCFgeR4IP3x0/s320/DSCN2447.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCIX5pl_RsENXqEeZDc_ypiuIAZRWWajfmi4sl0YHx8HoRwuVCJeR5sGLjdXH6jWdIkCWMwr9Itipx-2l4bg1dhY7l4ZllhkIU5rdrgReHgJEWyWEyCDtHJCraxZzh3T_ukR77fgOtyA/s1600/DSCN2441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCIX5pl_RsENXqEeZDc_ypiuIAZRWWajfmi4sl0YHx8HoRwuVCJeR5sGLjdXH6jWdIkCWMwr9Itipx-2l4bg1dhY7l4ZllhkIU5rdrgReHgJEWyWEyCDtHJCraxZzh3T_ukR77fgOtyA/s320/DSCN2441.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Before even asking the questions from the thinking routine Question Starts, my 5A boys were doing it on their own!!! I was so excited to see how inquisitive they were about reflexive, demonstrative, and interrogative pronouns. One boy asked if there was a pattern to distinguish between demonstrative pronouns (dp) and demonstrative adjectives (da) and they immediately noticed that dp's always come before linking verbs and da's always come before nouns. When we were discussing the demonstrative pronouns <b><i>this, that, these and those</i></b>, a boy commented on a sample sentence of "That tastes good." He replied, "We are expected to write with more specific information." I then clarified that it is usually a sentence that is in addition to other sentences written together to convey a certain message. Another student then recalled the study of clauses and asked, "Suppose we add that sentence beginning with a demonstrative pronoun and have it to interrupt another one like, "The candy <b>that tastes good</b> is on the table." Does that change the function of the word <i>that</i>. Before I could answer, another student replied that it sounded like a dependent clause and would the word <i>that</i> be a subordinating conjunction. I couldn't believe the connections they were making to previous learning, especially since we weren't covering relative pronouns during this unit. <br />
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Another boy asked about his own sentence, "Is this piece of bread over-cooked?" and wondered if <b><i>this </i></b>was a pronoun or adjective. His question was answered by another student who indicated that "piece" was a noun and therefore the pronoun<i> <b>this</b> </i>was functioning as an adjective. Then I had a student to add, "<b><span style="color: red;">What if</span> </b>the sentence said, 'This is over-cooked bread'?" Some students chimed in and said that it would change the function of the word <b><i>this </i></b>from an adjective to a pronoun because demonstrative pronouns stand alone.<br />
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5D decided to use What if questions when discussing indefinite pronouns. They really started to inquire in ways that I had never experienced before. We were looking at all singular and plural indefinite pronouns and one student asked, "<span style="color: red;"><b>What if</b> </span>we put an indefinite pronoun in front of a noun? Would it be like the demonstrative pronoun that would then function as an adjective?" It was then asked, "<b><span style="color: red;">What if</span></b> we put an indefinite pronoun in front of another indefinite pronoun like <i>several</i> <i>others</i>?" I answered his question with a question, "Would they both function as a pronoun?" He then said, "One will remain a pronoun and one will function as an adjective." <br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-27835402397679622342011-01-26T10:45:00.000-08:002011-02-13T14:19:31.773-08:00Inquiry in the Classroom<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">So far, I have tried many different strategies for creating a higher level of inquiry among my students. Project based learning provided multiple opportunities for the students to routinely be engaged in the inquiry process. I ran across some valuable information from Kathy G. Short from University of Arizona where she shares several years worth of research regarding "Inquiry as a stance on curriculum." She states, "Inquiry is not a particular teaching method, a refinement of project approaches or theme units but a stance that underlies our approach to living as learners, both within and outside of school." Inquiry occurs when the students can make connections to what they are learning and relate it to their own personal lives and experiences where they combine "uncertainty and invitation." It was stated with uncertainty comes questions to explore and with invitation comes the courage to seek answers. It is the "why" and "what if" and can be a stance of being "off balance." Short explains, "A life of balance involves staying perfectly still in the same place- in that comfortable rut, and reaching out for answers occurs because there is a driving force that compels learners to move forward to pursue new insights and unities." Project-based learning creates an opportunity for all students to take a guiding question that is written in such a way that gives them the "need-to-know" that they can explore and investigate as they construct their own understanding.<br />
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It made so much sense when Kathy Short shared how a teacher's approach is to create instruction based on how people should learn with the question of "How do I teach Inquiry?" In the beginning, this is the exact approach that I took when looking for ways to strengthen and develop inquiring minds. During research I learned that I should take a different approach with the question, <span style="color: blue;">"How do I and others inquire?" </span> Inquiry is a natural process, and once it is explored as to how this occurs then we can approach the ways in which to involve the students in such a learning environment that foster this: <span style="color: blue;">planning lessons in which contain a conceptual framework (for relevance and to engage), questions are asked that lead to divergent thinking, you serve as a guide through the learning process, ask the "why" and "What is your evidence" questions, and formative assessment is ongoing.</span><br />
