Sunday, October 28, 2007

Curriculum Mapping

A.) What is the purpose of curriculum mapping?

Curriculum mapping attempts to organize the curriculum content taught at many different levels (a single grade, an entire school, even a school district). This process takes the following variables into consideration: pacing, local/state/national standards, essential questions and objectives, and assessment. It also encourages teachers and administrators to work collaboratively to consider available resources, support networks, and connections between classrooms and disciplines in order to complete curriculum maps. Once the process is complete some benefits include consistency across grade levels and schools, improved quality of instruction, easier transitions to new grade levels, and a more cohesive and collaborative working environment.

B.) Does your school map its' curriculum? Why or why not?

Curriculum mapping is not used in the elementary school in which I teach, nor in the larger school district in which I am employed. I think that this practice is not used for many reasons. First, the district is on the larger side, so it would take considerable time, effort, and organization to accomplish this goal. (Although this could also be used as a very strong reason for the district to utilize this practice!) Second, the administration seems to change every few years. Without consistent leadership and goals, it is difficult to accomplish long term planning. Lastly, the administration (in my opinion) does not actively keep current with new developments in the field of education. Most of the principals and central office administrators do not seem (to me) to update their educational knowledge by taking courses or attending relevant seminars. So, it always seems (to me) that we are playing catch up or utilizing outdated strategies.

I truly do believe that individual teachers can greatly impact children (and families) through their position as teachers. But, most teachers only spend a year (or two) with the children that they teach. The greatest impact that can be made on a child's learning is through having strong programs and teachers throughout their K-12 educational career. The more I read, listen, and learn, the more I realize what a powerful impact a strong administration can have upon a child. Curriculum mapping is one practice that can have a substantial impact upon student learning, if administrators are knowledgeable and effective enough to utilize it within building and districts.

C.) How does curriculum mapping relate to curriculum change?

It seems like schools and districts that use curriculum mapping have a system in place that allows them to collaboratively consider strengths and weaknesses of a program, brainstorm ideas for positive change, and institute/assess these desired changes. Also, the curriculum mapping process connects grade levels, individual school buildings, and entire school districts. This enables these districts to make changes throughout the district in a uniform manner to more quickly improve the quality of programs/instruction and impact student learning.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Implementation of UbD Lesson

I started to teach my UbD lesson to my students today. I have to say that the biggest difference about this unit of lessons is that I planned them with a set long term reading goal in mind. With most of the reading skills that I teach, I plan for the students to be exposed to the skill, to practice the skill, and then to be given many more opportunities to review the skill during the year. Because reading is developmental, I note the individual progress of my students as the year goes but I don't expect mastery of all reading skills by the end of any set time. (Some students naturally develop these skills early in the year and others take much longer.) But by beginning with the end goals in mind, the UbD process helped me to plan a series of lessons that should enable most of the students to find some success with rhyming by the end of the unit (which will only take a few weeks). I just started the first lesson today, but at the end of the day I was already thinking about how this process might help me to focus on the students that are struggling with big concepts a little bit earlier/quicker than I might have if I just planned the lesson with a one day objective. (I'm not sure that this is making sense, but hopefully you're getting my general idea.) Since I just started the unit today, that's about all that I have to report...I'll keep you posted.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

My Thoughts On Online Learning

When Professor Bachenheimer first announced that 1/3 of this class was going to be online, my initial thoughts were very negative. I thought the class would be more difficult for me because of my technological limitations. I also figured that the material would not be as interesting or engaging.

