Michele+Cooke

=Email: senorasign@yahoo.com= =Unit: Fables= ||  ||   ||
 * =Name: Michele Cooke=
 * **Question** || **Response** || **Posted By** ||
 * Stage 1 - Identify Desired Results : //To what extent are the targeted understandings... // ||  ||   ||
 * Aligned with appropriate goals (standards, benchmarks)?    || Your goals are nice and clear and are easily translated into learner outcomes LG ||   ||
 * Big ideas at the heart of the discipline (as opposed to basic facts and skills) in need of // uncoverage? // || These are big ideas and can be uncovered in many ways. They really get to the heart of what a fable is. I like how precise and easy to follow they are. LG ||   ||
 *  Framed by provocative // essential // and // unit // questions?    || A few of the questions (#2,3,4) begin with question words that lead only to yes/no answers. Changing the direction of the question or using different questioning words will allow for higher level answers. LG ||   ||
 * Linked to valid and relevant knowledge and skills? || These show good, solid use of the skills and knowledge needed to create a fable. LG ||  ||


 * Stage 2 - Determine Acceptable Evidence || Response || Posted By ||
 * //To what extent are...//
 *  Students asked to demonstrate their understanding through authentic performance tasks?
 *  Appropriate criterion-based scoring tools used to evaluate student products and performances
 *  A variety of appropriate assessment formats used?
 *  Assessments used as feedback for students and teachers, as well as for evaluation?
 * Students encouraged to self-assess ||  ||   ||
 * Stage 3 - Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction ||  ||   ||
 * //To what extent will...//
 *  Students know //where// they're going (the learning goals) and //why// the material is important, and //what is required of them// (in terms of unit goals, performance requirements, and evaluative criteria)?
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB"> Students be hooked and //engaged// in digging into the big ideas of the unit (through inquiry, research, problem solving, and experimentation)?
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB"> Students receive explicit instruction on the knowledge and skills needed to //equip// them for the required performances?
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB"> Students have opportunities to //rehearse//, //revise//, and //refine// their work based on feedback?
 * <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Students //self-assess// and set goals prior to the conclusion of the unit? ||  ||   ||

__Response Journal #1__ Hi, my name is Michele Cooke. I teach elementary school and right now I am teaching grade 4. I’m currently teaching in Saudi Arabia. I taught in the states for 16 years and have been overseas for 8 years. I have taught grades 2 through 8. My expectations for the course were actually very few. I really didn’t know what to expect. Now that I’ve had a chance to glance at the class text book, I understand that we will be working on instructional design using backward design. I’m looking forward to reading more about this. I was in a PYP school and this is the sort of curriculum design that is the basis of PYP. I wasn’t real adept in employing this type of instructional design and so I’m looking forward to having more information so that I might be able to use backward design well. I believe deepening my knowledge of curriculum design and assessment will help me to better meet the learner outcomes outlined by my school. We have begun curriculum mapping and it is my hope that I will learn better what formative and summative assessments are. In this way I will be able to employ the backward design to design curriculum to meet our learner outcomes. This should help my students to understand better what will be expected of them if I understand better where my teaching will lead. I’m hoping it will take some of the mystery out of learning for the students. <span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol"> __ Response Journal #2 __ __ Knowledge Aliv e __ The author’s point of view with regard to the //knowledge arts// is that teachers, in general, spend too much time dispensing knowledge and giving the students buckets of knowledge without spending enough time, or any time, teaching the students the //knowledge arts//. The //knowledge arts// are really a higher level of thinking and a higher level of education. The author really feels that employing the four chapters of the //knowledge arts// will help to “enliven teaching and learning.” The author believes that “business-as-usual” schooling isn’t even close to making the grade, according to the report card that he included in his article. I find his ideas and suggestions quite interesting. I find that I agree with much of what he is saying and I do believe that this would be much more beneficial for students. In the section of his article where he delineates what “creating knowledge” is, I found myself thinking that he may be a bit out of line in giving this chapter a D. He needs to take into consideration the fact that there are some schools employing inquiry based education when they are schools that subscribe to the International Baccalaureate program. There are more IB schools in the United States than any where else in the world and I believe that this must be taken into consideration. Additionally, many schools where I have worked use FOSS kits for teaching science and I truly believe that, if the kits are used as they was intended, they also fulfill this chapter of the //knowledge arts//, at least to a certain extent. I guess I agree with the author when he says that “we rarely ask students to do much with their learning