EDUC 6713 - Monitoring My GAME Plan

Monitoring My GAME Plan

            Being an effective teacher means monitoring and evaluating our lessons and units of instruction to make adaptations to ensure student success. We also try to teach our students these strategies so they can become self-sufficient learners as they continue on in their educational careers. We can also employ these strategies when setting our own goals in our personal and professional lives. This week, I have continued to monitor and evaluate my GAME plan to see what adjustments need to be made to make sure goals are achieved.

            Let us revisit the goals that were established in Week 2 of this course and dig a little deeper to see what has been accomplished thus far.

Goal #1:

To utilize technology to track student progress on summative assessments to help students pinpoint areas of mastery and improvement.

NETS-T #1

2d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards, and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.

Finding Information/Resources Needed:

At this point, Google accounts have been created for all new and returning students so they can track their progress on paragraph assignments. The spreadsheet that I have created has also been shared with students so they can monitor their progress. Thus far, students have not entered any data because they are currently working on a paragraph writing unit and have yet to complete an assignment.

Changes/Modifications:

While this goal is centered around using technology to track progress, I have always found it is best practice to have a back-up plan. You never know when servers will be down or access to technology will be limited, so I would print out a copy of the spreadsheet for each student to keep in their writing folders.

What I have learned:

One of the aspects of this goal that I wanted to explore was to see if there was a better online tool, such as a gradebook or other tracking software that I could utilize to track progress rather than a Google Docs spreadsheet. After much exploration and reflection, I determined it was best to use the Google Docs account for several reasons. First, students use it for all school related projects, so they are familiar with the tools and applications. Second, all of our students already have Google Docs accounts so rather than adding another username and password (and website) for them to remember, I am going to stick with what works. Last, I wanted to explore the option of having parents access this spreadsheet. While parents do not have their own Google Docs account through our district, students can access their school accounts at home and share information with parents. The spreadsheets can also be printed out and shared with parents at conferences or IEP meetings.

New Questions:

After reviewing my plan, a new question I have is should I add information to the spreadsheet to address essay criteria? For now, the spreadsheet is set up to log progress on paragraph writing, which is an IEP goal for all of my students. We complete a paragraph writing activity at least once a month, so feedback and data would occur more often than essay feedback. (We complete 5 essays in a school year.) Further discussion with colleagues needs to occur to determine how to best address this.

Goal #2:

To model appropriate use of citing references on the Internet, and hold students accountable for using text, graphics, videos, and other media from the Internet by adding a “Citing References” section to their assignment rubrics.

NETS-T #2

4a. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

Finding Information/Resources Needed:

In week 2’s blog, Thomas Rozborski gave a suggestion for a lesson plan to use to teach students how to cite references (Mandy Derfler’s Blog, 2014). The ReadWriteThink.org lesson (n.d.) would be a great lesson to start the year to stress the importance of citing references. It would address one of the actions I outlined in my original GAME Plan to create a lesson that teachers students how to cite references.

Changes/Modifications:

One of the first things I did to stress the importance of citing references is model the behavior in my own work. When I return to teaching, my first unit will be on writing an argumentative essay. I have already created two presentations for the unit through the Nearpod application and a Think Aloud activity. I went back and included citations for all images that I included in the presentations. In the past, my students would just take images from the Internet and not provide a link to that image, so I feel that is a very important adjustment to make.

What I have learned:

So far I have obtained five different rubrics that contain information about citing references when conducting research papers and using graphics/images from the Internet.

New Questions:

Now that I have a few rubrics to review, I need to synthesize the information to create a new category on our class rubrics. A new question I have from this information is should I make a separate category for citing text references and one for image references? Again, I will need to consult my special education colleagues as well as my school librarian for guidance.

 

            So far I believe my GAME plan is making progress in the right direction even though I am not in the school environment on a daily basis to make more of an impact. Suggestions are welcome!

References

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers

Mandy Derfler’s Blog. (2014, September 8). EDUC 6713 – My personal game plan. Retrieved from http://mandyderfler4.blogspot.com/2014/09/educ-6713-my-personal-game-plan.html.

