Mr. Solarz' ePortfolio

The Benefits of Having Students Write a Simple Thank-You Email

4/30/2014

Earlier this week, my students were fortunate enough to get to spend 90 minutes Skyping with an amazing NASA scientist named Pascal Lee! Dr. Lee is the author of an outstanding children's book called, "Mission: Mars," which we have been using as our primary print resource in our attempt to colonize the red planet.

Prior to our Skype call, my students participated in several lessons providing them with the background knowledge necessary to have an intelligent conversation with Dr. Lee. They prepared for our trip to Mars, spent 8 months traveling, and landed on Mars near the north

pole. We even spent our first few days on Mars, debating what should be done first!

That being said, we wondered if we had been making wise choices or if a NASA scientist would tell us that we would have probably died already! Enter Pascal Lee.

My students had some amazing questions for Dr. Lee:

"Was landing near the north pole a smart decision?"
"How will we make oxygen?"
"What should we do first: build our habitat or get plants growing?"

Although we spent no time at all preparing questions for our Skype session, my students had burning questions that they needed an expert to address! Thank goodness Dr. Lee was here when we needed him!

He was able to tell us that we have used solid logic for many of our decisions, and that in the year 2150 (when our simulation is supposedly taking place) much of the technology that we are relying upon would likely be possible. He reaffirmed much of what we thought and made us feel smart about our ideas! Because of all of this, we had to take some time to thank him for his time and interest in our project!

So after we finished our Skype call, we sat down to type out Thank You emails!

I told my students that we needed to:

express our sincere appreciation for Dr. Lee's time and dedication to our simulation,
explain some of the things that we learned about during the 90 minute lesson, and
describe some of the things we were surprised about discovering.

These emails turned out to be excellent examples of reflection and synthesis of new learning! Students took the time to really think things out and type meaningful correspondence. Having an authentic audience made their effort and quality so much higher than a typical blog post!

Little did I realize how important a simple thank you email could be for my students' learning! Taking the time immediately following our Skype session was time very well-spent, because they solidified their learning by reflecting upon it so quickly after learning it!

Here are some examples of my students' emails...

I like how Emma's email had a great balance between showing sincere appreciation, explaining what she learned, and reflecting on her favorite parts of our Skype session, all in a well-written and organized email.

Jack was telling the truth about his jaw dropping - it's not hyperbole! I remember glancing over at him and seeing him drooling (literally) because he was so excited to get to Skype with a real NASA scientist!!!

Annie not only did an outstanding job of recording things that she learned, but she also showed strong synthesizing skills by expressing her understanding that allowing the sand to pile up on our buildings would actually be beneficial to our health!

Connor made strong personal connections and explained them well. It is clear that parts of this experience changed him in certain ways. I appreciate the glimpse into his thinking!

Ethan expressed his excitement by identifying his next steps (telling his parents what he learned) & he saw value in taking three pages of notes independently without anyone encouraging or requiring him to do so. His is becoming more self-motivated each day!

Charlotte is still processing what she learned from the Skype session, but has already decided to shift gears from building something to trying to get plants to grow for food based on his comments.

I love how Luke was discerning enough to not believe everything that he reads online, but is confident enough to admit he judged that website incorrectly. I
also love the sincerity in his voice.

This email shows me that going deeper with our studies, rather than wider, has been a smart move as my students are able to be "surprised" by new information that causes them to admit they were incorrect & want to make changes on their own! Woohoo!

Click on each email below to see a larger version of it...

To follow our progress in this simulation lesson-by-lesson, check out our lessons page.
To see some of the work students have created so far, check out our creations page.
To see how this simulation fits into our unit on the Constitution and U.S. Government, check out this page.
To see more pictures from this day, check out our Daily Photo Journal page here.

Here is a clip from our Skype with Pascal Lee...

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Using Peer Feedback to Improve the Quality of Passion Projects

4/1/2014

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Our first attempt at using "Quality Boosters" in our class to give constructive feedback on peers' Passion Projects.

My students recently completed their fifth round of Passion Time this year and they have definitely been improving in countless ways! That being said, some students are regressing in a few areas and others continue to repeat mistakes over and over again. I needed some help giving constructive feedback in a timely manner that would be focused on things that we are trying to improve in our classroom. But who could I ask to read and comment that would feel comfortable making suggestions and pointing out flaws in my 10- and 11-year olds' projects? The answer turned out to be my 10- and 11-year old students themselves!

