Week 4: Monitoring My GAME Plan
January 25, 2012
I believe that I have made good progress with my GAME Plan. I spoke with colleagues, tried the strategy of having students assign themselves jobs within a group, and learned alongside my students, a new piece of technology that will be very useful in lab.
So far I have found all the information and resources I need towards accomplishing my goal. I spoke with our librarian and she actually showed me how to use Prezi’s, so the students can use them in my class when we do presentations. By playing around and looking at examples of Prezi’s , I could see that this could be a great tool for my visual learners.
To prepare for my second goal which was to alter my lessons to best meet the needs of my students, I had the students do a simple genetics activity where they taped the names of genes on a coin and then tossed it 50 times and recorded the results of which genes came up the most. I had the groups assign jobs which included, coin tosser, number recorder, and a person to create a graph. This simple activity allowed me to observe the students in their group to see how they worked together and which jobs they assigned to each other.
A small modification that I needed to make was a matter of just changing a few group members around. A few issues arose and some groups really were not working well together and it was becoming a real problem and distraction. I made notes of this and will make sure that those students are not grouped together anymore. Students need to learn how to support each other in their group and not get caught up in drama (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).
I realized also that I need to give the groups a job list where they sign their names and write down a small description of their job. This will ensure that all work is “most equitable and productive” and that “no individual takes a dominant role” (Cennamo, Ross,& Ertmer, 2009, p. 90). The other groups worked very well together and I noticed that the artistic students chose to graph the data and made very nice graphs. The kinesthetic learners chose to toss the coin. The next and final step to my plan is to have the students carry out a lab investigation with their lab group. This investigation will have a variety of different activities where students can showcase their abilities.
After this activity I moved on to start accomplishing my first goal which was to work together with my students to learn new technology. For this lab I wanted to learn how to use the Vernier CO2 Gas Sensor. I went into the lab with just a basic plan, but not knowing how to use the gas sensor. Once we were in the lab I handed the students the CO2 sensor, a handout of the directions for calibration, and the lab handout with the procedure and some background information. I then gave the students all the materials to complete the lab and had them start. I explained to the students that I never used this technology and I want to learn together. I then challenged them to properly calibrate the sensor and then start the lab set up. Throughout this whole process I was walking from group to group and asking them questions about what they were doing. After visiting about 3 groups I knew how to calibrate the sensor. I even learned from a few groups how to properly handle and store the sensor. As students completed the lab I noticed that many of them were choosing to learn the equipment by trial and error. Students would do something with the sensor to see how it worked. For example, students started breathing on the sensor to see how the CO2 levels changed. I let the students do this, but monitored that they were on task and not just fooling around. They were actually interested in the results. Other groups were reading the directions very carefully and following the steps exactly, which is perfectly fine. By the end of the lab I learned how to calibrate the sensor and how to use it in the lab. Although this seems like a simple task, I know I can trust my students to work with this technology and we can move on to more complex labs and technology.
A question that has arisen is how I can teach students to work together as a group even if you do not get along with each other. This question arose from the incident I mentioned above. This one group did not get along at all and were fighting and arguing. I want the students to learn that you may work with something that you may not like but you need to overcome your differences and work through it. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) mentioned that teachers should “model effective problem-solving strategies and conflict resolution skills (p. 91). I usually try to do this, but I feel that my students need more practice. Any suggestions?
Kayla Shandra
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Kayla,
ReplyDeleteI think that you have made some really great progress with your GAME plan. I think that giving each group member a job will help keep your students the most productive as well as holding them accountable for their work (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). Will you make sure that each role has an equal amount of tasks? Will students switch roles or always keep the same one? Thinking out those little details can help streamline the process.
I also think that it is inevitable to have students in groups and not have disagreements. There always seems to be a group that argues and can't seem to get their work done in my experience. However, I think if you give the students roles, this will eliminate the disagreements. Since all students will be held accountable for completing work, they will work and this will cause positive group work. I think the disagreements stem from certain students not doing anything and other students doing all of the work. What grade do you teach?
