Now that our collaborative unit is over it is now time to take a look back at our finished product and the processes involved. First, I must say that this unit seemed like a daunting project when we first began but I am very pleased with how it developed and turned out.
I have worked as part of a team as a professional teacher and as a student while in Wayne State program, and I think that working with Rachel has been one of the best partnerships that I have experienced. It always helps to know that the person you are working with is willing to do their share of the work, has new or different ideas then you own (but also is willing to listen to your ideas), and is responsible for getting their share of the work done on time. I hope that in the future all my collaborations will go as smoothly as this one has.
Working together to plan this unit, I was exposed to new technologies and ideas that I would not have thought of on my own. One such concept was Rachel’s idea to use wallwisher in our unit. When I look at technology to infuse in lessons I often focus my search to kid-oriented technology, but using this website (which was not designed for kids in mind) was a great way to organize what the student Knew, wanted to know, and learned (KWL) through the unit.
Looking back at the unit that we prepared, I am quite proud of what we put together. It is a unit that is different than what I have taught in the past, being technology rich and focused to higher achieving students. In my teaching experiences, my students have not have much access to technology and have been lower performing students. It was great to be able to plan a unit that used a medium that I would have liked my students to be able to use.
Even though I thought our unit was excellent, having other students in the class evaluate our unit provided me with feedback that has helped me to grow as an educator. As much as I thought our unit was a success, if I had to create this unit again there I would take what my peers had to say and make some small changes to our unit. This is an aspect of developing as a professional that I think is important for all educators.
As a person who likes to take control and be the leader of projects, I have learned that working collaboratively with another person who takes their responsibilities seriously and has a commitment to their profession definitely improves projects and units and helps me to grow as a professional. Overall this project was a success and gives me a positive view of collaborative planning that I hope to continue in the future!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Assessment
This project is really coming together! As of today all of our lessons have been uploaded to the wiki and we just have the final assessment and final touches to go. Throughout our entire project we have focused our lessons on meeting the essential questions and benchmarks and standards that we chose for this unit. We relied on the State of Michigan’s benchmarks and the AASL Standard for the 21st Century Learner in Action to guide us through the development of our lessons and we will continue to use these items to guide us in our assessment of the students.
To begin our unit we will have the students and teacher put together an informal K-W-L chart using Wall Wisher to use as a pre-assessment. This program which Rachel found allows notes to be shared, manipulated, and saved via the internet. Students will share what they know and what they want to know about Michigan’s geography at the beginning of the unit. As the unit continues we will change the notes to show what we have learned or still have questions about.
Throughout the unit we have incorporated many opportunities for formal and informal assessments. Students will continuously be completing papers, projects, and involved in discussions that will allow the classroom teacher to assess the students and make changes to the unit based on student needs.
For our final assessment we will have the students showcase their knowledge and understanding of both Michigan geography and technology by creating a classroom Michigan magazine and “Why Michigan?” commercial. The students will have a rubric for these two projects which will consist of items that relate directly to the benchmarks and standards that we chose to focus on. Members of our learning community will have an opportunity to view the student’s projects at open houses and other events during the year where we showcase student work.
As I have stated throughout this project, working with Rachel has been a great experience. I think that we have been on the same page throughout this lesson. We have both brought our skills and new ideas to this unit, and I am proud of the work that we have put together.
To begin our unit we will have the students and teacher put together an informal K-W-L chart using Wall Wisher to use as a pre-assessment. This program which Rachel found allows notes to be shared, manipulated, and saved via the internet. Students will share what they know and what they want to know about Michigan’s geography at the beginning of the unit. As the unit continues we will change the notes to show what we have learned or still have questions about.
Throughout the unit we have incorporated many opportunities for formal and informal assessments. Students will continuously be completing papers, projects, and involved in discussions that will allow the classroom teacher to assess the students and make changes to the unit based on student needs.
For our final assessment we will have the students showcase their knowledge and understanding of both Michigan geography and technology by creating a classroom Michigan magazine and “Why Michigan?” commercial. The students will have a rubric for these two projects which will consist of items that relate directly to the benchmarks and standards that we chose to focus on. Members of our learning community will have an opportunity to view the student’s projects at open houses and other events during the year where we showcase student work.
As I have stated throughout this project, working with Rachel has been a great experience. I think that we have been on the same page throughout this lesson. We have both brought our skills and new ideas to this unit, and I am proud of the work that we have put together.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Mid-Planning
Well, here we are in the middle of the semester and well on our way to this project. So far for me there have been ups and downs. Our project started off very well and me and Rachel have had a great working partnership so far. I would have liked to been further along with my portion of the assignment and planning on working on inputting the lessons early this week, but sometimes the universe has different plans. On Monday of this week my laptop crashed and I had to do a system recovery essentially erasing everything on my c:drive (including all my computer programs and work for this class and my other two classes). My computer is running again, but needless to say, I am a bit behind in everything. But, oh well life happens and I am glad me and Rachel had a good start to this assignment to begin with.
At this point, we have outlined the basics of the lessons on teaching Michigan geography which includes:
At this point, we have outlined the basics of the lessons on teaching Michigan geography which includes:
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Early Planning
Rachael and I are off to a great start! So far everything has gone very smoothly with our collaboration. We have decided to work on a third grade social studies unit which will focus on using geography to learn about the State of Michigan.
Our essential questions have been shaped by the Michigan Department of Educations Grade Level Content Expectations, as I believe it is important to follow these standards when planning instruction.