Most of the constructive feedback that my kids have received thus far this year has either come from me or from their partner (if they chose to work with one). My students have received plenty of compliments from students and teachers on the internet via comments on their blogs. They've even gotten quite a few comments that very bluntly complained about something trivial that wouldn't necessarily improve the quality of their product if they chose to take the advice. But they haven't been given enough constructive feedback that would help them improve skills that are transferable to middle school and beyond.

In the past, when I've asked my students to peer-revise a writing piece or give suggestions for improvement after a presentation, I was hard-pressed to find anything of value. Most students were either too worried about how critical feedback would make their peer feel, or they didn't know how to identify or evaluate skills that are important to give critical feedback on! Written suggestions on essays created an environment where students felt inferior to the person who was revising their paper. Face-to-face suggestions are awkward, because you have to see how they react to the news you are delivering, and rarely does someone love to hear how they are wrong!

So today, I introduced a concept to my students that I called "Quality Boosters." I explained it to the class like this:

In our class, we don't care much about grades. We don't care much about who's better than whom. We care about working together to become the strongest "Me" we can each become. We welcome people's opinions about our work, because when someone takes the time to give us their opinion (even when it's negative), they are helping us improve in some way. And our goal is constant improvement! We don't care where we start from - we care where we finish. We don't care who is performing better than us. We care that we are performing to our highest level possible!

Today, we are going to watch each others' Passion Project videos and read their KWHLAQ Charts and Reflections. We are going to do so with a critical eye - one that looks for things that could be improved. We aren't going to act judgmental where we sound like we know everything and others know nothing. We won't put anyone down or make anyone feel stupid. We are going to identify areas where our peers can improve to help them be the best that they can be. We will call our critical feedback, "Quality Boosters," because our goal will be to boost the quality of each others' Passion Projects!

We won't feel awkward or rude, because we're helping them improve their craft. We're helping them make a better product. We're helping them feel more proud of themselves tomorrow than they feel today. When they read our critical feedback, they will know that we are giving them these suggestions because we feel it will make their projects even better than they are today. They know that this is an assignment and not someone putting them down. They know what your goal is, because it's the same goal they have themselves: to help each other improve our projects!

Let's brainstorm some ways that we can make critical feedback more bearable. Should we be blunt and vague and just tell them that their video stinks? Or, is it better to be polite and specific about ways they can make their video better? Should we say that their written reflection is short and that they should have tried harder? Or, should we explain that a longer written reflection would have clarified what they learned during this round of Passion Time? Polite, specific feedback will help our peers improve their craft. Blunt, generic feedback will only hurt their feelings and cause them to be defensive or dismissive.

I have three ways that you can write a Quality Booster so that your peer will handle your critical feedback positively.

1. Start by saying you have a Quality Booster for them! They'll know right away that you are going to offer a suggestion that may be critical of their work. They'll be prepared, and will probably handle it better!

2. Start or end with a specific compliment! When someone feels that you honestly appreciate their work, they are more likely to accept your critical feedback. (Some people suggest having a compliment before and after the suggestion - they call it a Compliment Sandwich!)

3. Write your suggestion as a question rather than a statement. Instead of telling your peer what to change, ask them if it might sound better if... or you wonder if people would understand it better if... You don't seem superior to them if you're just wondering something!

After a short discussion where my students offered their suggestions for writing quality comments, I assigned them each one person to give feedback to (by pulling sticks randomly) and said that when they do a GREAT job on that one, they can go on to any others that they were excited to look at. After about 20 minutes, I asked everyone to read their comments and reply thoughtfully. Here are some of the discussions that took place (listen for the reflection and appreciation in my students' voices):

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The Role of a Science Fair in the 21st Century Classroom

2/24/2014

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My class has been hosting a Science Fair every year for the past dozen or so years. I can't say that I always knew why I continued to make time for it, but it always seemed valuable and worthwhile, so I kept it going.

Today, I see why I continued the tradition. It wasn't just because I did one as a child and enjoyed it. It wasn't just because I saw my students explain a scientific discovery in a confident manner. I continued this tradition because it is inquiry at its finest! Students wonder about something and explore it!

