ISTE Standard 2/3

2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments

c. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources

3. Model digital age work and learning

b. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation
KSDE Standard 5. Relationships between people, place, idea, and environments are dynamic.

Introduction

            I have chosen to concentrate my standards entry on my lesson over World War I.  Specifically the role the United States played during the war.  I wanted to get my students involved with how the United States got involved in the war and the reasons they stayed out of the fray for as long as they did.  I had the students look into some of the events, which led to the U.S. entry into the war.  I placed them in the role of an average everyday citizen living in America during WWI.  They were required to look into the information about the war and make a decision on whether or not they believed the United States should be involved in the war and to what level they thought we should be involved.  I will have the students create a blog, which would serve as a daily journal for entries about new information they have found.  The goal is to have them process the new information as it is given to them to form and their own opinion.

Description

            The lesson would begin by having the students create a blog of their own using a site such as blogger.  Each day I would post a new video outlining a new piece of information about events of WWI.  One dy I would discuss the Zimmerman Note, and another day we would look at the sinking of the Lusitania.  The expectation is for students to view the videos prior to entering class the next day.  The blog entries will be written during class time at the beginning of the hour each day. Students will be placed into small groups to share the ideas they have gained from the information presented to them in the at home lesson.  Within their groups, they will go over the new information and discuss the possible implications on the United States role in WWI.  After the discussion is over in the small groups, the class will reconvene to have a general discussion about the impact of the new information.  I will lead this discussion, making sure the class has taken a look at all the angles I was expecting them to see.  Following the class talk, students will write a short blog entry in discussing their feelings about the United States entering the war while acknowledging if any of the new information has swayed them one way or the other.  Students will be graded and assessed on the depth of knowledge shown both in the discussions and the blog entries.

Analysis

            While I was developing the lesson, I thought it would be a great way to introduce a flipped classroom concept to the class.  The setup of the lesson works perfectly for the flipped style learning.  Using technology students will have to bring in other people to help them accomplish their goals.  This will drive a conversation, which gears toward the use of technology in the classroom with their friends, fellow students and even their parents.  I also felt like the flipped classroom would be a good way to let all students learn at a pace, which is appropriate for them.  Giving the students the ability to tailor the lesson to their own needs frees them up to engage more freely in the classroom.  I was also happy with the concept of not only using video lessons to introduce new topics for the students, but using the daily blog entries ensures the students are getting a mix of different technology learning styles.  The lesson is also an opportunity for me as the educator to have daily interaction with students on a one on one basis. With the small group discussion students are expected to be able to explain their thoughts and opinions with members of their peer group.  Making use of the flipped lesson allows for all of these things to happen, which is why I chose this specific lesson to use it on.

Reflection

            As I look at some of the potential downfalls or drawbacks to the lesson as presented, I was drawn to the idea of not all students having access to the videos outside of the classroom.  I have always worried about introducing more technology would open up kids who may not have consistent access to the technology at home, to being left a bit behind.  I do have a plan, which should combat this issue relatively well, and I intend to give students who may not have access outside of school some extra time at the beginning of class to view the videos in class.  Students would be required to let me know prior to the start of the lesson if they feel as if they may need to watch the videos in class.  If the lesson is a success, in the future I would like to add some more challenging aspects to the lesson.  One of the ideas would be to assign roles to students and not make them just everyday citizens.  Student would assume the role of a soldier, or nurse.  There are several different roles which would make the lesson a little more divers for each student.

Creating a Positive Culture

                When it comes to improving the culture in the classroom my school district has done a good job in a couple areas. One of the min focuses, which has worked in my mind, is actually our discipline system.  Students are given a set number of points, which they can “earn” before the consequences are given out.  The scale is the same for every student and the administration does a great job of giving out points on a consistent and fair basis.  It may seem odd to choose a discipline system as something which improves the culture of a school, but I truly believe having a system in place in which all students know they will be held to the same standard is very important.  I have worked in other schools when they did not have a system in place for consistent consequences for the actions of students and no one knows what to expect when a student is sent to the office for issues in the classroom. 

