Let Go of Curriculum

3

Free range learnersFree-range learners choose how and what they learn. Self-service is less expensive and more timely than the alternative. Informal learning has no need for the busywork, chrome, and bureaucracy that accompany typical classroom instruction.

FORMAL INFORMAL

You go where the bus goes You go where you choose

Jay Cross – Internet Time

MULTI-CHANNEL APPROACHSYNCHRONOUS

ASYNCHRONOUS

PEER TO PEER WEBCAST

Instant messenger

forumsf2f

blogsphotoblogs

vlogs

wikis

folksonomies

Conference rooms

email Mailing lists

CMS

Community platformsVoIP

webcam

podcasts

PLE

Worldbridges

http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/google_whitepaper.pdf

Shifts focus of literacy from individual expression to community involvement.

Students become producers, notjust consumersof knowledge.

TPCK Model

There is a new model that helps us think about how to develop technological pedagogical content knowledge. You can learn more about this model at the website:

http://tpck.org/tpck/index.php?title=TPCK_-_Technological_Pedagogical_Content_Knowledge

• 9000 School• 35,000 math and science teachers in 22 countries

How are teachers using technology in their instruction?

Law, N., Pelgrum, W.J. & Plomp, T. (eds.) (2008). Pedagogy and ICT use in schools around the world: Findings from the IEA SITES 2006 study. Hong Kong: CERC-Springer, the report presenting results for 22 educational systems participating in the IEA SITES 2006, was released by Dr Hans Wagemaker, IEA Executive Director and Dr Nancy Law, International Co-coordinator of the study.

SITE 2006IEA Second Information Technology in

Education Study

Increased technology use does not lead to student learning. Rather, effectiveness of technology use depended on teaching approaches used in conjunction with the technology.

How you integrate matters- not just the technology alone.

It needs to be about the learning, not the technology. And you need to choose the right tool for the task.

As long as we see content, technology and pedagogy as separate- technology will always be just an add on.

Findings

See yourself as a curriculum designer– owners of the curriculum you teach.

Honor creativity (yours first, then the student’s)

Repurpose the technology! Go beyond simple “use” and “integration” to innovation!

Teacher as Designer

Spiral – Not Linear Development

Technology USE

Mechanical

Technology Integrate

Meaningful

Technology Innovate

Generative

Shifts focus of literacy from individual expression to community involvement.

Connected Learning

The computer connects the student to the rest of the worldLearning occurs through connections with other learnersLearning is based on conversation and interaction

Stephen Downes

Connected Learner ScaleThis work is at which level(s) of the connected learner scale?Explain.

Share (Publish & Participate) –

Connect (Comment and Cooperate) –

Remixing (building on the ideas of others) –

Collaborate (Co-construction of knowledge and meaning) –

Collective Action (Social Justice, Activism, Service Learning) –

Digital literacies• Social networking• Transliteracy• Privacy maintenance• Identity management• Creating content• Organizing content• Reusing/repurposing content• Filtering and selecting• Self presenting

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http://www.mopocket.com/

Focus on Possibilities–Appreciate “What is”

–Imagine “What Might Be”–Determine “What Should Be”

–Create “What Will Be”Blossom Kids

Classic Problem Solving Approach– Identify problem– Conduct root cause analysis– Brainstorm solutions and analyze– Develop action plans/interventions

Most families, schools, organizations function on an unwritten rule…

–Let’s fix what’s wrong and let the strengths take care of themselves

Speak life life to your students and teachers…

–When you focus on strengths, weaknesses become irrelevant

Current approach is not working…

Shift to…

Have we replaced “doing” with “mastering skills”?

Have we subordinated our student’s initiative to a schedule we designed according to pragmatic factors other than their creative needs?

We require them to try and become interested in hours of listening to talking and there is little time for those students to express themselves.

Three Rules of Passion-based Teaching

• Move them from extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation

• Help them learn self-government and other-mindedness

• Shift your curriculum to include service learning outcomes that address social justice issues

1. Authentic task2. Student Ownership3. Connected Learning

http://bit.ly/lUxRIR

21st Centurizing your Lesson Plans

Step 1- Best Practice

Researchers at Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) have identified nine instructional strategies that are most likely to improve student achievement across all content areas and across all grade levels. These strategies are explained in the book Classroom Instruction That Works by Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, and Jane Pollock.

1. Identifying similarities and differences2. Summarizing and note taking3. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition4. Homework and practice5. Nonlinguistic representations6. Cooperative learning7. Setting objectives and providing feedback8. Generating and testing hypotheses9. Cues, questions, and advance organizers

Step 2- What Tool Fits?Web 2.0 Tools and Marzano

Developed by Stephanie Sandifer (author of Change Agency)

Web2.0 that Workshttp://web2thatworks.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

NECC Presentationhttp://web2thatworks.com/index.php?title=NECC

Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms DigitallyBy Andrew Churcheshttp://edorigami.wikispaces.com/file/view/bloom%27s+Digital+taxonomy+v2.12.pdf

http://www.techlearning.com/shared/printableArticle.php?articleID=196605124

Andrew has embedded 21st centurized verbs into the new levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.

What are specific strategies you use in your classroom for a particular discipline?

How do you do it?-- TPCK and Understanding by DesignThere is a new curriculum design model that helps us think about how to make assessment part of learning. Assessment before , during, and after instruction.

