How to Assess Creativity in the Classroom

Usually when I have a creative assignment in my classroom, my assessment is at the end and it is usually a written quiz on a piece of paper, or questions they answer on a note card. I occasionally do informal checks while they are working on their project, but I always thought it was not enough. The Maker Education Movement has taught me to think outside the box on how I can create student-led projects that will allow me to stay on pace, but give the students options on how to learn the material. One piece of information that stuck with me, was from Grant Wiggins when he stated that, “The more we focus on impact… the more students can practice, get feedback, and self-assess and self-adjust on their own” (Wiggins, 2012). To me, this means that they need to have constant feedback throughout the project with mini assessments throughout.

It was then that I had to ask myself, as an educator charged with the assessment of student learning, how will I assess my student’s creative problem solving during maker-inspired lessons? My ideas have come to my ‘teacher brain’ with guidance from articles and videos by Gee, Wiggins, and Isselhardt.

My first thought came from my experience in proctoring exams. Whenever there is a rubric attached, I rarely see my students use it to guide their assignments. My first order of business would be to create a rubric that is easy to follow and stays practically the same throughout the year, only modified to the different assignments. I would spend the first few weeks of school teaching how to read a rubric, bring up different examples from different subjects and explain the importance of a rubric. I would then give out different rubrics to groups of students and have them practice figuring out how to create an engaging project. This idea came from when James Paul Gee was interviewed and stated that, “students need to be able to solve problems and solve problems collaboratively in a group where the group is smarter than the smartest person in the group” (2008). Students need to be taught how to work in groups, so that would be my first type of rubric. Teaching them how to assign each member a task (time keeper, on-task manager, materials, etc.) will help them realize that everyone has a part and it is not up to just one or two people in a group to do all the work. I want to include a rubric for students to rate their teammates on a scale of 1-5 (with explanations). This can help them keep each other accountable.

I then had to get into the meat of the student-led project assessment. I really enjoyed Wiggins creativity rubric. I could use his as a guide to create a rubric that is easy for my students to understand expectations. I will also include examples for what success and failure would look/sound like. I think teachers get reluctant to inform students that they could ‘do better’. I enjoyed how Wiggins put this into words, “We don’t have to say “boring” but we should certainly say if the readers were not engaged, shouldn’t we? They [teachers] reluctantly agreed – and found that their students easily understood the difference between “engaging” and “not engaging” and accepted the assessment criterion as common sense. Oh, you mean you don’t want it to be dull and boring, said one kid? Uh, yes. Oh, we didn’t think that mattered in school writing, said a girl. Exactly” (2012). It is better to be honest with students than lead them to believe they are succeeding.

The final piece to making student-led projects working successfully is collaboration. Eric Isselhardt explained how teachers collaborated and met daily to figure out the best plans for their students. Isselhardt explained, “we are attempting to dissolve the distances between individual teaching methods and dramatically expand the notion of what a classroom can be” (2013). Student-led projects can bring a whole school together, which in turn can help students learn the importance of helping others and helping themselves get a great education, making school a place they want to be at!

 

References:

Gee, J.P. (2008) Retrieved April 25, 2018, Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/video/big-thinkers-james-paul-gee-grading-games 

Isslehardt, E. (2013, February 11). Creating Schoolwide PBL Aligned to Common Core. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/PBL-aligned-to-common-core-eric-isslehardt

Wiggins, G. (2012, February 3). On assessing for creativity: yes you can, and yes you should. Retrieved from http://grantwiggins.wordpress.com/2012/02/03/on-assessing-for-creativity-yes-you-can-and-yes-you-should/

Final Reflection on Maker Education

CEP811 has been all about being creative and learning how to assess students on creativity. It gives students a chance to choose how they want to learn material and gives them more of an opportunity to work together and teach each other. Learning about all the different ways to bring creative activities in the classroom has helped me broaden my thinking as I plan my lessons. All students can be creative, if given options and have the proper guidance to succeed. Technology is definitely helpful, but it does not have to be an expensive lap top or iPads for every child. It can be as simple as finding resources around the classroom or school, so cost does not have to be a factor. I have learned to be more creative and think outside the box when planning lessons. For the final piece of my reflection, I have written a sonnet to describe what I have learned about the Maker Education Movement. I hope you enjoy it!

