Thursday, June 02, 2005
Evaluation Questions
1. Has the number of project-based and problem-based activities increased in participant’s classrooms, and as a result, has the participant increased the amount of constructivist teaching in the classroom?
2. Has the number of authentic assessments available to students increased in participant’s classrooms, and as a result, has the participant increased the amount of constructivist teaching in the classroom?
3. Has the use of rubrics by participating teachers increased?
4. As a result of the changing delivery in the classroom, has the participant been able to increase the amount of higher level thinking skills used in the classroom?
5. Have opportunities for self-directed professional development and critical reflection led to transformation in participants’ teaching practice?
6. Has the number of opportunities for participants to collaborate with other teachers increased?
The links will take you to individual teacher responses to these evaluation questions:
Lori Babel
Deke Brown
Heather Landis
Ray Oswald
Bonnie Raub
Tom Warnke
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
May 10
Things are moving along well with our fourth session. Both groups had some interesting discussion. The theme of student ‘resistance’ to thinking was noted, particularly in the area of reading/following directions.
Does technology contribute toward this or has this always been a problem? Some noted that today’s learners prefer their images before their text. They would rather ‘figure’ things out instead of read the directions.
The discussion moved into the area of plagiarism, particularly in English class. Most English teachers do not allow use of web sites in research papers. Use of online databases is acceptable. I showed everyone POWER ACCESS, a free collection of research databases available to all students and residents of Pennsylvania. We spent some time looking through the AP photo archive and the various literature databases.
We also spent some time on rubrics – an extension of our previous work on assessment. Rubrics define quality. How do we assess things like effective communication, collaboration skills, problem solving skills, etc? I shared a rubric for these ‘soft’ skills that I found online. This could be adapted to assess student presentation skills – not just the product, but the actual ability to present.
Time can be a big hurdle to developing effective rubrics. Several rubric generating tools available online were explored during the sessions.
We also discussed the proposed professional development model for next year. The group members would like to see something continue for next year. We will be discussing this during our June 1 meetings.
Some group members may be in touch with central office personnel to invite them into their classrooms. We should have done this earlier. Time is getting away from us and many are focusing on preparing for exams and other end-of-year work.
For our last meeting, Ray suggested developing a ‘what have we learned?’ list to summarize our work in this project.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Multi-Project activities
As I catch my breath, I want to update the team on what is happening in room 518. My creative writing class is busy every day; students select one of the ongoing projects listed below:
1. Poetry Project 180--students visit the website hosted by Billy Collins, a nationally recognized poet. They read
as many of the poems they wish until they find one that inspires them to create orginal poems modeling these
contemporary poets. I’ve seen a few of the projects thus far, and students are experiementing with new forms of poetry they never knew existed.
2. The exam projects are underway: we have a schedule for the nine students who are creating iMovies which showcase their own writing. Each individual will create his/her own movie. We have one pair of students who are combining their writing to produce one larger movie.
3. The magazine publishing project has students create a magazine layout for either a short story or a collection of the student’s poems. The final project will be printed in color on full sized paper, laminated, and displayed either in the hallway or room 518 itself.
4. Both teams are still searching the web for sites that give the students practical advise on building either a movie or magazine presentation. The students and I are compiling a list of these sites. Together the students and I are building the rubrics we will use to evaluate these projects.
Five years ago I could not have envisioned a class where so many activities / projects were taking place at the same time. Students arrive and immediately grab laptops to begin their work. Some days all I hear is the sound of key strikes.
Mr. Ziegenfuss and I are planning a new type of research project / paper for my 11-GP English class. Based on our last team meeting, I examined a website Randy suggested. Many webquests were listed, but I foound one on Jack London. While Randy and I need to adjust the directions and update some weblinks, the students will begin the process on the web, eventually leading to additional research in the library, and finally ending back in room
518 where I hope to have the students use the laptops to pull all the strands together. I am interested in seeing whether student motivation improves for this type of research.
I still struggle with finding time to fully involve the technology with my college preparatory classes. Often I am the one using the tech equipment to enhance my own presentations--which is fine, but I want the students to be more engaged in the use and creation of products.
I realize with the help of colleagues I have attempted quite a bit this year. I also realize there are so many additional opportunities to investigate over the next few years.