Reflections for EDTECH 521

Hi All,

I have recently started EDTECH 521 at BSU.  This course marks the last course before my portfolio course this summer.  I'm excited to begin this course.

Peer Assessment

Peer assessment is a vital component of the PBL projects.  For the student conducting the evaluation they get to look at the work that their peers have done and make connection back to their own work and how they might improve their work the next time.  For the student receiving the assessment, it is good to hear feedback from others going through the same process with the knowledge that they will get time to make changes before submitting it to the teacher.  The goal though is to develop a culture within the classroom that makes students feel comfortable critiquing/complementing the work of other's as well as receiving critiques/compliments about their own work as well.

There is no one cookie cutter method that will work with all classes and all grade levels.  A lot of developing the culture and attitude necessary is dependent on the personalities in the class.  Working in the elementary levels, I have used a a variety of different methods to promote peer assessment:

1.   Two Stars and a Wish:  Students write down two things their peer did one and one thing they would like to change.
2. Story Editing:  Essentially have the students read over each other's stories and edit them.
3. Surveys:  I've sometimes had groups create surveys for the other students which focus on their work.  The students then have to take that data and analyze it.
4. Interviews:  I've also had the students sit with their peer evaluator and have a discussion about their work.  This is a nice method as it allows the students to delve deeper in different areas.

A quick search on Google will reveal a plethora of different resources and strategies.  The key is to find method(s) that work for you and your students.  Remember, that just because it worked with one group of students, does not mean it will work for the next.  

Reflection

The PBL unit that I have been working on over the past several months is almost done.  I has been an interesting process to create the unit and ensure that I am using the correct terminology.  It has also been interesting to see the similarities and differences between the two PBL and PYP.  However, as we approach the end it is time to discuss reflection on the unit.

Reflection is probably the area where I see the biggest difference between PBL and PYP.  In a PYP planner there are several areas that are devoted to reflection with guiding questions to help people develop good critical reflections about their units.  However, I have not seen such structure within a PBL unit (please correct me if I'm wrong).

That being said there are some key questions that need to be answered when discussing reflection on a unit

Who will you involve in the process?

This is a tricky question to answer because ideally anyone who was involved in the unit should have a voice in the reflection process including students, teachers, specialists, curriculum coordinator, etc.  What will your process look like?

The process of reflection can be varied.  Ideally teachers begin the process by gathering evidence from the students of both successes and struggles with the unit.  This can be done through pictures, videos, notes, etc.  Once this is done teachers should spend some time individually reflecting on the unit and structuring their thoughts.  Finally, the teachers and curriculum coordinator should meet to write out the reflection in a formal manner.  Ideally there is a series of questions that will be asked.  If there are other individuals who have been a vital part of the unit, then there ideas should be collected and included as well.

Please note that this is one way to structure the reflection process and there are a variety of others.  The key is to find what works best for you and your school.  For example, instead of meeting with the curriculum coordinator to write out the reflection, teachers may find it better for them to write out the reflection for the coordinator to read on their own.

Is it just a one-time assessment?

Reflection is an ongoing process of evaluation, revising, and asking questions.  What worked best today?  What could I change?  How could this be made better?  As such, the assessment of a PBL unit is an ongoing process.  While the formal written reflection part may be written up in one sitting, the informal evidence gathering and thinking is an ongoing process throughout the unit.

Reflecting

Over the past several weeks I have been working on developing a PBL unit as part of my work for one of my courses.  This week, we were given a series of questions to answer.  I've decided to go through them one by one.  I hope you enjoy reading my responses.

Will my role in the teaching/learning process change?

The transformation from teaching in a traditional method and a PBL approach is very noticeable.  Instead of being the instructor at the front passing along knowledge, the teacher becomes more of a mentor/facilitator to the students.  That being said for the past several years I've worked in schools where they use a similar approach to PBL and I have already gone through the process of adapting my teaching methodology to fit the student centered methodologies required of the PBL.  

Additionally, my current role in my school is IT Integrator and I don't actually teach specific classes.  Instead I work with the teachers to develop and plan units that integrate technology.  I rarely have direct lecture style lessons.  Instead when a student needs support, they will ask me, and I will provide guidance for them.  Where appropriate, I do my best to ensure that the students are involved in solving the issues to help them further develop their technology skills.

  What are the skills of effective facilitation?

IT would be impossible for me to list all of the skills that are necessary for effective facilitation as the list would be a mile long, if not longer.  However, there are two skills that I deem vitally important:

Problem Solving:  The idea behind problem solving is not that you jump in and solve any issues the students have but develop the skills necessary to identify when a student is experiencing difficulities that they will be able to overcome given some time and when a student requires assistance from the teacher to develop a skill or understand a concept that will help them continue in the PBL unit.

This skill is particularly important for students to learn as we want to develop learners who are able to tackle challenges when they are presented with them and not simply seek help every time they have an issue.  This is important skill for students to develop in real life, as struggling with concepts, skills, and ideas are usually a part of the learning process and it's important for students to feel comfortable in these types of situations.