Maker Education Sonnet

#MakerEducation Infographic

How many times have you done a hands-on lesson in your classroom? Did the students get to choose what they were doing? Were your students engaged and focused throughout the activity, or did they see no point in the lesson? I have often asked myself these questions when doing a science lab. Sure, some students enjoy it but do not connect it to the objective, some enjoy it and connect it to the objective, but there are other students who could not care less if they did an activity or just took notes in class. The #MakerEducation movement really allows students to choose their own path. Not only can Makerspaces be used in the classroom, but they are in communities around the world. I was so excited to learn of the Makerspace in Detroit, MI- a field trip that could benefit my students, even if we could only attend for a day. Just to get my students out of the classroom and construct their own ideas, away from the curriculum and fast pacing of our school, could really get my students thinking differently on how to present information.

The MakerEducation movement may seem like a lot of work at first if implemented in the classroom, but in the end, it will benefit all the students who are at different learning levels. Richard Culatta’s first challenge on his Tedx Talk resonated with me the most…and not for a good reason. I have fallen into the pattern of ‘treating all learners the same’ (2013). I teach the same lesson to all of my students, sometimes just to stay on pace, and it hurts those students who fall behind. Having a more ‘open’ and student led learning style could not only help my students learn how to collaborate together better, but also teach each other information that I may not have successfully taught to every student.

Check out my infographic on why #MakerEducation is important in the classroom.

References:

ISTE Standards for Students. (n.d.). Retrieved August 15, 2015, from http://www.iste.org/standards/ISTE-standards/standards-for-students

Reimagining Learning: Richard Culatta at TEDxBeaconStreet. (2013, January 10). Retrieved January 23, 2018, from https://youtu.be/Z0uAuonMXrg

Sheridan, K. Halverson, E.R., Litts, B.K., Brahms, L, Jacobs-Priebe, L., & Owens, T. (2014) Learning in the making: A comparative case-study of three maker spaces. Harvard Educational Review, 84(4), 505-565. /content/SS15/CEP/811/SS15-CEP-811-733-97EFZZ-EL-14-204/Sheridanetal_ComparativeCaseStudyofThreeMakerSpaces_2014.pdf

(re)Designing a Classroom using SketchPro

My school is a charter school where the philosophy is that for the teaching part and assessment part, the desks should be in rows, all students facing towards the front. In the group practice part, we can move the desks wherever we need to.  It can become quite frustrating when I am trying to conduct a lab, since we do not have a science lab room.

Due to the size of the room and desks, it is very difficult to rearrange a room to be a more learning centered environment. My school also has to deal with connecting walls, that do not open anymore. I know in P. Barrett et al., “Building and Environment” he stated that “air quality, temperature, and sound are important but did not rise to the top of the analysis… (2013, p.687)” I can safely say in my school, they do have an impact. Most of the time, sound from other classrooms is heard daily. The connecting walls let sound in quite a bit. Because of this, the only place the Smart board can go, is at the front of the room so I have to use my rectangle room width wise instead of length wise. Also, temperature control is an issue at our school. There is no air conditioner, so the fall and spring seasons are really warm. In the winter, more often than not a window is cracked open because the heat is too hot and if it is turned down, it quickly gets too cold.

Thinking about this, and how “the ‘average pupil’ in the worst class had a predicted weighted progress of -0.82…[and] placing this ‘average pupil’ in the best class would result in a weighted progress value of 1.1 (2013, p. 687)” gave me ideas in my (re)design of my classroom to add features such as a room air-conditioner. I also added a “thicker wall” on the left and right so that sound from other classrooms does not interfere as much. As for the “six parameters [that influence student growth] colour, choice, connection, complexity, flexibility, and light (2013, p. 687),” I decided not to use the overhead lights that we have, high fluorescent lights that tend to give me a headache, sometimes, by the end of the day. I chose to put four identical lamps with multiple movable lights that can light up the room with the proper LED light. I also chose to use partner tables, even though Colleen Lee (2014) stated that, “…the [partner] set up clearly still said ‘Focus on the teacher – and then shift to practicing with your partner’ (but remember who is in charge!)'” I had a plan. In the small rooms that we have, I thought that if the tables were easy to move, as were the chairs, then making small groups would take no time at all. The chairs that I chose have wheels, the idea from The Third Teacher (2010) that students should be able to move around to increase their ability to concentrate, but also has features that would allow them to adjust the chair to their proper height. This would give the students a choice on how to set up their own chair. Then, when group activities happen, moving the tables and chairs would go much easier than moving connected chairs and desks. I have also posted a display board to post exam scores and exemplary class work from any class so my students and I can track their progress (The Third Teacher, 2010).