outside school.” One would hope that teachers try to help the students make the connection between school and their everyday life. In a perfect world, it should be something that is addressed in the learner outcomes for the school, at least in the articulation of the curriculum. I also believe that it may be more difficult for an integrated curriculum in high schools compared to integrating curriculum in an elementary school. In that respect, transferring knowledge from one classroom to another would seem to fall away as the students get older. As far as communicating knowledge, I agree with the author that schools, or teachers to be more specific, are best in this area. This is what teachers have been doing since the beginning of formal education. I also agree that, quite often, teachers don’t take the time to teach students to acquire knowledge strategically. Of course, teachers are often limited by the amount of time they have with their students and it’s difficult to teach strategic learning to the students because of the extra time it takes. I do believe that students are now taught to read much more critically than when I first started to teach. Personally, I try to give students a purpose for their reading when we begin a new story or novel. My students also keep a reading journal where they jot down words or phrases that they don’t understand. I make sure that these are discussed as we go through the story for understanding. All of this helps the student to read more critically and with more thought to what they are doing. The implications for curriculum design are many. In my opinion, the changes in curriculum design should begin at the university level. A concern I have with regard to the //knowledge arts// is that teacher preparatory programs may be lacking in teaching future teachers methods for teaching this way. I haven’t been in a teacher preparatory for a very long time but I haven’t seen a real paradigm shift in this direction either. This would be a first step, in my opinion. Another implication might be to go back to the drawing board on the school’s learner outcomes. If the school’s curriculum is driven by the proposed outcomes and not by whatever textbook is being used, the teachers must be clear as to what their final goal is. I believe that curriculum design will have to be approached from a different angle than it has in the past if the //knowledge arts// are going to be taught. I believe that assessments will be different. Integration will be encouraged much more than in the past, particularly in high school. Preparing for Today and Tomorrow In Eisner’s view, the aims that are appropriate for schools seeking to prepare students for today and tomorrow are: 1.  Judgment – and the ability to give reasons for making that judgment..” 2.  Critical Thinking – “the ability to critique ideas and to enjoy exploring what one can do with them."  3.   Meaningful Literacy – “the ability to encode or decode meaning in any of the symbolic forms used in the culture." 4.  Collaboration – we need to think of education as being both “individuation and integration.” I agree with Eisner, in that I believe that we must prepare students for tomorrow by providing them a meaningful education today. I also agree that there is too much emphasis on test scores and, perhaps, not enough emphasis on the learner outcomes. However, because we are dealing with public schools, there has to be some tangible ‘proof’’ that education is happening. Federal and state funds dry up if there is no evidence that an education is being provided. Consequently if there are no test scores etc. there is no money and there will be no education system. In addition, schools must be accredited and the schools must provide tangible evidence that goals are being met through internal and external assessments. The kind of education that Eisner proposes is wonderful on paper. It is a sort of Utopian world, but real, live schools have to jump through the hoops in order to maintain daily operation. Even in the international schools where I have worked, test scores are a report card for the schools. If you don’t have a good ‘report card’, parents don’t want to send their students to your school. Consequently, no tuition money comes in and no school exists. Schools in Asian countries are particularly cognizant of test scores because those scores are the source of an indication as to whether their children will be successful in life or not. I do believe that Eisner’s aims for education can be used to a certain extent in the classroom. Inquiry-based education is one way to achieve this. Another example of using Eisner's aims should be that w hen teaching a lesson, one needs to take the little bit of extra time to ask the students why their answer is the correct one. Good education comes when the students take more of the responsibility for the understanding. Teachers can talk until they are blue in the face but until students are actively involved in their own education, real education doesn’t take place. It is amazing to me that many teachers I’ve spoken with believe that there is only one way to arrive at a correct answer – coincidentally it is usually their way or no way. When students are given the go-ahead to think on their own, it is amazing what kinds of discussions can happen! Then, I believe, the students are being educated. They need more than rote learning. They need to be given the opportunity to think and to know that it is okay not to think the same as everyone else. I believe that the constraints that schools are held to will always require test scores as an indicator of their success, but I also believe that Eisner’s aims can be integrated into such a system with just a little bit of effort.

