In our third visit to Mrs. Diette’s classroom we were able to try project based learning for the first time! In this visit, Ben and I led a class discussion on exploring outside of Rockbridge County through the travel experience both of us have. We were able to firstly express how much fun it is to travel some place new, but also talk about the many cultural differences among other places and people. As for the project assignment, the students would move through a selection of different stations that each illustrated a different country and its highlights. Before we started the activity we reminded the students to think outside of their normal outlook on places and provided them with a series of questions to ask themselves at each country’s station. This project based learning (PBL) assignment falls in line with the standards provided by Virginia’s Department of Education by placing an emphasis on cultural understanding and analysis. This assignment gave Ben and I an awesome opportunity to teach and see firsthand what type of takeaways students have from the assignment. Ben and I both feel confident that every student is Mrs. Diette’s class learned something from this PBL activity. In the future I look forward to teaching more activities such as this.

On my second visit to Mrs. Cosgriff’s fifth grade class at Central Elementary school, I took a more hands on approach vs the first visit where I was a passive observer. My partner on the first visit was more outgoing than I was. Throughout their semester, the fifth graders were learning a lesson on immigration to the United States through Ellis Island. All of this was gearing towards a big project about immigration. The project was a simulation of Ellis Island, Mrs. Cosgriff’s class were manning the stations of Ellis Island and another fifth grade class was acting as the immigrants and visiting Mrs. Cosgriff’s room. Joe and I’s role in the classroom for this visit was to help engage with the students. We went to separate groups to help lead the discussion and research.  I went to a smaller group that originally only had three students in it. The purpose of the groups were for the students to engage in sustained inquiry about what their assigned station was. The students were given a web page that provided research on each station at Ellis Island. In my group I made sure to help guide the research more in depth by asking questions that made the students think harder about the details that go into their station. My group had two quiet students, one of them joined the group late and was unsure about what was happening. To make sure student engagement was high, I asked questions specifically to the students who were reserved. Once given the chance they were helpful to the project overall.

The invented idea for a learning activity that I came up with was centered around human rights and human trafficking. I thought it would go along well with the curriculum that Mrs. Cosgriff had already planned. My learning activity is based around the two PBL standards of public product and student voice and choice. Human rights and human trafficking is considered to be an “adult topic” but the reality is that human trafficking can happen to anyone. To help teach our children basic human rights and the prevention of human trafficking, the students would create a children’s book for those younger than them. To help ensure it is age appropriate and that the students creating the content understand it themselves, the students are doing their own, supervised,  research. The classroom would be split up into groups like how Mrs. Cosgriff did for the Ellis Island simulation.  Each group would be assigned a topic to do research on. The topics will range from, what is human trafficking, who are the victims of human trafficking, where does human trafficking occur, and how to prevent human trafficking. There are many safe websites available that the students could go to but it is up to the teacher’s discretion to find what they deem as age appropriate website for the students to use. As the students do their research and prepare their portion of the book, they are also learning about human trafficking themselves. Once the information has been edited, the teacher will place it together as a book and have it ready for the public.

In my last few visits to Ms. Donahue’s classroom, I have gotten to participate in the class on a greater and greater scale each time. On my second visit, the extent of my participation was acting as a scribe for the class and writing on the board. However, in my third visit, I actually began to interact in a more meaningful manner with the students. During my third visit, I helped the students in Ms. Donahue’s class create their posters to present with based on the in class project that they have been working on. In doing so, I helped guide the students in the right direction, making suggestions for vital parts of the posters, such as how to represent data in graphs, and overall poster design. In addition, I helped check for grammar and spelling errors on the posters as well. On my fourth visit, we went on a field trip to an environmental conference. During the trip, I acted as a chaperone, making sure that the students behaved well. In addition, I also acted as a small group facilitator, as the students had the opportunity to present to other schools about the project that they had just finished. This was one of the best parts of the class so far, as I had the opportunity to see the finished product of the student’s work, that I helped shape and guide. In addition to this, the conference also featured several breakout sessions that focused on various topics, as well as a tour of the community college.