 

The cost for the innovations I would want may be too much for our school. The tables, we may be able to find at a thrift shop or from what what we already have. The chairs are the biggest problem. On Amazon.com, the cheapest chairs come at about $20-$40 a piece, which is only for one classroom, the smallest size at that. Although the cost may inhibit many factors I want to incorporate, I know that these changes would positively benefit my students and create a learning centered environment that could increase their average growth as they make their way from eighth grade into high school.

References:

Barrett, P., Zhang, Y., Moffat, J., & Kobbacy, K. (2013). A holistic, multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on on pupils’ learning. Building and Environment, 59, 678-689. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2012.09.016

Lee, C. What Your Classroom Setup May be saying to Students. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.schoolleadership20.com/forum/topics/what-your-classroom-setup-may-be-saying-to-students-by-colleen-le

The Third Teacher. (2010). TTT Ideas Flash Cards. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/v25rRA

 

 

Maker Lesson Plan

This week I had to get myself out of the idea that a lesson that is hands on does not make it meaningful if there is no reason behind it. I began thinking about this a lot after reading a chapter from the book “Understanding by Design” (Wiggins, et al. 2005). The first chapter goes in depth of how to plan a lesson backward. I have done a good job of doing that throughout my years of teaching, but at some point I have lost some engagement with my students. I take pride in my hands on lessons, and there is a lot of prep work and clean up afterwards, but I lost the ‘why’ in my lessons. Why are my students doing this? Do they understand how this hands on lesson connects to the objectives? Creating this lesson ‘brought me back to life’, so to speak. I finally think that I have found a way to engage all of my students and let their creative minds do the work.

One of the statements from Wiggins, et al. that stuck to me was, “the error of activity-oriented design might be called ‘hands-on without being minds-on’- engaging activities that lead only accidentally, if at all, to insight or achievement'” (2005, page 16). It really made me think of all my hands-on lessons from the past that my students thought were fun, but then there was no great discussions afterwards on how it connected to the objective of the lesson. I hope that this lesson plan will show you that learning can be done not just through teachers, but by students as well.

Please feel free to leave any comments or feedback!

Learning…what is the definition?

After watching a Tedx Talk on Re-imagining Learning by Richard Culata (2013) about how technology can impact student learning on a more individual basis, I began thinking about how I teach in my classroom.

As I found myself thinking about how to make my science lessons relevant to my students, I came across an article about turning a classroom into a personalized learning environment. The author, Robyn Howton, wrote that, “The journey from old school to new learning paradigm was bumpy at first. I tried blended lessons that took less time than planned, had technology failures, chose the wrong method of delivery for various types of content or skills, and generally made every mistake you can imagine. But I didn’t give up, and eventually I had more successes than failures. My students’ input and further pedagogical study helped me refine my lesson planning until I got it right (2017).” I have to do a better job of allowing my students to help me teach and teach each other.

Howton has done a lot more research than I have done, by joining Rodel Teacher Council and the BRINC Consortium (a group that implements blended learning) that gave her more insight to how she wants to teach using personalized learning. Howton then broke down her article into how to use the technology you have, even though she found that, “technology itself plays the smallest role in providing personalized learning for my students (2017).” She does not have as much technology as my school, so it helped me appreciate what our school can provide. Throughout my reading, I found that just going off my textbook and making PowerPoints may not always be the best method. Sometimes, I need to open my lessons so the students have more choices. Howton states that, “…allowing them [students] to choose their own learning pathways and complete the activites in order that makes the most sense to them (2017).” I have found that I get into the habit of teaching all students the same lesson, while differentiated I could find other ways to have my students learn.

