3rd Grade PBL Lesson

My EDM 310 group designed a lesson using the Project Based Learning format.  We decided to teach a third grade class about natural disasters.  In order to teach the students about natural disasters, we created a project that engaged the students in the learning process through individual and group research as well explained the real world application of their activity.  The project has the students use technology in order to describe a specific natural disaster, explain the cause and warning signs of the disaster, then create and demonstrate a safety plan.  Here is our lesson plan, calendar, checklist, and two rubrics (group project and individual assessment) describing the project and how the students will be graded.

Comments for Kids

The first week of commenting on kids' blogs, I was assigned Kaycee.  Kaycee is a year 8 student from New Zealand.  She uploaded a video to her blog.  It was a music video to the Michael Jackson song They Really Don't Care About Us.  It was really well done and I enjoyed watching it. Check it out!


The second week of commenting on kids' blogs I read Soha's blog. Soha is a fifth grade student from Ontario. Her blog post was about mathematicians. This is her post: "Hello my name is soha and today I will be telling you what I am learning about in math and somethings I dont like about math. so I am going to tell you a bout some strategies that I have learned to use in math . so you can act the problem out also ,you can use pictures to show your thinking"
In my comment, I told Soha that it was especially important to draw pictures of her math problems. Using visuals always helps me when doing math and I think it is a great skill for children to learn.

This week, I commented on Carter's blog for my C4K. Carter is in the fourth grade in Iowa. The kids were to post a blog about one thing they would change about their school. Carter thought that his school should have recess for every grade at his school and not just the younger grades. He explained that recess was a fun and healthy way for the kids to take a break. I agree with Carter, recess is a good way for the kids to take a break and get out excess energy during a long school day.

A Spledid Friend Indeed

Conversations with Athony Capps

This week for EDM 310, the class watched several conversations between Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps.  Anthony Capps is a  "former student in EDM 310, former lab professional in EDM 310, now a 3rd grade teacher at Baldwin County Elementary School in Gulf Shores, and also a really good friend of [Dr. Strange] and EDM 310." Application of project based learning in elementary school was the overlying message of the conversations between Dr. Strange and Anthony; however, there was much more to these conversations than just simply explaining PBL.  In the first two videos, Capps discussed his own usage of PBL; the third and fourth video described two resources Anthony uses to enhance this teaching method; finally, in the fifth, sixth, and seventh videos, Dr. Strange and Anthony gave the viewers a few more tips on how to use PBL effectively in a classroom.  I learned even more about project based learning, I was also introduced to iCurio and Discovery Education from these videos.

In the first two videos I learned even more about project based learning from Anthony Capps.  Capps talked about his application of PBL in his own classroom, as well as gave the viewers some general guidelines for using project based learning.  One example Anthony gave in part two of the PBL conversations of his application particularly interested me.  His students completed a project in which they broke down a story into six scenes, like a comic strip, he said.  After they had the story organized into six scenes, the students were to think about the story in various contexts such as what would happen to the story if one scene were missing or if the scenes were in a different order.  They also had to decide which scene was the most important and choose three scenes that could stand alone and still tell the same story.  Anthony Capps did not just ask the students closed ended, boring questions about the story the children read.  He invited him the kids to dive deeper into the subject matter through the use of open ended questions and this allowed them to become more involved in the subject matter.  That is why this is an excellent utilization of project based learning.

Videos three and four describe two resources Anthony Capps uses to enhance the PBL teaching method in his classroom.  These resources are iCurio and Discovery Education. The first allows students to 1. safely search websites, 2. store information they may need or find interesting, and 3. use a directory to find specific information.  iCurio is a search engine that gives children access to websites that the teacher has currated (hence the name).  This give children the opportunity to conduct research without the teacher worrying that they may stumble upon information unsuitable for children.  This is incredibly important because there is just so much on the internet that is not appropriate for children in elementary school.  iCurio also provides storage space for the children to save the information the children come across.  Anthony explains this feature is helpful for the students to transition quickly. They can save their work easily, go on to another activity, then pick up right where they left off with little delay.  Lastly, iCurio has a directory that the children can use.  Capps enjoys this feature because sometimes the children are uncertain of exactly what they are searching for.  It allows them to put their feelers out for a new and exciting topic.  The other resource that Anthony Capps uses in his classroom is Discovery Education.  Discovery Ed has online textbooks and audiobooks as well as visuals for the children.  During this video, Dr. Strange says that children are moving from being readers and writers while learning to listeners and watchers. I would agree with Dr. Strange here; however, Anthony argues that the children really enjoy both.  He explains that the children like Discovery Ed because it has visual and audio qualities that enhances the children's learning.