Click on image to see an enlarged version. Credit: http://cultureofyes.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/inquiry.png

So why are Science Fairs becoming so "old-fashioned?" Why have schools cancelled them in favor of more teacher-directed science lessons? Shouldn't we be providing more opportunities for students to wonder, explore & experiment, and report out their findings? I think so!

Click on image to see an enlarged version. Credit: http://www.valrc.org/resources/gedasproject /images/inquiry_template_lg.gif

In our class, students are regularly given time to explore interests of their own, not specifically focused on science topics. We call this: Passion Time. Passion Time is an opportunity for students to spend a portion of their class time learning about topics of interest to them. They may research their topic, conduct an experiment, or build something! They may integrate the arts, video games, or music into their passion projects as well!

When children spend time exploring topics of interest to them during school, they become much more invested in the learning process. A Science Fair offers students the same benefit, but it focuses their investment on the sciences!

In the image on the left, the Inquiry Process is explained (link). Our Science Fair follows a similar process. Students look through Science Fair topic guides looking for something that sparks their interest. When they find something, I work one-on-one with each student to fine-tune their Guiding Question. Since students are completely in charge of coming up with their area of interest, they are immediately engaged in the process and motivated to learn more!

I take my students through several steps that get each student to learn more about their topic (Review of Literature); predict what they think will happen during their experiment (Hypothesis); identify the components to change, measure, and keep the same (Variables); and plan out how the experiment will happen (Procedure).

After those steps and a few more, we take a couple months to allow the experiments to take place. Everyone is expected to complete their entire Science Fair project, including the experiment, in class unless they get written permission from a parent requesting that they experiment be conducted at home.

This allows me to oversee the entire process, provide feedback throughout, and discover what each student is truly capable of doing on his or her own. Conducting the experiment together can be one of the best ways to bond with your students! Take a glance at the video to the right showing Keegan, some of his friends, and me breaking four types of wood with a weight being dropped from increasing heights! What a fun time!

While students conduct their experiments, they collect their data on a self-made Data Table. These can be done on paper or electronically. We prefer to use Google Spreadsheets or Excel for ours. I enjoy helping my students create these tables, because it gets them to see their Dependent and Independent Variables more clearly. They need to measure how much change is happening (Independent Variable) against what is being changed (Dependent Variable).

Click on image to see an enlarged version. Credit: http://www.cdn.sciencebuddies.org/Files/5084/7/2013-updated_scientific-method-steps_v6_noheader.png

They truly learn that you can't find out if something is an effective change if you have more than one variable changing at a time! This is an important concept in the Scientific Method.

In the image on the left, the Scientific Method is described. I like this image because it includes opportunities to be reflective and adaptable throughout the process. Although students write a formal procedure prior to experimenting, it's important that they stay flexible and make changes if needed so the experiment works properly. No one should be forced to keep a procedure that isn't working!

This graphic also encourages students to continue their curiosity after the Science Fair is over by asking a new question, forming a new hypothesis, and trying the experiment again on their own! This encourages persistence and grit, as students work towards finding the true answers to their questions!

After the experimenting phase, we begin to work together as a class again to complete the rest of the project where we begin to analyze the data and prepare it for others to see.

We create graphs and our final poster board. Graphs help other students see the subtle differences in each of the variables. It quantifies the students data and takes some of the subjectivity out of the data.

Click on image to see an enlarged version.

Students also work on an oral presentation that draws people in who are walking by during the Science Fair and gets them to want to learn more about their project! Students are encouraged to have a hook at the beginning that gets people walking by to want to learn more about their project. Of course, some projects are interesting even without a hook. Watch a sample video of Brian teaching us about his Science Fair Project.

It is my sincere hope that others will see the value that a Science Fair (especially one conducted fully in school) can have on students' 21st Century skills attainment. It is my belief that my students have improved their inquiry skills by taking a scientific wonder of theirs and conducting research and an experiment to clarify their understanding.

I believe that my students are improving their executive functioning skills by carefully planning out their steps in their procedure, and following a calendar of mini-deadlines to accomplish a long-term goal.