To me, I have learned that teaching is not about the curriculum, it is about showing students the importance of learning and teaching them how their brain works. I absolutely loved the idea from Culata that schools use technology to create a ‘specialized’ schedule for students. I have struggled to teach the students who need more or the students who need me to slow the curriculum down. I will admit, I excel at teaching the students who are ‘at level’ with what I am teaching. Culata’s Tedx Talk has made me think about how I can better teach students at all levels. Natalie Abel, author of “What is Personalized Learning? (2016)” put my thoughts into words almost perfectly,  “The purpose of personalized learning is to open student pathways and encourage student voice and choice in their education. Differentiation is a key part of personalized learning, and it is essential in education. In personalized learning environments, educators seek to meet each student within their own zone of proximal development. Without personalization, there is a gap between the individual student, their learning, and the support they need to succeed in a way that makes sense to his/her interests”. Abel’s article goes more in depth on how to look up and embed personalized learning in a classroom. She includes different resources to further look into and includes elements of personalized learning. This article was really helpful at giving me a good place to start in researching more into personalized learning.

By listening to Culata’s TEdx Talk and the two articles I have found, I know that my Squishy Circuit lesson will be more personalized than my current lessons. I can better use this technology, and more like it, in my classroom that is relevant to the material, hands on, and personalized for all of my students.

 

References:

Abel, Natalie. “What is personalized learning?”. 2016. Retreived from: https://www.inacol.org/news/what-is-personalized-learning/

Culatta, R. (2013, Jan). Reimagining Learning [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Z0uAuonMXrg

Howton, Robyn. “Turn your classroom into a personalized learning environment.” 2017.  Recieved from: https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=416

 

 

Thrifting with Squishy Circuits

Using technology in the classroom is always fun, but at times it is not used properly. Doing research on the best ways to incorporate technology is beneficial to my students so they can get the full effect of the lesson. Educators must bring together Technology, Pedagogy and Content in an original, innovative manner (P. Mishra, 2012). This project has allowed me to see a bigger picture of just having labs and moving on. Incorporating and teaching new technologies is just as important as the learning concepts. The more that students understand how to use different technology, the more relevant they can relate it to the lesson to show why it is an important component in what is being taught.

What I thought was really interesting in Punya’s article, was thinking of a crayon as a technology (2012). But when thinking of the definition of technology (2018), that is just what a crayon is. I use a lot of different technologies in my classroom that I was unaware I was doing, such simple things as flashlights, construction paper, and even food! This project, goes right along with how I love to teach my lessons. Teaching science gives me a lot of options to create engaging lessons that are hands on. That is why when I found the Squishy Circuits kit, I knew that was the direction I wanted to head in. When I first looked into it, I found that it was a circuit maker. I teach circuits in fourth and sixth grade at the beginning of the year. I am lucky that my school provides some materials for different labs and so I knew that I had extra materials in my science room.

The materials that I ‘thrifted’ all came from the extra items I had in my science room. They include the following:

1. Extra wires to make more connections
2. Batteries with battery holders
3. Construction paper to design their ecosystem box
4. Small to medium left over boxes from the lunchroom and my science kits
5. Coloring pencils and crayons

When I began playing around with the tools and looked through some project ideas and videos, an idea struck me when I watched the squishy animals video. I am also teaching an ecosystem unit for sixth grade so I decided to connect the standards, that normally do not connect. The circuit building part will be more of a review for sixth grade, but the ecosystems part will be more relevant to their current class work.

In their project, students must follow the guidelines in the direction sheet that they will be given in class. This assignment will most likely take a few days, because my science classes are only 45 minutes, I only see some classes three or four times a week and there is quite a bit of set up and research needed by the students before they can start to construct their ecosystems.

One of the greatest aspects of teaching middle schoolers is how much they can do on their own. They love to take projects and make them their own, and then they get the experience of working with others to learn how to build teamwork and leadership skills. This project may have a lot of behind the scenes work for the teacher, but once that is done, the students get to take over and create their own project!