Finally, the last three videos EDM 310 students watched this week left them with a few handy tips for applying project based learning in their own classroom when they get there. In The Anthony - Strange list of Tips for Teachers, Dr. Strange and Anthony Capps go back and forth creating a list of tips.  The list consists of five key components of using project based learning well.  The list is:

1. You must be interested in learning yourself.

2. Teaching is hard - work should not be separated from play, teaching is your hobby.

3. You must be creative and flexible.

4. You must start developing lessons with an end in mind.

5. Reflect upon what you have done, what works, and what does not work.

Dr. Strange and Anthony also give tips on how to 'teach' the children how to use technology in the video Use Technology, Don't Teach It. The two explain that children will pick up on how to use the technology in front of them if the teacher just gives them the opportunity to use it.  Practicing with technology is how children become technologically literate, not through a specific course or lesson.  They also mentioned that the students will probably be able to use the technology better than their teacher and that is normal.  Mrs. Holland, my EDU 330 professor said that if you don't know how to use a device, ask a child to show you.  I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but that tip has really stuck with me as I am venturing deeper and deeper into EDM 310.

Breaking Education Barriers Blog (C4T #2)

For C4T #2 Post 1 I read: Feedback: Lessons from the Ball Field from the Breaking Education Barriers blog.  In this post, the author compared a coach and a teacher.  As one might assume, the two are very similar in many ways.  The blog focused particularly on feedback.  The author used a list format in order to compare the two.  First, feedback on the field then what that equated to in the classroom. 

Her first point stated that good feedback is specific and directed toward one player. I definitely agree with this.  Feedback must be specific in order to be effective.  A teacher needs to take the time to give student's explanations on an individual level.  If the teacher just gives the students test scores then she is missing out getting to know her students and the children are missing out on the opportunity to correct what they are doing wrong.  Secondly, the author of this blog discussed praise on the ball field and in the classroom.  She explained that, while the praise boosted both the player and the student's ego, it did not do much to help the child improve.  She says the teacher should give praise in the classroom, but to not mix praise and feedback. Lastly, the author explains that good feedback on the ball field was not given at the end of the season.  She says that the best feedback is formative assessment.  This is a type of assessment that is given to the player or student as he is learning the task or material at hand.  This summer, I was reading with my nephew and in order for him to really get something out of the book we were reading, I had to stop and ask questions to make sure he was understanding what was going on.  This type of feedback also reminds me of the Asking The Right Questions post that I wrote last week.  It's not enough to teach a lesson and say "Is that clear?" at the end.

Feedback: Lessons from the Ball Field taught me a lot about giving good feedback by comparing coaching and teaching.  I definitely recommend future educators to read this blog!

For my second post on the Breaking Education Barriers Blog, I read and commented on a post titled Impacting Students a Book at a Time.  I really enjoyed what this post had to offer.  The opening line of the post asked, "What impacts student's achievements?"  I was immediately interested in what the author had to say because part of wanting to become a teacher is wanting to see your students achieve a great deal.  Her answer to this question was that reading seriously impacts a student's achievements.  She said, "exhibiting the love of reading and exposing them to adventures and lessons that lie within the pages of a book" reaches the students like nothing else can.  She even mentioned that by showing her own enthusiasm about reading, the kids, too, get excited and they ask each other about what they are reading.  Not only close ended questions, she explains, but critical thinking questions that motivate the children to read even more.  Recently, I have been seriously questioning how good of a teacher I will be solely on the fact that I do not read that much.  It is something that has bothered me lately because I think of how much I did enjoy reading as an elementary student.  This blog post has definitely given me something to think about.

Personal Learning Networks

In teaching, as in any other profession, networking is imperative to succeed.  To network is to "interact with other people to exchange information and develop contacts, especially to further one's career," (as defined by Google).  The education world is constantly changing and adapting to challenges and educators must keep up.  One way to keep up with the ever changing profession we chose, is through Personal Learning Networks.  One way to create your very own PLN is by interacting with people around you in class or the schools where you observe.  Another way to create a PLN is through online social networks, such as Blogger, Facebook, or Twitter.