Cooke, Michele EDF 608 Saudi Arabia Response Journal #3 Describe some of the benefits of constructivism. <span style="COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings"> Ø   Develops Thinking Skills Students must use prior knowledge and apply it to the current situations to come to a conclusion. They must be able to compare and contrast various possibilities to draw their conclusions. Students must be able to discard those conclusions that don’t have proper evidence or logical arguments. They must be able to draw inferences from their problem solving and apply them to other situations. <span style="COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings"> Ø   Develops Communication and Social Skills Because collaboration plays such a big part in constructivism, students develop social skills through their work groups. They learn that they must be able to work with everyone, at least on some level, as they would in the ‘real world.’ Students must be able to articulate their ideas clearly so that they are communicating well with their groups. I believe that collaboration helps students to develop tolerance for everyone and to realize that all ideas are valid for consideration. <span style="COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings"> Ø   Encourages Alternative Methods of Assessment With constructivism, assessment generally is not in the form of a paper and pencil exam where the students ‘cram’ information into their heads for a test. With constructivism, students employ their creativity to show evidence that they have attained the intended knowledge. Students use “research reports, journals, physical models and artistic representations” for assessment. When students use their creativity and initiative for assessment, they retain the information and are better able to apply it to the ‘real world.’ <span style="COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings"> Ø   Helps Students Transfer Skills to the Real World As with the alternative methods of assessment, the skills that the students develop with a constructivist method of education transfer easily to the real world. Students transfer their collaboration skills, problem solving skills and analyzing skills as they meet with the challenges of life in general. <span style="COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: Wingdings; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings"> Ø   Promotes Intrinsic Motivation to Learn Because constructivism validates everyone’s point of view, students don’t have the fear of being ‘wrong.’ They learn that they have valid ideas which lead to higher self-esteem and more confidence. What should educators be cautious of in relation to constructivism? I’m not sure I can say this without sounding like a ‘tired and traditional’ teacher, but I believe that the educators must be careful when the students become the driving force behind the curriculum. I realize that this is exactly what constructivists believe – that the education the students are receiving must be ‘personalized.’ However, it is my belief that this could lead to teachers just sitting back and not even acting as a guide. At some point, there has to be curriculum that is the guide for what is happening in the classroom. I think that the assessments for the curriculum must be varied, and it helps when it is the student’s choice of assessment, just as constructivists believe but students must be encouraged to choose a variety of assessments. In my experience, students have a tendency to do what they enjoy or are especially good at, but don’t stretch themselves to try something different without the encouragement of the teacher. Also, with regard to collaboration, caution must be used that the same students don’t become the ‘leader of the pack’ and that all students feel a part of the class. All the students must feel that they are a valued member of the class and that their ideas are as valid as anyone else’s ideas. Teachers must be cognizant of the climate in the classroom to avoid a bullying or ‘group mentality.’ Response Journal #4 Give an example of your own experience for each of Brandt’s conditions for powerful learning.
 * 1)  What they learn is personally meaningful.  By asking the students what questions they have or what they would like to learn about the proposed topic makes it personally meaningful. Even if the topic itself is not initially meaningful to the student, inquiry-based education helps to make it meaningful. It is also helpful to encourage a class discussion about the topic before the unit is actually begun. It helps to stimulate curiosity.
 * 2) <span style="COLOR: #ff0000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif">What they learn is challenging and they accept the challenge.  In my classroom, writing is especially challenging for my students. They basically do it to ‘get it over with.’ Since school began this year, we have been doing a lot of writing across the curriculum. The students have begun to enjoy their writing a bit more and are now quite aware of ‘word choice’ when they write. During the course of teaching other subjects, I have been able to point out to the students what a good job they do when they describe something out loud. I tell them that they should write the way they tell me stories, answer questions, or describe situations. They now know that they can have ‘voice’ in writing. They’ve begun to feel more confident in their writing and are much more open to it. They are even asking if they can write in their free time!
 * 3) <span style="COLOR: #ff0000; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif">  What they learn is appropriate for their developmental level.  Obviously, this is where differentiation in teaching comes into play. I have a 3 year span of ages in my classroom and many levels of development present. It is a matter of diagnosing the levels in the classroom and teaching to that level. My students have quite a varied background in their educational histories. As a class, we have discussed the fact that there are many factors that influence their education and that we will all do our best to meet everyone’s needs. My students are very helpful to the others and there is no embarrassment when they are not all doing the exact same things. They all have the same subject matter but at their levels. The students seem to be comfortable and confident as we move from subject to subject and lesson to lesson.
 * 4)  They can learn in their own way, have choices, and feel in control.  One thing that I do to promote this is to make the students understand that we don’t all think in the same way. It’s okay to think the way you think. Sometimes we have to have discussions to understand why they didn’t arrive at the appropriate conclusion but they are never made to believe that they are wrong. I have to say that I am a bit lacking in allowing the students to make choices like I should. They do have opportunities to make choices but not in anything like which assessment they would like to employ. Basically, at this point, they make choices about their behavior etc. but I need to work on this area of education.
