Personal Interview
VanDuyne, Ann. Personal Interview. 21 November 2008.
Beginning Teacher/Mentor Instructional Strategies Coach
Ann is in her thirty second year as an educator and her second year as a strategies coach. She has lead the mentor program for the last five years. She has identified reflective writing as a particular challenge for both beginning and seasoned teachers. Much of her time is spent with beginning teachers as they develop portfolio resources that will enable them to qualify for a teaching license in the State of Indiana.
Standards
Teachers of Early Childhood Standards
http://www.doe.in.gov/dps/standards/EarlyChildDevStds.html
The Indiana Department of Education has no shortage of standards. I find this set and the three following sets extremely helpful to use with cadet teachers.
Teachers of Middle Childhood Standards
http://www.doe.in.gov/dps/standards/MiddleChildDevStds.html
Teachers of Early Adolescence
http://www.doe.in.gov/dps/standards/EarlyAdolGeneralistDevStds.html
Teachers of Adolescence and Early Adulthood
http://www.doe.in.gov/dps/standards/AdolYoungAdultDevStds.html
Standards for Teachers of Career and Technical Education
http://www.doe.in.gov/dps/standards/careertech.html
Teachers of Library and Media
http://www.doe.in.gov/dps/standards/LibraryMediaContStds.html
Standards for High School Composition
http://dc.doe.in.gov/Standards/AcademicStandards/PrintLibrary/docs-english/2006-06-ela-hs-comp.doc
I chose to work with this set primarily because of comments I get from first year college students. Nearly all wish that they would have had more writing instruction while in high school.
Standards for Career and Technical Programs
Cadet teaching is classified as a careers class and our school receives funding from the Perkins Grant for every student enrolled in the program. Many of the standards here are excellent for authentic tasks.
Standards for the 21st-Century Learner
Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Standards
http://www.emu.edu/maed/INTASC.html
http://www.necollaborative.org/docs/intascchecklist.pdf
This set of standards forms the foundation of the cadet teaching program and this unit in particular. Knowledge and skills often come naturally with age and experience. The disposition of an efftective teacher, however, needs careful polishing in the refiner's fire. This unit focuses solely on uncovering the disposition of the teacher.
Books
Allison, Jay and Dan Gediman. This I Believe. Holt Paperbacks 2007.
Spanish translation of book available
http://thisibelieve.org/This_I_Believe_En_Espanol.htm
This popular National Public Radio series was the inspiration for this unit. It helped me define the end product -- i.e. Belief Statements. The Spanish version will be helpful considering one third of my students are Hispanic and new to English within the last five years.
Fletcher, Ralph and Joann Portalupi. Craft Lessons. Stenhouse Publishers 1998.
After critiquing one of my classmate's entries, she was less than positive and referred to her experience with teaching writing based on the works of Fletcher. I used to work with his ideas when I taught composition, but had not revisited them in quite some time. They are perfect for this unit.
Kuhlthau, Carol and et al. Guided Inquiry. Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited 2007.
If I saw this book in a bookstore, I would have cringed. I am fortunate that I bought it without looking at the cover. Though her introduction (as she describes her beach chat with her daughters on some exclusive shore) seemed to confirm my gut response to the cover, I soon grew to respect Kuhlthau's ideas and contributions. This book helped me shift my own thinking and understanding of inquiry in ways no other resource for this class did.
Stiggens, Richard. et. al. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning. Oregon: Assessment Training Institute 2004.
Two years ago I visited Alverno College near Milwaukee to meet with Mary Diez and Georgina Loacker. http://www.alverno.edu/ Anyone who is interested in getting a better understanding of authentic assessment should do the same. Diez gave me a copy of this text and I have used it countless times since. It covers the gamete. I used it for this unit to define appropriate and varied assessments.