I'm happy to report that I've been very pleasantly surprised and impressed by the online portion of the class so far! Most importantly, I love being able to attend class from the comfort of my bed and work at my own pace. I've also found that the online classes are just as challenging and engaging as the classroom sessions of this course. To complete the online work, I really have to understand the content of the week's lesson and express this understanding through my blog. (In some ways, the online class requires more participation than our actual classroom sessions.) The course has also stretched me to use technology in ways that I usually avoid. Although it is uncomfortable, it has also been a good experience. I think I've become a little more open to using technology because of the requirements of this course. While this new attitude may not be a direct learning objective of this class, it's probably the most meaningful thing I've been exposed to in all of my graduate course work. After this experience, I would certainly be willing to take other hybrid or online courses. (I also just registered for a workshop on pod casting because I've realized that I would like to learn more about effectively using technology in my own classroom.)

The one suggestion for improvement that I would make to all professors of hybrid and online courses is to survey their students at the beginning any course. This survey should inform professors about the types of computers and programs that students will be using during the semester, as well as their experiences with technology. Professors may choose to make accommodations for students based upon these surveys. For example, I don't have power point on my home computer (and it's expensive to buy!). So, I go to the library to access any power point slides for this class. Knowledge of these types of things might impact some minor instructional decisions.

Understanding by Design

What I liked:
1. This process really focuses on the student and the learning outcomes. As a teacher, it is easy to get wrapped up in covering a chapter/topic or creating a cool project. But UbD forces you to think about learning and design your lessons to maximize student understanding.
2. UbD encourages teachers to make connections within their lessons to other subjects and to real world situations. This type of learning is more meaningful and useful.
3. UbD encourages teachers to use their curriculum guides and content standards, rather than text books and teacher editions. I like the idea of planning in units to cover many standards in connected ways. But, this type of planning requires teachers to be very familiar with their subject, standards, and available materials. (It would be tough for a new teacher!)

What I didn't like:
1. It's a totally different process from what I was taught and what I do now. So, it took a lot of thinking and revising to create just one lesson. It's a very time consuming process. On the flip side, it can lead to a much higher quality of instruction. Also, I would assume that it gets easier as you utilize the format on a regular basis.
2. Some skills and topics do just need to be memorized. That doesn't mean that they aren't essential, important, or necessary in life.
3. Currently, the Kindergarten program in my district is half day, so I have limited time with both of my classes. Due to time constraints, I end up focusing on reading, math, and writing lessons, which my district (and I) consider to be the essential components of Kindergarten academic learning. Yet, I had a very hard time creating essential questions for the math and reading skills that I teach. I think this is because much of the skills are very basic (letter sound correspondence, number sense, etc.) and do require some memorization. I would appreciate any comments or feedback about how I could create better essential questions for these subject areas.

Additional Questions:

1. Different grade levels and subject areas require different teaching techniques. I think this design plan lends itself very nicely to social studies, literature, health, humanities, and some science lessons. It is a bit of a stretch to utilize it in some of the other discipline areas. I actually own the UbD book by Wiggins and McTighe. There are many examples of UbD lessons throughout the book, but very few for the younger grades or in the subject areas of reading and math. Have they considered revising this design plan to address these needs?

My UbD lesson:
(Please forgive me, but I couldn't figure out how to attach a document to my blog. So, I just pasted the whole thing here.)

Stage 1 – Identify Desired Results:

Established Goals:
Students will explore essential concepts about word patterns.
Students will utilize concepts about word patterns to develop their reading and writing abilities.

CCCS:
By the end of Kindergarten students will be able to:
3.1.B Demonstrate phonemic awareness by rhyming.
3.3.C Suggest rhyming words during word play, songs, or read-alouds.
3.4.A Listen to rhymes/songs to develop an understanding of letter/sound relationships.

Essential Understandings:
Many words contain patterns (or chunks) of similar letters.
Readers use patterns within words to help them with decoding, fluency, expression, and comprehension.

Essential Questions:
How do readers use patterns to help them with their reading skills?

Stage 2 – Determine Acceptable Evidence:

Performance Tasks:
Students create and present their own version of a nursery rhyme.

Other Evidence:
Skill Check - Identify rhyming words within the texts of several nursery rhymes.
Observation – Use letter tiles to spell groups of words that rhyme.
Discussion Prompt – Explain why some words rhyme and others do not.
Transfer – Read lists of words (real and nonsense) that contain previously learned rhyming patterns. Think of additional words and add them to these lists.