Based off of my observations in the classroom, as well as what I have learned in class, I have been able to come up with a learning activity that is based in our final lesson goal of a debate. This lesson would require students to present in front of the class on an article about plastic waste that the class would read beforehand. In addition to giving a short presentation (5 minutes) in front of the class, the other students who are listening will have to ask questions regarding the presentation. This will encourage active listening during both the presentation and the debate. Additionally, by requiring students to ask questions based on the presentations, this activity would encourage critical thinking within the students, as they must come up with a response to what they just heard in the presentation, similar to how the students would have to respond to each other during the debate. The presence of a time requirement for the presentations would also teach the students to adhere to a given set time limit. This activity would focus on creating confidence in each of the students in their ability to speak before a large group, as this has been a problem that I have noticed in some of Ms. Donahue’s classes. Additionally, this would also be an opportunity to work on proper grammar and argument structure with the students, as both the teacher and class get to know the student’s speaking style and ability.

Blog 4

Our role in the class was not prepared well enough to make an impact. During class on Tuesday, Izzy and I came up with the plan to present our mini curriculum to the class that included mythologies, research, art projects, etc. We sent it to our teacher and were informed that they were past that portion of the class and will not be returning to that section. That unfortunately means that we must come up with a brand-new plan to fit the lesson plans present now within the class. So, when we went to the class on Thursday, we talked to our teacher and presented our idea to focus on the American mythology of our own justice system. She did not provide too much comment because we did not have a complete idea in place do to our adjustments. After this conversation she suggested we lead the second part of the discussion for today’s talk which required us to ask about stereotypes surrounding lawyers. When the discussion took place, we tried to incorporate the group think aspect of PBL and EL by allowing open discussion. That did not go as expected due to limited participation. My conclusion was, to be effective with these students, we have to first build a strong relationship by constant appearances, and one on one discussions with each child to find out how they best learn.

The best idea for a learning idea is somewhat irrelevant without first putting in the work to understand the children. In my opinion, no matter how effective our teaching methods are, no matter how creative they are, if the teachers can not take the time out to educate themselves on their students, no matter if they have 25-200, if the curriculum does not change to fit the teachers need to understand their students before even the first lesson is taught, then their will never be something creative enough to fulfill each student’s needs. Teaching can not be a “one size fits all” endeavor. It must match every student in their own way. Their can not be a S.O.L because not every student learns the same. Yes, EL and PBL have great ideas, but in order for these great ideas to come true there has to be a plan developed for each child to build a foundation that the teachers can adjust their lesson plans around. Without that, these teachers are at a disadvantage and the students are hindered even more because they cannot receive the basic knowledge needed to survive the world ahead. A world where they will not have the opportunity to rewrite, reword, or redo something before a serious punishment is handed down. My idea is this, get rid of the requirement to meet a S.O.L, have the college students studying to be teachers also become psychologist as well, and push for the student’s well-being instead of meeting a quota. These kids are not just numbers, but the future of this country.

I visited the Middle school every time and was able to get close with the students and began to learn how a teacher feels when their students understand the situation and really learn about the topic. For the second visit it was sadly not all that good. We still played the role of observers and listening to the students but mainly the teacher because they needed to understand the plan for nest fest that would happen next week for them. I still took my notes and listened to the teacher describe what will happen and what activities and learning opportunities will be presented. The third visit on the other hand was amazing! This one just happened today 3/5/20 and I have to say this was really fun. I did play a role as a scribe but I felt like I kind of led a group of kids in an AAR or after-action report about the Nest Fest and what the kids liked, wished, and wonder about this event. I enjoyed listening to the students and building a sense of culture between them. I was able to manage activities with them especially this AAR activity and it was really fun and I learned a lot. I did learn that I need to be more open with the children and have fun I felt like I was kind of cold and just doing my job I need to lighten up before I take over and manage the next activity.

I do have my own idea for what learning activity I would like to lead and teach the kids in the class. With the collection of my field journal notes and observations I have decided that the best activity would be more project-based learning. Since I discussed with the teacher who is leading the class it seems that one particular student encountered difficulties with the normal class lessons but once she was introduced to projects her entire view on school work has improved. With this major note and observation, I want and wish to device a plan that will include pieces and main theme of their previous project on water, wildlife, and waste. I would like to use the idea of “dream on” which is design plan for a project that I learned about in “guide for planning a learning expedition.” This plan I hope will allow me to design a plan in phases which allows for better organization and if necessary, ease of changing along the road. Basically, with a plan broken down into phases will allow me to develop a suitable activity that will, I hope, allow the student to enjoy as well as continue their learning on the main theme of the project they already have been working on.