ReadWriteThink.org. (n.d.). Exploring plagiarism, copyright, and paraphrasing. Retrieved from http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/exploring-plagiarism-copyright-paraphrasing-1062.html?tab=4#tabs

Image References

Image 1 - Binoculars: http://contentd.fundsforngos.org/wp-content/uploads/monitoring-for-ngos.jpg 

Image 2 - Plan A/B: http://thumbs.gograph.com/gg61818216.jpg

Image 3 - Rubric: http://vsmarinebioproject.weebly.com/uploads/1/1/8/1/11817317/27934_orig.jpg

EDUC 6713 - Carrying out My GAME Plan

Carrying out My GAME Plan

     

     In last week’s blog post, I developed a GAME plan for two areas of need that I feel would improve my teaching as well as student learning. Having the plan in place has helped me look forward to evaluating the effective needs of the goals and actions, but it has been difficult to implement the goals since I am on sabbatical. However, I have been able to review my GAME design to determine what else I need to do to implement the plan.

Goal #1:

To utilize technology to track student progress on summative assessments to help students pinpoint

areas of mastery and improvement.

NETS-T: 2d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards, and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching (ISTE, 2008).

Resources Needed:

-       Google Docs accounts for all of my students (as well as myself)

-       Computer access for all students when completing writing activities

-       Meet with Middle School technology coordinator to answer questions below

Additional Information Needed:

-       Is there a better online tool that can be used to track progress (other than a Google Spreadsheet)? I need to research other online “gradebook” tools to see if there is a better solution to using Google Spreadsheet. Things I need to consider are accessibility (can students obtain access), price (preferably FREE), ease of use, and functions of the gradebook.

-       Parent access – how can we make this accessible for parents to review progress? Or, do we want parents to have access to this information? Discuss these questions at a department meeting with special education colleagues to determine parent access.

Steps Taken Thus Far:

-       Revised rubric to identify specific skills that students will need to master

-       A Google Doc template was created for the paragraph rubric so students can access the rubric online and insert it into their final papers to submit to teacher.

-       “Paragraph Writing Grade Log” was created on a Google Spreadsheet so students can track their scores on each subcategory of the rubric

Goal #2:

To model appropriate use of citing references on the Internet, and hold students accountable for using text, graphics, videos, and other media from the Internet by adding a “Citing References” section to their assignment rubrics.

NETS-T:  4a. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources (ISTE, 2008).

Resources Needed:

-       Various rubrics that contain criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of citing resources/references for papers/projects.

-       Meet with colleagues to discuss and determine criteria for rubric.

-       Meet with school librarian to create a lesson about citing information while conducting research/inquiry projects.

Additional Information Needed:

-       What is the proper procedure for students to request to use a graphic or other media file in their presentations?

-       Is there a district procedure for doing this?

Steps Taken Thus Far:

-       Reviewed Pennsylvania Department of Education (2014) Common Core standards to determine content standard addressed.

o   CC.1.4.8.W: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation (p. 25).

When reviewing this plan, the steps I have taken so far, and my additional resources/information, is there anything I am missing for my plan? Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks for your feedback!

References

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers

Pennsylvania Department of Education. (2014, March 1). Academic standards for English language arts. Retrieved from http://static.pdesas.org/content/documents/PA%20Core%20Standards%20ELA%206-12%20March%202014.pdf

Image References

Image 1, Game Plan:  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZk_1iRm3BGlNhoZrPf68wni4ZtxiKLhon1UD4cx2kw75qEc4gMPMSwA2XbRGR-M0_ICCW6Z6K3CyvV4OiWMKOFNN5CMu4Q2R5yG-BTOTwHW7eAKBH7nijxLFnu6dxQSXR_aVaC5zhJw/s1600/coach_clipart.jpg

Image 2, Spreadsheet: http://png-1.findicons.com/files/icons/1055/aqua_gloss/128/spreadsheet.png

Image 3, Computer:  https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qMx_ond1qDb5SVwAnMzZlKXoyfPDUVZBPQO0-CSebeurjHvh_qKLCC8Fq1zyqq45-nnICTtBwqrfwh9hcGgP6rpCIcgVYPJlzuSlX1xuE7XUvlXfRMaBrpp72x27nPOdrHQ3GTNd67cR/s320/computer_ethics.JPG

EDUC 6713 - My Personal GAME Plan

My Personal GAME Plan

 

Image Source: http://graycatenterprises.com/creating-a-branding-game-plan/

      After reviewing the International Society for Technology in Education’s (2008) website, I determined two indicators in the National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) that I would like to explore to gain more knowledge and confidence for my professional career. Using the GAME plan, I have outlined the steps I will take to make improvements in my professional career and help my students become prepared for a global work environment (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009).