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Inquiry begins with the learners' own experiences and understandings and without any connection to what is being learned, the information is forgotten. When I chose the topic of civil rights for project based learning, I knew that it needed to be part of the 5th grade curriculum that involved humanity. This was a topic that they could all relate to and bring in some experience and prior knowledge. But before beginning the project, we began with a discussion about fairness and what it meant to them. In their own words, they wrote their ideas in their reflection journals and made an immediate connection to what it meant to be fair and how they had demonstrated this in their lives. They also shared examples of times when they experienced situations that were unfair. Kathy Short supported this approach by saying that sometimes we have to move beyond the topic for significant connections to be made by the learner. She gave examples that involved students exploring experiences of moving place to place instead of jumping right in and covering immigration patterns around the world. She further states how units of inquiry need to begin with a conceptual frame, not the topic, for the students to make a connection to their own lives. Civil Rights would be the topic and the concept would involve freedom from unfair treatment. The students' connection would involve their own personal freedoms and their own experience with fairness. After exploring the topic of<a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/31305034/The-Fairness-Project-Home-Page"> <span style="color: blue;">fairness</span></a>, I introduced the following guiding question:<span style="color: red;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: red;">Guiding question:</span> What can I learn about past civil rights struggles to help solve the issues that still exist?<br />
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This actually began the inquiry process and had the students wondering about a current, relevant issue that they needed to explore for problem solving and could relate to from the stand point of fairness. Because of my focus to incorporate the skills to improve the students' written and oral communication, it didn't affect the conceptual frame of inquiry regarding civil rights. There was no focus of building knowledge (information in isolation) separate from the conceptual frame. This can easily happen with the teacher's need to cover instructional objectives and "get lost in information" within a project. <span style="color: blue;">The focus always needs to remain on the "why" of the unit.</span> After much research and personal reflection, this is something that I definitely want to be more intentional about in the classroom. <br />
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<span style="color: red;">Using primary sources</span> (authentic documents, images, videos, etc.) allowed the students to analyze and provide their own interpretations for understanding different aspects of the civil rights movements as they formulated their own questions for further research. These were recorded in their reflection journals where they learned about revising for specificity, clarity, and being open-ended for further research. The following are some of the original documents that the students analyzed:<br />
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<div style="color: blue;">original letters to President Truman to stop segregation of armed forces</div><div style="color: blue;">original warrant for Rosa Park's arrest</div><div style="color: blue;">Bus rules before/during the civil rights movement</div><div style="color: blue;">Pictures of sit-ins, child labor, women marching for voting rights, </div><div style="color: blue;">maps</div><div style="color: blue;">newspaper articles about children striking </div><div style="color: blue;">original document for child labor laws<br />
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<a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/31530576/Research-Links" style="color: red;">Videos</a> (click here) <a href="http://rights.teachingmatters.org/" style="color: red;">Primary Sources</a> (click here) </div> <br />
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After the students explored the civil rights involving child labor, disability, gender, and race, they decided on the specific area in which they wanted to focus their research. The students had to explore the past to problem solve for the future, but some went as far back to the beginning searching for the answer of WHY. For example, one collaborative group wanted to explore WHY there were slaves in the U.S. and began researching the history of slavery in America even though the videos presented to them were only from the civil rights movement.<br />
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<div style="color: red;"><a href="http://trefzenglish.blogspot.com/2010/12/inquiring-minds.html" style="color: red;">KWL</a> <span style="color: black;">This is an important part of inquiry in project/problem based learning that I previously reflected on. I am creating a link here for reference. </span></div><br />
<span style="color: red;">Investigation</span> began when exploring different sources as they looked to answer their questions about their chosen topic. They had to evaluate url's for reliability and websites for validity. This involved being current and having an author with credentials. Then they had to draw conclusions from the information that would answer their questions, and from their discoveries, they had to come up with a problem to solve that mattered to them, something worth investigating. In Kathy Short's research, she stated, "One of the most common understandings of inquiry is problem-solving with the vision of the students engaged in research on particular topics of interest related to the class focus." She further stated that teachers often plan projects around a focus deciding what the students will research, but these particular experiences of guided inquiry don't teach them how to find a problem to investigate. When teachers pose problems for the students to solve, the students aren't asking questions about issues significant in their lives and as a result never fully experience inquiry.<br />
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<div style="color: red;">Collaboration <span style="color: black;">As stated in the research presented by Kathy Short, inquiry can come in different forms: personal inquiry (the student poses the problem), guided inquiry (the teacher poses the problem that the student solves), and collaborative inquiry (the student negotiates problem posing and solving within a group). Collaborative inquiry involves "reaching beyond ourselves and our current understandings where we think together." Within a collaborative group, inquiry takes place in participation regardless of the level of proficiency that each member can contribute. </span></div><div style="color: red;"></div><span style="color: red;">Exploration of unknown words</span> in context was required during the research process. As the students encountered unfamiliar terms during research, they recorded them and included the definition. They were supposed to do this each time they researched a new website to instill the habit of inquiry as they approached unknown words in context.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">Forming a hypothesis</span> about a possible solution to the problem was the next step which lead to further investigation to test the hypothesis or find answers and solutions to the question and/or problem. The investigation lead to the construction of new knowledge based on investigation findings. Reflections were made and <span style="color: red;">more questions were formulated for further investigation. </span><br />
