Se Hace Camino Al Andar

The most valuable workshop I attended at NCTE in Nashville, in terms of classroom application, was one on differentiated instruction, delivered by 4 teachers from New Jersey. Differentiated instruction is one of those things where I know what it is, but I don’t know what it is. In other words, what does it look in practice?

First, we differentiate

• content
• process
• product

based on the student’s

• readiness
• interest
• learning style

Makes sense so far. The teacher-presenters use a model called TAPS:

Total Class

Alone

Pairs

Small Groups

The central idea of differentiation is working around anchor activities. Anchor activities are ongoing assignments that students work on independently, over a period of time. One example is rotating activity stations.

In order for differentiated instruction to be effective, the teacher needs to gather information about students before planning for such instruction. Assessment begins with a contract or compact that outlines the work the student will do and the timeframe in which they will do it.

The teacher-presenters gave us packets with the handouts they use and examples of strategies mentioned in the presentation. Unfortunately, they aren’t online, so I can’t share them with you! If you’d like to get your hands on it, feel free to e-mail me your mailing address and I will shoot it off to you.

A colleague shared a funny poem with me today, by Tom Wayman:

Did I Miss Anything

Question frequently asked by
students after missing a class

Nothing. When we realized you weren’t here
we sat with our hands folded on our desks
in silence, for the full two hours

Everything. I gave an exam worth
40 per cent of the grade for this term
and assigned some reading due today
on which I’m about to hand out a quiz
worth 50 per cent

Nothing. None of the content of this course
has value or meaning
Take as many days off as you like:
any activities we undertake as a class
I assure you will not matter either to you or me
and are without purpose

Everything. A few minutes after we began last time
a shaft of light descended and an angel
or other heavenly being appeared
and revealed to us what each woman or man must do
to attain divine wisdom in this life and
the hereafter
This is the last time the class will meet
before we disperse to bring this good news to all people
on earth

Nothing. When you are not present
how could something significant occur?

Everything. Contained in this classroom
is a microcosm of human existence
assembled for you to query and examine and ponder
This is not the only place such an opportunity has been
gathered

but it was one place

And you weren’t here

I thought I would cut out each stanza, put them in my pocket, then pull one out randomly every time a student asks, “Did I miss anything?”

Tonight’s technology meeting proved to be fruitful as I got some great feedback on my dilemma, mainly from Gina. First, to address the need for a research tutorial, using a search engine like Google, Ken pointed me towards Google Guide. Why I didn’t know about this before, I don’t know! I’ll explore the Google Guide and bookmark pages that are relevant to my students’ needs. I think I will create a list of links for them online, as well as print out the pages themselves.

Next, concerning their collaboration, Gina suggested that one of the defined roles be a “reflector.” The reflector observes the group and make note of things that the group needs to work on, what the group has accomplished, and so forth. It would be the reflector’s job to email me at the end of the period, with a summary of the work done so far. I bought up the issue of paraphrasing and Gina passed along a handy strategy for paraphrasing: SAY MEAN MATTER. In other words, what does the source say, what does it mean, and why does it matter? I envision myself creating a graphic organizer for this strategy, that the notetaker can use. These notes will then become part of the blog post that summarizes the information uncovered.

In the course of discussing my issues, I also realized that having each student use their own Youth Voices blog is probably not effective. Instead, I will have groups create communities, join those communities and then post their research findings to the community blog. This way, all their research will be in one place, ready for synthesis when it comes time to create content for the wikipage.

First, a link to a Visual Thesaurus interview with Bud Hunt, on blogging with students: Student Blogging

Second, my internet research project:
I feel very disorganized, I’m not happy with how I’ve structured the project for my students, I think they are confused, and don’t really get it.

I need to do a mini-lesson or tutorial on online research. I think I just assumed that my kids would just google their topic, find information and make sense of it. As usually happens when one makes assumptions about what kids ought to know or know how to do, I’ve been knocked on my behind.

I hope it’s not too late to salvage the project. My goal was to have them begin working on the wiki after Thanksgiving, but we’re behind in that respect because I’ve been out sick for the past three days. I think I need to go back to Square One, and create an explicit model for them to follow, in terms of doing research.

Last week, I decided that each group would get one laptop, instead of distributing all 14 laptops because I felt that kids were getting distracted by the internet and not working together to research their topic. My mistake was not creating specific roles for the group members. One person mans the laptop, one person records information, and so on. It may have been too much to ask for them to do everything entirely online, including the note taking. So, I’ll ask them to take notes on paper, then use those notes to construct their blog entries.

I should take advantage of yet another sick day at home to work this out and launch it on Friday. (Tomorrow is another chapter of Invisible Man.)

[composed and posted with ecto]

My AP students are reading a series of essays on government, in answer to the essential question, “How has government evolved in form and function?”. Right now, they are tackling Rousseau’s The Origin of Civil Society and prior to that, The Prince, by Machiavelli. Both of these essays mention Hugo Grotius. In the essays, there’s a little footnote about who Grotius is, but nothing in-depth (basically, it says “a Dutch dude from the 1600′s”).
On my own time, I’ve been reading The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America, by Russell Shorto. Shorto gives a lot of background information on Dutch history, and in one chapter, mentions Grotius. I took notice since I didn’t know much about Grotius, and grabbed the post-it notes and pen that lie on my night table (yes, I was up past my bedtime, reading in bed. Don’t tell mom!) Here’s what I learned about Hugo Grotius (paraphrased from the text by Shorto):

Grotius believed that peace is the natural state of mature, civilized nations– war should be a last resort, and governed by rules agreed upon by all involved.