-Jingle

Having previously discussed some of mine and Mason’s experience within the classroom of Mr. Simms Psychology class to include much of our participation, I’ve been thinking about why PBL principles and in-class projects work in Mr. Simms psychology class.

At once the students seem to be near peers to Mason and I and yet much younger than ourselves. Nevertheless, I believe in the 3 visits to their classroom we have diminished any awkwardness between the disparity of our ages. I think they respect us and our opinions based on what I have personally shared with them in the classroom.

I think it is important for us to remain accessible to the students. Even though we don’t know much about what they’ve been learning, we can see how Simms is trying to get his students to learn especially through PBL when he has them working together in groups and discussions.

Our issue is that we lack perspective in the class and have only seen several projects and it is difficult to see where they fit in with the lesson plans. Given the dynamic of the class the students enjoy Simms class. He keeps them interested and engages their minds. His in-class projects are simple and easy for us to join. In a psychology class, or any class in general, it is important to allow students room to adapt and shape how they learn. Simms lets them choose topics to research or interests that they have which influences the direction their study moves. The students may not outright control the lecture, but the discussions in the class and their research is controlled by the students.

Independence allows students to feel in control of their learning. To a great extent, it is my observation that students feel more free and engaged and will most likely encounter concepts of learning faster and more readily when they are in control of their study or allowed certain freedoms to choose their topics or presentation type, for example.

PART II:

In my third visit to the classroom, the environment remained the same as my last few visits, continuing to reflect a positive classroom culture. However, this time all of the students participated in a reflective math worksheet to reinforce their learning. In terms of the environment, both the morning announcements and the initial instruction from the teacher remained the same, providing lose guidelines and freedom to allow the students to invest in their own learning. Through this visit, the admiration that the students had for their teacher, Mrs. Dowless, became more evident than it had before, with students bring her gifts and showing an increased level of satisfaction when interacting with her. Additionally, the class worked on a math worksheet that involved reflection on concepts that they had learned that last month. That activity clearly reflected the elements of project design in Boss’ introduction of Project-based Teaching. Specifically, these students confronted challenging problems through the last month of curriculum, learning the concept of plotting points on a graph. And then, through the design of this worksheet, the students were offered the opportunities to reflect on the content that they had learned, which helps conceptual retention as referred to in Boss Chapter 2.Through this activity, my partner and I assisted the students in navigating through the areas they struggled with. For the most part, the students understood what they were doing, however, there were a few students who struggle that I attempted to help. They were fairly unresponsive when I approached them, and it seemed like the reason was that they did not want their classmates to think that they were not smart. That aspect of the experience intrigued me since in reflection I would have done the same thing at time. Also, as the teacher in that situation, it is a hard situation to confront because you want the student to remain comfortable, but you also want to assist them. I gained a unique perspective through that interaction and discovered a roadblock that I did not necessarily know how to confront effectively.

PART II:

Through my initial three class visits, I have collected some solid information on potential learning activities that I could implement that relate to my team unit. Both of my activities involve the two EL principles of Self-Discovery and Solitude and Reflection. For starter, I decided that I would pursue health as a subject of learning since, after my first visit, the students asked my partner and I multiple questions for about the whole class period with the majority referring to our own healthy lifestyle. Clearly, the students saw VMI cadets as an example for a healthy lifestyle and the specific questions asked showed that the students must be interest in health. So, I decided to provide them an opportunity to learn about the pros and cons of their diets and the exercising habits. After that, through discussion I would offer them tips and strategies to navigate their environment more effectively in order to maximize their health. Specifically, the activity would involve each student copying down their diets from the last 24 hours, sorting them into meals and snacks. From their I they would circle all of the vegetables, fruits, meats and healthy grains that they had listed. After that, they would write down everything that is not circled in a separate list. Through that list development, I would address the issues with the foods not circled, which are mostly likely going to be sweets or extra food that they don’t need. Through explaining how they could exchange those calories, going from the non-circled food to the circled food instead, and then explain how that would drastically change their health. That activity would address diet, but then I would also like to implement tips and strategies for physical exercise. Specifically, stressing the importance of exercise and how to implement it into a busy lifestyle through again having the students copy down their weekly exercise habits and discuss them. Both of these activities offer a chance to collaborate in small groups and as a class to figure out optimal ways to go about both diet and exercise. And to finish off these activities, after the students gain a solid understanding of implementing a healthy lifestyle in their own lives, in groups they will develop proposals, for either the city of Lexington or the principle of Maury River school, that address an aspect of the community or school that needs to be improved in order to promote healthy lifestyles.

