The Total PACKage
Context
I am excited to be going into my third full year of teaching the same subject and grade level: eighth grade U.S. History. However, although my subject and grade level is the same, this is going to be my third school in three years! Every school is different - different textbooks, different technologies, different support etc. Therefore, I will have somewhat of a learning curve as I get used to my new school. In the previous two schools, I had quite a range of technologies available to me. In my first year teaching, I worked in an urban/suburban school with more of a middle class group of students. My class was made up of mostly Caucasian students with very few minority students. However, my students' access to technology was very limited (I had no computers in my room and struggled to gain access to the computer lab which was always booked). As a teacher, I had a projector, screen, document camera, whiteboard (non-interactive), and a laptop. I also helped develop the curriculum with two colleagues and a new textbook.
In my second school, I had much more technology and support available to me AND my students. We had several laptop carts available to sign out in addition to computer labs. This meant that I could give each student computer, Internet, and printer access almost every day if I wanted to. Teachers also had laptops, projectors, screens, and whiteboards (non-interactive). Perhaps most exciting was that teachers were also given one iPad for their classroom a few months before the end of the school year. I also worked with a much more established curriculum and an older textbook. The student make-up was still almost all Caucasian but with more of a rural context and with more students on free and reduced lunch.
This year, I am heading to what is considered one of the best districts in my county. They have great things coming in regard to technology: all teachers are getting Mac laptops and iPads (with Apple TV). They are also phasing in a one-to-one Macbook Air Laptop program which will start second semester. The student make-up is a combination of rural/suburban and mostly middle class. I will face some challenges first semester with my students having limited access to the Internet and individual computers (in fact, I am not sure if they will have computer labs up and running first semester). Also, I'm sure there will be network problems with taking on a project of this size.
In my second school, I had much more technology and support available to me AND my students. We had several laptop carts available to sign out in addition to computer labs. This meant that I could give each student computer, Internet, and printer access almost every day if I wanted to. Teachers also had laptops, projectors, screens, and whiteboards (non-interactive). Perhaps most exciting was that teachers were also given one iPad for their classroom a few months before the end of the school year. I also worked with a much more established curriculum and an older textbook. The student make-up was still almost all Caucasian but with more of a rural context and with more students on free and reduced lunch.
This year, I am heading to what is considered one of the best districts in my county. They have great things coming in regard to technology: all teachers are getting Mac laptops and iPads (with Apple TV). They are also phasing in a one-to-one Macbook Air Laptop program which will start second semester. The student make-up is a combination of rural/suburban and mostly middle class. I will face some challenges first semester with my students having limited access to the Internet and individual computers (in fact, I am not sure if they will have computer labs up and running first semester). Also, I'm sure there will be network problems with taking on a project of this size.
Content As mentioned in my introduction to the project, my overall goal for my students' learning and understanding is to understand the relevance of studying American History. My students will understand its relevance by being able to apply this historical knowledge to their current and future lives (for example, being informed voters, good citizens, and making connections to current events), having empathy for historical figures (connecting their stories to my students' own stories by making comparisons), and by becoming engaged in historical study (through story creation, evaluation of various sources, active discussions, and seeking answers to questions). Each of these goals involves my students honing skills such as evaluation, interpretation, perspective, communication, collaboration, writing, videography, editing, discernment, synthesizing, etc. The scope of historical study is broad in itself and the projects/assessments that I design will allow my students to better their skills as well.