To develop this unit we have decided that Rachel will act as the SLMS while I will take on the role of the classroom teacher. In deciding these role dividing the division of tasks came easily. As we have decided that collaboration is an important part of working together on this unit, a few of the tasks we will be working together on a few of the tasks including: the essential questions and resources for the unit. As the classroom teacher I will be working on the school narrative and lesson plans, while Rachel has the responsibility for the assessments and benchmarks and standards. Although we have decided on these tasks, I think that Rachel and I have made efforts to help each other out where ever we feel it has been needed regardless of task division.
At this point I feel that we are off to a good start and have a positive collaboration experience so far. I am ready to begin putting the lessons all together and hopefully can get started with this piece of the unit started soon.
Our essential questions have been shaped by the Michigan Department of Educations Grade Level Content Expectations, as I believe it is important to follow these standards when planning instruction.
To develop this unit we have decided that Rachel will act as the SLMS while I will take on the role of the classroom teacher. In deciding these role dividing the division of tasks came easily. As we have decided that collaboration is an important part of working together on this unit, a few of the tasks we will be working together on a few of the tasks including: the essential questions and resources for the unit. As the classroom teacher I will be working on the school narrative and lesson plans, while Rachel has the responsibility for the assessments and benchmarks and standards. Although we have decided on these tasks, I think that Rachel and I have made efforts to help each other out where ever we feel it has been needed regardless of task division.
At this point I feel that we are off to a good start and have a positive collaboration experience so far. I am ready to begin putting the lessons all together and hopefully can get started with this piece of the unit started soon.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Preplanning
Hello everyone. Welcome to my journey of creating a collaborative unit plan for my LIS 7320 course (The Media Specialist as Teacher and Instructional Consultant). During this semester I will be working with another member of my class to create a unit plan, which hopefully can be used in future. Working in the role of the classroom teacher and Rachel in the role of the school librarian we are about to begin working together on this unit.
My hope is that working together on creating this unit I will gain experience collaborating with another educator, and will be more prepared and comfortable in this role in preparation for my future career. In creating this unit I hope that Rachel and I can work together productively and can share our experiences and knowledge to create well developed lessons.
There are a few things that I am worried about in beginning this assignment. When working collaboratively with a partner who you do not actually see on a regular basis (as we are working on-line) I worry that we may not be on the same page or may not communicate ideas as smoothly as one would with a person that you see in person. Although, I must say I am already impressed with Rachel's initiative and eagerness to begin working together on this project. Another fear I have, which is a constant in all my class work, is finding the time to complete this project to my best ability. I set a high standard for myself, and often find that balancing work, classes, and life can be overwhelming at times. In terms of the actually assignment, I do have concerns about what exactly should be included but I feel that these questions will be answered as the semester progresses.
I am very dedicated to school and growing as a professional. I find that my biggest strength when working in a group is my ability to outline what exactly needs to be completed and follow through. I also think that I am a very fair group member who a partner or group can depend on. In these classes I feel that my biggest weakness is trying to juggle school and work. So far every project that I have worked on in this program has been a success, but sometimes trying to find time to work together or decide on a time line has been difficult.
For the upcoming unit, I have already been in contact with Rachel about arranging a meeting where we will brainstorm ideas. I feel the most comfortable putting together a unit for elementary students, but would be open to focusing on a higher grade as I do want to become more comfortable with all grades and subjects.
I have been very lucky to know a LMS and teachers who I feel do an excellant job collaborating. The biggest lesson that I have learned from working with these individuals is that if you work together with a common goal in mind and you value your co-workers and your students the collaboration works much more smoothly. I have also worked with educators who did not have such a positive outlook, and did not work as a team but as separate classrooms in the school. I felt a strong disconnect in this type of environment and often felt as if I did not have anyone to turn to if I wished to collaborate. Working in this environment I learned that in my career I want to be open to collaboration and wish to work as part of a successful team. I hope that my partner feels that our collaboration will be successful and I look forward to starting this project.
My hope is that working together on creating this unit I will gain experience collaborating with another educator, and will be more prepared and comfortable in this role in preparation for my future career. In creating this unit I hope that Rachel and I can work together productively and can share our experiences and knowledge to create well developed lessons.
There are a few things that I am worried about in beginning this assignment. When working collaboratively with a partner who you do not actually see on a regular basis (as we are working on-line) I worry that we may not be on the same page or may not communicate ideas as smoothly as one would with a person that you see in person. Although, I must say I am already impressed with Rachel's initiative and eagerness to begin working together on this project. Another fear I have, which is a constant in all my class work, is finding the time to complete this project to my best ability. I set a high standard for myself, and often find that balancing work, classes, and life can be overwhelming at times. In terms of the actually assignment, I do have concerns about what exactly should be included but I feel that these questions will be answered as the semester progresses.
I am very dedicated to school and growing as a professional. I find that my biggest strength when working in a group is my ability to outline what exactly needs to be completed and follow through. I also think that I am a very fair group member who a partner or group can depend on. In these classes I feel that my biggest weakness is trying to juggle school and work. So far every project that I have worked on in this program has been a success, but sometimes trying to find time to work together or decide on a time line has been difficult.
For the upcoming unit, I have already been in contact with Rachel about arranging a meeting where we will brainstorm ideas. I feel the most comfortable putting together a unit for elementary students, but would be open to focusing on a higher grade as I do want to become more comfortable with all grades and subjects.
I have been very lucky to know a LMS and teachers who I feel do an excellant job collaborating. The biggest lesson that I have learned from working with these individuals is that if you work together with a common goal in mind and you value your co-workers and your students the collaboration works much more smoothly. I have also worked with educators who did not have such a positive outlook, and did not work as a team but as separate classrooms in the school. I felt a strong disconnect in this type of environment and often felt as if I did not have anyone to turn to if I wished to collaborate. Working in this environment I learned that in my career I want to be open to collaboration and wish to work as part of a successful team. I hope that my partner feels that our collaboration will be successful and I look forward to starting this project.
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