Stage 3 – Learning Activities:
W – Using a KWL chart, the teacher will record the reading strategies that students within the class already use in the K section of the graphic organizer. The teacher will then explain to the students that they are going to explore a new reading strategy called “using rhyming patterns”. This strategy will be listed in the W section of the graphic organizer. (At the conclusion of the unit, the teacher will record the new information that was learned by students during the unit in the L section of the graphic organizer.)
H – Students will listen to, echo read, act out, and retell a variety of nursery rhymes.
E – Students will be provided with their own copies of the nursery rhymes once they are familiar with the texts. The students will identify the rhyming words within the nursery rhymes. Students will use letter tiles to experiment with the words that rhyme. Students will discuss and verbalize the reasons that some words rhyme and others do not.
R - Students will be given lists of additional words (some real and some nonsense) that rhyme with some of the identified words from the nursery rhymes. They will be encouraged to use their previous experience with the words, as well as their understanding of rhyme, to decode the words. Students will also create their own list of words that rhyme with some of the identified words from the nursery rhymes.
E – Students will work with their list of rhyming words to create their own simple nursery rhymes.
T – Students will be able to work on their own nursery rhyme in groups of 1, 2, or 3 (depending upon personal interest, as well as ability). These groups will then choose to present their nursery rhyme through writing/illustration or speaking/role-playing.
O – This unit will be taught through whole group and small group work. Auditory, visual, and kinesthetic techniques will be used. The reading strategy learned in the unit will be referred to and practiced for the remainder of the school year (as well as in the other primary grades). It will also be utilized in writing/spelling lessons.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Results Now

The logical part of my brain understands the points and concepts made by Schmoker in this excerpt from Results Now. But the emotional side of me just can't buy into these ideas and concepts. The words that jumped out at me from this reading included "mediocre", "inferior" and "heartbreakingly rare". These adjectives don't do justice to the educators, students, or parents in my school situation. And I choose to believe that they don't describe the majority of schools in this country. (I could go on and on about this, but I'm going to stop here and try not to be upset.)

With the above stated, I did agree with many of the suggestions made by Schmoker for improving the quality of education and instruction in our schools. Collaboration among teachers and administrators does lead to increased creativity, support, and quality of instruction. Allowing for common planning time is one way to easily allow for this necessary group time that can greatly impact teaching and learning. Additionally, I agreed with Schmoker's suggestions for narrowing the curriculum to focus on math, writing, and reading. By allowing for quality instruction in basic subjects, students should develop stronger skills. Lastly, I thought that Schmoker's points about ensuring that all teachers are following the same curriculum were very important. Teaching the same skills with similar materials is one very important way to ensure that all students receive a comprehensive and equal education.

Socio-economic status and family involvement were two key issues that I felt were not addressed sufficiently in this excerpt (although maybe they are touched upon in other chapters of the book). These two issues greatly effect a child's development, motivation, and ability to do well in an academic environment. Too often school and learning is viewed as a singular and separate component. But poverty and home environment also greatly impact school and learning. Some of the foreign countries (Japan, Norway, Sweden) that consistently outperform the US seem to understand this better than we do.

Public schooling in this country is a huge endeavor. Every child from the age of six through high school is given the opportunity to receive an education. I think this is an amazing feat and I greatly respect the educators that dedicate their lives to helping students achieve this goal. So many of them accomplish it with limited funds, materials, and support. While I do agree that some teachers are not effective, I do believe that the majority work hard and help children to do great things.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Round in a Flat World

This assignment was REALLY hard and challenging for me. I don't use new technology a lot and I didn't have a lot of the needed programs/expertise to quickly and easily do this assignment. I think it's interesting that most middle and high school students could probably pop something like this out in 30 minutes, but it took me MUCH longer. I think that part of being a teacher in the flat world is realizing that students may know more that us in certain situations. Peer teaching and group work is probably going to become even more important as technology continues to rapidly change. Anyway, my slideshow is simple but I'm very proud of it because I figured it all out by myself. Despite my technological limitations, it appears that there's hope for me in the flat world after all.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Did you know?

