This week, I am monitoring my persona goals of my Game Plan. My goal is to incorporate at least one creative project per content area each nine weeks. I also plan to collaborate with another classroom outside our school each nine weeks through virtual tools. We have just completed a biography project in which the students researched a current or historical person of their choice and presented their findings to the class via PowerPoint or word and picture collage. The students shared their projects during our November writing celebration.
Our next class endeavor will be a collaborative math project with other classes: one in Florida and one in a northern state. We plan to share weather reports and graph actual weather conditions and make predictions for the winter forecast. This will allow us to integrate science and math. We want to Skype together and communicate by email or blogs. We are just waiting for Skype approval from the other schools.
Teaching my students to self- reflect has been very difficult. I have had to create a weekly checklist for them to paste in their journals as a template as guide for reflection. Editing, revising and reflection is difficult process for third graders. We are currently working together in peer groups to assist with this process.
Technology can assist in this process of student reflections. However, I am having difficulties receiving logins and passwords for my students to use our class blog application located on our class web page. Technological support is slow due to the recent cut- backs in our district personnel. Peggy Etmer suggests that technology provides a format for formative assessments with progress checklist, and blogs (Laureate, 2009). I have currently posted rubrics and templates on the web page.
I am currently researching ideas for a problem based learning project for my students. This type of project will allow my students to explore their content in an authentic and meaningful way. I would like to make my students to discover new ways to reuse or recycle everyday items into new practical uses. This project would address the need to reduce our waste and trash and provide a personal connection to world conservation (Laureate, 2009).
Reference:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas
(DVD). Spotlight on Technology: Problem-Based Learning, Part 1 and 2. Baltimore, MD: Author
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5 comments:
Hello Connie,
After reading your blog I just wanted to say I feel you have some great ideas. I like the idea of a collaborative math project with other classes: from other states. I may try to modify that idea and work it into my lesson plans. That is a great creative thinking project! In the DVD “Promoting Creative Thinking with Technology” several of the teachers interviewed noted that creative thinking helps students to become confident in their abilities and not be afraid of making mistakes. These are examples of ways to empower a person to take control of their learning.
You mentioned having some difficulty with the technology portion of a lesson. Do you have a technology teacher in the building? Someone who teaches computer applications to students. For example; I teach Excel, Powerpoint, Word, and AutoCAD to the students at the middle school level.
I often collaborate with other teachers when they want to integrate technology into a lesson. I have work with math, science, and social studies teachers to develop lessons that begin in their classroom and continue in my computer room. This also solves the problem of trying to schedule computer time. It usually works out well and we both end up learning from each other.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). “Promoting Creative Thinking with Technology” [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.
John,
Due to the budget cuts, we lost our technology teacher. We were sent an assistant that is only there to turn the equipment on. We have computer lab every 2 weeks and the teacher can "teach" technology at that time. I miss our tech teacher. Time is my worst enemy.
Hi Connie,
I really think that doing a content-area project once every 9 weeks is a great way to keep students engaged and to promote creativity and critical thinking skills. Students grasping the skill of reflecting can be a challenge I think because they are always so busy and their lives are so filled that they never really take the time to reflect. You may want to try creating a screencast, PowerPoint or voicethread that models this skill and is also a great tool for visual learners.
Connie,
Always a pleasure to read your comments. I think your idea to plan to have one creative project every 9 weeks is great. It is hard to make it happen without a scheduled commitment. Your incorporation of math and science in your weather unit will help students understand that math helps us understand our world. I agree that younger learners need more guidance with new projects and your idea of a weekly checklist will keep them attentive to what they need to accomplish. You have a comprehensive list of things to accomplish with your students. It is evident that you are a dedicated teacher.
cDolores,
Scheduling ahead is vital to success. The unit plan makes you really look at how you can integrate several subjects in order to improve the project or learning purpose.
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