Rethinking the Good Thing

I thought it was a good idea at the time. I thought I'd shake things up and get my fifth grade students out of their seats and get them excited about something in class. It would certainly be better than reading another story or doing another vocabulary sheet from the latest story. So, I set aside a day, one day each week where students would perform. The students could read a passage from a book they were reading, a poem one already published or one they wrote, even perform a song they wrote a skit or play. The idea was to get up in front of the room and perform. I even led out by performing one of my favorite Shel Silverstein poems. Well, they liked my performance, a few others but it was a lukewarm attempt at best. So, what went wrong? It was time for reflection.

I thought of what Prensky said about students and schools today. "The reality is that students are, for the most part, bored." (2008) That made me think about my class and that I had the opportunity to improve this lesson but what I thought was a new wrinkle was still the same old stuff that asked students to use the same old skills and to be put on the spot and expected to perform as well. Wincing with the pain of realization, I have determined to retry it all again. This time using tools that many of my students probably already have used before but not in my classroom. Ouch, another realization. So, I visited the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS•T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers and looked over the standards to see where I might start. Dr. Ertmer advises that one should start small. ".” Best way to get it, (use of technology) is to use it successfully, take small steps at first, and build on that." Good advice. I have knowledge of some things technological but am by far no expert. I chose NETS-T standard 1a. "promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness." and 2a. "design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity". These were my goals and the first step in utilizing what Katherine Cennamo refers to as the GAME plan. (Goals, take Action to meet those goals, Monitor progress toward achieving those goals and Evaluate to see if the goals were achieved and Extend your learning to new situations.)

I still believe that the performance day was and is a good opportunity for students to share their ability. However, I had only allowed for one way, my way, (teacher chosen, teacher directed) for them to share. Like windup toys, all of the same type they had been expected to be able to enthusiastically participate in something I had decided was different, key being, I had decided. Now I did say they could present a self written poem, a skit self written, a song a bit of prose but I had not allowed or even considered the use of technology tools available beyond that of a word processor. So, with the realization that I was the one making presentation choices I am ready to redesign. The Game plan is on!

The goals have been described above. (Performance in front of the classroom in a creative way that they choose not the teacher). The action part of the new plan will involve students being given options for the performance task. This will involve a rubric that describes the task. (A student created project for presentation in front of the classroom). Students may work in collaborative groups, using power point, movie maker, audacity, or other tool of their choice. I will serve as guide and will conference with the groups on a rotational basis to monitor their progress giving guidance when needed. Evaluation will of course be evident in the completion and presentation of the task and will be judged as successful as teacher and student check the finished product against the rubric. At the end of the exercise I will again reflect on what I learned, the new things the students taught me and how I can do this better for the next performance day. Maybe, with many cooks stirring the pot, lukewarm will heat up?

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.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008b). Enriching Content Area Learning Experiences with Technology, Part One [Motion picture]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Author.

Prensky, M. (2008, March). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.