One of the people that had a great impact on my development as a learner and a thinker was my grandfather. When I was growing up, he was constantly challenging all of his grandkids to be thinkers and one of his favorite ways to encourage us was through quotations. One of his favorite sayings was "Paper takes anything you print". The point of the quote is pretty simple and self explanatory - just because something is written down does not mean it is fact. The first thought that popped into my head at the conclusion of the "Did You Know?" slideshow was a twist to my pop's saying - "The internet takes anything you type." One of the most important and essential things that we can teach our children is to critically think about the information available on the internet. One must consider the source and credibility of info, the purpose behind the info, and the use of the info. The video on U-Tube was created by a for profit internet company and no sources were cited. Therefore, I do think it is quite a leap to just blindly assume that all the reported facts and statistics in the video are completely true and reported without bias. I think we as educators need to always have this in mind as we present lessons about the internet to our students. Like Friedman said, we need to teach them "to learn how to learn" and a big part of that puzzle is being informed and critical users of technology.

With the above said, I'm willing to make the jump and assume that the big picture of the "Did You Know?" video is true for the sake of this assignment. (Although I do have doubts about some of the facts - I'm just not up to checking them.) Friedman, Pink, and the creators of "Did You Know?" present information that points to a radically changing job force over the next few decades. They also suggest that American students need to develop a completely new skill set in order to find future success. The scariest thought is that these authors and researchers demonstrate that the current American school system is not providing the necessary skills to our students, nor is the system attempting to make the needed changes.

A lot of the information provided by Friedman and Pink rang true for me. In my school situation, we spend a lot of time with the students on basic skills and testing. Yet, our children are going to need technology, media, and information literacy skills in the future. My district just spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to update the reading textbook series, yet the district is also considering eliminating the computer labs and technology teachers at the elementary level next school year. Budget cuts and testing requirements seem to change the nature of our job every year in negative ways. One example from my own classroom is that two years ago I did a really cool collaborative project with my Kindergarten students and their 6th grade buddies. Each Kindergartner created his/her own series of questions about an animal of interest, researched the questions in the library and computer lab with the help of their buddy, and then created a poster project that reported their findings and shared it with the entire class. Looking back on it, we were learning how to learn and this project could easily be tweaked to add a multimedia component to the project part. But, last year I cut this activity because it didn't connect directly to the curriculum and I was getting a lot of pressure to make sure my kids could add and subtract by the end of Kindergarten (not a required skill, but it is now standardize tested in grade 1). Lately, the American educational community (myself included) seems to be taking steps backwards out of fear, rather than bravely moving forward.

For me, one of the solutions to the issues stated by Pink, Friedman, and "Did You Know?" is for educators to keep on top of new developments in the field. I think that the best ways for teachers to do this is to read as much research as possible, take courses at legitimate teaching colleges and universities, and communicate with colleagues. These experiences allow us to grow and that process has a positive impact on what and how we teach our students. Administrators also need to make certain that this is a priority for them, as well as for the teachers that they supervise.

On a final note, I recognized the music that went with the "Did You Know?" video as coming from the Last of the Mohican's (a movie from about 10 years ago?) soundtrack. It's a nice instrumental CD and I play it in my classroom quite often. Anyway, the music got me thinking about the classic print version of Last of the Mohican's (written James Fenimore Cooper - I think he was a NJ native) versus the more contemporary and technology impressive movie version starring Daniel Day Lewis. For me, the book version is beautifully written and still engaging after all these years, while the movie version stinks. Did you know that sometimes new technology is not able to improve upon simple, classic perfection?