TSLC Summer 2006
Notes
Tom Friedman – 6/26/06
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.05/friedman.html
“The World Is Flat”
Globalization – Flattening of the world – Countries, Companies, Individuals
Collaboration - Outsourcing, Off shoring, Open sourcing, Supply Chaining (Walmart), In sourcing (UPS), Informing (Google, search, TiVo)
Steroids – Wireless, VoIP, File Sharing – These turbo chare all of the above
The World is Flat - NOBODY HAS TOLD THE KIDS!
Underdeveloped Worlds?
China – Foreign Policy – Taiwan and Looking for Oil
Implications for MIT – Open University (Good step) – National Science Foundation budget cut by Congress (STUPID)
Quiet Crisis – Science and Technology – American DNA eaten away due to reaction to 9/11 – Need a New New Deal
Long way from learning from Internet – Schools are still needed for socialization – Need to move horizontally not vertically; Need to provide higher education for those that want it – Need a positive imagination – export hope and not fear – American Optimism is key
21st Century Standards of Learning
Constructivism and Technology
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.02/brain.htmlConceptual Age
Asia & Outsourcing
Right Brain vs Left Brain – Go Right
6 Aptitudes – design, story, sympathy, empathy, play and meaning
Story – “What becomes more important is the ability to take those facts, put them in context and deliver them with emotional impact, and that’s what a story does.” “So I never remember a slide; but I ll remember a story for years.”
Design – Must be literate in your field; stay current by getting wired magazines and thoughts of forward thinking people in the field
21st Century Skills DiscussionPink, Friedman and 21st Century Skills – Is Education Headed in the “Right” Direction?
Both Pink and Friedman share some interesting and thought provoking ideas that make me think about how our educational world is adapting. I believe schools, City School included, see the importance and value of the concepts presented, but we are often stuck trying to make sure the students are passing the tests. The focus tends to be on the students that need the “basics” so that the bottom group of students’ scores can be brought up. I am not sure if we are addressing the group of students who do have the basics in a manner that will give them the skills to think horizontally and/or to use the right side of their brain. I am not so sure we are getting kids to meet the 21st Standards of Learning in IT2 Social, Ethical and Human Issues; IT4 Communication and IT5 Solving Problems and Decision Making. In math we try to make sure kids can communicate and solve problems, but we don’t necessarily integrate technology into this. Some teachers will have their students type reports, but that does not address the technology piece Friedman is worried about. We need to use technology help students to learn how to collaborate and solve problems.
As a classroom teacher in order to meet the criteria outlined in the readings and video I must keep the math GE’s in mind for both math and technology but also find away to step away from the Connected Math program. In other words I need to find away to address multiple GE’s in the most efficient way. I believe the math program is a starting point for providing consistency throughout the school, but when we throw technology into the mix, a teacher needs to understand what needs to be done and find a way to integrate it so that it becomes natural for the kids. Sometimes when we step away from the program/book the consistency may be lost. On the other hand, if we are not bound by the program/book, teacher could be more right brained and be a little more creative with instruction. Therefore providing an opportunity for students to be creative and design their own learning.
As we move forward there are a few questions that pop up in my mind. We have committed a lot of money and time into the math programs at City school. As we continue to use the programs, how do we integrate technology without losing what we have committed ourselves to implementing? Can we integrate technology into the areas of the program that we know are the weak points (i.e. Computational Fluency)? Many of the points that Pink, Friedman and the 21st Century Skills provide are valid, but how can more be added to education without making a radical switch in pedagogy and philosophy of education?
Information Technology Grade Expectations AssignmentThe IT GCE’s that would fit into the 7th & 8th Grade math curriculum would be: IT1, IT2, Part of IT3, Part of IT4. I feel all of IT1 and IT2 should be part of any class using technology. In IT3 I see myself using word processing, spreadsheets, paint/draw and calculators. In IT4 I could integrate the multimedia piece and possibly the world wide web piece. One of the areas I could use more experience in is databases. I would like to spend some time finding the best areas to integrate the technology GCEs to the mathematics curriculum. I have briefly addressed each GCE below.