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<span style="color: red;">Reflections </span>are written and expressed throughout project-based learning but is especially important at the end of an inquiry project. The students in my class wrote a reflection essay after gathering, analyzing, interpreting, and organizing their research. As stated from an article "Supporting Inquiry with Primary Sources" from the Library of Congress, "expression is essential for inquiry learning because when they demonstrate new understanding and share, they solidify their own learning." The following are some samples of 5th grade reflection essays on the research they did on solving the problem of civil rights issues that still exist:<br />
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<a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/35438918/Jacob-W-Civil-Rights-Essay"></a><br />
<div style="color: purple;"><a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/35438918/Jacob-W-Civil-Rights-Essay">Jacob</a></div><div style="color: purple;"><a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/35439293/Bradley-Civil-Rights-Essay">Bradley</a></div><div style="color: purple;"><a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/35439369/Charlie-Civil-Rights-Essay">Charlie</a></div><div style="color: purple;"><a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/35439468/Miller-Civil-Rights-Essay">Miller</a></div><div style="color: purple;"><a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/35441258/Bobby-Civil-Rights-Essay">Bobby</a></div><div style="color: purple;"><a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/35442655/Smith-Civil-Rights-Essay">Smith</a></div><div style="color: purple;"><a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/35443740/Jackson-Civil-Rights">Jackson </a><br />
<div style="color: purple;"><a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/35476878/Austin-Civil-Rights-Essay">Austin </a></div></div><div style="color: purple;"><a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/35476952/Baugh-Civil-Rights-Essay">Baugh</a></div><div style="color: purple;"><a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/35478149/Bo-Civil-Rights-Essay">Bo </a></div><br />
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After researching and problem solving their chosen topic, the students organized their information as they used a <span style="color: red;">technology presentation</span> to share their findings. During my observation, the students in the role as the audience were very active in questioning when the presenter's thoughts weren't fully developed or were missing important information in the presentation. One group was questioned about the pros and cons not being the benefits and drawbacks, but instead were presented just as ideas of what they were going to do to achieve as an outcome. Other questions were just asked out of curiosity where the students in the audience were seeking more information. The students seemed so genuinely involved as they asked specific questions about the presentations. I actually had to limit the questions to make time for other presentations that followed. The following are some samples of the technology presentations on civil rights:<br />
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<a href="http://trefz.blogspot.com/2011/01/project-based-learning-glogster.html">Glogster </a><br />
<a href="http://trefz.blogspot.com/2011/01/project-based-learning-technology.html">Slideshares</a><br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-51776752142788913512011-01-26T07:52:00.000-08:002011-01-26T07:52:12.468-08:00Changing Directions: How Can I Create A Higher Level of Inquiry Among My Students?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">After doing a considerable amount of research on inquiry-based learning, I have decided that I need to revise my question about how to create a disposition of inquiry among my students to something that is more measurable. Using thinking routines, project-based learning, and various other strategies has impacted my students, but I struggled with coming up with evidence other than the questions that the students formulated during their projects and the written reflections that the students recorded in their journals. The work itself is evidence of inquiry, but can a disposition among 68 of my students actually be measured? <br />
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After brainstorming, I decided to turn the focus on the ways in which I can create a higher level of inquiry in my classroom. Whether or not my efforts are successful in developing a certain disposition, I know that with continuous routine, habits of the mind will develop and I will be able to measure the quality of students' questions, the extent of inquiry regarding the material that is covered, and reflections of thinking routines that stimulates curiosity.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-63708053309166861392011-01-19T11:34:00.000-08:002011-01-28T15:17:07.166-08:00Exploring Civil Rights Using Primary Sources<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">After researching The Library of Congress, I discovered an article/tutorial, "Supporting Inquiry with Primary Sources." It discussed how primary sources such as authentic images, documents, and diaries allow the learner to connect to the real world as opposed to using textbooks where interpretations of world issues are already given. The article further stated, "Using primary sources empowers students to construct their own understanding, draw conclusions, create new knowledge, and share the knowledge with others." I began to think about how project-based learning lends itself to the students having access to primary sources on the Internet. Even though the students are responsible for finding an answer to a guiding question through research, they are also exposed to teacher-selected videos and documents that are relevant to furthering their inquiry and research. The students were asked to formulate questions based on what they were left wondering after analyzing <a href="http://rights.teachingmatters.org/" style="background-color: white; color: red;">documents, photos</a> and <a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/31153122/The-Fairness-Project" style="background-color: white; color: red;">videos</a> of children, people of ethnicity, women, and the disabled being discriminated against, all of which involves a civil rights movement. <br />
