Ashley Blackwelder Blog Post #1: JL Mann Visit

I wasn't expecting to see much at JL Mann that would apply to me in the elementary STEM classroom, but I started brainstorming as soon as we entered our first classroom. I LOVED seeing teachers team teach, and the interactions that they had with their students were incredible. It was exactly the kind of setting that makes me want to (almost) go back to having my own class, because I would love to spend my day in a learning community like that. It was also refreshing to hear the teachers describe some of the struggles they'd had in building that community with a particular group of students, and to see some evidence of kids just being kids. It was awesome, but never perfect--there's no magic secret that these teachers have figured out and the rest of us haven't. It's the result of good teaching, hard work, true collaboration, and the willingness to constantly reflect and make adjustments when needed.
I actually got really excited about an idea I had while observing, which may selfishly be my way of getting as close as I can to experiencing this close-knit, student-centered, team-teaching setting myself. But I immediately talked with our reading coach (who agreed that we would've had way too much fun with adjoining classrooms when we taught 5th grade together) about setting up our own type of PBL coaching cycle for classroom teachers next year. Through my two PBL units, I have learned that it's asking a lot of the classroom teacher to share their class in the way that I have expected, and even with much more careful/strict scheduling in my second unit, it's difficult to expect "my" instruction to carry on when I can't physically be in the classroom with them each day. It's also not entirely fair of me to ask. BUT...if we can develop well-integrated units for each grade level and offer to teach it in its entirety--along with all of the assessments and grading that go along with it--and take one class from start to finish, it would benefit that teacher and class, as well as the others on the same grade level. The classroom teacher would be present and involved throughout the unit, but could also step out occasionally to cover for others on the grade level to come and observe. We've had such growth in STEM and PBL in our school over the past few years, and I think we'd have quite a few teachers who would be open to this. It's an idea that I am really excited about, and probably wouldn't have thought of before our visit to JL Mann.

Blog #2: PBL Reflection

My observation was last week, and I think it went well.  All of my classes enjoyed the lesson and seemed engaged in their discussion, reflection, and inquiry that followed.  I appreciated the evidence and documentation from Dawn and look forward to receiving more areas for growth and improvement!

1.)    What components of your second pbl plan did you target for improvement? 

I targeted assessment and reflection time.  I feel like I've already done better with the reflection, in that I've given the students both the time and documentation to be able to reflect on their work.  I'm still a work in progress as far as summative assessments--trying to find a successful way to assess my students in the PBL process with orchestra.

2.)    What components do you feel your students will be most successful? Least successful?  Why? 

I feel like they will do well with the composition portion of their project because it gives them a creative outlet.  I feel that they may struggle with the research portion and history because they  haven't had many opportunities to make real world, deep inquiries in their schooling so far.

3.)    What will your students need to overcome any anticipated obstacles?

They will need a variety of resources, opportunities to ask questions, feedback from me and their peers, and formative assessments/reflections to keep them on the right path.

4.)    How will students be provided opportunities for feedback and revision on their process and product from you, from peers, and from outside audiences?

We have already done some peer assessments, and all of their work is being done through Schoology, Google Docs, and Flat.io so that I have immediate and continuous access to any edits or changes they make.  They will also be a part of creating the rubric for their final product and will continue the peer editing process throughout their composition.

5.)    Are there opportunities for you and for students to self-reflect on their learning throughout the pbl? 

Reflections, Need to Know document, and group discussions

Kathy: Blog #2

1. What components of your second pbl did you target for improvement?
- One of the areas I am striving to improve for my students is scaffolding their research activities. I need to design some generic outlines that can help students with direction in their sustained inquiry stage. I want to incorporate more of the target language, which should work out since they have some vocabulary and phrases to use now. I also want to work on ways to better assess their work. I love the "yet/not yet" concept.
2. What components do you think your students will be most successful with? Least successful? Why?
- I know that my students will be successful in many ways with this PBL. They will enjoy the voice and choice that goes along with PBL. The girls especially will really engage. The students will probably struggle with due dates, so will try to prepare for that by having a PBL calendar posted clearly on the wall.
3.What do your students need to overcome any anticipated obstacles?
-Obstacles that I foresee with some of my students are staying focused on sustained inquiry and research, reaching agreements on how they should proceed, and having patience with technology issues. I will be a coach in keeping them focused, a referee to help as needed in disagreements, I will get outside help when possible for all the ipad issues!
4. How will students be provided opportunities for feedback and revision on their process and product from you, from peers, and from outside audiences?
-Students will have feedback from their peers throughout the process. I will incorporate some informal feedback as well. We will do a gallery walk- that's a favorite - and they will have time during the last week to revise their work. To include an outside audience, we do gallery walks across classes.
5. Are their opportunities for you and for students to self-reflect on their learning throughout the pbl?
At the end of the PBL I want to follow up with a reflection time to see what worked (and what didn't work.) I am curious to understand my students' perspectives are. Sometimes it is very eye-opening!