IT1 Operations & Concepts – Seems like if people are using computers in the classroom with a purpose, a lot of the items listed here should be happening. I feel comfortable addressing all of these in the classroom.
IT2 Social Ethical and Human Issues - If computers and especially the Internet is being used in the classroom, I feel it would be difficult not to integrate some or all of these items into the curriculum. I find that teachers are not sure or aware of these types of issues in regards to the electronic world. In my math classroom, we have not used the Internet or the computer for publishing projects/reports a whole lot as a class or individuals. So many of the issues that arise here I have not dealt with in a few years, but would be willing to try anything to address these.
IT3 Productivity Tools – Word Processing – We have had students working on using MS Word for typing portfolio problems. This has usually been a student’s choice to do so, but I would like to see all students publish their problems. This would definitely address word processing and possibly spreadsheets. Databases – I have used them before, but this is one of the areas I do not feel as comfortable with. I have not really found a use for databases. Therefore I have never used them with a class. Spreadsheets – I have used spreadsheets before. This is a great tool to use when manipulating data. Many students like the many graphs it can make. In some cases the graphing calculators have also taken care of finding max, min, median and mode. In order to use spreadsheets with all students, time will be needed to teach spreadsheets and the many concepts that go along with this. Paint/Draw - Many students seem to have these skills mastered. I believe they have exposure to this in Tech Ed and do a fairly good job with the skills listed. I in some cases I have had students create a diagram for a portfolio problem in paint and import it to their document they hand in for their portfolio. Visual Organizers – This was not on the survey, but in the list of GCE’s. When I read this, I first thought of the graphic organizer program that was purchased this year. I can’t think of the name right now. There are two or three different levels of the program depending on grade level. We used it to do a brainstorming session during our first meeting in June. This seemed to fit in well with this GCE. I have not had much practice with this application, but the GCE seems to fit well with today’s visually enhanced students. Calculators – This is something we already do anyways.
IT4 Communication Tools – Multimedia – Students are well aware of Power Point and other applications. We have had students create presentations before. The new math program has put us back a little. The grade level projects seemed to work well for the multimedia work. World Wide Web – I have done very little with students creating web pages. I have my own for my class and once or twice have had students create a product and publish it to the web page. This has its possibilities. Students could publish there portfolio work to the web. Email – Most students now how to email, but the school has typically said no email. So I have not done anything where students have a need to email. A collaborative project with mentors or peers at another school would be a good idea.
IT5 Research & Problem Solving – Digital Resources- I have not done much with students in this area, but would find this to be relevant if more work was based on the Internet. This GCE is related to IT2. Search Engines – I find that many students have trouble searching for their ideas. When I have helped students, they do not know how to narrow their search using the Boolean logic. Again, I have not found a huge need for this in mathematics class, mainly since we do not do a lot of research. Browser – I have not done any bookmarking with students and do not see me doing much research in math class. Problem Solving and Decision Making – This seems like an all encompassing GCE. A student needs to bring in all of the previous GCEs to accomplish this one. The decision making and justifying mirrors what should be happening in mathematics. We are always asking students to justify their answers and work. I believe this GCE is fairly complex and is the overall goal for all GCEs.
Assignment 4
Exploring Project Based Learning AssignmentNew Skills for a New Century
"Today's graduates need to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, and effective communicators who are proficient in both core subjects and new, 21st-century content and skills," according to "Results that Matter: 21st Century Skills and High School Reform," a report issued in March by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
Real PBL, by contrast, is deep, complex, rigorous, and integrated. Its fundamentals are fourfold:
Create teams of three or more students to work on an in-depth project for three to eight weeks.
Introduce a complex entry question that establishes a student's need to know, and scaffold the project with activities and new information that deepens the work.
Calendar the project through plans, drafts, timely benchmarks, and finally the team's presentation to an outside panel of experts drawn from parents and the community.
Provide timely assessments and/or feedback on the projects for content, oral and written communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and other important skills.
New Tech teachers build their instruction around eight Learning Outcomes -- content standards, collaboration, critical thinking, oral communication, written communication, career preparation, citizenship and ethics, and technology literacy -- which they embed in all projects, assessments, and grade reports. Instructors start each unit by throwing students into a real-world or realistic project that engages interest and generates a list of things they need to know.