 

 

Here are some guidelines, along with a short instructional video, in case you are interested in trying this lesson in your classroom.

1. Besides the materials I found above (which may or may not be needed, depending on class size) you will also need a Squishy Circuits Kit. I found the deluxe kit on Amazon as well. It cost between $60-$75, depending on what you want. They also give directions to make more dough (which I will need to do), if that is needed (also depends on class size).
2. Laptops or computer access to look up information on series circuits.
3.  Explain the directions to them using the direction sheet (may be modified to however you want to use it). I am going to have it printed and pass out to students then go over it together. Using visuals (like the following clip, may help students understand better)
4. Depending on what you prefer to do, have the class split up into groups no larger than 4.
5. Let the students gather their materials, I normally have a material person in the group, or have the items laid out for them before class begins.
6. Let the students show you their creativity and knowledge of ecosystems and circuits!
7. Assist where needed 🙂

I hope your students have a wonderful time with this project! Leave a comment below if you have any more ideas or want to share your experience.

References:

Circuits, S. (2015-2017). Squishy Circuits. Retrieved from http://squishycircuits.com/projects/.

Circuits, S. (2015-2017). Squishy Circuits. Retrieved from http://squishycircuits.com/recipes/.

Circuits, S. (2015-2017). Squishy Circuits. Retrieved from http://squishycircuits.com/videos/.

Mishra, P., & The Deep-Play Research Group (2012). Rethinking Technology & Creativity in the 21st Century: Crayons are the Future. TechTrends, 56(5), 13-16.

technology. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Science Dictionary. Retrieved March 28, 2018 from Dictionary.com website http://www.dictionary.com/browse/technology

Remix for Makers

Throughout my teaching career, I’ve thought of several adjectives to describe my work; I never thought of myself being a ‘maker,’ until now.

I am a maker of learning. As a science teacher, the subject allows me to incorporate hands on and visual tasks in to my teaching. As a physical education teacher, I teach students to ‘make’ their own games or remix games they’ve played in the past and turn them in to a different game. I ‘make’ learning, inventions, and creations happen on a daily basis; as Dale Doughtry’s “We are Makers” (2011) stated “…they don’t even know why they are doing it”. To me, I take the statement as: “I don’t even know I am doing it. I just do. I am doing what I love to do, and my students feed off that energy.”

I have always tried to teach my students to be in charge of their own learning, to ask questions, and to care about their education. I do this because I love my students and that is why why they have and continue to tell me that they have thought of me as a motivator, mom, nurse, role model, etc. They know I care about them and their choices. I think if I showed them the ‘makers’ concept, ‘ each student would have a unique response: for themselves, teachers, family and friends.

This video has changed how I think about myself as a teacher, has given me another adjective to describe myself, and another adjective to describe how I impact the lives of my students as they continue to learn. Please enjoy a video that shows what I have done to create ‘makers’.

https://www.wevideo.com/embed/#1099630001

References:

(2016) Baars, Kim. Edtalks. Makerspaces. Retrieved March 18, 2018 https://vimeo.com/139988334

(2011, February 2). Dale Doughtry. We Are Makers. Ted Talks. Retrieved March 16, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlrB6npbwVQ

Final Reflections

As my first Master’s class at Michigan State University comes to an end, I’d like to reflect on what I have learned; this is only the beginning and I look forward to learning more about other aspects that will be beneficial as well. At my school, I have been known to use technology in ways that most teachers do not utilize and have opened their eyes to such tools like, socrative, BrainPop, and khan academy. I have always thought of myself as ‘tech-savvy’ but this course has helped me think about using tools in different ways to help my students and make me be a more effective teacher in the modern world.

Learning about TPACK helped me realize how well technology can be integrated in a lesson, if used correctly. For instance, from the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge states, “Similarly, today, knowledge of technology is often considered to be separate from knowledge of pedagogy and content. This approach can be represented as three circles, two of which (content and pedagogy) overlap as described by Shulman, and one circle (technology) stands isolated from these two” (Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J.,2006, p. 1024). From that, I knew that technology was where I needed to create a stronger front; figuring out how to use tools that were not ‘made’ for the task at hand. My experience with TPACK, also gave me the experience of knowing that there are tools that can be used in different fashions, if given the opportunity for students to explore their own imaginations.