Personally, I especially enjoy the Twitterverse.  Twitter is my favorite way of networking because there is a limit to how many characters that can be in a tweet.  This allows the user to scroll through and catch a quick glimpse of a wide variety of information.  Tweets often include links to blogs, videos, or online articles.  The tweet itself provides the user a short summary of what he will read or watch if clicking on the link.  Another nifty thing about Twitter is picking and choosing who you want to follow.  I have had a Twitter since 2009, but just recently I created a new account specifically for educational purposes.  A few accounts I decided to follow include Education Nation (@educationnation), Edutopia (@edutopia), US News Education (@usnewseducation), and EDM310 (@edm310_usa).  These accounts provide interesting reading material and tips for educators all over the globe.  Twitter is also handy because the user can find more people to follow through who he follows already.

Project #3

Project #7

C4T #1

For my first C4T, I read David Warlick's blog post titled Our Greatest Missed Opportunity? In this post Warlick discussed an article that described a project done in the 1980s at Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools in North Carolina. I read the article and it was indeed interesting.  The article was about a project Chapel Hill-Carrboro began in the 1980s.  This project was to teach the students how to use computers and become technologically literate.  The students created their own curriculum and made all of the decisions regarding the class.  This article also discussed how much technology should be allowed in the classroom, a debate that is still heavily discussed today.  The article was insightful and I do think that Warlick could very well argue this was a great missed opportunity.

Search Engines

1. Wolfram Alpha

Wolfram Alpha is described as a computational knowledge engine.  This search engine uses "built-in data, algorithms, and methods" in order to find what is being searched for.  Instead of providing the user with a list of sources or webpages, it gives the answer being searched for flat out.  For example, I searched 2x/(x^2+x) and in return I got the input, result, plots on a graph, domain, range, and a few other sections of notes about the polynomial.  I had a lot of fun typing equations into Wolfram Alpha! This search engine is handy for specific questions rather than general research.

2.  Duck Duck Go

I took a tour of the site and I think it is a lot like Google.  One can use a stopwatch feature, define words, search for webpages, and much more.  The selling point for Duck Duck Go is that it does not track their users.  This gives users a better sense of security when surfing the internet.  The site can also be customized to the user's location and language preferences.  One thing I really enjoyed about Duck Duck Go is the !Bang feature.  The user can type and exclamation point then any website followed by keywords and it will directly search the site he typed in.  Try it out!

3. ChaCha

ChaCha describes themselves as a "free mobile Q&A service in the U.S. enabling advertisers and marketers to reach and engage their consumers in real time."  It is a search in which the users ask direct questions rather than using keyword searches.  Also, users are able to text ChaCha directly.  Before my friends and I had smart phones, we would text ChaCha in order to get quick answers without using a computer.  "Ask ChaCha" was a popular phrase around my group of friends. 

4.  Bing

Bing is owned by Microsoft and is advertised as a "decision enigine" that "puts the world's information at your fingertips".  Bing uses the users location, social media profiles, and other tools to further customize searches.  It is also very similar to Google in that it does calculations, defines words, translates words, and does conversions. 

5. WebMD

WebMD is a medical search engine.  It will allow users to input symptoms and retrieve a list of possible illnesses.  This search engine is also useful if you are looking for a doctor or specialist as well as provides health news.  I, being the hypochondriac I am, try to steer clear of using WebMD; however, it is extremely useful for those who need a quick glance of what their illness may be.  WebMD says they "provide credible information, supportive communities, and in depth reference material about health subjects that matter."

6. Ask 

Ask says, "[o]ur mission is to get our millions of users across the globe the answers they need."  The website has a section called The Know.  In The Know there are trivial questions, fun facts, Big Questions, and did you knows.  It is interesting to see all the different areas of the Ask website, though it is a bit annoying to use.  There are a lot of adds on Ask and the websites found are not always the best sources.  One upside, though, is when the user searches it provides them with a list of related sites, related FAQs, and a blurb about what the user had just searched for.

7.  Zillow

Zillow is a search engine used by those in the housing market.  They say that their mission is "to empower consumers with information and tools to make smart decisions about houses, real estate, and mortgages."  On this search engine, the user can look for houses to buy and rent, as well as get connected with realtors.  It also provides information about mortgages and home design.  Zillow is an excellent place to start if one is not sure what exactly is going on in the housing world.  The name Zillow comes from the "zillions of data points" it provides and the fact that one's home is where they lay their head down on a pillow (ZILLions + pillOW = Zillow).

