Cycle 3

Lesson study team: Marina, Amanda, Gigi, and Mariangela.

Digital Portfolio Defense - Google Slides:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vPkVWuE7IlGMjFz8C5mc13OZRBBT2ltyltEIhkSnGfY/edit#slide=id.g225938e2722_0_25

Key things that our group hoped to learn from this lesson:

As teachers, we hope to learn how through UDL principals we might be able to cultive an inclusive classroom culture. We aspire all students are able to successfully learn in a learning environment that supports, challenges, and help them meet their needs and desired goals/outcomes. I haven't seen many classes where teachers present concepts in multiple ways, offer children multiple means of expression, and/or provide a variety of options for engagement in learning. I hope I better understand UDL principles and apply them with my students in my future classroom.

Equity goal:

• How do we cultivate an inclusive classroom culture that values the contributions of all learners through utilizing UDL supports?

Content Understanding goal:

• Students will recognize and understand various sources of food in their local communities.

Research Lesson topic:

• Students will explore foods from different communities as well as their own. Also, they will study food source.

Unit goal:

• The goal for this particular unit is: Students will be able to understand where our food comes from. Students will walk away from this unit having a clear understanding of food source. Before they thought food came from the supermarket, now they know food comes from diaries, fields, and animals.

Research Theme and Content Understanding Goal:

For our Research Theme, Students will explore foods from different communities as well as their own. For our Content Understanding Goal, Students will recognize and understand various sources of food in their local communities.

These are the students from my 5th grade class that I've been observing and collecting data from our PSDA Cycle's.

Focal students for Marina's class.

How research helped us guide our PDSA cycles and lesson?

Once we've crafted our Equity theme and we worked together on our Jamboard activity, we had some great ideas to try out in our cycles. Research helped us guide our PDSA's in a way that we understood the importance of designing collaborative learning experiences that were what we call 'group worthy task'. If it's not a task worthy of collaborating, why do we group our students? Also, research helped us be aware of the importance of leveraging students' need for connection with safe, dependable, structured and meaningful collaborative learning experiences.

• For our first PDSA Cycle: we tried out 'social buddies' technique. We want students to understand the importance of collaborating with others in a group worthy task. We want kids to be included and feel part of a group rather than excluded by others because they aren't 'smart enough', 'work hard enough', etc. 

Exit ticket/ thought provoking questions:

Do you think this task could be done independently or with a partner?

Do you think it would have been better if we’ve assigned roles? 

How do you learn best? Using visuals?

Do you feel you had a choice in this work?

Was your voice heard? 

What did you learn from the partner you worked with?

Do  you prefer to work alone or with others? 

What do you think your partner learned from you?

• For our second PDSA Cycle: we tried out 'status intervention' technique. We want students to recognize strengths in themselves and others, and celebrate them. We believe students engage with the content/task and strengthen peer to peer connections and relationships while building positive interdependence and working together towards a common goal.

Exit ticket/ thought provoking questions:

Was it a group worthy task? Did you see any positive interdependence? 

Did your partner contribute to the work? Or did you feel you had to do it all?

Did you learn anything from your partner? Could you mention one strength he/she has.

Think of yourself: what ability or strength did you portray in this task? 

Could this task be done independently? 

What do you think about the quote: ‘two brains think better than one’?

Last but not least, research and equity theme goal will guide our next steps. I've realized inclusion through UDL principles is way more than 'social buddies and status intervention'. Kids aren't excluded only because of their social identity and social status. Kids aren't able to access, use, and engage with a curriculum that supports and challenges abilities and disabilities of each student in the classroom. As we know kids are expected to accomplish certain content and skills in school but we often provide multiple pathways for them to be successful in their learning. As teachers, through UDL, we can present concepts in multiple ways, offer children multiple means of expression, and provide a variety of options for engagement with learning. By offering multiple means of representation, expression and engagement, we can say and show evidence of an inclusion classroom culture. 

PDSA data and lesson hypothesis:

PDSA Cycle 1

Here are some of teacher and students reflection after the cycle has been done:

• It would have been better if the task says: for this specific task, we need: a writer, a good listener, a note taker, an illustrator, etc. Define what’s needed for each task. 

• Everybody doing the same or watching the same video is boring. Every group could have watched a different video. As teachers, sometimes we don’t have as many resources as we would love to. 

• Some students need time to think on their own and then be able to share ideas with others in a group. Other students better understand the video by listening to their friends' conversations. 

• Students love to work with friends rather than alone. How to avoid side conversations or conversations ‘off topic’ to take place?

• We all had to design a sketch. We didn’t have any other choice. 

