My idea:
In two or three weeks from now I will be teaching a unit called Creativity and Innovation. This unit requires students to come up with very creative ways of implementing technology in the classroom by designing lesson plans, learning web 2.0 tools that foster creativity and implementing those tools in hypothetical instructional settings. For this lesson I will have students going through three different phases:
1. Learning a creativity tool;
2. Using a creativity tool to create a learning object and
3. Designing a lesson plan where they can implement the tool in a specific learning environment
My concerns
This project requires a lot of planning, exploring, creating ideas, documenting them and actually organizing ideas and resources into the project. the Individual Integration Project is an iterative project that might change here and there as I gather resources, come up with new ideas and make adjustments. Consequently, it seems to be a very time-consuming project. Thus, the strategy I came up with is to take one hour every day until the deadline to cover one or two of the required items for this project. That way I do not feel overwhelmed and I also do not leave aside my other responsibilities. It seems to be very basic, but hopefully this self-regulation strategy will work.
Another concern I have about this project is that I also might need to create rubrics to assess my students and to actually have a parameter to grade their learning process throughout the unit. I do not have much experience in creating rubrics but I will use some models I have used before to grade them in previous units and make the necessary adaptations since it should be related to this upcoming unit. It might seem I am assessing students on their creativity but that is not the case. What I will do is assess their process of learning a tool, the learning object they will create with the tool (in terms of creativity and content) and their ability to think of an educational use for a web 2.0 tool.
Yes, your project sounds like a huge undertaking. It is very hard to assess process. Last year, Dr. D had us keep a log with at least 10 journal entries to document our process of learning a new research method. Maybe doing something like that would help you. I know I teach elementary school, but what helps me with developing project criteria is to actually go through the process and create what I want my students to create. That way I know what problems they may encounter, and it helps me to see exactly what I want in my rubric. Your idea to work a little each day until it's done is a great one. Sometimes the simplest strategies are the best ones.
ReplyDeleteLucas,
ReplyDeleteYour project sounds like a great way to get your future teachers researching and practicing the use of web 2.0 tools. Often just exposing, like in our class is half the battle. It is hard to use a tool in your classroom if you don't know it exists, let alone how to use it.
I also was nervous about planning rubrics, but after sitting down and working backwards, looking at the big picture, creating the rubric became easier. Good luck!
Jack
I agree that your project idea will involve a great deal of planning on your part, but I think that you will find that the work is worth it for both you and your students. I think that the project will require a good deal of scaffolding to keep them from becoming overwhelmed in the process. As far as rubrics, I agree with Jack, think backwards. What do you want students to demonstrate with their work? Often times, the rubric is much simpler than it would initially appear. A simple rubric allows room for the the project to grow and develop to the student's need.
ReplyDelete