Electronic Sources
8Ws of Information Inquiry
"8Ws of Information Inquiry." VirtualInquiry.com. 2 December 2008.
http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/ws.htm
http://virtualinquiry.com/inquiry/index.htm
First impressions were not so positive with this inquiry model. After experiencing it, however, and reading the teachings of Carol Kuhlthau, I became very interested in trying it with students. Kuhlthau emphasizes the importance of having an awareness of the emotional stages that students pass through in the research process. In my opinion, Lamb's visual word choices, makes the research process less stressful and more natural to students. I do not believe that inquiry has to pass through negative stages if it is structured properly. Toddlers may get frustrated with an object that is out of reach, but the process of learning to walk seems to be quite joyful to them. I believe the process of discovering anything new can be joyful if structured appropriately. I found the 8Ws put a playful spin on the inquiry process. It is all a matter of perspective. For this unit and future units, I have clustered the 8Ws together and slightly altered some of the wording to have more appeal to the teenagers with which I work. This unit only addresses Phase I. It is my plan, however, to build upon this unit as the year progresses. In my mind's eye, Phase II and Phase III are well underway.
Modified Version for this Unit (modifications made by Pounds appear in blue)
PHASE I: Wander and Wonder -- Take time to observe and think
Watching (Exploring) asks students to explore and become observers of their environment. It asks students to become more in tune to the world around them from family needs to global concerns.
Wondering (Questioning) focuses on brainstorming options, discussing ideas, identifying problems, and developing questions.
PHASE II: Webbing and Weaving -- Take time to look for some information and make connections
Webbing (Searching) directs students to locate, search for, and connect ideas and information. One piece of information may lead to new questions and areas of interest. Students select those resources that are relevant and organize them into meaningful clusters.
Wiggling (Evaluating) is often the toughest phase for students. They're often uncertain about what they've found and where they're going with a project. Wiggling involves evaluating content, along with twisting and turning information looking for clues, ideas, and perspectives.
Weaving (Synthesizing) consists of organizing ideas, creating models, and formulating plans. It focuses on the application, analysis, and synthesis of information.
PHASE III: Adapting and Applying -- Take time to interpret, apply, and share what you have learned
Wrapping (Creating) involves creating and packaging ideas and solutions. Why is this important? Who needs to know about this? How can I effectively convey my ideas to others? Many packages get wrapped and rewrapped before they're given away.
Waving (Communicating) is communicating ideas to others through presenting, publishing, and sharing. Students share their ideas, try out new approaches, and ask for feedback.
PHASE IV: Reflecting and Rethinking -- Take time to notice what you have learned, how your thinking has shifted, and how this process worked
Wishing (Assessing) is assessing, evaluating, and reflecting on the process and product. Students begin thinking about how the project went and consider possibilities for the future.
gliffy.com
The more exposure I have to this resource, the more potential I see in it. I used it in this unit as a tool to document and organize thoughts collected in a class discussion. I could easily see it becoming a tool that cadets use in a similar fashion to organize the ideas that emerge from our discussion circles. I do believe a pen and paper still works for brainstorming, but I think Gliffy is great for refining and organizing the brainstorm. Visually, it is appealing and professional.
Moodle
Rose-Hulman University hosts a Moodle server that is available free of charge. Their support staff are excellent -- answering phone calls and emails within an hour and often within seconds. The Moodle provides a stable and flexible on-line forum.
Literature Circle TeacherTube
"Literature Circles." TeacherTube.com. 2 December 2008.
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=a8ce66358eb576b8912c
This is yet one more resource that falls into the category of "first I didn't like it, but now I think it is great". Anyone wanting to see how a literature circle works will like this clip. It starts out slow, but it is fascinating to see the group's guard drop and their discussion soar. I bet they even surprised themselves in the end. If we can get more of our students experiencing that sensation, then we have real learning happening. A beautiful line from the popular Randy Pausch book The Last Lecture occurs on page 27 when he descibes his father. Pausch writes, " He encouraged creativity just by smiling at you. He loved to watch the spark of enthusiasm turn into fireworks." I believe a single child's spark of enthusiasm towards a book or an idea could turn into a Chihuly of fireworks in a group discussion. This Teacher Tube video sparked me.
This I Believe from National Public Radio
"This I Believe." NPR.org. 2 December 2008
http://thisibelieve.org/educationoutreach.html
The teacher resources on these links are impressive. I have used the series in a variety of ways with great results. High interest. High quality.