Colleague & Student Feedback
The teachers I work with, provided me with ample quality feedback in regards to my imagine IT Project. My original plan included much more details around including the social sciences into my units. Through the use of primary and secondary sources to allow students to write argumentative papers. After speaking with my teammates who teach ELA and Social Studies, I was super ambitious. They suggested that instead of going through the DBQ process, that I chunk the students social learning. Providing them with smaller, more digestible research projects. This would allow for students to also discuss their findings in the social view while they're learning the science that correlates with what is happening in society.
The students in my focus group were very honest, as well as thoughtful. They suggested that their weekly homework be tied to the societal perspectives of the science being learned. I was taken a back that they were willing to complete homework that's not directly practice or reiterating what was learnt in class. They also suggested that towards the end of the year, they can start teaching other students, across the school, the relationship between science and society.
Some of the changes I intend on making are; shifting the DBQ project mentality to smaller projects that connect to the science content and what's happening across the world, as well as creating some sort of platform for students to share their learning and views of the societal issues that connects to their science learning. I'm hesitant to provide homework around this project, mostly because homework completion rates across my five class is low. I do think however, it would be beneficial in a "flipped" classroom sense to have students doing some of the work at home before we dig deeper as a group.
I think as I reflect after interviewing my focus groups and thinking about the progress my project is making, the most important change/adjustment I need to make is commit the time to this. I was surprised when my students completed their first unit survey of the unit and learning that they want to learn more of how this relates to problems around the world or how they can take action to positively affect the issues.
The students in my focus group were very honest, as well as thoughtful. They suggested that their weekly homework be tied to the societal perspectives of the science being learned. I was taken a back that they were willing to complete homework that's not directly practice or reiterating what was learnt in class. They also suggested that towards the end of the year, they can start teaching other students, across the school, the relationship between science and society.
Some of the changes I intend on making are; shifting the DBQ project mentality to smaller projects that connect to the science content and what's happening across the world, as well as creating some sort of platform for students to share their learning and views of the societal issues that connects to their science learning. I'm hesitant to provide homework around this project, mostly because homework completion rates across my five class is low. I do think however, it would be beneficial in a "flipped" classroom sense to have students doing some of the work at home before we dig deeper as a group.
I think as I reflect after interviewing my focus groups and thinking about the progress my project is making, the most important change/adjustment I need to make is commit the time to this. I was surprised when my students completed their first unit survey of the unit and learning that they want to learn more of how this relates to problems around the world or how they can take action to positively affect the issues.
Mind Map of Society Marquette School of Excellence 7th Grade Students - October 2016