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Danielle,
DeleteI teach 8th and 9th grade Life Science and Biology. I teach at a small charter school, so middle and high school are in the same building.
Kayla
Katie to Kayla,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, nice work on all the progress you have made with your GAME plan. I especially like how you learned right along with the students and you were honest with them from the beginning that you did not know how to use the equipment yourself. Students, no matter the age or grade level, always seem to want to help the teacher. You really made the students feel empowered by letting them learn along with you and even teach you themselves. What a powerful learning experience, thanks for sharing!
My GAME plan deals with researching new technologies and I have found several helpful sites simply by searching online. I decided to help you by typing in your concern about how to help students work cooperatively in groups. I came upon a Q & A forum where many teachers wrote in to help another teacher that had a similar concern to yours. There were some great ideas on this forum; such as creating, “team norms” that the students come up with, model and then follow for the rest of the school year (2009). Take a look at some of the other answers that people gave and hopefully this gives you some more ideas to try with your students. Good luck!
Reference:
How to teach students to work in small groups cooperatively? (2009). In Yahoo! Answers. Retrieved January 25, 2012, from http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080820165741AAbmR8c
Kayla,
ReplyDeleteYou've accomplished so much with your GAME plan. Isn't interesting that for everything we accomplish, new questions arise? Regarding your students who do not get along, I have been in similar situations! Occasionally, you will come across kids who just will not get along. I find 8th graders and sometimes 9th graders are particularly difficult. However, PBL philosophy (my classroom is Project Based Learning) says that everyone has to learn to get along with everyone (just like in the workplace – you don’t choose your co-workers, but you have to get along with them). So, my approach has been that all students must work at least once a year with everyone in the class. I usually leave the grouping up to the students as long as they follow that rule along with a rule that says groups change for each project. When I leave the grouping up to the students, they seem to begin with more determination to get along. Another guideline for groups is that there is a firing procedure for group members who will not contribute; there are mediation guidelines as well. It takes a project or two to get everything running smoothly, but it is possible, I promise! If you are interested, I can email you a copy of my student contract and guidelines that I use for each project. Yes, we should model resolution skills even though it’s not easy sometimes (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). You are exactly right, it takes practice!
Maggie
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Kayla,
ReplyDeleteYou are right. The only way to become better at anything is to practice. One suggestion I would offer is to have your students work together briefly every day. Even if they are not accomplishing a task together, they can still be communicating and discussing a topic while building appropriate communication skills. For example, every day I have my students paraphrase words, phrases or sentences. First we paraphrase an example together, then they do one with a partner, then they do one by themselves. Every day students are communicating with each other. Does this help – I like to think so. The more you do something, the easier it becomes. So, when we do get in groups of three, four, or five, I feel that students are more comfortable talking to each other; therefore, function better as a group. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer discuss how assessments can be used to help motivate students and build their confidence levels (2009). I think by allowing my students time to converse daily, it helps them work together and be more at ease with each other when group work is expected of them.
Of course, most teachers will have one or two students who do not want to be in a group. In most cases I would allow these students to work on their own. However, they still need to prove to me that they are capable of working with others throughout the semester. This is especially true in my English 10 class where one of the essential outcomes is public speaking and effective communication skills. In one of her books, Ruby Payne discusses the importance of getting along with other people. She mentions a shocking fact that helps students understand why they need to have good people skills. That fact is that over 70% of the people who get fired from a job – are fired because they could not get along with others. Share that with your class and see what they have to say!
Trev
References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Hi Kayla,
ReplyDeleteI understand completley your issues with students working together. I have several students in my class who just have a hard time getting along with thier peers, not only in group work, but all the time. Group work just seems to intensify it. I do not think there is any easy solution to this problem. There are some students who just struggle with working in groups. The only solution I have is to just keep trying. The only way they are going to become more comfortable with working together, is to work together. My students have gotten better at this since the start of the year, but it is a work in progress. Even though it is frustrating, group work is essential for kids to work at as it does provide a means to learning within real contexts as the real world is always 'group work'(Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009).
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integratins for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.).Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Melissa Stahr