Flexibility: Flexibility is a key aspect to facilitation within a PBL unit.  There is no one way a PBL unit will unfold and no matter how well planned a unit is, there will always be something that arises.  Whether it's a project that takes longer to complete, or students interests taking them in different paths than the ones you predicted.  The goal here is to be flexible and make necessary changes while keeping they eye on the big picture.  If you notice that things are in fact getting off track from the big picture of the unit, then there might need to be some more guidance or revision of the unit.

Will the students develop the competencies and skills needed to be successful?

The short answer is yes.  If you are developing a unit and the final assessment requires competencies and skills that the students have not had any exposure to prior, then there might be an issue with the unit.  During the introductory week(s), of a PBL unit students should be exposed to the necessary competencies and skills that will be required in order to be successful.  The final assessment should build upon this base and allow the students to not only demonstrate their competencies but also to further develop them.

What changes will you need to make in order to become an effective facilitator in your PBL unit?

While I am comfortable with the PBL approach as a similar approach is used in my current school, I still struggle with the concept of letting go and allowing the students to be self-directed learners.    This is a real issue that many teachers face for a variety of reason.  IT could be concerns about testing, pressure from admin/school community, or simply being uncomfortable when not in full control of the activities in their classroom.  I still struggle with this concept and have to continually remind myself that after all these years, the students will be alright, they will enjoy the learning process, and more importantly will learn more during the unit than I imagined possible. 

Integrating Transdisciplinary Learning

As an IB PYP school, we are obligated to create units that are transdisciplinary.  This means that wherever possible subjects like Art, Math, PE, Language, and Music should be tied into the unit of inquiry.  This is not an easy process and many schools do this differently depending upon the size and culture of the school.  However in my experience there are several things that help make transdiciplinary learning/activities possible.

Planning:

Time must be made for all the teacher involved in the unit to meet together.  This helps to ensure the teachers are all on the same page with the direction of the unit.  It also allows for teachers who are specialists to provide additional strategies and suggestions.  For example, during an art based unit, the art teacher is a valuable resource and can provide ideas and suggestions for activities/field trips that can be done with the home room teacher.

Reflection:

Reflecting after a unit is key.  This allows for teachers to provide their feedback on what worked well and what didn't work well.  The aim is to use these reflections to make necessary changes to the units the following year.

Communication:

Communication plays an essential part in transdiciplinary learning.  Teachers must continual communicate with each other so the progress of the unit can be monitored and changes made to other lessons if necessary.  Additionally, teachers need to ensure the connections between classes is clear to the students.

Buy-in:

In order for any transdisciplinary unity to be effective, teachers must buy in to the concept.  If teachers do not see the value in the linking units across the subject areas, then they will not be successful.

Those are really the 4 key elements that I see as essential for transdisciplinary learning to be successful.

PBL and Assessment

In class this week we began the process of creating our assessment plans.  As I continue to develop my project for this course, I'm anticipating that I will be modifying and editing my assessments.  However, at this current time I would like to discuss my work in relation to the Key Principles of Assessment as discussed by the Organization "What Kids Can Do?"

Assessment is for students

At the current time my assessment has two major opportunities for student participation.  The first is their learning log and the second is their peer evaluation.  While these are good forms of assessments, I would like to have the students create the teacher rubric that will be used for the assessment.  This will enable the students to have more ownership over the assessment process.

Assessment is faithful to the work students actually do

The summative task for this unit has students developing and creating their own top 10 tips list.  The rubric has been designed to focus on the aspects of the project that the students complete and not what they leave out.  Additionally, time is built in daily for student to reflect on what they are doing.

Assessment is public

Currently students are not given an opportunity to state their goals for the unit.  However, this can easily be introduced at the start of the unit to help frame student work and reflection.  Currently the main audience is the grade 4 class, but it could easily be shared via YouTube and other online authoring software to get a broad opinion of their work.

Assessment promotes ongoing self-reflections and critical inquiry

Currently the assessment criteria is given mainly by the teacher.  However, as discussed earlier by inviting the students to create the rubric for the assignment, they will better understand the qualities of good work and be able to develop work that meets those standards.

Tools for my project

This week I began by crafting my driving question.  I was again struck by the similarity and differences between the PYP and PBL.  One of the first things we do when creating a unit in the PYP is try to craft a central idea.  The central idea is supposed to be a statement that is broad, conceptually rich, and accessible to the students.  While many of these are similar, PBL uses a questions instead of a statement and more importantly localizes it for the students.  In the examples I looked at there is usually a very explicit connection in the driving questions to the local community.  However, in PYP central ideas are meant to be globally transferrable and thus typically don't contain specifics about location.

Eventually I decided to narrow down my questions to "How can we use our devices for learning?"  This question I believe blends the two approaches nicely.  Also, by not including specifics about the place name, I am ensuring that it is globally transferable.  However, the use of the word our localizes it for the students as well.

For my project I am currently using Weebly and Coogle to house and organize my resources and my thinking.  In terms of standards I am currently using the ISTE Standards for Students and the Common Sense Education curriculum.  So far, I have many ideas for the unit, however, it is a matter of trying to narrow it down for the students into a unified vision.