I believe that my students are also improving some of the following skills during various stages of this process:

Think Creatively
Think Critically
Make Judgments and Decisions
Ask Questions
Solve Problems
Metacognition (Thinking About Our Thinking)
Reflect and Synthesize
Adapt to Change
Think and Learn Flexibly
Demonstrate Learning Through All Intelligence Pathways
Manage Goals and Time

Be a Risk-Taker
Be Self-Directed Learners
Persist Despite Setbacks
Be Curious
Manage Projects
Produce Results
Be Responsible to Yourself and Others
Access and Evaluate Information
Use and Manage Information
Analyze Media
Create Media Products
Apply Technology Effectively

I hope that you will consider reinstating the Science Fair in your school. Feel free to dress it up and call it an "Inquiry Fair" or something else that makes it sound more progressive, but you'll know what it really is: a great way for students to learn.

Click here to see a slide show of last year's Science Fair Projects!
Click here to visit our page from two years ago!

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Stepping Back in Time: Teaching Textbook, Study, & Test-Taking Skills Inside a 21st Century Classroom

2/8/2014

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Teaching in a "21st Century Classroom" where everything is collaborative, technology is used for more than half of our day, and there are very few formal assessments can be tough for parents and administrators to completely understand at first. When their child comes home from school each day and talks about playing Minecraft for an hour and...

Minecraft success! Anthony and Jack built the Washington Monument.

Introducing ourselves during a Mystery Skype.

...Skyping with a class from Sao Paolo, Brazil, some might wonder what it is these kids are being taught these days! I want my parents and administrators to rest-assured that my students will not only be prepared for a vastly different world than we adults were prepared for, but they'll also be prepared for a typical middle school environment with worksheets, packets, textbooks, and tests.

After all, I want my students to be successful in middle school and beyond and that means learning how to read a textbook, complete worksheets accurately, and prepare for difficult tests! Just because I don't use those techniques often in my classroom (anymore), doesn't mean that other teachers will do the same.

So the way I decided to prepare my students for middle school was by finding a textbook that I actually liked that was written at an appropriate reading level for my students and had rigorous content where students would benefit from teacher-led instruction.

I created worksheet questions that I felt promoted whole class or small group discussions, prompted deep thinking and role-playing, and utilized my students' literal comprehension skills as well as inferential comprehension skills.

Click on the image above to go to the original source.

I wrote tests that didn't just rely on recall, but on a deep understanding of the important concepts from each chapter. Although some questions needed to be multiple choice and True/False (to prepare them for these in the future), the best questions I created are short answer and essay (Yes, I teach 5th graders, so I have varied expectations for each student. An Answer Key alone could not be used to grade these tests!).

The topic of this curriculum is "U.S. Constitution and Government." I've selected more rigorous objectives and Big Ideas than our district requires because with increased teacher support should come a higher level of understanding. You can find our objectives here, along with some of the activities we will be doing in addition to the textbook.

Our culminating activity will take several weeks. We will participate in a simulation where we colonize Mars! Wait. Hopefully, your first reaction is "What does colonizing Mars have to do with our Constitution and government?" Well, I'm glad you asked! Students will soon discover once on the red planet that life without rules and laws can be very difficult (thanks to some "events" that happen to make sure they feel that way!). They will want to create a formal government and might choose to use the U.S. government as a model, or they might not.

To get my students started, we had a whole-class discussion about what they think we needed to have in our government and what we didn't want to have. I suggested that they look at the U.S. Constitution's Preamble to see if there was anything in there that we wanted in our own government. It turns out, we liked a lot of it!

I then handed out several other preambles to other country's constitutions (as well as the United Nations) and asked them to extract phrases out of those that we wanted as well. They could only use sections that they completely understood and could defend though.

We then created a Google Spreadsheet that I gave everyone access to, and projected it on the board. After teaching them about the stresses that come with editing the same document as 25 others, I let them add their direct quotes to the spreadsheet. We now had a long list of phrases that represented beliefs that we had about our government on Mars.

Click on the image above to view the original document.

I had everyone try to eliminate overlapping ideas on the spreadsheet, copy the remaining ideas over to a new shared Google Doc, and revise it so that it looked like a coherent paragraph (and then edit any mistakes). Believe it or not, our final product was pretty good!

So now that we had our beliefs expressed in our Preamble, it was time to explain how our government would work. So we decided to write the rest of our constitution! I pointed out that what we were doing is following a format similar to the U.S. Constitution and my students were pretty amazed!

I helped organize the students at first, asking some questions that would get them all on the same page. Then, based on what they said, I suggested that they divide and conquer to get things accomplished. Last year, students wanted to base their Mars government on the U.S. Constitution rather than "go rogue!" I got them to the point where they suggested that they divide up into three groups like the three articles in our Constitution that explains the responsibilities of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches, respectively, and they did!