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-51720579364049304482010-12-14T06:54:00.000-08:002011-01-28T15:17:39.175-08:00Inquiring Minds: KWL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">During the beginning stages of Project Based Learning (PBL), I had my students to brainstorm ideas of what it meant to have civil rights. It was interesting that they could only reference the Bill of Rights knowing that they had the right to bear arms and had the right of freedom of speech. After having the students to view <a href="http://rights.teachingmatters.org/">Voices and Choices</a> that defined and explained what civil rights were and how they could be infringed, I introduced the guiding question, “What can I learn about the past Civil Rights struggles to help resolve current issues that still exist today?” This question would drive the project, giving it purpose; it is what begins the inquiry process. <br />
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I then chose videos from the past civil rights movements on United Streaming and YouTube that involved women fighting for the right to vote, children being forced to work, racial segregation, and the disabled being denied equal access to public places.<br />
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Students formed questions that they were left with after viewing the videos, and they were instructed to record them in their reflection journals so that I could get an idea of how developed their questions were. At first, a lot of the questions were written in such a way that would only provide a "yes" or "no" answer or would not lead to further inquiry through research. <b> I wondered what would happen if I showed examples of good open-ended questions that would be excellent for research and would lead to further questions? </b> After giving feedback by sharing good examples of open-ended questions, the students learned how to revise their own questions. Daniel Callison, the Associate Professor and Director of School Library Media Education at Indiana University in Bloomington, stated, "Renovated and revised questions will give one important indication of the student's progress through the information selection, analysis, and synthesis process." It is further stated about the importance of "Looking for evidence that the questions evolve in detail and complexity that show they are driving their thoughts." This article in School Library Media Activities Monthly shed light on the importance of recording information to show evidence of the progress of one's thinking and questioning. <br />
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After learning how to analyze questions for detail and revise them accordingly, the students decided what aspect of civil rights that they wanted explore based on interest. After making a decision, they completed a KWL: What did they know about the topic, what did they want to learn about the topic, and what research would lead to information that would help answer their guiding question? The students divided their ideas according to what they knew and what they wanted to learn. Again, they focused their efforts on writing strong, detailed, and open-ended questions that would guide them in research and further their inquiry. Improvements were made and they spent two days exploring their new topic of interest, moving from the past to the present-day civil rights issues that they wanted to solve.<br />
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<div style="color: red;">Before discussing what a good, open-ended question entailed, Some of the 5th grade questions were as follows:</div><br />
Did men fight for their wives' right to vote?<br />
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When did children go to school when they were working such long hours?<br />
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How old were kids when they started working?<br />
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After the Civil War when slavery was abolished, why would African Americans not have equal rights?<br />
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How many special schools were available for the disabled?<br />
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Are there any cures for the disabled?<br />
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Are all races guilty of discrimination?<br />
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<div style="color: red;">Some of the above questions are not open-ended and would not lead to further inquiry. After discussing how to formulate a good question using specificity, I had the students to go back and revise their original questions. The students asked deeper, more thought-provoking questions that in some way involved overcoming the civil rights struggles. The following are some samples:</div><br />
How do you amend or pass a law?<br />
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How can a house be made disability friendly?<br />
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In what ways could we use existing laws to fight sweatshops?<br />
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Why are women paid less than men when they are equally qualified? Why is this a global issue?<br />
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Why is child labor more of a problem in certain parts of the country than others?<br />
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How do we begin a non-profit organization to stop child labor?<br />
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Why are child labor laws not enforced when it concerns agriculture?<br />
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Why is racial profiling a concern among law enforcements?<br />
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Why is segregation a bigger issue than it was during the civil rights movement?<br />
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<div style="color: red;">The students also deepened their thoughts and asked more critical thinking questions that couldn't necessarily be researched, but had them looking at the world through a different lens.</div><br />