• Sometimes it is less intimidating to share ideas (and voice) with smaller groups rather than with the whole class. 

• We could set a rule ‘step in, step back’: all students must say something before a student shares for the second time. Students must wait for everyone else in the group to participate (say or do something). 

• By the end of the activity, they had to celebrate each other with ‘one thing’ they’ve done well. Just focus on what went well! No time for critique and peer feedback for now. The celebrations were done in public with the whole class.

PDSA Cycle 2

Here are some of teacher and students reflection after the cycle has been done:

• As teachers, we must be intentional about a task that is group worthy and a group with multiple abilities. Also, intentionally look for ways to tap on each student's strengths. 

• As teachers, we must know our students (their own and unique abilities and strengths). 

• As a classroom teacher, we want to build a classroom culture and community where there’s trust, positive interdependence, and collaboration rather than individualism and competition.

• Kids are starting to notice that there are tasks that can be done independently and others where they need to rely on others.

• Kids start to notice and celebrate the strengths and abilities of their peers. Start to create a classroom that invites all learners and with the belief that ‘everyone has something to offer that nobody else has’. 

• The  mindset is shifting ‘it’s not about who’s done first or who’s smart’ it’s about who knows how to work well with others and is able to ‘share the air’ with others. As teachers, we must celebrate other knowledge and skills that are not necessarily ‘too academic’. Students are learning how to recognize and celebrate others efforts and contributions.

Lesson Hypothesis: 

• If we leverage student curiosity with group- worthy tasks and leverage students need for connection with safe, dependable, structured, and meaningful collaborative learning experiences, then students are able to build positive interdependence, engage with others, build strong/solid relationships and cultivate an inclusion classroom culture.

• If students are offered with multiple means of representation, expression and engagement, then students might build independence and autonomy in their learning journey as well as experience success when meeting the desired and expected goals and outcomes. 

• If, we as teachers, try out peer buddies and multiple means of expression, representation and engagement, then students will be able to explore foods from different communities, recognize and understand various sources of food, and walk away with a clear understanding that food doesn't come from supermarkets but rather diaries, fields, and animals. Also, students will be able to cultivate an inclusive classroom that values the contributions of all learners through utilizing UDL supports (peer buddies and multiples means of representation, expression and engagement). This will result in a classroom where equity, inclusion and justice are at the centerpiece. Kids have equal access to content and are able to engage in multiple ways with the learning that is taking place inside of the classroom. Kids, no matter their abilities or disabilities, are able to learn and understand various sources of food. 

• Research has proven that 'when children enter a classroom that allows for multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression, they are able to develop and enhance their physical, social, and cognitive abilities in addition to building their levels of independence and local autonomy'. Last but not least, children come with the same desire to feel safe, competent, and secure in this new environment. UDL is a fundamental model that fosters these feelings of safety, competence, and security.

Observations for Lesson Study (TK 1 - Ms. Marina Lopez) 

I had to observe Zachariah:

'My goal for Zach is multifold: help him to participate successfully within a group, express his needs and concerns in constructive ways, and have equal access to the content'. 

The activity started with a read aloud about how 'maíz' is made. The activity is called 'el paseo' and students will be rotating from one station to another. Each station has a different type of food made of maíz. Students will be moving together with a buddy partner. Today I'll be observing Zachariah and Camilla. They will be visiting 5 stations with 5 different foods: tamales, tortillas, pan de maíz, pupusas, y arepas. In each stations students will be: listening to a brief story, seeing some visuals, tasting the arepas, pronouncing the words, splitting the word into syllabus, sharing their own thoughts and opinions if they liked it or not and why. We could evidence the use of UDL and equity in this lesson. Each station had a teacher or a parent helping the kids. By the end, every kid gets a stamp on their worksheet as a way of saying 'you've completed the task effectively'.

Station 1: 'Tamales' 

• Zac and his friend Camila started in this station. Zac uses his hands to clap and find out the number of syllabus that the word Tamales has. He smells it and then he tries it. He says 'I don't wan't it'. The parent can see how Zac doesn't like it.

Station 2: 'Arepas'

• Zac pronounces the word Arepas correctly. He uses the visual aid to better understand it. He's observation skills are great, always paying attention to what's happening. Zac shows 3 fingers, 3 syllabus for the word Arepas. He liked the Arepas, he ate them all. He says 'it's good'. He listens to Camila saying that she liked the cheese on it. Zac repeats queso too. 

Station 3: 'Pupusas'

• Zac smells the Pupusas and takes a look at it. He says 'Pupusas' a bit hard for him to pronunciate. He shows his 3 fingers and uses his hands to clap 3 times showing that he understands that the word Pupusas has 3 syllabus. He shows a thumbs up and says 'A mi me gusta'. 