Teacher and Students as Co-Curriculum Designers1. What do you want to

know and be able to do at the end of this activity, project, or lesson?

2. What evidence will you collect to prove mastery? (What will you create or do)

3. What is the best way to learn what you want to learn?

4. How are you making your learning transparent? (connected learning)

It is never just about content. Learners are trying to get better at something.

It is never just routine. It requires thinking with what you know and pushing further.

It is never just problem solving. It also involves problem finding.

It’s not just about right answers. It involves explanation and justification.

It is not emotionally flat. It involves curiosity, discovery, creativity, and community.

It’s not in a vacuum. It involves methods, purposes, and forms of one of more disciplines, situated in a social context.David Perkins- Making Learning Whole

21st Century Learning – Check List

Project/Problem-Based Learning

Rigor without sacrificing excitement

Let’s do a KWLhttp://bit.ly/ip0yqT

What is Project-Based Learning?

• PBL is curriculum fueled and standards based.

• PBL asks a question or poses a problem that ALL students can answer. Concrete, hands-on experiences come together during project-based learning.

• PBL allows students to investigate issues and topics in real-world problems.

• PBL fosters abstract, intellectual tasks to explore complex issues.

How Does Project-Based Learning Work?

Select and research topic:• Make sure the topic is of personal interest to you and the students and that it is

based on their needs and developmental levels. Consult the state and local curriculum guides, teacher’s editions of textbooks, trade books on the topic, and other expert learners. Involve the children in planning.

Identify concepts/brainstorm topic:• Identify key concepts or subtopics related to the theme of the project. A semantic

map is an excellent way to visualize and brainstorm content related to a theme. Use K-W-L with the children for their input about what they want to know. Get ownership through their questions.

Locate materials and resources:• Locate diverse materials and resources related to the topic, i.e., children’s literature,

films, manipulatives, music, arts/crafts, resources, and people from your Web community. Utilize diverse global perspectives.

Plan learning experiences:• Develop a variety of learning experiences related to the topic. Include hands-on

activities using concrete objects. Plan for small and large group activities, learning centers/stations, independent research, exploration, problem-solving, using both divergent/convergent learning activities.

Use Internet resources and models when gathering materials and planning learning experiences.

– Online Correspondence and Exchanges: Involves setting up keypal (e-mail penpal) connections between your students, their online peers, and subject matter experts (SMEs) like scientists and engineers working in the field. Also includes the formation of learning communities.

– Information Gathering: These projects challenge students to use the Internet to collect, analyze, compare, and reflect upon different sources of information.

– Problem-Solving and Competitions: Online competitions are projects through which students must use the Internet and other sources to solve problems while competing with other classrooms. Student created learning products are an outcome.

– WebQuests and Artifact Creation: Online learning activities in which students explore and collect a body of online information and make sense of it – from an inquiry-driven approach.

– Online Conferencing: Students use asynchronous and synchronous learning environments or audio or video conferencing software to collaborate and complete various project objectives

Guidelines to PBL ContinuedIntegrate content areas:• Use a webbing approach to organize concepts and activities into

content areas: the arts, sciences, social studies, mathematics, literature, and technology. The goal is seamless integration of all content area learning within the planned activities.

Organize the learning environment: • Consider space, time, materials, learning experiences, teacher/learner

roles, methods of assessment and evaluation.Initiate integrated/interdisciplinary study:• Arouse students’ curiosity and interest with stimulating introduction.

Consider visual display of theme as well as introductory activities. Culminating activity:• Bring closure to the theme by concluding with an event. Incorporate

parent involvement, collaboration with other classes both in the school and the blogosphere, and allow students to use technology to enhance learning and celebrate success!

Assessment and authentic evaluation:• Use assessment and evaluation which may include the following:

“kidwatching,” observations, anecdotal records, checklists, conferences, informal interviews, rubrics and digital portfolios.

Question

• Take a real-world topic and begin an in-depth investigation

• Start with the Essential question(s).• Have students do a concept map with you

around the topic. (You have already created one during your planning)

• KWL• Questions from group to research

Plan

• Plan which content standards will be addressed while answering the question. (I start with my concept map, then I break into a topic map, then I match standards)

• Involve students in the questioning, planning, and project-building process. (I decide which areas I will teach and then I put them in cooperative learning groups of mixed ability and let them choice their area to become experts)

• Teacher and students brainstorm activities that support the inquiry.(I use a tic tac toe activity chart. Groups will choose three to do.)

Schedule• Teacher and students design a timeline for project

components.• Set benchmarks--Keep it simple and age-

appropriate.• Learning contracts help with individual passions.• Learning stations help support exploration and

discovery• Schedule individual and group meetings with you.• Schedule initiating and culminating events well in

advanced.

Monitor

• Facilitate the process.

• Mentor the process.

• Utilize rubrics and peer assessment/relfections

Assess

• Make the assessment authentic.

• Know authentic assessment will require more time and effort from the teacher.

• Vary the type of assessment used.• Electronic portfolios work well

(video, podcasts, and digital pics of work)

Evaluate

• Take time to reflect, individually and as a group.

• Share feelings and experiences.• Discuss what worked well.• Discuss what needs change.

• Share ideas that will lead to new inquiries, thus new projects.

Man is so made that whenever anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish. 

-- Jean de la Fontaine