Kathy Blog 1

Spring Blog #1
Kathy Feigenbaum

The visit at JL Mann High School was amazing. It was very inspiring to see that what we are working on in our course can actually work in real life in a very efficient way. The students at JL Mann were so engaged in their work and very smooth in explaining to us what they were doing with their project. There was quite a bit of supportive equipment there due to the New Tech building, which (although it's discouraging to know we won't ever have all that at our school) lends well to thinking of hacks that might serve similar purposes. The work spaces are super flexible and the desks with hanging personal whiteboards are great. Each student had what seemed to be a functioning laptop. (Keyword: functioning!) My favorite thing was the Think Tank. When I asked the Spanish I students where they would go to record their video (that is always a problem for me because of all the background noise), they told me they would just go on down the hall to the Think Tank. I am considering ways to create one at our school, or maybe turn my closet into such an area. I also liked seeing the classes that are co-taught and cross-curricular. The teachers seemed to work well together, and the atmosphere was definitely one of teamwork and facilitating the students. It was a great day.

Spring Blog #1: Revisions on my PBL

Based on Dawn's feedback (always so helpful!) I'm using my first blogpost to work through some revisions to my PBL.

I'm targeting reflection and assessment as my areas for improvement.  I need to provide students with more reflection time overall, and also some guidance as to what they need to be reflecting on.  Also, creating assessments that give a concrete number value to a composed piece of music will be challenging.  I'm thinking a rubric will definitely need to be created, and possibly with the assistance of the students.  I will include the must haves and they can input the can haves.

I think they will grasp the concrete ideas of what pentatonic scales are, but I know they will struggle with connecting the music to ancient cultures.  They may not want inquire or dig deep to find information to help them choose a melody.

Feedback and reflection being my areas for improvement, I'm still trying to tie those in more efficiently.  I want to continue to spend as much time playing as possible, but they will not do written work outside of my classroom for orchestra.  Maybe I can incorporate it as part of our warm up some days.

Blog #5: I used to think..../ Now I know...

I used to think:

• I knew what PBL was, and was using it regularly in my classroom. 
• PBL was best suited for higher achieving students only.
• PBL would be easier to incorporate in elementary school because all subjects are integrated. 
• PBL is much easier for the teacher than planning day-by-day lessons and activities.

Now I know:

• I was assuming that my end of unit projects was considered PBL. During the last school year, I wrote what I believed to be a PBL on rates, ratios, and proportions that turned out to be more along the lines of independent learning.  There were some of the PBL required criteria such as collaboration, conferencing, and reflection, but it was not a true PBL experience. Now I know PBL is learning through completing the project.
• PBL is effective with low-income students if you build stamina and agency within the students prior to the PBL experience. Offering inquiry-based experiences in small chunks helps to build the stamina needed to complete a full experience. Low-income students are quick to give up, so it is important to build the stamina along the way.
• PBL is just as easy to incorporate in middle school if you have a cooperative team who will help you. I do not understand all of the science, social studies, and language arts standards, but my teammates are very willing to help me understand what the standards are and how I can incorporate them into the math class.
• PBL is much harder than I anticipated! I spent much more time planning the PBL experience than I have on my other units. It is definitely not the "easy way out" of lecturing. The planning is much more complex and the outcome is much greater. 

Blog #3 - Student Agency

I have incorporated the "Power of Yet" into my classroom for several years. Title I schools contain a large population of students who believe you must be born smart and not that hard work and perseverance will foster intelligence, especially in math.  There are many ways in which a teacher can promote agency in her students. One way is to allow students to productively struggle in their work. Many times, especially in Title I schools, teachers and paraprofessionals will "hold the students' hand" through difficult tasks and problems which does not allow student agency to begin developing. When these students get to middle school, they are conditioned to ask for help before trying. When the teachers try to let the students "productively struggle", the students give up because they do not know where to begin. Productive struggle is a must for students to build stamina and to develop a growth mindset.

Another strategy is to provide academic feedback. If students understand where their mistakes and misconceptions are, they will be more willing to take another look. The only assignments I do not allow corrections on are unit assessments. My students are allowed to make corrections on all other assignments. Giving them this opportunity causes them to look back at their work and find their own errors and misconceptions, make that correction and learn from their mistakes. I am very confident in these two strategies and utilize them daily to build as much student agency as possible.