If Rosa Parks hadn't refused to give up her seat, how would that have affected the outcome of the Civil Rights Movement?<br />
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What would the world look like today if the African Americans had given up fighting for freedom?<br />
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How would disabled people live their lives if George H.W. Bush didn't approve the ADA?<br />
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Why are small children of the early 1900's doing work that grown men struggle with?<br />
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If women still couldn't vote today, what would our country look like today?<br />
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-38229476315616375022010-11-09T10:57:00.000-08:002011-01-06T10:20:27.069-08:00Step One of Action ResearchI had the privilege of attending Project Zero at Harvard this summer and the question was posed about understanding: What is understanding and how does it develop? The answer came in many forms such as having the students to engage, embrace problems, and persevere at challenging tasks. In addition to this, they question and explain what they learn and embrace the opportunity to learn from mistakes. This all involves being curious and questioning for deep thinking that leads to complex knowledge. That is when I decided that I needed to further explore how to develop a disposition of inquiry among my students so that they can deepen their level of critical thinking. <br />
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I have always wondered why a lot of my 5th grade students aren't curious and questioning about the content they are learning in my English classroom. Most just take information at face value or as the truth without ever wanting to know the "how" and the "why." After all, grammar and writing is usually not the favored subject when it is taught in a traditional way. When questions <span style="font-style: italic;">are</span> asked, they are usually not detailed or do not range below surface-level questions that are more in-depth. <br />
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<b>Research question: How can I create a disposition of inquiry among my students?</b><br />
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I tried project-based learning,(PBL), in my classroom for the first time last year, and through my research I learned about inquiry-based learning. <b> I am left wondering if PBL enhances inquiry verses using the traditional style of teaching. What would happen if I showed examples of good open-ended questions that would be excellent for exploring the answer through research and would lead to further questions? How can I ask the right questions and to lead my students to revise their questions that are not open-ended? What are the ways to teach the inquiry process and make it routine in my classroom?</b> I want to be intentional about answering students' questions with a question that will make them think, problem-solve, be decision-makers, or find a way to answer their own questions. <br />
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I have begun a new project this year that will be a combination of project-based, problem-based, and inquiry-based learning, where I can apply my research to find ways of showing evidence of developing inquiring minds among my students.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-10786143587304759842010-11-09T10:51:00.000-08:002010-11-09T11:48:29.169-08:00Problem Finding & Formulating Questions for Research for Problem SolvingFinding Problems:<br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/16664613" frameborder="0" height="300" width="400"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/16664613">Problem Finding to Problem Solve</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1193425">kim trefz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/16664700" frameborder="0" height="300" width="400"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/16664700">Problem Finding to Problem Solve</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1193425">kim trefz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br />Inquiry to Guide Research:<br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/16664913" frameborder="0" height="300" width="400"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/16664913">Inquiry for Guiding Research</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1193425">kim trefz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-47771606259243776872010-11-09T09:52:00.000-08:002010-11-09T10:23:01.178-08:00Voices and Choices for Civil Rights<a href="http://rights.teachingmatters.org/"><span style="font-size:130%;">Voices and Choices for Civil Rights!!!</span></a><br /><br />We are currently underway to answer our PBL guiding question: <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">What can I learn from the past civil rights struggles to help resolve current issues that still exist today? </span>This is a great site that defines civil rights, helps one to understand injustice, and provides information on how to learn methods of actions to overcome the struggles: start a movement, begin a campaign, start a petition, amend a bill, pass a law, advertise, capture photos, etc.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">What can you do to make a difference today?</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-37605776043504023212010-11-09T07:14:00.000-08:002010-11-09T09:52:15.810-08:00PBL: The Fairness ProjectWe have begun a new journey with project based learning using the social studies curriculum on civil rights. Before beginning, I realized that I would develop one guiding question that the students would all be responsible for answering regarding the topic of their choice: <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >What can I learn from the past civil rights struggles to help resolve current issues that still exist today?</span><br /><br />I had the students to first explore the areas of the civil rights movements that involved gender, age, race, and disability by viewing videos on YouTube and United Streaming from the past and present to gain enough knowledge to make a decision about what their interests would be. They were required to focus on <a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/w/page/31153122/The-Fairness-Project#view=edit">inquiry</a>, formulating questions to help them discover where their real interests lay, as well as give them a sense of ownership by allowing them to make a decision based on this.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-58754028519233418032010-08-21T15:14:00.000-07:002011-03-22T07:45:36.246-07:00Project-Based Learning Presentation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="prezi-player"><style media="screen" type="text/css">