We used the same Google Doc from our Preamble activity, and each group started on a different page of the GDoc and typed how they thought their branch of the government should operate. Whenever their branch overlapped with another branch, they sent liaisons to the other group to discuss how they should proceed (some amazing collaboration here!). Throughout the whole process, I lurked on the GDoc and re-directed them whenever I thought they were getting off-track or going down a dead-end path. I made suggestions for collaborating with other groups and helped them with their wording when they needed it.

Click on the image above to view the original document (scroll down).

So often in the past, after spending a couple months learning the lessons in the textbook, I would happily move on to the next unit in social studies, but that's not what students need! They need the opportunity to apply what they've learned to a new situation, and our Mars simulation provides them with that experience. I encourage everyone to consider taking a content-area unit that they teach every year, and creating a culminating experience where the students can create something using what they've learned from their lessons. Only then will students hold on to the information that they learned from your instruction!

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The Nuts & Bolts of Using Centers in an Intermediate Classroom - What!?

2/1/2014

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First of all, we call them "Stations" in our classroom. That at least takes some of the "primary" off them!

Stations are an important part of our class for about half the year. They help me to differentiate instruction for my students, provide enrichment opportunities, allow my students to follow their interests, and most importantly to me: they free up some time to give feedback to my kids on their work! I often like to schedule as many "pullouts" during this time period as well, since speech, ELL, social work, etc. can all be considered a "station" to a child. They handle being pulled out so much better when they think of it as a station!

We start "Stations" approximately one third to one half of the way through the school year. This is when I feel I know my students well enough to create an individualized learning plan for each of my kids without wasting their time. I have already tried to help them fix certain problems like using periods and capitals, or writing a timed prompt in 15 minutes. If a student still doesn't show mastery (or close to it) by now, I feel comfortable using some "Stations" time to practice that skill. It would be silly to do so at the beginning of the year, because so many students improve with just a few reminders or tips.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

How do I get started with Stations in my Classroom?

Click on any image to enlarge it.

The rest of this blog post may make more sense after you watch the video at the top of this post. It shows what the first day of stations looked like in our room.

To introduce Stations, I don't spend much time doing so. I simply tell my students where they can find their schedules for the week (see image at left), show them how to find the directions for each station (seen in the video below), and point to each station in the classroom. If they need anything from me, it is printed on their schedule to get it from me. Otherwise, they are not allowed to ask me any questions during a rotation (but they can between rotations). This is to prevent those constant interruptions while I'm working with a child or a small group. It also encourages collaboration and problem-solving...

What kinds of stations do I have for my kids?

Well, quite a few! I have the traditional stations based on subjects (e.g. math, science/social studies, writing, etc.), and I have some newer ideas that work best in an intermediate setting. Those include a Games Station where students have several educational games to choose between. They have to read the directions themselves (there are always 2-4 students assigned to a station at a time so they can figure it out collaboratively). You can read about all of my stations in more detail at the end of this post.

One of my students' favorite stations is actually a packet! The station is called CTAC, and it stands for Choice Time Activity Center. This is the name of the place that their CTAC packets are kept. These packets are often enrichment-based and work directly to increase my students' critical thinking or creative thinking skills. Some packets are extra practice for skills that a student hasn't mastered yet (they don't really care for those!!!).

Click on any image to enlarge it.

Our Choice Time Activity Center (CTAC).

My spreadsheet for keeping track of which CTAC packet each child has been assigned.

Where did I get all of my materials from?

I am a crazy good Garage-Saler! Every Friday morning throughout the summer, I spend about three hours going to local garage sales and picking up items that would work well in my stations! I also take things people are throwing away if I think they make a good Station item! I shop at the Dollar Store and love library sales for craft books or old educational board games! I've written grants. I've posted requests on DonorsChoose.org. There are so many ways to accumulate materials for stations, you just have to keep it on your mind so you don't miss any opportunities for a great deal! :)

Where do I store all this stuff?

When I moved from my classroom of ten years to a new classroom, I took advantage of the opportunity to re-design my classroom space. So many people these days are swapping out their desks for tables and getting cool rolley-chairs, but I had a zero dollar budget and a bigger need than comfort. I had to find a way to store all of my books for my students and all of the materials for my stations!!!