Station 4: 'Tortillas'

• Zac likes the tortillas and shows a thumbs up. 

Station 5: 'Pan de maíz'

• Zac counts with his fingers up to 4 to say that Pan de Maíz has 4 syllabus. He says immediately after tasting 'that's sugar'. This was his last station. The teacher asks 'which was your favorite one?' he says 'Pan de maíz'. 

Closing:  'What's your favorite food?'

• He was paying attention to the teacher all the time. He raised his hand a couple of times to express how much he liked all the food that he tasted. The teacher is asking the students for the favorite food that they've tasted during the station activity. She uses tally marks to represent the number of students that like each of the foods. She makes sure kids know how to divide the word into syllabus, say the sound of the letter, and also uses counting and tally marks (math) too. 

We could see a lot of learning even though kids do not know how to read or write and they are learning Spanish. They love Spanish class and I could see how motivated and engaged they were. I didn't see too much interaction between Zac and his buddy Camilla. Even though Zac is learning Spanish just by seeing, trying to spell the word, to split it into syllabus, to move from one station to another, to use visual aids, to use stamps, to smell and try the food, I could say there was learning taking place. I could see how Zac enjoys this class, he was totally focused and engaged with the activity from the beginning till the end. The activity ends, kids favorite food (with the highest number of votes) is Pan de Maiz and tortillas. She closes with the essential question or big idea of the lesson: where is all this food coming from? not from the supermarket but from the land: el maiz. Leaves kids motivated and introduces a bit of what's coming tomorrow in class. Kids can leave the class wondering and staying curious to finding out new learnings soon. I would love if each station had an option to experience the food (the process of making/cooking it) with his hands. Include a bit of sensory details (how it feels). Definetely Zac's understanding happens when he has the opportunity to taste the food. I'm sure he will remember this lesson forever. UDL is a great tool when teachers want to reach of equity and allow all students to equally access the curriculum (content and skills). 

1. Emphasis on students’ thinking:

As teachers we must help and encourage our students to move from the mindset of 'individualism' to a mindset of 'collectivism'. Kids are learning how to work well with others. They tend to work independently within a group setting. Some students tend to do 'all the work' and others tend to 'feel excluded'. Lots of negotiation takes place within a group and students need to be able to learn all these skills too. Skills such as: peer to peer connection, showing empathy and respect toward the ideas of others, learning to negotiate, to actively listen to each other, to 'share the air', to welcome each others' voices, to allow choice within the group, to build positive interdependence, to engage in the task, to assign clear roles and responsibilities, to understand that everyone learns at different rhythm and pacing, etc. 

From the PDSA's cycles I could see how students prefer group work rather than independent work. This group work needs to have clear structure and assign roles to kids. In order to have high expectations and hold each student accountable, we as teachers need to share with students ahead of time our expectations, clear instructions and a model/example of the work that has to be done. Also, kids must know the why and purpose behind so there's higher engagement through out the task. Also, it is important to assign group worthy tasks that students feel the need to connect with others and build positive interdependence. Always make sure every kids contributions matter and is valuable. Tasks must be able to tap on kids multiple abilities. Tasks must be engaging so kids avoid 'side conversations off topic'. When working with others, it is important that kids recognize and celebrate each others contributions and strengths/abilities. 

2. Reflective practice: 

Idea 1: We aspire, as teachers, to support our students in their language and when working with others to think and make decisions from a ‘collectivism’ approach rather than a ‘individualistic’ one.

Idea 2 :How can we encourage peer to peer connections (through multiple abilities) in order to help students successfully participate in collaborative work and productive struggle?

Idea 3:How do we cultivate an inclusive classroom culture that values the contributions of all learners through utilizing UDL supports?

This cycle has been pretty confusing to me. Sometimes I feel lost and don't know where we are heading as a group and why. It took us a bit longer that I thought finding out UDL as a guideline for our inclusion and social justice piece. It's not easy to understand what UDL means. Our journey starts with our desire to help struggling kids feel included and valued by others within a group scenario. We started by supporting our students in shifting their mindsets of 'individualism' into a 'collectivism' approach. We want our students to learn how to work in groups and achieve a common goal together. So, as teachers, we wanted to design collaborative work for students to build and stregthen peer to peer connections. We know every kid has a desire to feel seen, heard and part of (sense of belonging) a group. Through research, we found that kids engage in collaborative work that they find 'worthy of collaboration'. Here is where, we as teachers, can build positive interdependence. Every student matters and contributes with their own strengths and abilities. As teachers, we must create and design group worthy task that invites learners with multiple abilities to contribute and add value to the work. Now, through our UDL research, we know that kids come to school with multiple abilities and schools must have a curriculum that every student can access, use and engage with as a way to achieve the desired learning outcomes and expectations. Research has proven that 'when children enter a classroom that allows for multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression, they are able to develop and enhance their physical, social, and cognitive abilities in addition to building their levels of independence and local autonomy'. Last but not least, children come with the same desire to feel safe, competent, and secure in this new environment. UDL is a fundamental model that fosters these feelings of safety, competence, and security.