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</style><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="400" id="prezi_s6yokttt7snu" name="prezi_s6yokttt7snu" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://prezi.com/bin/preziloader.swf"/><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"/><param name="flashvars" value="prezi_id=s6yokttt7snu&lock_to_path=0&color=ffffff&autoplay=no&autohide_ctrls=0"/><embed id="preziEmbed_s6yokttt7snu" name="preziEmbed_s6yokttt7snu" src="http://prezi.com/bin/preziloader.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="400" bgcolor="#ffffff" flashvars="prezi_id=s6yokttt7snu&lock_to_path=0&color=ffffff&autoplay=no&autohide_ctrls=0"></embed></object><br />
<div class="prezi-player-links"><a href="http://prezi.com/s6yokttt7snu/project-based-learning/" title="">Project Based Learning</a> on <a href="http://prezi.com/">Prezi</a></div></div></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-22176351209551565632010-05-21T09:03:00.000-07:002010-05-21T09:11:47.812-07:00Playing the Whole Game<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9hjCIwBRzACwP8i0mO8xYiQuNh-1K6NPWB4lIY1fXTjXqw847Gvz_uJicow2kp8YnZjbv4Q3ylxF3eBYc2A5QSdOW5gNckBhW1XF-pfXaC0WeS2O3eYILsXhS0rwJgeQbGel4Zxcomo/s1600/Picture+2.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9hjCIwBRzACwP8i0mO8xYiQuNh-1K6NPWB4lIY1fXTjXqw847Gvz_uJicow2kp8YnZjbv4Q3ylxF3eBYc2A5QSdOW5gNckBhW1XF-pfXaC0WeS2O3eYILsXhS0rwJgeQbGel4Zxcomo/s400/Picture+2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473755095760056066" border="0" /></a><br />During the reading of David Perkin’s book Making Learning Whole, I was able to make connections to the way that I manage my classroom and I discovered so many other ways that I can teach for understanding. Practicing skills on a regular basis without the real world application of how it works doesn’t allow students to make the connection and see the importance of what they are learning. Perkins used the analogy of baseball practice: the practice of pitching, catching, hitting, and throwing. He discussed how working on the small parts prepares one for the big game. It’s not until you put it all together to play the whole game of baseball that you see the importance of practicing the small parts.<br /><br /> When setting my goals for the year, I knew that I wanted to try “playing the whole game” in the classroom. I knew it would be a challenge and somewhat of a risk, but I wanted to further investigate project-based learning and give it a try. The students would be given the chance to develop autonomy, decision-making and problem solving skills, and apply the English content in the process. Learning grammar in isolation does not give the students the opportunity to see how it is supposed to work through real world situations. Throughout the project, the students were provided formative assessments that gave them the feedback that they needed to help them grow as writers. They were able to work on the hard parts and improve according to individual needs.<br /> <br /> The best part about project-based learning is that the students were able to “play out of town.” They were able to take the grammar and writing, the higher-level reading skills, and the science and math that they were learning and apply them to the project as they made generalizations about their guiding questions of their space topic. They found a problem that they needed to solve and they come up with a hypothesis about a possible outcome. They used a KWL thinking routine to help them with inquiry that would guide their research. After investigating and exploring their chosen topic, they ultimately came up with a solution where they had to weigh their options and decide if their solution was worth the risk. <br /><br /> Through the process of PBL, the “hidden game” revealed itself. Reciprocal teaching occurred where the students were guided but were allowed the role of the teacher. They self-managed by using a rubric of expectations, a time-line, and a problem-solving guide that allowed them to organize their thoughts, record their findings, and reflect on what they discovered along the way. This opportunity allowed the students the freedom to be inquisitive and explore their curiosity through research. They definitely benefited from “learning from the team” as they collaboratively worked together on a daily basis to problem-solve. The end product involved a reflection paper, a model representation of their project, and the use of technology (prezi, iMovie, powerpoints, and glogster) to present their discoveries to class.<br /><br /> There are many things that I would do differently the next go-round of PBL, but that is part of playing the whole game. Now I will work on the hard parts as I will expect my students to do, and through my continued reflections, I hope to fine-tune the experience for my next year’s students.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-8850120573462565982010-03-25T08:53:00.000-07:002010-03-26T11:00:22.718-07:00PBL Final Product Presentations<object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10432811&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10432811&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/10432811">5B PBL Final Product</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3052548">Dawn Trefz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><div class="prezi-player"><style type="text/css" media="screen">.prezi-player { width: 550px; } .prezi-player-links { text-align: center; }</style><object id="prezi_bowrmzf-xia9" name="prezi_bowrmzf-xia9" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" height="400" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://prezi.com/bin/preziloader.swf"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"><param name="flashvars" value="prezi_id=bowrmzf-xia9&lock_to_path=1&color=ffffff&autoplay=no"><embed id="preziEmbed_bowrmzf-xia9" name="preziEmbed_bowrmzf-xia9" src="http://prezi.com/bin/preziloader.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" bgcolor="#ffffff" flashvars="prezi_id=bowrmzf-xia9&lock_to_path=1&color=ffffff&autoplay=no" height="400" width="400"></embed></object><div class="prezi-player-links"><p><a title="description" href="http://prezi.com/bowrmzf-xia9/how-can-nasa-fortify-current-rockets-to-extend-space-travel/">How can NASA fortify current rockets to extend space travel?