                The great thing about a set discipline standard is everyone knows the consequences beforehand and students know what to expect.  This helps to create a positive culture where students understand expectations of behavior and can rely on the system to punish students fairly who continuously break the rules.  Just like in the classroom, when students understand what is expected of them they are better able to manage their day and can better handle situations as they arise.  This ability leads to students who look forward to coming to school and can enjoy an atmosphere free from distraction.  There is really nothing I would change about the way our administration enforces this policy, they do an overall great job with it.  I hope it continues to help build a positive culture for years to come. 

                As with all schools there are things I wish were done a little bit differently.  Over the past couple of years, we have tried to institute a character education program within the building.  The program focuses on trying to give students a better idea of what it means to be an all-around good person in society.  I know many schools have been pushing these programs over for a while now, and I genuinely believe they serve a good purpose.  The issue I have is within our school we have not done an adequate job bringing the information to students.  In the current set up one teacher is responsible for giving one lesson to each grade level over the course of four weeks.  This process then repeats itself over the course of the semester.  While I like the idea, the execution leaves kids with a sense of dread when they have to take the time out of their seminar to go to the class.  It also puts a lot of pressure on the teacher responsible for the lessons to come up with new and engaging ideas on a regular basis for students who do not really want to be there. 

                I do think the idea of trying to make kids into more well-rounded citizens is a great idea, we as a school should be engaging in the activity across the board.  Leaving the responsibility to one teacher is both unfair and unrealistic.  As a district, we need to come up with a policy, which is taught in every seminar to all grade levels on a consistent basis.  This allows students to know and learn from teachers they are familiar with and they are better able to understand what is expected of them during the class period.  I think this change would have a big impact on improving the culture in the school and allow teachers to have more control over the students in their rooms.

                Finally, I would like to see a more well-rounded policy which addresses rewarding students with praise for things they do well.  In our school, we do a great job of honoring athletes and students who excel in academics, which is wonderful, but I would like to see students be recognized for things they do in the community and on their own time.  We have many students who apply themselves to different tasks, which are not at all school related, and I want to give them praise for the things they do in those arenas.  I believe this will help to get students into the mindset of working on goals outside of the school day, which could positively affect things such as a flipped classroom.  Although the flipped classroom is school related, I think by cultivating a culture in which work outside of school is rewarded, we can help to motivate kids into doing the work needed outside the classroom for a blended learning environment to be successful.

                

Physical and Virtual Spaces

                The main problem I am trying to resolve deals with mainstream students.  Considering I teach a core class in Social Studies, I feel this is the best possible way to influence the most students.  I really want to work on raising the level of student engagement in my classroom.  This is not an issue with just a certain segment of the students in my room. The issue tends to move around and settle within different groups at different times.  I am hoping by implementing a flipped classroom model I will be able to increase the level of buy-in within my room. 

                In order for my plan to work well I will need to bring in a functional team.. I would hope to bring in some fellow teachers from within my area of study to aid in the process.  I would also seek out the aid of teachers within the school who have used the flipped classroom in the past as a sounding board for ideas.  The majority of the workload would fall onto me.  Seeing as this change will deal almost exclusively with my classes and my room, I would be the leader of this group.  The idea would be to let my administration in on what is going on and the changes made, but they would be on the periphery. 

                The great part about introducing the flipped classroom is students are given some freedom to work on at their own pace when it comes to the online portion of the lessons.  I really like the idea of giving kids the choice to view lessons at their own pace and to choose the path they take viewing them.  That said, I am not totally looking to give up all of the control in my room as to the pace, which students operate.  As much as I enjoy the idea of freedom outside the class, I also like the idea of being able to have a place for them to return to as a collective group and holding them accountable for staying with the rest of the class.  Students are expected to return to class, which will provide them the opportunity to transition back to the collective pace.