NETS-T #1

2d. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards, and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.

Goal:

To utilize technology to track student progress on summative assessments to help students pinpoint areas of mastery and improvement.

http://content.timesjobs.com/assessment-benefits-both-employers-and-employees/

 

Rationale: I believe students need to understand the skills that they have mastered and the skills they need to improve. My rubrics are broken down in to specific criteria/skills, and in the past, students never really paid attention to their scores on those subcategories. They were just concerned with their overall score. By creating a spreadsheet where students have to chart their scores on each specific subcategory for each writing assignment, we can begin to track areas of need. This will help me differentiate instruction and students will have a better understanding of how they can improve their writing skills.

Actions:  

- Create a Google Docs template and add paragraph rubric to the document. Share with students so they can copy and paste it into their assignments when they share their completed product. (This was accomplished in the Week 1 assignment for this course.)

- Create a Google Docs template/spreadsheet and share with students so they can track their scores on each subcategory of the rubric. (This was accomplished in the Week 1 assignment for this course.)

Paragraph Writing Grade Log
Assignment Name:	#1	#2	#3	#4	#5	#6	#7
Topic Sentence
Detail Sentences
Conclusion Sentence
Readability
Mechanics
Overall Score

- After the first writing assignment is scored and returned to students, explain how we will use the spreadsheet to track progress. Model and explain how to chart scores and allow students to input scores from their first assignment. Repeat this after each writing assignment.

Monitor:

- After the first four assignments, student should have ample data to review their scores to see any trends, discrepancies, and areas of improvement or mastery. To model this, show students a sample spreadsheet and have a class discussion about what the data tells us.

- Have students look at their own spreadsheet and highlight in bold any scores that are below a 3. (Those scores would be considered below proficiency level).

- Ask students to list those categories in their writing journal so they can review it during their next writing assignment.

- At the beginning of the next assignment, have students review categories of need from their writing journal. Work with students individually to focus on those skills for their next assignment.

Evaluate:

- After the first trimester, review students’ spreadsheets to see if they made any improvements to their subcategories in need.

- Continue to evaluate and review data throughout the year to help students understand what they need to work on. Also, work with students to show them what they have mastered so they can see they have accomplished their writing goals.

NETS-T #2

4a. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

Goal:

To model appropriate use of citing references on the Internet, and hold students accountable for using text, graphics, videos, and other media from the Internet by adding a “Citing References” section to their assignment rubrics.

Image Source: http://www.ub.uio.no/fag/naturvitenskap-teknologi/bio/ressurser/

Rationale: I often create multimedia presentations for my classroom and use graphics and other media files from the Internet, but I rarely cite those references/files at the end of my presentations. My students do the same thing. I need to reinforce the need to cite where information was found so students can see the importance of giving credit to others for their hard work.

Action:

- Anytime I create a worksheet, multimedia presentation, or any other material for class where I use information from another resource, I must make sure I cite that resource to model citing references to students.

- Conduct a mini-lesson at the start of the school year to teach students the importance of citing references and show them how to do it.

- Add a section to project and essay rubrics entitled “Citing References” and develop criteria for the rubric. Review with students prior to each project, and make sure they understand they are responsible for citing all sources.

- Have school librarian observe students during research project to add further assistance as needed.
 

Monitor:

Review students’ projects (before they are submitted for final grade) to make sure they are citing resources. Reinforce and address any students who forget to cite their resources or do so incorrectly.

Evaluate:

Review students’ scores on the “Citing References” subcategory on their rubric to determine if any further instruction or review is needed.

           

References

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers