Parents and Student Voice (April 12-17)

The Seattle Pacific Alternative Route to Certification program provides me with a number of ideas and a whole lot of paperwork in order to be a certifiable teacher. Not to mention getting a Master’s Degree! Yet in the process of sorting through documents, taking suggestions from observers, and classes upon classes, some of the ideas came to life in my teaching. This week I used two very different examples of ideas that came from this program that improved my teaching.

The first idea came from the Education Technology course I took back in the fall. In that class, we needed to create a Digital Narrative documenting our belief in the use of technology in education. While I believed all my statements in that particular assignment (I linked to it here in this post), I didn’t necessarily think they would be put into action this year.

http://voicethread.com/share/802748/

I used Moodle for a discussion with my class earlier during a Civil War unit and now I wanted to put the Digital Narrative into action. I assigned my class to complete a Digital Narrative using VoiceThread. They need to choose a topic or person from any of the last three units in American History (Cold War, Vietnam and Civil Rights). My site coordinator liked the idea in that it will allow students to really synthesize their learning. I believe that anytime students can learn in a format unusual or unique to what they are used to, a little more learning takes place. This is my hope for this assignment. (See my example in this post as well).

http://voicethread.com/share/1083480/

While the Digital Narrative will hopefully be a great success, another idea from SPU already proved to be a hit with parents. I recently wrote a short newsletter on the Cold War unit as we began in class and sent it via email to all my parents of juniors. I not only received responses from four parents, but the principal received an email from a parent as well on how appreciative they were of the effort I put in. I realize that with just a little extra work I can really get parents engaged in the classroom, even if they can’t come in physically!

Slang in the Classroom? Nah dawg – formal style is where it’s at

In Judith Meece and Denise Daniels’ book entitled Child and Adolescent Development for Educators, chapter five outlines the development of language in children and as they head into adolescence. While much of this chapter provides nice context for my future child – my wife is six months pregnant – as a high school teacher, it fails to grasp apply for most of the chapter. Yet Meece and Daniels address a small part on adolescence language that grabbed my attention. They state: “By adolescence, students are extremely skilled at adapting their language to different situations” (Meece 274). While this is the hope of many educators, I find that it is becoming less and less true.

It is essential for students to be able to change their use of language and formal style in different environments. Not everyone agrees with this, but as long as society holds certain expectations for job interviews and work environments, it is essential. While students at Seattle Prep understand this to a degree, there are those who feel that they should be able to express themselves however they wish in school. Especially since their parents pay so much money to attend our school. I am not bothered personally by this style or language use (more informal), but I do feel that students need to learn how to switch their formality on and off at appropriate times.

So how do we help them practice this? I believe there are a couple ways in the classroom to accomplish this. One way is through group presentations. Currently in my junior Collegio, the students are working together on 1920s presentations, as that is our current unit of study. The students present on one of the following: Harlem Renaissance art, Harlem Renaissance music, prohibition, Scopes Trial, rise of the KKK, changing role of women, women’s suffrage, the rise of the automobile, consumerism, popular culture, or the Palmer Raids. While each group uses technology to enhance their lesson and must practice group skills, the true evaluation is on their presentation. Students must learn to adapt their language and style to become more formal. Through this process, students practice essentially for their future encounters in the workplace and in interviews. And in the end, they are agreeing with Meece and Daniels without even knowing it!

Student Group Presentation: Consumerism and Rise of Technology

The Wizard of Oz, Showcase Showdown, and Finals Week

The first two weeks in January always seem a little hectic around Seattle Prep. I often feel a little overwhelmed and crazed as many aspects of my life at Prep come crashing into one large convergence zone. As a high school basketball coach, January means the heart of our season. As a freshmen class moderator, January means getting ASB officers rallied around an idea to unite the class. As the coordinator for the National History Day competition, January means collecting papers, judging papers and a whole lot of organization. And finally as a teacher, January means finals week!

Students tend to stress out a bit more around finals week at Prep. Maybe that is an understatement. In an attempt to prepare them, while also teaching my showcase lesson for Seattle Pacific, the first two weeks in January felt a tad more chaotic this year.

While the showcase lesson can be stressful – mostly due to the amount of paperwork required for it – I really enjoyed teaching the lesson. While working on a unit in American History around multiculturalism, I chose to teach my showcase lesson on Populism and its connection to the unit. Students read the Populist Platform in preparation for class and then connected the ideas of the Populist Party to the themes of the unit (which focused mostly on Native Americans, Mexican-Americans, Asian-Americans, and Eastern European Americans in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries): 

• Different paths to America
• Traditional cultural values v. modern American values
• Racism, displacement, alienation within American society
• American dream – ideal and real

While opening the lesson with a review of Populism and its fascinating connection to the Wizard of Oz, the discussion

A Parable on Populism

 centered around relating the party to these themes. Students did a great job and aside from feeling a little rushed, the whole experience turned out to be very rewarding.

Yet as soon as I finished that lesson, my focus turned to helping students prepare for their finals. As a proponent of student-directed learning, I left the brainstorming up to them. In both my freshmen and junior classes, students generated lists of people, places, events, and concepts that they felt were important to know for the final. This allowed them to be actively engaged in the process and also helped them figure out what was most important to study. Aside from their obsession with knowing what EXACTLY is on each test, the review process went smoothly and helped students prepare. At least I hope. I won’t really know until all those tests are graded!

Issues and Advances Metareflection

Issues and Advances in Education Technology, through Seattle Pacific University, allowed me to experiment with a number of web 2.0 technologies that I didn’t know even existed. Through trying these out, both in this class and in my own classroom, I gained valuable skills and additionally began to meet many of the ARC program standards.

For example, I began using Moodle in my class about a month ago. My students spent half of a class period learning their log in and trying the system out with myself and the school’s head of technology. For a week after that date, the students responded to two prompts and to two student responses by Friday. Before taking this class through Seattle Pacific, I had not heard of Moodle before. While learning about it in class, I got the opportunity to use it and thus address many standards of the ARC program. By using a 2.0 technology that students enjoy due to their proficiency on the internet, the lessons become learner centered (L1). While it is also content driven (S1) as I focused on causes of the Civil War, the standard T really gets addressed through this class. Students experienced a unit of study that utilized multiple instructional strategies (T3) and was informed by technology (T4).

As I move forward from this class and into my continued teaching career, I see many other 2.0 tools that I can utilize. I anticipate using Voicethread or other digital storytelling tools to enable students to tell the story of an individual in history using images and quotes. This will allow students to see history as a story rather than a collection of facts and people. I definitely plan on using Moodle again for prompt-driven reflections and I want to experiment with podcasts as well. I certainly can see a way to have students make their own websites through Google sites as we did in the class. I feel like the possibilities are endless.

While I anticipate the great lessons that use these 2.0 tools, I am not going to rush into anything. I know that the best lessons are intentionally planned (T2) and will use 2.0 tools to enhance the content, rather than replace it. Nevertheless, I see a great future for my students at Seattle Prep and 2.0 technology.

Brian Elsner’s Digital Narrative

more about “Brian Elsner’s Digital Narrative“, posted with vodpod

 

The process of creating a digital story regarding my beliefs in using technology in education turned out to be pretty enjoyable. While some new technology can be daunting and frustrating, Voicethread proves to be very user friendly. I felt very lucky in that I bought my wife a Mac years ago since it has a built in microphone. I thought that would be the most challenging step in the process.

I chose a number of random photos from the internet that matched my creed and a few that pertained to my particular school. I think they worked well, but if I had more time I would really focus on personal photos and fit them better (possibly using  a different site) for better flow. Overall, I am happy with my technology creed even though I think it might be a tad long still. It is hard to cut out things you believe in!

Here is a link to my script on Google Docs:

Elsner Technology Creed

Marzano Strategies: Similarities & Differences, Homework & Practice, Generating & Testing Hypotheses, and Cues, Questions & Advance Organizers

Lesson: Moodle and Causes of Civil War

I created this lesson on using the online discussion board Moodle and the causes of the Civil War partly from a SPU class and partly on my own. The Issues and Advances in Education Technology class at SPU brought Moodle to my attention, but the school also began using Moodle before I came up with the idea to use it in my class. The manner in which I utilized the technology (and thus reaching the criterion for that aspect of Standard T) came from my original creation. As students analyzed the causes of the Civil War and responded to each other, this allowed them to demonstrate their competency toward the various written and historical standards (as well as understanding of content). Obviously a great part of this lesson dealt with creating technologically fluent students while creating historical arguments. The attached artifacts showed their understanding of the material clearly in their Moodle responses.

Instructional Strategy-Referenced Reflection 

Similarities and Differences

As Robert Marzano states in his Instructional Strategies that Work, “asking students to independently identify similarities and differences enhances students’ understanding of and ability to use knowledge” (Marzano, 2001). In this lesson, I asked students to consider their previously learned knowledge during our unit on Antebellum America and access it to form an opinion. Students needed to compare the causes of the Civil War and determine independently which one (between social, economic and political) proved to have the most impact on the beginning of the war.

While I believe most students gained a good understanding of the similarities and differences in the various causes, I would be more explicit in my explanation of these thematic causes prior to asking students to write about them in the future. This is partly what didn’t go well and partly what I would do differently in the future. Some students appeared to struggle particularly with understanding the social cause of the Civil War. As I reflect upon the lesson, it does seem pretty vague. I think some students confused social with political causes.

My mentor teacher encourages the instructional strategy of similarities and differences as part of our Jesuit teaching model. We continually strive for students to create their own learning opportunities and similarities and differences fit perfectly in this model. My university coordinator did not comment specifically on this instructional strategy, but did give me great feedback on the lesson overall. Specifically, she encouraged me to have assessments that matched up with my learning strategies.

Homework and Practice

One of the primary focuses of the first semester at Seattle Prep for juniors involves the National History Day paper. This research paper challenges and pushes students to work toward a historical analysis of an innovation in American history. Teaching students to create a paper around a centralized argument (thesis) rather than a collection of facts can be difficult for students. This skill requires a great deal of practice for even the most sophisticated students. Thus I create many assignments that require students to generate topic sentences or thesis statements so they can practice this kind of analysis. This particular lesson requires students to do the same kind of analysis that they must do for their research paper.

I believe that this lesson does a great job in terms of homework and practice. While I wanted my students to succeed on this particular assignment and lesson, I really wanted them to practice for their research paper. This lesson accomplishes this practice very well. I wouldn’t change much, if anything, concerning this instructional strategy.

The only advice I received regarding this strategy involved ensuring that my assessment matched my strategy. My university coordinator wants to make sure that assessments are not just informal, but formalized with rubrics. Thus I created a rubric for the lesson.

Generating and Testing Hypotheses

A large part of our curriculum at Seattle Prep, especially in the junior year, involves creating hypotheses and proving them with evidence. As I mentioned before, the National History Day paper allows students to use this skill, but there are a number of other smaller assignments that push students to do this as well. As Robert Marzano states, creating hypotheses in writing and proving them can be instrumental in student development. “A fair amount of research has demonstrated the power of asking students to carefully explain – preferably in writing – the principles they are working from, the hypotheses they generate from these principles, and why their hypotheses make sense” (Marzano, 2001). In this lesson, students not only had to generate a hypothesis, but they needed to prove it with specific evidence from earlier lessons or the text. Additionally, students needed to respond to two classmates, thus their hypotheses were tested by being examined and commented on by their peers.

I feel pretty good about this instructional strategy as I use it a lot in all of my classes. Students must learn how to form an argument and prove it; I feel that there is no more important skill in history. While I am confident in my ability to teach this skill and in particular with this lesson, I would be more clear in my instructions with this lesson. I allowed students to choose the cause of the Civil War and I left it too open ended. Some students created a hypotheses that involved all three causes rather than taking a strong stance in choosing one particular cause (social, political, or economic). In the future, I will not allow this ambiguity so that students must take a strong stand and form their argument.

On this particular strategy, I did not receive any feedback or advice from either my mentor teacher or university coordinator.

Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers

This particular lesson centers on the important and “higher level” question of the cause of the Civil War. This isn’t a factual recall question and it requires students to analyze information to create an argument. As Marzano states, “a fair amount of research indicates that questions that require students to analyze information – frequently called higher level questions – produce more learning than questions that simply require students to recall or recognize information – frequently referred to as lower-order questions” (Marzano, 2001). By constructing an argument with support and analyzing the different perspectives of other students in the class, each student must access analytical and higher level skills.

I would add an element to this lesson in preparing students to create their arguments to better utilize this instructional strategy. The advanced organizers presented by Marzano could greatly benefit many of my students in creating their argument concerning the cause of the Civil War. Most likely, I will use the graphic organizer such as a mind map to accomplish this.

Both my mentor teacher and university coordinator (as well as other faculty members and the Dean of Academics) to continually push myself to ask “higher level” thinking questions in class. This is emphasized continually at Seattle Prep.

Standard S Criterion-Referenced Reflection

Content Driven

By asking students to create a historical argument concerning the cause of the Civil War and write it on the discussion board “Moodle”, there is no doubt that the lesson is content driven. Additionally students debated their point of view in class thus accessing their oral communication skills. Lastly, by reading other students’ arguments on the Moodle page and having to respond to two classmates, each student understood the content even better. Not only do they read about the information, students create their own argument and analyze others.

Aligned with Curriculum Standards and Outcomes

Students in my class understand that they are creating historical arguments in regards to the causes of the Civil War. The Antebellum sub-unit involves analyzing the causes of the Civil War through three different lenses: economic, political, and social. As the class learns about specific people and events, the particular lessons are connected to causes of the war.

Integrated Across Content Areas

This lesson didn’t access much in aesthetic reasoning but did allow students to contrast and prove their argument in different manners. First, they wrote their hypothesis on Moodle with evidence backing it up. Second, they needed to respond to classmates. Third, they argued their point in class in a debate format. The creation of a hypothesis with evidence utilizes scientific reasoning.

Standard T Criterion-Referenced Reflection

Informed by Standards-Based Assessment

I charged students with creating a historical argument, thus my assessment must match this objective. I created a rubric assessing students’ ability to create and back up their argument with evidence.

Intentionally Planned

Students are allowed to choose their own perspective on the cause of the Civil War. This creates an opportunity for each student to create their own argument without being forced to take a specific perspective. Additionally, by responding to other students’ commentary, each student gets to explore the history for themselves.

Influenced by Multiple Instructional Strategies

As referenced in the four instructional strategies included in this lesson, this lesson definitely varies its approach to reach learning targets. I allowed students to not only write about their historical argument on Moodle, but respond to each other online and in the classroom through debates. These varied instructional strategies allowed for different types of learners to achieve success.

Informed by Technology

By using Moodle, students in my class utilized a web 2.0 tool that they will encounter numerous times in the college environment. They became more proficient in using technology while still working toward analyzing the causes of the Civil War.

Artifacts

Student Moodle Work

Seattle Prep Moodle

Marzano Strategies: Summarizing & Note Taking, Setting Objectives & Providing Feeback

Lesson: Minoans/Myceneans & Myth

This lesson plan regarding the Minoans/Myceneans and the myth allows students to meet the standards S and T in many ways. While a colleague of mine created the original paragraph assignment, I adapted it to be a peer edit and topic sentence work. It originated mostly because freshmen need as much work as possible on writing, and in particular on historical arguments. With this in mind, the positive impact on student learning can be viewed through the attached artifacts. In the first version of the paragraphs, students created rough versions of topic sentence, but through the peer edit process the end result improved greatly. By connecting directly to written, historical, and reading standards, while remaining in the Greek unit in the curriculum, the work shows clear competency of the standard. The students work improved through the process and they achieved good results with their topic sentences in the end. 

Instructional Strategy-Referenced Reflection

 

Summarizing and Note Taking

 

As Robert Marzano states in Instructional Strategies that Work, part of the note taking process involves comprehending what parts are most important. Students in my class are continually pushed to not only take notes, but answer the question: why does that matter? History cannot be viewed as a list of events and people if students are to become critical thinkers. Marzano highlights the strategy developed by Brown, Campione, and Day in 1981 that includes the following when it comes to note taking:

 

• Delete trivial material that is unnecessary to understanding
• Delete redundant material
• Substitute superordinate terms for lists
• Select a topic sentence, or invent one if it is missing (Marzano, 2001).

 

By taking notes on my PowerPoint presentation, the students are forced to discern the most important aspects of the material. We practiced this skill earlier in the year through note checks on their text reading and in class work. After gathering info and reading the myth, the students then create their own topic sentence in a comparison of the two. This allows students to put the notes into practice.

 

If I had to change something about this lesson it would be to be more specific with my direction in regards to summarizing and note taking. I think it could be helpful during the PowerPoint to call on random students to read their notes on the last slide out loud. If not that, have students share with each other what they took down for notes on the last slide. I would simply create “check points” for the notes to ensure students are really taking down the right, crucial information.

 

My mentor teacher is a big proponent of note taking and checks on notes in the classroom. We spoke numerous times about the importance of this skill at the freshman level specifically. Students from various backgrounds (in terms of schools) come to Seattle Prep with different skill sets. It is essential for the teacher to let students know early and often the expectations of my own classroom. I did not meet with my university coordinator about this specific lesson.

 

Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback

 

By allowing students to peer edit and focusing on a specific skill in this lesson, I provided varied forms of feedback for students. When reading Marzano’s chapter on feedback, this lesson fits the criteria very well. For example, Marzano states that feedback “provides students with an explanation of what they are doing that is correct and what they are doing that is not correct” (Marzano, 2001). By focusing this lesson exclusively on the topic sentence aspect of the paragraph, students and myself were allowed to narrow in on the following:

 

• Is the topic sentence an argument?
• Does the topic sentence avoid 1^st or 2^nd person?
• Does the topic sentence address the “why” question? (Meaning is there a because following the argument).

 

By focusing on these elements, students receive corrective feedback that allows them to change for the final product (after peer edit) or for the next time (after my grade). Additionally, the feedback is timely especially with the peer edit. Marzano states that “the timing of feedback appears to be critical to its effectiveness” (Marzano, 2001). By having students peer edit each other the day the paragraph was originally due, the feedback is immediate. Lastly, the feedback is specific to criterion. Since the lesson focuses on a specific skill that they need to be developed, there isn’t a comparison to other students. The central point of the lesson involves creating effective topic sentences solely.

 

While I think this lesson really does a great job in terms of feedback, I can alter the lesson to be more effective. I think in the future I will do a few things differently. First, I would have students bring in a copy without their name on it so the focus remains specific on the work rather than the person they edit. Second, I will be more explicit in my explanation that the focus is on topic sentences rather than the whole paragraph in the first draft. This allows students to work on stronger topic sentences and worry less on grammar, spelling, and sentence structure. Third, I will give my feedback the next day rather than a few days later to ensure effectiveness.

 

My mentor teacher also works a lot on topic sentences and crafting historical arguments. He didn’t specifically help with this lesson or provide specific support, but we held many conversations about creative ways to ensure we achieve this in the classroom. I did not have a specific conversation about this lesson with my university coordinator.

 

Standard S Criterion-Referenced Reflection

 

Content Driven

 

Students must read their text for the original material, write their own paragraph, read another classmate’s paragraph and re-write a topic sentence. This allows students to focus on the content of the Minoans and Myceneans while practicing various skills needed in this standard. They also practiced problem-solving by examining their topic sentence and recreating a new one based upon feedback.

 

Aligned with Curriculum Standards and Outcomes

 

I let students know that they were going to create topic sentences as they began their first draft of the Minoan/Mycenean and myth paragraphs. I could have done a better job of being specific in asking for specificity toward topic sentences rather than a whole paragraph at the beginning of the assignment. When they exchanged papers to peer edit, I provided students with a progress check toward this target. Lastly, they turned in revised topic sentences. We reached the learning target, but not all students did it as well as others obviously. I provided this feedback in the evaluation of the topic sentences.

 

 

Integrated Across Content Areas

 

Students worked toward creating an effective argument that could be proven in comparing a myth to a declining civilization in Ancient Greece (the Minoans). This creation of an argument provides students with an opportunity to practice scientific reasoning. They must create a hypothesis (or argument) and back it up or prove it. I did not integrate mathematical or aesthetic reasoning into the lesson. By allowing students to re-invent their topic sentences, they really had an opportunity to create a good argument. Thus the efforts were good in this respect. I believe there are great opportunities in this lesson for aesthetic reasoning in the future through nonlinguistic representations of the decline of the Minoans.

 

Standard T Criterion-Referenced Reflection

 

Informed by Standards-Based Assessment

 

By editing each other’s original paragraphs, students received valuable feedback in order to self-assess. This lesson provided opportunities for students to evaluate their own work and revise before being assessed. Through this revision process, it became clear to students what they would be assessed on in their final product.

 

Intentionally Planned

 

Through a revision process and peer editing, this process became personalized for each student. Instead of the assignment being generalized about topic sentences, each student received specific feedback. This allowed for individual work on their own topic sentence. Also, when faced with a student who (due to a diagnosed learning difference) should not edit other’s work, I personalized the lesson to allow her to edit her own work.

 

Influenced by Multiple Instructional Strategies

 

By allowing for peer edit time, writing time, and group instruction, this lesson encompassed a variety of instructional strategies. Students who benefit from a lecture format and are auditory learners could benefit from my lesson on topic sentences. At the same time, those are more visual benefited from the peer edit work.

 

Informed by Technology

 

This lesson utilized PowerPoint in the instruction section as students took notes. While PowerPoint isn’t the most exciting or hands-on technology we use at Prep, it does create help visual learners and it informs students on how to use it for presentations later in the year. By watching me model the use of the technology, students gain their first step in using it for their own work.

 

Artifacts

 

 

Student Work: Minoans/Myceneans

Marzano Strategies: Reinforcing effort and providing recognition, nonlinguistic representations and cooperative learning

Lesson: Allegory of the Cave

The Allegory of the Cave assignment originated a few years ago by another history teacher at Seattle Prep. Through meeting with him and discussing the assignment a couple years ago, I decided it would be a perfect fit in the Greek unit. The Allegory story is a required part of our curriculum, but I added the effort rubric as part of this year’s assignment. The work from this assignment that I attached is evidence of student work and achieving the objectives, as well as the standards. The visual representations of the Allegory story show a variety of instructional strategies, as well as varied reasoning. The effort rubric allowed for student input in the assessment part of the standard. The paragraph work on the interpretation of the allegory shows my competency and reaching the standards of being content driven and aligned with historical and written standards.

Instructional Strategy-Referenced Reflection

Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition

Robert Marzano notes in Instructional Strategies that Work that “not all students realize the importance of believing in effort” (Marzano, 2001). At Seattle Prep, effort stands as the norm most of the time. Almost all students work extremely hard which provides for great opportunities as a teacher to lead class discussions and other activities. At the same time, this can be discouraging for some students as they feel like their effort doesn’t really get them anywhere. With this in mind, I targeted the Allegory of the Cave assignment in my freshmen class as an effort assignment and lesson.

The Allegory of the Cave can be daunting for many high school students, especially freshmen. Many of them can do part of the assignment in depicting the literal version of the story into a visual. Yet not many can interpret the allegory for its underlying meaning regarding Socrates and his view of the enlightened versus the unenlightened. While we set up the reading in class, I challenged the students to take time and really work toward understanding the story. I encouraged them to keep working even when things got difficult as they took on this assignment.

Before they turned in their work, I reminded them that I asked them to work on this assignment despite adversity they may have encountered. I then provided them with a rubric that featured two columns: one for effort and one for achievement. I asked the students to rate themselves on this assignment; to see if their effort correlated with the achievement on the objectives that I provided for them. They had a good understanding of the allegory after we worked on it in class more. Most students enjoyed rating themselves and some were even a little hard on themselves I would say.

If I had to change something with this instructional strategy, I would spend a little more time discussing effort and why it is important. I might have students brainstorm some ideas and talk about it as a class. It may have felt a little random to receive an effort rubric on this particular assignment.

I did not receive any input on this part of the lesson from my mentor teacher or university coordinator. I don’t know of many teachers at Prep who gave effort rubrics to students. I may be alone on this one!

Nonlinguistic Representations

The rigorous curriculum at Seattle Prep does not always allow for nonlinguistic representations in the classroom. In fact, there are teachers who flat out look down upon this type of learning unfortunately. I attempt to incorporate nonlinguistic representations at least once a unit, but should probably be doing it more often. In this case, students drew a visual representation of the Allegory of the Cave story as part of the assignment. As Marzano points out, “drawing pictures or pictographs to represent knowledge is a powerful way to generate nonlinguistic representations in the mind” (Marzano, 2001). While it allows students to demonstrate their understanding of the story in visual form, it also allows students to prepare themselves to interpret the story. In other words, it elaborates on the knowledge they already have concerning the story.

When reflecting on this assignment, I do think there is a way to have students elaborate even more. In addition to having them visually represent the story, I could have them draw a similar example from their own life. This would allow them to think more critically about the allegory rather than only literally in their nonlinguistic representation.

I did not have specific feedback from my university coordinator, but my mentor teacher encouraged this activity. Most of our freshmen teachers at Prep use this lesson to help explain the Allegory of the Cave so I had a good idea how to use it effectively.

Cooperative Learning

Many of my lessons involve cooperative learning. I will often give some information, provide a reading, worksheet or primary source document and have students work in pairs or groups. The Allegory of the Cave assignment wasn’t much different.

I anticipated students struggling with the meaning of the allegory so I created some questions that went along with the reading. Knowing that I intended to provide them with an effort rubric, I left them to struggle with the assignment a bit. The next day I gave them the questions and grouped them according to the seating chart in groups of four. This avoids homogeneous grouping which Marzano points out can be detrimental to the process (Marzano, 2001). I used a number of Marzano ideas in grouping students throughout the semester including birthdays, height, color of clothes, and alphabetically. This not only gets students out of their seats, but also provides some needed variety.  

I don’t think there is anything I would change about the cooperative learning aspect to this lesson. I liked how they worked in groups and I believe it helped them understand the allegory.

My university coordinator really likes group work or pairs work and so she encourages me often to include it in my lessons. My mentor teacher also utilizes group work and it is pretty typical at Seattle Prep as a model.

Standard S Criterion-Referenced Reflection

Content Driven

The unit centers on the Greeks and their culture, thus this assignment concerning Socrates, Plato and the Allegory of the Cave definitely fits as content driven. The lesson specifically focused on reading, interpreting the allegory, and then writing in a student’s own words how to apply it. This lesson also allowed students to problem-solve as I encouraged them to focus on their effort and fighting through adversity on this particular assignment (so it would work with the effort rubric) in interpreting the allegory.

Aligned with Curriculum Standards and Outcomes

The students began the lesson with a vague understanding of the learning targets, but as we progressed they understood the objectives very well. I even had them write them on their effort and achievement rubric so they could assess themselves on reaching these targets.

Integrated Across Content Areas

Students used aesthetic reasoning in this assignment as they created a visual representation of the Allegory of the Cave. At the same time, students used scientific reasoning to interpret the information in the allegory and create an understanding of how it relates to the enlightened and the unenlightened. They needed to take the story apart and create their own hypothesis. I really think this assignment does a good job of integrating multiple modes of reasoning. Some students were more successful than others in both types. While my efforts were pretty good in this manner, I could be more specific in my expectations for the visual representation so that all students push themselves in the aesthetic realm.

Standard T Criterion-Referenced Reflection

Informed by Standards-Based Assessment

There were a number of assessments that matched up with the lesson in this case. Students had an opportunity to self-assess using the effort and achievement rubric. They evaluated not only their visual representation, but also their achievement of the objectives for the lesson. At the same time, I had the chance to ensure they understood the material by collecting their group work on questions regarding the allegory. This ensured that they understood the contribution to history that Plato and Socrates made and thus matched the Washington State standard.