One entire wall of my classroom was a blank slate. It was actually a foldable wall that originally was opened up, but with my loud voice, no one was ever going to want to open that wall up again with me next door! So I decided to build a massive shelving system along it. Here is a detailed explanation with photos of how I built it. I measured everything out, bought the materials from the local hardware store, and had a finished project for about $600. It took about two days of labor for two people, and has been a God-send for me! The slide show below shows where I store most of my station materials. I also have one cabinet and one additional book shelf by the windows dedicated to station supplies!

How do I schedule students for each station?

I am a big fan of spreadsheets and have been using Excel since I was a kid! (I hope I don't lose you as a reader here!) Although you certainly don't have to take Stations to this level, I love doing so (Sick, huh?)! Below is a screen shot of my "Planning Worksheet" in my spreadsheet. It has the students names along the left and the station names at top. Since many stations are differentiated, I spend time determining which stations each child would benefit from. Once I have an idea of which stations each child NEEDS, I look at enrichment opportunities and place "X"s in the appropriate cells.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

Below is a screen shot of my "Entry Field" worksheet in my spreadsheet. It has the students names along the left and the times and dates at top. Black cells indicate that we are not doing Stations at that time (and will produce a "0" on the students' schedule). The other cells are blank to start. As I enter the names (and directions) of each station into the cells, the information populates itself on the students' schedules that I will later print out and put in their CTAC bins. The schedule tells them the date, time, and station for the week. Excel does this automatically, so I only have to enter the information once onto the "Entry Field" worksheet.

I use color codes for me, so I can make sure to divide students somewhat evenly when resources are thin, or to ensure that a few people are at a station (and not just one). I also color code things when trying to make sure I have the right number of kids in my small group when I working with them. Color codes do not transfer to the students' schedules.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

Even I get a weekly schedule (and so does my assistant). That way, we know where we should be at all times.

Stations are an excellent way for me to meet the needs of my students. It also continues to reinforce the importance of being self-sufficient, problem-solving when stuck, and collaborating with peers rather than relying on teacher direction. Although my design is quite complex, I encourage you to try Stations with your intermediate students and comment below on your observations!

Click on any image to enlarge it.

More information after the page break below. Click on "Read More" to read information about each station.

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Introducing Blended Learning to 5th Graders in a Traditional Classroom

1/27/2014

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"Blended learning is a formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online delivery of content and instruction with some element of student control over time, place, path or pace.[1] While still attending a “brick-and-mortar” school structure, face-to-face classroom methods are combined with computer-mediated activities.[2] Proponents of blending learning cite the opportunity for data collection and customization of instruction and assessment as two major benefits of this approach.[3] Schools with blended learning models may also choose to reallocate resources to boost student achievement outcomes.[4]"

-Wikipedia

Since Blended Learning requires a mixture of online instructional delivery and face-to-face instruction, it only seems natural that students growing up in a traditional classroom may find that model a bit difficult to adjust to. After all, they've been used to a constant teacher presence with peers nearby! Therefore, I have been slowly introducing my students to a Quasi-Blended Learning Environment over the course of the school year where some directions are posted online and some of their work needs to be done online!

Students independently posting work onto their ePortfolios.

I've used a gradual release of responsibility model with my students to get started in Blended Learning:

I work, you watch.
I work, you help me.
You work, I help you.
You work, I watch.

At the left is a sample lesson I did towards the beginning of the year to help my students become more comfortable with blended learning. In this lesson, my students are given some directions that are posted online (All images on the left will enlarge if clicked on). (Here is the link to the original post, as well.) I go over the directions with them so they understand everything before starting. I do a few tasks for them, they help me do a couple more, and then they do some tasks while I give feedback. The rest of the steps are done on their own or with peer support.

Based on the successes and challenges of this lesson, I adjust the next quasi-blended learning lesson accordingly.

By the end of the year, students should be able to read the directions online, and follow all the steps successfully without adult support. This is preparing them for a more literal interpretation of Blended Learning!

Notice that in the example to the left, I use a combination of screen shots, step-by-step instructions, and forms for my students. Just like a checklist, students can successfully complete an assignment by following the directions closely and mentally checking off tasks as they are completed.

Some students struggle with this at first and need teacher guidance to be successful in this style of instruction. By doing these in class before they are expected to be able to do this from home (or in class independently), you are building their schema to be successful.