Project and problem-based learning doesn't work unless learners obtain feedback. Current assessments don't do the job. State testing and accountability are aimed at schools, not individual student learning, and reports are released once a year, after students have moved on to other teachers.
Most schools give students a single grade for a course, often losing important data about their skills and abilities. At New Tech, by contrast, the grade report shows separate grades for content, critical thinking, written communication, oral communication, technology literacy, and any of the other Learning Outcomes appropriate for the course.
New Tech has developed unique ways to assess certain modern skills. At the end of every project, students assess their team members, anonymously, using the online Peer Collaboration rubric
PBL comes alive when schools go beyond one-to-one computing and provide a technology platform that serves as a collaborative learning environment.
The Learning System immediately and dynamically publishes all project materials to the Internet. And because all projects are housed online, they are available year to year even if teachers leave. Also, instructors can share projects between schools. Fourteen schools throughout the nation based on the New Tech model are doing so. That number will nearly double this fall.
PBL has one factor in common with traditional education -- it takes good teachers to make it work well.
PBL Professional Development Instrutional Modules.
http://www.edutopia.org/modules/PBL/index.php1) Why Is Project-Based Learning Important?Project-based learning helps students develop skills for living in a knowledge-based, highly technological society.
These 21st Century skills include:
personal and social responsibility
planning, critical thinking, reasoning, and creativity
strong communication skills, both for interpersonal and presentation needs
cross-cultural understanding
visualizing and decision-making
knowing how and when to use technology and choosing the most appropriate tool for the task
Project-based learning and the use of technology bring a new relevance to the learning at hand.
"One of the major advantages of project work is that it makes school more like real life. It's an in-depth investigation of a real-world topic worthy of children's attention and effort."
-- Sylvia ChardAssociate Professor of EducationUniversity of AlbertaAlberta, Canada
Project-based learning lends itself to authentic assessment.
Project-based learning promotes lifelong learning.
Project-based learning accommodates students with varying learning styles and differences.
Research supports project-based learning.
Articles – Need to read – “Mathematics for the Moment, Or the Millennium?” & “Does It Compute?”
2) What Is Project-Based Learning?
a) Project-based learning is curriculum fueled and standards based.
b) Project-based learning asks a question or poses a problem that each student can answer.
c) Project-based learning asks students to investigate issues and topics addressing real-world problems while integrating subjects across the curriculum.
d) Project-based learning is a method that fosters abstract, intellectual tasks to explore complex issues.
e) Video: Newsome Park
3) How Does Project-Based Learning Work?
"We've got to know the curriculum. We've got to know the standards inside and out. Even though it looks like the kids are doing all the hard work, there's a lot of planning that goes on behind it to make sure that the work is there for them."
-- Patty VreelandKindergarten and first-grade teacherNewsome Park Elementary SchoolNewport News, Virginia
a) Project-based learning, as with all lessons, requires much preparation and planning.b) Steps for Project-Based Learning
Essential QuestionPlanScheduleMonitorAssessEvaluateJohn Cioffi
7/21/06
TSLC – Summer 2006
Exploring Project Based Learning Assignment
Part 1 – Brainstorm Project Ideas
Address computational fluency – skill building
Linear equations – collecting data making choices
Architecture Project
Online Learning portfolios – All mathematics, not just portfolio assessments
Mapping – Hard Ack, St. Albans City, City School
Web pages
Business - ?
Promote Energy Saving Ideas – Walking, Biking, Car pooling, etc
History - Mathematicians impact of today’s world
Bike Trip – Bike Business – Rail Trail – St. Albans Trip
Ideal Classroom (School)
Vermont Vacation
Probability Game Fair
Part 2 – Journal of ThoughtsWhen I first started, I felt we could address the computational fluency portion of our curriculum using technology, but as I continued the exploration, it really does not fit into the Problem Based Learning model. I still think it is possible to integrate technology to address computational fluency, but it may not address all components for this class.