</a> on <a href="http://prezi.com/">Prezi</a></p></div></div><br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10432373&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10432373&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/10432373">5A PBL Final Product: Da Pod Presentation</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1193425">kim trefz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><div style="width: 425px;" id="__ss_3551095"><strong style="margin: 12px 0pt 4px; display: block;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/ktrefz/space-research-presentation-3551095" title="Space Research Presentation">Space Research Presentation</a></strong><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=spaceresearchpresentation-100325102240-phpapp02&stripped_title=space-research-presentation-3551095"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=spaceresearchpresentation-100325102240-phpapp02&stripped_title=space-research-presentation-3551095" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><div style="padding: 5px 0pt 12px;">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/ktrefz">ktrefz</a>.</div></div><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10464256&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10464256&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/10464256">PBL Final Product</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3052548">Dawn Trefz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-81637833196722300632010-03-24T12:52:00.000-07:002010-03-25T10:04:31.510-07:00PBL: Designing and Creating a Model<object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10412335&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10412335&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/10412335">PBL: Designing and Creating a Model</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1193425">kim trefz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br /><object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10435253&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10435253&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/10435253">PBL: Designing and Creating a Model</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1193425">kim trefz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-30945796616616459882010-02-25T10:12:00.000-08:002010-02-25T11:30:19.326-08:00Just a Guide on the Side for PBLAfter grouping the students together according to interests, they used their guiding questions for the focus of their research. This was the first thing they wrote down on the <a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/Student+Guide+for+Project-Based+Learning">guide</a> that would be used to organize all of their information for PBL. Before they began, they listed all that they knew about their topic and what they wanted to learn. From this, they began<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> step 1 </span>of the guide where they sought out a problem that needed to be solved. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Step 2</span> involved forming a hypothesis about what they thought the solution or outcome would be as they thought about possibilities. During <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">step 3</span>, they continued with the guiding question in mind as they recorded more direct questions about their problem to help direct them in their research process. After recording several specific questions, they refined their problem statement in <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">step 4</span>, and they began <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">step 5</span> of their research by using Diigo to bookmark, highlight, and organize all of the information pertaining to their project.<br /><br />I have recorded one PBL group per class that provides an example of what their thoughts were at <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">step 6</span> of the research process where they already had a possible solution to their problem. I asked them to provide insight about what they had discovered throughout the project.<br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9733345&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9733345&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/9733345">Researching to Solve a Problem</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1193425">kim trefz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9733519&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9733519&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/9733519">Researching to Problem Solve</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1193425">kim trefz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9733838&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9733838&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/9733838">Researching to Problem Solve</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3052548">Dawn Trefz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9734036&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9734036&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/9734036">Researching to Problem Solve</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3052548">Dawn Trefz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-77540825605654510162010-02-18T11:38:00.000-08:002010-02-18T11:57:55.071-08:00Researching with Diigo<object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9552978&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9552978&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/9552978">Using Diigo for Research</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1193425">kim trefz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br />The students are learning to use Diigo which is a social networking website in which they are using for organizing their online research. They have the ability to save articles from reliable websites that support their topics, and they have the option to highlight and make notes as they share their discoveries with others in their group.<br /><br />The students are now ready to begin their research with the goal of solving a problem regarding their space mission/aviation topic of choice. They will use their guiding questions and the more direct questions pertaining to their topic as they look for possible solutions throughout valid websites. They are learning to narrow their search through Googling specific topics, analyzing sites for validity, bookmarking the sites that are valuable for solving their problem, and Using a collaborative group created on Diigo that will allow them to share and store their information that they have gathered.