Some would look at this sample lesson as a lesson on technology, but I look at it as so much more. Students are synthesizing their knowledge of their Revolutionary War Hero after spending weeks researching and creating small pieces of evidence to show knowledge and understanding.

Since students have to follow written directions somewhat independently and manage their time, they are also working on their executive functioning skills.

By the end of an assignment like this, I have a better understanding of what support each of my students needs going forward. If we did this assignment step-by-step together as a whole class, I would not know which students were able to do this independently and which students needed support.

Quasi-Blended Learning supports differentiated instruction, in that students can work at their own pace, choose the complexity in which they complete the assignment, and are able to add creative touches (or not) based on ability and interest.

Since I do not spend a ton of time presenting content to my students (I prefer they experience content through simulations or PBL), I do not have my students watch videos of me or others teaching. When I choose to lecture, I prefer that my students are with me so it can be a whole-class discussion rather than a "sit and git" session. One exception is math, where I always have about a 15-30 minute lesson, but again, having my students be a part of the lesson "live" is still important to me so I can immediately check for understanding, ask questions before moving on, have them do sample problems with their peers, etc.

OK, so some of our directions are posted online. What about student work? Well, I have my students post their work online as well. Each student maintains their own personal ePortfolio of their work. Once they are finished creating something from their directions, they post it online, possibly answer some pre-assigned questions about it, and write a reflection statement. Ideally, the teacher would give 1-on-1 feedback in the next couple of days to further assess the student's understanding of the content or skill, as well as to extract more information than the child's summary contains. (I crave the opportunity to do this, but haven't figured out a way to create the time just yet.)

Below is a sample activity that shows where we are at today (mid-year) in the process of getting my students ready for a blended learning environment. We are learning about the human body in science - I have a blog dedicated to those lessons that my students have 24/7 access to. I show them a sample blog entry for them to model their own. When the lesson is complete, students will have a blog entry associated with each lesson (click each image to enlarge them):

Directions:

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Sample Blog Entry:

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Reflective ePortfolios as a Means of Improving Student Learning

1/19/2014

2 Comments

I have been using Reflective ePortfolios in my classroom for the past three years. I feel that they get children to synthesize the information that they've learned better than worksheets or quizzes. I feel that ePortfolios provide my students with a more authentic (global) audience to explain their process and show their products to. I feel that they provide me with an excellent cache of evidence that shows growth over time. And I feel that Reflective ePortfolios allow my students an opportunity to return to a post to revise at any time throughout the year. All said, I think that student learning is improved due to having my students maintain individual Reflective ePortfolios.

Prior to using ePortfolios in the classroom, I was notorious for teaching a lesson, having the students complete an activity, and quickly moving on to the next lesson without taking much time to allow my students to think about what was just learned. ePortfolios force me to slow down, give the students an opportunity to explain what they've learned to me in writing, and create an emotional attachment to that learning by explaining what was easy or difficult, fun or boring, familiar or foreign to them.

Because everyone's ePortfolios are public, students have the opportunity to look at a respected peer's work, and use them as a model for future posts. We can call this "silent collaboration" (a 180 degree turn from the days of calling it cheating)! I want my students learning together, modeling behaviors after each other, and learning from each others' mistakes and successes. Not all collaboration has to be done verbally or include back-and-forth dialogue.

I hope you will take a moment to watch the video above where I show dozens of examples of ePortfolio entries that my students have completed over the past few months (the first few minutes are hard to follow, so I recommend skipping ahead a bit!). Another suggestion I have is to check out a few of my students' ePortfolios by clicking on the links below. You can also view all of my students' ePortfolios by clicking here.

The rest of this blog post is dedicated to showing you the value of Reflective ePortfolios through examples. Each example is titled with the guiding question for the activity and contains links to all of the related resources. To get the most value out of each example, you should visit the entire blog post by clicking on the link titled, "____'s entire blog post explained to the right."

How have humans adapted to life on earth?

Our class tried to identify various characteristics and adaptations of humans that describe our species (we walk on two legs, we breathe air, we drink water, etc.). We thought that a fun way to continue that analysis was to look at characteristics that make up an alien on a different planet!

We spent time on this website trying to create aliens that would survive the unique environment that they posed to us. Then, we analyzed those adaptations that made survival possible.