One possible problem that I expect to encounter is resistance to the study of history in general. Indeed, I have encountered this resistence already in my previous two years of teaching. By the time students reach eighth grade, they have already been through several Social Studies courses. Many students may already view history as "boring" because of these experiences or even their parents' perspectives. Perhaps most troubling is the internal disconnect that many of my students seem to be dealing with personally. This disconnect seems to be around the way that history has been taught - with facts for memorization, versus the way history occurred. Plainly speaking, my students are capable of questioning the material but often do not feel the freedom to do so in school. In a review of two books on the subject of teaching history, Terrie Epstein described students' evaluation skills by saying "young people [are] capable of analytic thought long before mid-adolescence". However, many of my students have been "trained" that in order to succeed in Social Studies, all you need to do is memorize facts (author Lee Shulman noted this problem in this article). According to Epstein, research also dictates that although students are willing to question and evaluate specific "episodes" of the past, they were unwilling to question the overall broader story or narrative created by historians. Therefore, I will face the challenge of helping my students develop their historical (or disciplined) inquiry skills and applying this knowledge to its furthest point. My students may also have several misconceptions to contend with. These misconceptions, in my experience, often stem from a "bits and pieces" recollection of American History from pervious studies. Prior to entering eighth grade, my students will have studied American History extensively only in the fifth grade. That means that I have a three year gap to contend with. Many of my students enter eighth grade with no recollection of the thirteen British colonies which formed the basis for the USA. This requires a lot of review at the beginning of the school year. In addition, popular media and film versions of American History can lead to misconceptions and exaggerations. Lastly, my students will come to the classroom with their own opinions and family biases on government as well as various cultures/races and how they played out historically and in current events. |
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Technology
The technology hardware that I will focus on using with my students are Macbook Air Laptops (second semester, one per student), iPad/AppleTV (one per teacher), and Flip video cameras (one per teacher). These items will have multiple uses which I will focus on below.
1. Macbook Air Laptops
These laptops will be the most integral part of my classroom this year. First, both I and my students will use the Internet to find information about historical events and peoples in addition to current. I will direct my students to sources and teach them research skills. We will also use them for document and presentation creation. We will use them to collaborate by creating Google docs and using other collaborative web-based programs. We will also use them for video viewing, video creation and editing (iMovie). I will also use them as an assessment tool by creating web-based surveys or posing questions for discussion on Twitter or other tools.
2. iPad
I have had some experience having one iPad for my class. At this point, I do not see the necessity of getting iPads for all my students with the one-to-one laptop program. I will use the iPad (along with AppleTV) to create interactive and interesting presentations (for example, using Keynote). I will also use apps like Educreations and ScreenChomp to create video lessons for my students to watch at home. In addition, I will have my students create videos of key concepts to share with the class.
3. Flip Video Camera
The video camera that I own will be used for group or individual projects where the computer or iPad video cameras are insufficient.
1. Macbook Air Laptops
These laptops will be the most integral part of my classroom this year. First, both I and my students will use the Internet to find information about historical events and peoples in addition to current. I will direct my students to sources and teach them research skills. We will also use them for document and presentation creation. We will use them to collaborate by creating Google docs and using other collaborative web-based programs. We will also use them for video viewing, video creation and editing (iMovie). I will also use them as an assessment tool by creating web-based surveys or posing questions for discussion on Twitter or other tools.
2. iPad
I have had some experience having one iPad for my class. At this point, I do not see the necessity of getting iPads for all my students with the one-to-one laptop program. I will use the iPad (along with AppleTV) to create interactive and interesting presentations (for example, using Keynote). I will also use apps like Educreations and ScreenChomp to create video lessons for my students to watch at home. In addition, I will have my students create videos of key concepts to share with the class.
3. Flip Video Camera
The video camera that I own will be used for group or individual projects where the computer or iPad video cameras are insufficient.
Pedagogy
My pedagogical strategies will be varied in order to achieve the goal of making U.S. History relevant to my students. Firstly, I have had fairly extensive experience and training in my first year teaching in the "backwards design" or Understanding by Design model as outlined by Wiggins and McTighe. This model starts with identifying "power standards", creating essential questions out of those standards, creating the assessment(s) that will show students' knowledge, and subsequently creating the lessons. This will serve as a framework for me this year and is how I will approach everything that I do.