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-54892071845639338662010-01-30T00:17:00.000-08:002010-08-06T08:46:07.510-07:00Isn't It Possible to Combine Project/Problem/Inquiry-Based Learning into One?<img style="visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="http://counters.gigya.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyNjQ4Mzk*NzY1MzAmcHQ9MTI2NDgzOTQ4MjU4OSZwPTIwNjQyMSZkPWI1NjMyMzImZz*yJm89YjI1OGMzMzgzMGJm/NGJhMzgyZmM1NDRhYWI2MTY5ZWMmb2Y9MA==.gif" border="0" height="0" width="0" /><object height="360" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://voicethread.com/book.swf?b=563232"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://voicethread.com/book.swf?b=563232" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="360" width="480"></embed></object><br /><br />I have continued my research to try and gain a better understanding of project-based Learning and I came upon this Voicethread that separately defined project-based, problem-based, and inquiry-based research. After carefully reading the definitions, I started to wonder if it was possible to be able to conduct research that was a combination of all three.<br /><br />I feel that the students are definitely involved with <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF0000;">project-based learning</span> since they are covering a real world topic of space missions and aviation. They have been completely responsible for their own learning and decision-making as they have written and chosen their guiding question for research. They are currently in the process of researching and will ultimately come up with an end product that they will present to their classmates as well as another school who we are collaborating with.<br /><br />Throughout this project, the boys have been made aware of the necessity to independently find a problem regarding their topic that they are to ultitimately resolve. This would fall under the category of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF0000;">Problem-based Learning</span>, for they are following steps to problem solve by writing a hypothesis, formulating more direct questions to guide their research, and looking for ways to solve their problem as they are fully aware of many possible solutions. In the end, they will present their findings to their peers as they demonstrate an understanding of the whole problem-solving process.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF0000;">Inquiry-Based Learning</span> involves the boys formulating their own questions, thinking critically, and problem-solving. They have been guided throughout this process, but have been given the opportunity to make their own choices. They are seeing the relevance of the application of grammar as they take notice of how it affects the way messages are conveyed as they reflect on their learning through many written responses. The boys are also making global connections as they solve real-world problems that are taking place outside of the classroom.<br /><br />After researching, I found a <a href="http://pdsenglish5.pbworks.com/Project-based+learning+rubric">rubric</a> that covered some of the criteria that I have mentioned, and I was able to tweek it to fully meet the entire expectations of what the boys are to learn throughout this project. I thought that it was important to incorporate technology not only in their research but also in the presentation of the end product. I have never seen the boys so motivated and eager to partake in an assignment as they have been throughout this whole proecss.<br /><br />Here's another great <a href="http://voicethread.com/share/177500/">Voicethread</a> that is worth checking out!<br />Check out this <a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2009/05/how-to-get-started-with-project-based.html">blog</a> for getting started with PBL.<br />Here's another great <a href="http://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2010/01/16/free-project-based-learning-resources-that-will-place-students-at-the-center-of-learning/">blog</a>!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-44032475523402833612010-01-27T10:17:00.000-08:002016-02-28T13:52:30.074-08:00PBL: What I Know About Space and What I Want to Learn<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today we went over the project-based learning rubric that will be used as a summative assessment of the students' project. After the criteria was discussed and questions answered, the boys began using their problem-solving guide to record their guiding question. As they began reflecting on what they already know about their topic and what they want to learn, I recorded their conversations. It was pretty amazing to see them so motivated and enthusiastic about this project!<br />
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<object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9022374&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=9022374&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><br />
<a href="http://vimeo.com/9022374">Untitled</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1193425">kim trefz</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2272310826945130734.post-60650675423032396152010-01-26T05:46:00.000-08:002010-01-26T05:56:29.559-08:00Student Reflection: Problem Finding<object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8978839&server=www.vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://www.vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8978839&server=www.vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><p><a href="http://www.vimeo.com/8978839">Untitled</a> from <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/user1193425">kim trefz</a> on <a href="http://www.vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br />As we are still brainstorming for our project and refining our guiding questions, the boys have been writing reflections in response to videos and articles they have read. I want them to get in the habit of thinking about finding problems that they would like to further investigate before they problem solve. Because this is student-directed, I want the boys to search for what interests them so they will be highly motivated and more willing to push through the difficult challenges they will face through this entire process.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17252189189743919415noreply@blogger.com0