3. Changes in beliefs and practices as a result of lesson study cycle  +

Future implications for my teaching practice :

When we think of 'collectivism' we think of group work. But, through UDL, we've found out that collectivism and inclusion is understood through the eys of multiple means of representation, expression and engagement in order for students to successfully achieve the learning outcomes.

I've learned that UDL and inclusion is much more complex than just 'social buddies' and 'status intervention'. Those are right tools and strategies to use at the beginning of the process. It's quite superficial if we say we use UDL by doing just this. I understood what UDL actually means when studying the UDL principles and how teachers might apply them in class with students. We know students come to school with a desire to feel safe, competent, and secure in their environment and we know students are able to develop and enhance their physical, social, and cognitive abilities but if we do not offer multiple pathways for students to feel a sense of freedom, independence and autonomy when setting learning goals and achieving desired outcomes, we aren't cultivating an inclusive classroom culture at all. Inclusion is not only about 'valuing the contributions of others', 'building positive interdependence', 'recognizing students' strengths and abilities', etc. We can do all of it but if kids don't have multiple ways to represent, express and engage with the learning then they are feeling excluded, not successful, disengaged, left out, left behind, etc.

As a teacher, yes I'll be doing 'social buddies' and 'status intervention' in my classroom and I'll be incorporating multiple means of representation, expression and engagement. 

• The first principle is ‘multiple means of representation’. This first principle has to do with ‘How we (as teachers) present information so we’re sure every child can turn it into usable knowledge?’ . As teachers, we need to make sure we present information in multiple ways to ensure all learners have access and learn. This means, make sure that every child can perceive, understand, and comprehend the information. Every child must be able to process information, put it together with background knowledge, organize it, and be able to turn it into usable knowledge. Besides presenting information, make sure that instruction, questions, expectations, and learning opportunities exist in various formats and at different levels of complexity, addressing a range of ability levels and needs.

• Second principle is ‘multiple means of expression’. The second principle has to do with ‘How do we ask learners to express what they know?’. When it comes to physical expression, make sure every learner has a way to physically act. You might probably see a difference between those who may not be able to physically do something vs. those who have incredibly good motor control. Also, teachers must provide students with options for expression and fluency. This means, learners are able to show evidence of their learning or mastery of a content through the use of different skills. It could be using symbols, writing, drawing, etc. For example: some are very fluent as speakers and very disfluent as writers. This principle also speaks about ‘executive functions’ having in mind that every learner is different when it comes to setting goals for themselves, organizing information that they will use to express themselves, planning their acts, and monitoring their progress. As teachers, we must provide alternative ways for those students who might struggle with executive functioning or are not yet good . These students might consider expressing what they know through writing, speaking, or drawing. In other words, to respond to individual strengths, preferences and abilities, teachers must provide a variety of formats for responding and demonstrating what they know; for expressing ideas, feelings and preferences as well as options in their use of materials. 

• Third principle is ‘multiple means of engagement’. The third and last principle has to do with ‘How do we motivate and engage students in learning?’. As we know, every student is different and not every student is engaged or motivated with the same kind of things. For some students a novel might be appealing while for others it might be threatening or distracting. For those with attentional difficulties might need different ways to engage with a particular task while others might easily self regulate. Once kids are engaged what’s harder is to sustain the effort and persistence till the end. If we want students to be internally driven, to self-regulate, to set goals for themselves, to determine what’s important for them, to be lifelong learners we must find out ways to facilitate it and make it less harder for them. We’ve seen many classrooms that are set poorly for students to sustain the effort and persistence we want in order for real, deep and transformative learning to happen. As teachers we might reflect upon our teaching practices and ask ourselves: what opportunities am I offering each and every student when it comes to attention, curiosity and motivation? Am I intentionally hooking my students' attention? Are they being motivated by the learning or task taking place in the classroom? Am I tapping into a wide range of  interests, preferences, and learning styles? Am I reaching out to different levels of scaffolding, repetition, and appropriate challenges? Basically this principal is all about ensuring all kids encounter a successful learning experience and maintain engagement throughout the learning journey.