In addition, because history is really the telling of the story of the past, I will integrate story elements into my instruction. According to Daniel T. Willingham, author of Why Students Don't Like School, people remember stories better than disconnected facts. In fact, stories are considered "privileged" information to our memories. With this in mind, I will integrate four elements of stories into my instruction: causality, conflict, complications, and character. I will also encourage my students to create/tell stories through video assignments and play/skit writing.
I am also going to "revamp" my warm-up portion of my lessons this year. Previously I have had students answer one or two questions from the previous day's lesson in order to activate prior knowledge. This year, I will call this portion of the lesson "Connections". I will give my students the opportunity to connect the information they are learning with current events or their daily lives in a written response. This way, the focus will not be on recalling facts. I will give students a list of topics to get them started and follow the individual work time with group discussion. I will also integrate a social networking aspect by having students post periodically to Twitter. This will allow them to expand their connections to followers around the world.
In addition, because history is really the telling of the story of the past, I will integrate story elements into my instruction. According to Daniel T. Willingham, author of Why Students Don't Like School, people remember stories better than disconnected facts. In fact, stories are considered "privileged" information to our memories. With this in mind, I will integrate four elements of stories into my instruction: causality, conflict, complications, and character. I will also encourage my students to create/tell stories through video assignments and play/skit writing.
I am also going to "revamp" my warm-up portion of my lessons this year. Previously I have had students answer one or two questions from the previous day's lesson in order to activate prior knowledge. This year, I will call this portion of the lesson "Connections". I will give my students the opportunity to connect the information they are learning with current events or their daily lives in a written response. This way, the focus will not be on recalling facts. I will give students a list of topics to get them started and follow the individual work time with group discussion. I will also integrate a social networking aspect by having students post periodically to Twitter. This will allow them to expand their connections to followers around the world.
The Total PACKage
The concept of TPACK outlines the interconnectedness of three elements of teaching: technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge. My lessons and units this year will keep this in mind and effectively integrate these three elements. First, my teaching will be student-centered. This concept will show itself in the following ways:
Video creation and editing will also be a transformational technological activity for my students. I will create several opportunities for my students to create instructional videos for various U.S. History concepts. For example, students will create an "infomercial" about an invention from the Industrial Revolution. The process will involve research and collaboration in small groups. By viewing other groups' videos, students will learn about the other groups' assigned inventions.
All these aspects of my instruction make clear connections to Dewey's primary impulses for learning (inquiry, communication, construction, and expression). Inquiry: by leaving the questions unanswered and having my students do the research, communication: by having students work together in groups and having whole-class discussions, construction: by allowing my students to create products that display their learning, and expression: by giving my students opportunity to display their creativity.
- by allowing lessons/units to be inquiry-based. I know that most of my students are only interested in Social Studies when it leaves an element of mystery. Simply telling them the facts is a great way to lose their attention quickly. I will therefore create opportunities for my students to find answers to questions through exploration of sources on the Internet.
- by allowing lesson/units to be collaborative. Students always appreciate opportunities to discuss things with their peers. Therefore, I will create structured opportunities for my students to communicate with each other both online and in the classroom.
- by allowing for opportunities to connect to prior knowledge. So much research has emphasized the need to connect to prior knowledge for learning. One example is this article by Levstik and Barton. I will provide opportunities for my students to make these connections and focus on organizing the information learned rather than absorbing facts. These opportunities will mainly take place in the "warm-up" section of my lessons but will also be structured throughout lessons in discussion and reflection time (see pedagogy section above).
Video creation and editing will also be a transformational technological activity for my students. I will create several opportunities for my students to create instructional videos for various U.S. History concepts. For example, students will create an "infomercial" about an invention from the Industrial Revolution. The process will involve research and collaboration in small groups. By viewing other groups' videos, students will learn about the other groups' assigned inventions.
All these aspects of my instruction make clear connections to Dewey's primary impulses for learning (inquiry, communication, construction, and expression). Inquiry: by leaving the questions unanswered and having my students do the research, communication: by having students work together in groups and having whole-class discussions, construction: by allowing my students to create products that display their learning, and expression: by giving my students opportunity to display their creativity.