I can’t wait to share this with my students and relish the teachable moment lying in wait– that we are always making connections when we read and sometimes they pop up in unexpected places. Shorto also makes the point that the 80 Years War and the 30 years War were so named, after the fact. In Medieval times, war seemed to be a natural state– nations were always fighting each other. So, Grotius’ De Jure Belli Ac Paci, On The Laws of Justice and Peace (I will tell my students that I totally had to google the title, because I had no idea what it meant), was revolutionary in his time and laid the foundation for International Law. As my students think about the four essays they are reading, and prepare to synthesize their ideas about government in a formal essay, I hope this little tidbit of information gives them even more to think about.

PS I haven’t said much about NCTE in Nashville, I know, other than my few complaints. It’s coming…

What I’ve scored…

ultimate style, from SparkNotes (came with a t-shirt!)

Essential Literary Terms

, along with the Teaching Guide

Plus a chapter from forthcoming The Language of Composition, which will be superhandy for my AP Language and Composition class when the book comes out in May (well…handy for next year!!).

Nashville has been a series of disappointments and annoyances mixed in with the fun of making new friends. I arrived at my hotel near Opryland to find that it had been overbooked, and I had been rebooked at a motel further down the road. Neither NCTE nor the original hotel would take responsibility for this snafu and for the lack of communication. The re-booked motel doesn’t have internet access in the rooms, as the original hotel did, so I am blogging from the lobby (Opryland Convention Center doesn’t have free wifi, either…).

But enough whining. The new motel isn’t all that bad… I met my roommate in front of the exhibition hall. We got acquainted over a buffet lunch, and hit the exhibitions. I bought two books by Michael Smith and Jeffrey Wilhem: You Gotta Be the Book and Going with the Flow. I also picked up an NCTE travel mug, which entitles me to free coffee for the rest of the weekend. Sweet.

After Laura’s last session of the day (I went to the hotel to check in and drop my HEAVY bag, which I had been carrying since I arrived), we headed over to the NWP social. I saw my New York people and met some new NWPers from Virginia, Connecticut and Idaho. We had a nice dinner at a spaghetti joint off Market Street in Downtown Nashville, and went to a saloon, where people were line dancing on the dance floor…JUST LIKE THE MOVIES! (Except not as choreographed and coordinated…)

Today, I’m up early to get a good seat for today’s featured session with Donald Graves. And to grab that free coffee!

Hello! Already, I love Jetblue… free wifi while I wait for my flight. Though another poor fellow is having trouble connecting. He popped up on my buddy list via Jabber (love ya, Jabber!).

I think I spy some “teacher-types” waiting with me. Isn’t it true, one teacher can spot another teacher from a mile away?

Too bad Jetblue hasn’t gone the way of Lufthansa, with onboard wireless. Now, THAT, my friends, would be amazing! Though, with ecto, I blog on the plane and publish later at the hotel. (Here’s hoping my cheap-o hotel/motel has wireless… if not, I’m pretty sure the Gaylord (snicker) Opryland Convention Center has wireless.)

My flight is supposed to leave at 9am. It’s 8:44 and we were supposed to start boarding at 8:30. They haven’t announced a delay as of yet, so I’m not sure what’s going on. [Ah, babies are boarding now... but I doubt we'll leave at 9! Good thing I'm not in a hurry.]

On deck for later today… heading over to the Convention Center to check in and pick up the catalogue of events, after check in at the hotel. I’d like to spend more time at the exhibit hall this year than I did last year. Last year was overwhelming, my first convention and all that. Tonight, I’ll be at the NWP social and out to dinner with some NYCWP people.

I’m off to stand on line for boarding.

I’ve been quiet lately, yes but I posted today over at Inquiry. Enjoy!

Expect more posts this weekend as I’m headed to Nashville Friday morning.

Awhile back, I posted about the web-based research project that I’m doing with one of my senior classes.

This is a hand out I made after quite a few kids were confused/stuck about the assignment but it’ll give you a clear idea of the project content.

This is a hand out that I made, of reminders regarding the web-based aspect of the project.

I’ve been bringing one laptop cart to class, which contains 14 computers. Though the students are working in groups, I allowed the students to use all the laptops, with some students pairing up. That hasn’t been productive or helpful. I found that the kids were chatting and going on MySpace, in addition to checking out non-project related websites. (It’s a surprise to me that MySpace is not blocked, nor is Sconex, so I’ll have to talk to the tech guy about that…) Besides which, because groups were not sharing one laptop, they were also not collaborating very well on the project.

Today, I told them that the next time we use the laptops for research, each group will get ONE laptop. They will have to distribute responsibilities and roles. I need to develop an accountability measure. Since my goal is keep this project paperless, I think I will ask each group to e-mail me a short summary of their work, before shutting down their laptops for the period.

I also need to do some work with them on paraphrasing their research findings before posting them in Youth Voices. I’d like them to build their annotated bibliography as they go, instead of waiting until the end. This means that in addition to posting their research findings, they also need to explain why the source works/is valid.

My goal is to have the research done by Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, I’d like to begin guiding them in creating the content for the wiki. Of course, they may need to do more research as they create the wiki content. I need to compile some example wikis for the groups to look at and use as models. I’ll probably then ask them to make a list of characteristics they notice in the model wikis. If you have good examples of student-made wikis, send the links my way!

[composed and posted with ecto]