Intentionally Planned

By using an effort and achievement rubric, this lesson absolutely became personalized. Each student evaluated their own work as well as had the opportunity to visually create their own interpretation of the story. For those who don’t draw especially well, the assignment rubric focused on effort. At the same time, those who do like aesthetic learning more could evaluate themselves for the achievement of the lesson.

Influenced by Multiple Instructional Strategies

By using nonlinguistic representations, group work, paragraph writing, and class discussion, this lesson reflected multiple instructional strategies. Students from different ability levels could work together on questions as well as rate themselves on effort thus everyone could feel successful in some manner. By allowing for a portion of the assignment to be nonlinguistic, the lesson allows for all students to interpret the allegory in the way that fits their understanding best.

Informed by Technology

This lesson didn’t utilize technology, but in the past it has to a degree. By using an overhead or powerpoint screen and various objects, a teacher can visually represent the story for the students to enhance their understanding. I chose not to do this as I focused on their effort in attempting to interpret the allegory on their own or in groups.

Artifacts

Allegory of the Cave Student Work

Allegory of the Cave visual

Effort Rubric

Effort Rubric Student Examples

Allegory Group Questions

Allowing Students to Create with Technology

This week’s theme of innovation for Issues and Advances in Education Technology provides a great opportunity to focus on the creativity of teachers. While teachers can use technology in the classroom, it will only be effective when coupled with reflection and creativity. At the same time, a creative teacher can take a seemingly not useful piece of technology and turn it into a classroom tool. This week really pushed the limits of my understanding of how to use technology in the classroom.

The Innovative Educator blog details just how creative a teacher can be in the classroom. A post from May 12, 2008, highlights the ways in which teachers can use cell phones as tools for classroom use. While cell phones are banned during the school day at Seattle Prep, Lisa Nielson describes the purpose of using them on that blog. She states, “So, even though cell phones are banned (and I don’t endorse not following a mandate), I promote teaching how technology tools can be used to enhance teaching and learning because we must prepare our students and teachers for the world of today, not the classrooms of yesterday. Even if our teaching is guided by certain mandates that cause the world inside school walls to be very different from the world students encounter after dismissal, part of our job as educators is to help prepare students to succeed outside the classroom” (Innovative, 2008).

Nielson is correct that teachers must prepare students for life outside of school and part of that life will inevitably involve technology. Yet we cannot simply get students on a message board or only using blogs. Students must be allowed to create using innovative technology. This fits very well with Bloom’s Taxonomy in that creation is part of the higher level of thinking for students. There are a number of sites on the internet that provide resources for teachers in aiding students in creating. One of my favorites can be found at this link:

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/listweb20s.html

There are a number of different podcast, blogs, and storytelling links at this website, hosted by Sue Summerford. After visiting a few from this site and through the course links, I really enjoy VoiceThread as a way for students to engage in innovation and creativity. Students can use images and video along with a script to present their viewpoint or story. This can be a great way for students to create. As Helen Barrett describes on her site for using Digital Stories, “I am especially excited about the use of digital storytelling as a strategy to facilitate reflection in electronic portfolios. According to the Digital Storytelling Association, digital storytelling is the modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling. Digital stories derive their power by weaving images, music, narrative and voice together, thereby giving deep dimension and vivid color to characters, situations, experiences, and insights” (Barrett, 2009). Thus students can create their own stories or reflections depending on the subject matter.

I look forward to using VoiceThread in my classroom. While many students experience history as a collection of facts and names, the best manner in which to teach the material is as a story. I plan on having students tell the story of a person or event in history through VoiceThread by adding images. Students will be able to better understand the material by telling the story in their own words.

References

Barrett, Helen. (2009). Guided Tour of Digital Storytelling. Retrieved from: http://www.cic.edu/teach21/T21_website/ds/index.html

The Innovative Educator Blog. (2008). Retrieved from: http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/05/value-of-using-cell-phones-to-enhance.html

Digital Narrative Script

Technology and 2.0 tools can be daunting and intimidating to many adults. It can be seen as an either/or issue. Either we allow technology to take over students lives or we resist it and refuse to incorporate it in our pedagogy. It doesn’t have to be either/or.

We must use 2.0 technology to enhance the education of our students. We must find ways to use these tools so that our students get the most out of their school years and they are ready for a world that isn’t refusing technology whatsoever.

The following is what I believe in terms of technology and education and how to implement these beliefs in the classroom.

I believe that students deserve a classroom environment in which their teachers think creatively about ways to enhance their learning experience through using 2.0 technologies to diversify instructional strategies.

It can be easy for teachers to get into a rut in the classroom. With grading, lesson planning, extra curriculurs and our own families, sometimes the easiest way to prepare is to simply present information to our class. But students deserve more. Often times technology can be the conduit for this creativity.

Meg Griffin, a teacher on ISTE Wikispaces, explains how she used technology to engage students:

“I use technology as a gateway tool to science inquiry learning. Our energy unit shows an example of the meaningful blend of science skills and content with technology. Students use electronic temperature sensors as they explore and make meaning about heat energy” (Griffin, 2009).

