ImagineIT Phase 5 Conferring with Colleagues/Student Focus Groups
My ImagineIT project’s big idea is, “empowering students with STEM: connections matter”. I want my students to use technology to locate, understand, and analyze science text and data to make informed personal choices. I identified two potential dilemmas with this project. One is teaching in an urban setting does not allow students to see how they interact with their natural environment easily. The other, assessment; how will I know that students have understood science text and data to make informed choices? I held two meetings about my project to discuss the potential dilemmas associated with implementing my project. I met with three colleagues of mine and I also met with 4 students to discuss the project goals, dilemmas, and possible solutions.
Meeting with my colleagues was extremely informative. For the dilemma of assessment an idea favorably discussed was students creating some type of final technical product to demonstrate knowledge of a subject (example: Ecology) and how they connect to that content. Students could make any type of technology project of their choice and then show those products to other students and possibly the community. While this sounds like a great idea one colleague mentioned that we must remember the age and development of our students. 7th graders may feel overwhelmed by such a huge decision. The discussion then turned to the idea of formative assessments throughout the quarter. Closer to the end of the quarter students choose their best work that shows specific evidence of thinking, connecting ideas and other criteria. We all agreed that this also sounded good and eventually thought about merging the two ideas; do technology products throughout the year and at towards the end of the year reflect on the process.
I took these ideas and then met with my students. We talked about the different types of technology products that could be done to demonstrate knowledge (meme, movies, animation to name a few). The students really liked the idea of working in groups to create a technology product but a few students brought up the idea that there are some kids who will, “wait till the last minute”, or, “not take things seriously”. This led to my students and I thinking of a product checklist to keep student groups on track. My students also observed that trying something new takes time to, “get used to” and wanted to know if there was going to be some way for them to improve on their work.
The trends that I saw in both meetings dealt with group assessments that allowed choice and revision. The major takeaways from these two meetings are as follows:
With these two ideas in mind I plan on having our first technological group assessment after our field trip to the Chicago River. Students will work in groups to produce some type of Public Safety Announcement about what they learned about the health of the Chicago River. I will provide a reflective rubric that will have thought provoking questions to guide the students and keep their focus.
Meeting with my colleagues was extremely informative. For the dilemma of assessment an idea favorably discussed was students creating some type of final technical product to demonstrate knowledge of a subject (example: Ecology) and how they connect to that content. Students could make any type of technology project of their choice and then show those products to other students and possibly the community. While this sounds like a great idea one colleague mentioned that we must remember the age and development of our students. 7th graders may feel overwhelmed by such a huge decision. The discussion then turned to the idea of formative assessments throughout the quarter. Closer to the end of the quarter students choose their best work that shows specific evidence of thinking, connecting ideas and other criteria. We all agreed that this also sounded good and eventually thought about merging the two ideas; do technology products throughout the year and at towards the end of the year reflect on the process.
I took these ideas and then met with my students. We talked about the different types of technology products that could be done to demonstrate knowledge (meme, movies, animation to name a few). The students really liked the idea of working in groups to create a technology product but a few students brought up the idea that there are some kids who will, “wait till the last minute”, or, “not take things seriously”. This led to my students and I thinking of a product checklist to keep student groups on track. My students also observed that trying something new takes time to, “get used to” and wanted to know if there was going to be some way for them to improve on their work.
The trends that I saw in both meetings dealt with group assessments that allowed choice and revision. The major takeaways from these two meetings are as follows:
- Smaller formative assessments throughout the quarter that allow for reflection and revision might be best. Bigger projects may become overwhelming and students may lose focus.
- Students want guidance even when given a choice in assessment. Students want a checklist or rubric to keep on track and a chance to revise their work.
With these two ideas in mind I plan on having our first technological group assessment after our field trip to the Chicago River. Students will work in groups to produce some type of Public Safety Announcement about what they learned about the health of the Chicago River. I will provide a reflective rubric that will have thought provoking questions to guide the students and keep their focus.