In 7th & 8th grade we focus a lot of our time on linear and non-linear equations. So some type of project that involves collecting, organizing and presenting data to make a prediction or answer a question would be a good idea. The business, bike trip and possibly the energy saving ideas could tie into this. Our current program refers to a bike trip for a lot of the 7th grade year and a little in the 8th grade year. The energy savings would be applicable to current issues happening in our society (Gas hitting $3/gal, heating costs, etc). Students could do an energy audit of the school or home, and make recommendations or could research alternatives to using cars.
I also would like to make our current paper portfolio system into an electronic version. Students could either share their work using a word processor, or create an online version of it. Students could create an electronic journal of all their learning throughout the year.
The ideal classroom/school would allow students to explore some geometry and proportional reasoning. Student would have to create a presentation of their product and process. This could be a take off of what some students did last year with the building project for the school. The mapping idea would also be a project that would include proportional reasoning and geometry skills.
The Vermont Vacation would allow students to explore different parts of Vermont and create a vacation. Students would have to create a budget, schedule and create a presentation. This could tie in research, spreadsheets and multimedia applications. The mathematics would be computational and possible some work on maps would include some understanding of scale factor.
Questions – I would need to work on the essential question for the projects. I do not have any questions that are obvious to me yet. I really need to see how well my project would fit with my curriculum. I believe I have a few ideas that would have students exploring and making decisions based their findings.
My sense is that we don’t want to just integrate technology to enhance math skills or a certain concept. I feel that we need to create a project that will change our, the teachers, instruction/roll. So this may mean stepping away from our new program to find the best fit for our students. We need to rethink what we are doing to help prepare students for their future.
Resources: Can be found at
http://www.furl.net/members/jtjtc .
Part 3 – Reflective Essay – “Can project based learning support a standards based learning approach and how does it fit into a high-stakes testing climate?”
Project based learning can support a standards based learning approach, but the high-stakes testing climate may be a large obstacle to overcome. The high stakes testing climate will not be leaving in the near future. So, if we choose to move to a project based learning environment, we will need to find a way to make both ideas work.
City School has been in the standards based learning approach for some time now and has seen some progress. We have teachers throughout the school that have units aligned to the state standards and/or the GE’s. We have implemented Connected Math at grades 6-8 and Investigation at grades K-5. So mathematics has bought into the standards based learning approach. In my experience the Connected Math program is a good program. It lacks the basic skills that students often times are weak at. So end up supplementing to address these needs. When I was exploring the 21st Century Skills portion of the summer work, I automatically thought of our math program. Our program assumes students have the skills needed to answer some of the problems in the books. The program tries to put students into a problem solving situation and have them explore to come to a solution. It almost seems like the program sets up each book to be the project and the investigations to be the scaffolding to the bigger idea. Sometimes students buy into the “plot,” or they go through and do the math and really don’t hold on to the concepts for long. We could use the program as a starting point for the mathematics, but we need to help student get ownership of their learning. There is some rich mathematics in the program, but sometimes students just don’t see the value of doing their best.
The project based learning can be intertwined with standards based learning. I believe I have used the Connected Math program to get a handle on the standards and now have some examples of what we should be doing to address them. I want to see us move in a direction that will help students take responsibility for their education. Students need to feel valued and a part of something in the 7th and 8th grade. I feel some of the videos and articles that were presented in my exploration show that this can be done. I need to take the standards, the Connected Math Program and figure out where I could infuse some projects that would motivate the students to take ownership. What I need is the time and the flexibility to explore and create the projects.
The high stakes testing environment that we now work in can be a deterrent to change. The videos that I watched showed some low income schools that performed poorly on tests that really turned it around with project based learning (Union City, NJ School). So I know project based learning can be used to do well on tests. Right now I feel City School is tied to their new programs and do not have the flexibility to stray from it. It may be too early to tell if the new programs have an impact on our test scores, but the tests do not fully address the skills needed as outlined in the 21st Century Skills Assignment. In order to fully prepare our students we need to buy into the technology and truly change the way plan and instruct our students.
Overall, I am excited to see what comes out of this class. The door is wide open and I believe we need to think progressively and take the opportunity to create something that will benefit all students. I hope I will be able to create a project that will help address the standards, prepare them for the tests, but also motivate students to learn life long skills.