 * 5)  They use what they already know as the construct new knowledge.    We are currently working on a science unit that is called Earth Materials. My students have brought in rocks from places that they have been and share the information they have about the rock’s origin and possibly what kind of rock it could be. As we’ve gone through the unit the students are able to refer to their rocks and alter the information that they had with the new things that they are learning.
 * 6)  They have opportunities for social interaction.  Of course, class parties are always a festive social occasion. It’s interesting to see what social skills they have and how they play out in a party setting. Other situations that lend themselves to social interaction have been to have reading buddies with a higher or lower grade level, field trips, school dances, and even recess. Collaboration, or cooperative learning groups, also lends itself to social interaction.
 * 7) <span style="COLOR: #df1111; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif">They get helpful feedback. I try to provide helpful feedback through peer editing and teacher editing. As I walk around the classroom, I give them encouragement about the work that they are doing. When the students turn in work, I don’t simply correct their work but show them how they can correct the work they have done. They have an opportunity to try an assignment again if they have had an extremely difficult time with it, with re-teaching first. I’m positive in my comments and corrections rather than being negative – i.e. +15/16 rather than -1.
 * 8) <span style="COLOR: #df1111; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif">  Th ey acquire and use strategies.   When doing long term projects, one of the first things that I have the students do is to make a schedule for completion of the parts of their projects. I ask them to gather the materials that they will need to complete the sections of the project. Then they can begin to do their research for the project. In science, I ask them to make sure that they have all that they will need to complete an experiment. When students ask what they should do next, I ask them to tell me what the next logical step would be. In my classroom, my mantra is, “Use the information that is available to you,” in the hope that they will begin to problem-solve on their own.
 * 9) <span style="COLOR: #ef0606; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif">They experience a positive emotional climate. One of my classroom rules is that everyone has the right to feel comfortable and safe at school. We work a lot on being tolerant of everyone, being kind and caring towards one another, that we don’t mock or laugh at anyone, etc. We have a classroom mascot (a family of stuffed ducks and chickens!) that I use to help the students understand what it is to care for someone else. Surprisingly, the students learn empathy and caring through the duck and chicken families. I make up scenarios about the ducks and chickens that mirror something that may be happening in the classroom and they learn what the appropriate behavior is without making it a personal attack on any of the students.
 * 10) <span style="COLOR: #ef0606; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif">  The environment supports the intended learning.  First of all, I try to make the classroom environment a comfortable place to be by making it seem ‘homey’ and inviting to the students. I use lamps in my classroom to make it feel a bit ‘warmer’ etc. I believe that students are more likely to learn if they feel good about being in the classroom. It also my belief that children learn by doing and I try to make sure that the learning that takes place is interactive and not the lecture and learn sort of environment. Many times we discuss what we are trying to accomplish in a unit and we plan it together. Then more the students feel that they have some input, the more they ‘buy in’ to the learning process.

Which of these conditions are viable in your present teaching assignment? All of these conditions are viable in my present teaching assignment. As I mentioned in number 4 above, giving the students choices is an area where I, personally, am not doing the best of jobs. The students have a lot of input through inquiry based education, etc. but in terms of assessments, I’m pretty old-school. We are lucky at my school, in that we are allowed to run our classrooms as we see fit and so are allowed a free hand in how we get our curriculum across. As long as we present what is necessary for the learner outcomes prescribed by our district, we can accomplish the task in the manner that is most comfortable for us. We are required to give a lot of assessments that are in a test format and we don’t have much to say about that part of it. But, what I need to improve is allowing the students more freedom in choosing assessments for the units that we study that don’t have prescribed assessments.

Response Journal #5 Justify the claim that the best lesson and unit designs are “backwards.” The best lesson and unit designs are “backwards” because the designs require the teacher to define exactly where they are headed with their lesson or unit at the outset. Backwards design allows teachers to create units or lessons in which all of the activities lead towards the final assessments. In this way, the assessments will be a valid measure of the learning that has taken place. Backwards design is best for students, as well, because students are clear in what is expected of them and they are able to “clarify their goal.” Response Journal #6 Understanding: What behaviors do you associate with student understanding? The behaviors I associate with student understanding are transfer of knowledge across curricular areas and integration of the understanding into the students’ personal lives. When students are able to use their understanding in a context other than that in which it was taught, I feel that true understanding has occurred. How do you distinguish between students ‘knowing” and “doing” versus understanding what they are studying? When students are simply knowing or doing, their work or responses are factual and rote in nature. Generally, the students need sequentially ordered instructions when they are involved in knowing or doing. In understanding, students are able to complete their study without instructions because the sequence of study is logical and natural. The understanding is insightful in nature.