                As a teacher the flipped classroom would allow me to facilitate learning in my room without using a majority of the time relaying information to students.  I would be able to provide tutoring and guidance in addition to the online learning.  Essentially, I would be there for students when they have any questions or concerns, while at the same time students have the ability to complete classwork in an environment, which provides structure and guidance.  By eliminating homework in its current form, I am able to provide a place for students to ask questions and get immediate feedback on their performance.  It real is a win-win scenario for both the kids and me.  I now longer have to worry about presenting information and making sure they are attentive during lectures, and students have the opportunity to avoid the stresses that come along with daily homework and scheduling time to get things done.

Class Set Up

                When it comes to how my classroom is going to look, there really will not be much change from its current set up. In my current classroom, I have roughly 25 desks and they are arrange in traditional rows.  I have experimented in the past with different ways to set them up, but with the amount of space and the configuration of the room, I always seem to bring the set up back to the one I have now.  I do have a classroom set of laptops I plan to employ when students may need them, although at the current time there is not a way for students to check them out to take home.  A lot of the flipped classroom relies on the idea students will have access to the internet at their homes.  While I know there are students who fall into this category, I plan to be as accommodating as I can when it comes to students who need to use time in school to view videos.  There is a computer lab in addition to the cart in my room and we have seminar everyday if needed to catch up on lessons they may have missed. 

                Luckily, as I alluded to in the previous paragraph I do have the luxury of a cart of Chromebooks in my classroom.  There are 25 computers in the cart and my largest class contains 25 students, so the numbers work out well. This gives me the ability to provide enough computers for my students throughout the class period.  I am going to have to rely on the tools students have in their possession for watching videos outside of the classroom.  The best thing about much of the technology today is the fact most students can watch video on their phones anywhere they are and for those students, who may have difficulty finding a way to view the videos, simply letting me know and I can easily give them other options.

               

                

Improving Student Motivation

                When it comes to making sure my students find jot in their learning as a teacher I will need to raise the level of student engagement and buy in within my classroom.  For my students to be have the best opportunity to learn and enjoy the learning process, it is necessary for me to find ways to engage them on a level I currently have trouble getting them to.  I have found success building relationships with my students through interaction on a number of different levels.  The first way to I optimize the relationships in the room is to engage with my students in the classroom.  The second is by finding different interests they may have and talking with them about them in a genuinely interested way. 

                I think with all teachers there are times and situations in which we could effectively engage our students on a higher level.  My classroom is no different.  I am constantly trying to find new ways to work with my students, and still fall short on occasion.  Simply moving around the room and making sure they are on task helps some of the kids.  I also do a very good job of using eye contact during class discussions to help kids feel as if they are part of the class.  The real struggle comes when some of my go to techniques fail, and students just do not get into what we are doing.  The one thing I need to improve on that would do the most good would be making my lessons and goals more transparent.  There are times when I do a very good job of communicating these ideas to my students, but just not on a consistent enough basis. The video below is pretty simplistic, but does a good job of talking about some of the things I struggle with in my room at times as far as getting students to engage in the learning process.

                I really believe by using blended learning my students would have a better understanding of what it is I am asking of them.  For example, by using a flipped classroom model students would be able to view lesson materials on their own time, giving them an opportunity to control when and where they learn the material.  Through this method, students would also be able to watch lessons multiple times in order to have the material make sense.  In the classroom, the students can engage inn work and ask questions throughout the process.  Having time in class, which is not solely dedicated to information gathering, allows more time to understand what exactly I am wanting out of them in the lesson.  There is more time dedicated to asking questions and filtering through information they have watched outside of the classroom.  This style of learning opens the learning environment up so thoughts and ideas are freely exchanged.  Through the blended learning environment, I will be better able to give my students to opportunity to understand what the expectations are in my room.  The flipped classroom also gives me the opportunity to be more of a facilitator in the classroom rather the using the time giving information through differing techniques.