Technology can be the spark of creativity to enhance the learning experience for our students.

A specific example can be found on the website run by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology. They show teachers how to use podcasts in the classroom.

Teachers can assign different groups of students to investigate the experiences of different members of the expedition and then create a series of podcasts from the perspectives of each of these expedition members. The podcasts would also help illustrate the changes that took place during the course of the expedition (Podcasts, 2009).

I believe 2.0 tools don’t simply teach technology to students; they teach critical thinking which adds value for all students as they move forward.

Another teacher on ISTE Wikispaces described a lesson involved digital videography and a class project. He states, “Although digital videography is a great technology skill, it is not the focus of this story….Their critical thinking skills came from problem solving for the other school involved in the project, working to solve the logistics of time zones, and thinking differently about their ability to communicate to a much larger global community. The project truly changed their perspective” (Davey). 

In my classroom, the juniors I teach used Moodle to hold a class discussion over the causes of the Civil War. Each student had to choose social causes, political causes, or economic causes as the primary reason the war began. In choosing their argument and using evidence from class readings to back it up, the students were not learning how to use Moodle, they were learning how to critically think.

I believe teachers have to model appropriate web use and teach students the responsibilities involved with using 2.0 tools.

As Net Trekker highlights on their “10 Tips to Keep Students Safe in a Web 2.0 World”, the web is simply a toolbox. “Yes, it’s full of information, fun and potential pit falls, but ultimately it is just a toolbox full of tools (like email, wikis, and blogs) that – just like any other set of tools – requires practice to use well” (Net Trekker, 2009).

The web and 2.0 tools are not to be feared by teachers. They should be seen as opportunities to guide students. Net Trekker states, “By educating students on both the benefits and risks of using the Web 2.0 tools, you are helping your students stay safe while honing skills that could impact their future level of success” (Net Trekker, 2009). 

I believe 2.0 tools encourage and enhance collaborative opportunities for students, including working with individuals and cultures throughout the country and the world.

Robert Marzano, in his book Instructional Strategies that Work, points to researchers David Johnson and Roger Johnson, who in 1999 identified five characteristics of cooperative learning including positive interdependence, accountability, interpersonal skills, group processing, and promotive interaction (Marzano, 1999).

Cooperative learning does not have to be limited to the physical confines of a classroom. Students can create a digital story together using a tool like VoiceThread or share podcasts or blogs. They can create websites for a class project or even discuss events on Moodle as my class did. They can even share their story with people around the world.

As Edutopia points out in its guide to teachers, thinking globally can have great effects. They give this tip: Turn your classroom into a gateway for learning about the world. By using online resources and new media tools for connecting, you will help your students see themselves as global citizens” (Edutopia, 2008).

These beliefs will me push me to be a better educator. But they don’t happen through stating them here; they happen through action. The time is now. Let’s get started.

References

Beaufait, P.A., Lavin, R.S., & Tomei, J. (2008). Education for a Digital World. Commonwealth of Learning Retrieved from: http://www.col.org/resources/crsMaterials/Pages/edDigitalWorld.aspx

Education for a Digital World. (2009). Understanding Copyright: Knowing Your Rights and Knowing When You’re Right. Retrieved from: http://www.colfinder.org/materials/Education_for_a_Digital_World/Education_for_a_Digital_World_complete.pdf

Edutopia. (2008). Ten Top Tips for Teaching with New Media.

ISTE Wikispaces. (n.d.). Retrieved from the ISTE Wiki: http://nets-implementation.iste.wikispaces.net/Communication++and+Collaboration

ISTE Wikispaces. (n.d.). Retrieved from the ISTE Wiki: http://nets-implementation.iste.wikispaces.net/Critical+Thinking,+Problem+Solving,+and+Decision+Making

Marzano, R.J., Pickering D.J., & Pollock, J.E. (2001). Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Net Trekker Inc. (2009). 10 Tips to Keep Students Safe in a Web 2.0 World. Retrieved from: http://marketing.nettrekker.com/images/pdf/ebook/ebook_-_web_2_0.pdf

Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. (2008). K-12 Educational Technology Learning Standards Retrieved from: http://www.k12.wa.us/edtech/pubdocs/K12EdTechStandards_12-08_MostRecent.pdf

Partnership for 21^st Century Skills. (2008). 21^st Century Skills, Education & Competitiveness: A Resource and Policy Guide.

Schaffhauser, Dian. (2009). “Which Came First – The Technology or the Pedagogy?” THE Journal.

United States Copyright Office. (2009). Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers. Retrieved from: http://www.techlearning.com/techlearning/pdf/events/techforum/tx05/TeacherCopyright_chart.pdf