8.  Yahoo

Yahoo is extremely similar to Google.  The user can set up an email account through this website as well as search webpages, share pictures, and checking sports scores and stock market quotes.  One thing I enjoy about Yahoo is that it is so similar to Google because it makes it easier to use if the user can already use Google well.  The website, however, seems very cluttered to me, that is why it is not my first choice in search engines.

Asking the Right Questions

In the classroom, one important theme is interaction. Interaction is necessary for learning.  One way teachers interact with with their students is through asking questions.  Questions not only relay to the teacher what the students are learning or understanding, but also expand the children's minds.  Dr. Strange provided his students with many sources to learn how to ask the right questions.  After reading the articles and watching a couple of videos, there were five main tips for asking questions.

These tips are:

1. After asking a question, wait before calling upon a student

2. Randomly chose students to answers

3. Prepare and revise the questions that are asked

4. Ask open ended questions

5. Create an accepting atmosphere in the classroom

All of these tips are essential for asking the right questions; however, I payed special attention to preparing and revising questions and asking open ended questions.  First, preparing and revising questions is vital to improving the learning experience.  Maryellen Weimer wrote Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom; in this article she describes how she has improved her questions in the classroom.  She tells the reader that when she first started teaching she did not realize the importance of preparing the questions she would ask.  Some may think that the perfect questions will just come to them in the moment.  This is a poor way to go about asking questions.  Weimer explains to her readers that if the teacher just asks questions off the top of his head it could come out as jumbled thoughts.  Poor question planning will only confuse the students rather than helping them understand the material being presented.  This hinders the learning experience.  In addition to preparing questions, a teacher must revise the questions he is asking.  Reflection and revision will clear up any ambiguity in the question, as well as weed out the crummy questions that the teacher had prepared.  Asking questions is like writing a good essay.  A well written essay is not just thrown together in the moment it is due.  It begins with an outline (this is the preparation stage), then body paragraphs are formed, then the essay is revised, draft after draft (the revision process).  My sociology professor Dr. Freed taught me the importance of writing in drafts.  One day in class he brought in a piece of writing he had been working on.  It was covered in red ink corrections and this was draft number 25! Nothing is ever perfect; sometimes, it takes stepping away and coming back to your writing many, many times before it says what the author wants it to say.  Lastly, while reflecting upon questions that have been asked, the teacher may fancy a question that a student has asked.  The teacher may then use the question as an example in the next class.

Secondly, asking open ended, or divergent, questions is a great way to open the student's minds.  Many times teachers get into the habit of asking only convergent questions.  Convergent questions are those in which there is a specific answer (yes, no, names, dates, etc.).  For example, who created the Anglican Church?  This something that is important to know, but it does not require the student to delve deeper into the subject matter.  Instead, the teacher may ask "Do you agree with the reasons as to why King Henry VIII started the Anglican Church?"  This is a divergent question.  Divergent questions require more thinking on the student's part.  There is no concrete correct answer, more than a yes or no question.  A video by Thoughtful Classroom demonstrates that open ended questions help the children in four areas: mastery, understanding, self expression, and interpersonal thinking.  The video gives tips on how to ask divergent questions more effectively through several techniques.  Some of these techniques are Think, Pair, Share, using a learning log, drawing pictures, and again waiting after asking questions and the random calling upon a student.  Randomly calling on children is an important part of asking questions because it gives every student a chance to respond to the teacher and interaction is an essential part to the learning experience.

Peer Editing

Peer editing is an important part of the writing process.  The image above is from a slideshow called Peer Editing with Perfection! Tutorial.  After reading through these slides and watching two other videos two tips really stick out in my mind.  The first being to stay positive when reviewing another student's work.  This is really important because even though one may think another's work is of poor quality, it is still something that they probably worked really hard on.  In the video about the top ten mistakes of peer editing the little girl reminds viewers of this by giving the example of Mean Margaret.  Even if it is hard, the editor needs to compliment their peers.  I like to think of a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down, when peer reviewing.

The second aspect of the videos and slideshow that really stuck out to me was in the suggestions section.  My roommates had a discussion about peer editing when I told them that was what the blog was about this week.  We decided that majority of the time peer editing was not helpful when people are being forced because they do not take it seriously.  When not taken seriously the author gets comments back such as 'your paper is well written' or 'I like your writing style'.  Jean the Generalizer is not a good peer editor.  If one is not specific enough, their comments are not helpful and kind of infuriating.