Another aspect that stuck out, and made me go outside my comfort level, was having to use YouTube and help forums to learn a new task. The task was to choose to learn something new, and since I normally do not cook, I chose to learn to cook a dish I love: shrimp scampi. Starting my endeavor, I knew using Google and YouTube were not strong suits of mine, so it took me longer than expected. I enjoyed the experience and found that my research skills improved my ability of finding sources that will help me achieve my final goal.  From looking at so many different Google and YouTube sites, I realized how important it is that students can decipher the correct sources given the amount of information available. For example, Will Richardson states in his blog, The ‘Future of Learning‘, “What has changed is this: learners now have more agency, more choice, more control over the what, when, why, and with whom of learning than ever before. And if you’re thinking about the future of schooling, think more of that. More agency, not more technology” (2017).  As a teacher, it is important to teach my students how to think about where they are receiving their information and what is relevant.

The last aspect of my learning came from David Allen’s “Getting Things Done”. During this course, I have had to learn to balance my time between completing my assignments, while continuing to put forth my best efforts in my career. David Allen’s list idea gave me insight on how to stay focused and organized; the idea of having seven types of primary lists, such as a project list, calendar actions, and even a ‘someday/maybe’ list has been a stepping stone to keeping my mind relaxed and organized (Allen, 2001, p. 140).

I look forward to learning more about how technology can be used in the classroom as it continues to evolve because it will help me be a better teacher.

References:

Allen, D. (2001). Getting things done: The art of stress-free productivity. New York: Penguin.

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. Retrieved from http://punya.educ.msu.edu/publications/journal_articles/mishra-koehler-tcr2006.pdf download .pdf

Richardson, Will. (2017). The “Future of Learning” Isn’t. Rerieved from https://willrichardson.com/future-learning-isnt/.

 

 

Peanut…peanut butter and jelly!

I recently made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches using tongs, a plate, and a small bowl. At first, I thought the tongs would be a problem and would want a knife but it turns out the tongs worked great! Since there are two parts to tongs I could easily use the peanut butter for one side and the jelly for the other. I did not have bread, so I used English muffins instead.

Because of the tools I had to work with, it made me think of the article from, On Learning to Subvert Signs: Literacy, Technology and the TrACK Framework: “The kinds of knowledge teachers need to develop can almost be seen as a new form of literacy – as a collection of skills, competencies and knowledge of how to use (multi-) disciplinary knowledge, pedagogical techniques, and technological tools in their classrooms” (Mishra, P., 2011).

It made me compare creating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with tools I normally would not use, to how my students think when given an assignment and do not have the tools they think they need (ex: phone, internet, book, etc.). My students forget their books at home or have lost them, and therefore lack the resources to succeed, but making this PP&J  helped me realize that there are other ways to get the same outcome, and it takes more imagination and ingenuity to accomplish a task. As a teacher, part of my responsibility is to teach my students how to take what they have and turn it into a masterpiece.

I think it is important to be able to take the technologies that are available today and use them productively in the classroom. One problem is, most teachers are not trained how to use them. Making this sandwich with tools chosen for me helped me see how I could accomplish a task with lacking resources. To me, the same situation occurs, when reading, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge, “the rapid rate of evolution of these new digital technologies prevents them from becoming ‘‘transparent’’ any time soon. Teachers will have to do more than simply learn to use currently available tools; they also will have to learn new techniques and skills as current technologies become obsolete” (Mishra, 2006, p. 1023).  To me, this means it is not only important to keep up with new technologies, but know how to use them.

 

References:

Kereluik, K., Mishra, P. & Koehler, M.J. (2011). On learning to subvert signs: Literacy, technology and the TPACK framework. The California Reader, 44(2), 12-18. download .pdf

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. Retrieved from http://punya.educ.msu.edu/publications/journal_articles/mishra-koehler-tcr2006.pdfdownload .pdf