Part One: Our third visit to our class was our most recent and the first that we were able to participate in an all be it small way, leading a discussion. The reason I feel that this is the case is because as a teacher who knows what they want, it is hard to make room for others. Our class unlike many of the others, has a very set curriculum that has to be followed so it can be hard to be accommodating. In our third visit we interviewed the students to see what they had thought about nest fest, their wishes, wonders, and what they liked about it. It felt more like I was just being a mouthpiece for a conversation that was really happening between the teacher and the students, but I was able to make the most of it. I would encourage the students to specify exactly what they meant and give as much detail as possible. I felt that this would give better feedback for future nest fests. I would also write down what the students were saying. This also gave me another avenue to benefit future nest fests in that I was trying to capture the essence of what they were saying, by making sense of their thoughts rather than just writing down exactly what they said. What we were doing was reflective of the standards that we went over in class. All of the answers that we collected went on a poster board in a manner to celebrate all of the individual responses and validate their answers.

Part Two: My idea for what the students should do for an activity would be an application of what they have learned at nest fest and more importantly to harness the drive for the environment the conference has instilled. Our proposed unit involves a project that would take several weeks to complete and then a final presentation in front of peers and then in front of school administrators. I think a good way to do this would be to have students build the confidence and courage for such a large undertaking they should start small with their nest fest observations. This would take the shape of students taking the observations they discussed in small groups and standing in front of the class to share the. What this would do in addition to preparing them for our proposed unit would be to meet several of the EL principles. Principles such as student-engaged assessment- cultivating a culture of engagement and achievement as their opinions and wished would be validated by the platform they are given to share them. It would also demonstrate leadership-fostering a cohesive school vision as students would be working together towards a common vision of improving nest fest for future Eagle Eco-Council students.

During my time in the classroom, I was able to participate in the third visit that we conducted at Rockbridge County High School in Mr. Simms’ class. The participation was in an assignment based on eugenics, a form of genetic modification that allows a child’s parents to pick what genes that they want the child to have before they are born or to find out what kinds of diseases they could have a high risk of so they can make the choice to have children or not. I and Ron were placed into a group together and were given the chance to work on a small piece of paper on what aspects of being human we thought were genetic or environmental in the development of a child’s brain and being. Things like appearance, attractiveness, OCD, autism, criminal tendencies, alcoholism, etc. were posted on the form and we were required to fill them out to the best of our knowledge on the subject and then explain why we thought this way in the class discussion that followed. The class discussion was laid back, as we have seen from many other class visits, and allowed for students to speak, debate, and defend their points and why they would choose to have a child or not. I personally thought that this was an effective way of teaching the subject as it was able to get the students fully involved and many of them seemed to be more than fully invested in the subject matter by the end of the class period.

From what we have collected over the past three visits to Mr. Simms’ class, it has become evident that there is an extremely effective way of teaching that I never saw in my time in high school or even in my first few years of college. The ability to teach a subject through classwide research and discussion was something unheard of in the environment that I came from where the factory-like lecture was king and that was the only way of teaching a subject to the students. After seeing how Mr. Simms runs his class and treats his students, it has shown myself that the most effective way to teach the lesson plan that Ron and I wish to do is to involve the class fully in the discovery and research of the topics and to let them voice their opinions on the minor subjects that come up in the lesson. Not only would this allow for the students to gain a deeper grasp on the subject, but this would also allow for the EL Principles of the Responsibility for Learning and Collaboration and Competition to be met. By creating a group based final project for the section, Ron and I would allow the students to compete with their ideas on the subject and to take responsibility for their learning by having them effectively research and present the subject as a group.