Power+of+Story--Problem-Based+Learning+Lesson

Online Collaboration as an Essential Tool in Problem-Based Learning Kathryn Hargrove Walden University

Dr. Marie Larcara Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas EDUC-6713 October 15, 2011

Online Collaboration as an Essential Tool in Problem-Based Learning The benefits of collaboration in the professional world are many, and as educators, it is essential that we foster such skills in our students. Of the numerous online collaboration tools I examined, I found that GoogleDocs and Zoho Projects were accessible through my school district’s filtering software and were most suitable for my lesson objectives. For this particular unit, I selected Zoho Projects because of the many features offered within just one project dashboard as well as the ability to modify the various features. Zoho Projects is especially helpful for those students who struggle with organization and time management, and is a one-stop-shop for project management. Davis emphasizes the value of social networking in problem-based learning and online collaboration (Laureate Education Inc., 2011), however, use of such technology tools are a violation of my school district’s technology policy. Although my students have engaged in blogging and discussion forums, these have taken place in a private capacity and have been used as an online collaboration tool.

** Speaking and Listening: Comprehension and Collaboration ** Standard (SL.8.1)—Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. Standard (SL.8.2)—Analyze the purpose of information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and evaluate the motives (e.g., social, commercial, political) behind its presentation. (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2011a) **Writing: Research to Build and Present Knowledge** Standard (W.8.7)—Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration. Standard (W.8.8)—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. (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2011b) || þ 1. Creativity and innovation þ 2. Communication and collaboration ¨ 3. Research and information literacy þ 4. Critical thinking, problem solving, & decision making þ 5. Digital citizenship þ 6. Technology operations and concepts || -LCD projector, screen, and computer -Zoho Projects account || During the mini-lesson, I will explain the purpose and process of conducting an interview for the project. I will then introduce the various ways students can document their interviews (video, audio only, and written notes to student recorded analysis). I will model this process in two ways. First, I will show students a video of me interviewing another colleague. This video will demonstrate the following: Next, I will model an on-the-spot interview that demonstrates the following: -LCD projector, screen, and computer -Pre-recorded interview -audio recorder || Students will get into project groups to refine and finalize their theme and focus. Next, they discuss who they will each interview and why they would be a good interviewee. Students will then log-on to the Zoho Projects account, enter their group forum, and begin brainstorming possible interview questions. Once the groups feel that they have a good collection of interview questions, they will practice their interview skills with each other. Next, they will also practice uploading a file to their group wiki. Finally, the students will research more specific personal accounts based on their group theme, and they will highlight, annotate, and bookmark these to their Diigo group. || -computers -Internet -Zoho Projects account -Diigo application || During the last ten minutes of our lesson, we will: -Internet -Zoho Projects account || ** Accommodations and Extensions: ** To accommodate for students at varying levels of readiness, I will provide additional, individual guidance as students utilize the Zoho Projects account and create interview questions. During the practice interviews, I will assist individual students by practicing an interview with them. The student will be both the interviewer and interviewee in order to better understand the most effective questioning and communication techniques. Additionally, I will be available to students before school and during lunch should they need additional individual assistance or access to the computer lab. ** Back-up Plan: ** The activities can be completed without the Zoho Projects account by using various tools within the district website application and the shared assignments drive on the district network. Although it is not as user-friendly and lacks many of the extra features, these tools will provide the same basic functions. || Overall, the lesson went rather well. The students remarked that modeling the two different interviews and documentation processes was beneficial. Furthermore, there were students who later struggled to write good interview questions, and practicing with them one-on-one was helpful. For example, one student was struggling to create questions that made the interviewee think about the topic in a general sense before asking more specific questions. To illustrate why this was necessary, I began to interview her without any type of opening questions. Once she experienced the feeling of being caught off guard in an interview, she realized why it was so important to get the interviewee thinking about the topic first. As Zoho Projects is an unfamiliar technology tool for these students, it took longer for them to navigate and experiment with its options than I had initially anticipated. In the future, I would give students a handout with step-by-step instructions and have them familiarize themselves with this technology tool at home. By doing this, students would come to this lesson with an understanding of the various features and uses, leaving more time for instruction and group work and less time for individual practice. Finally, having students create interview questions together on the Zoho forum and then share some of these questions at the end of class was beneficial. In each forum, I could tell that once a student created an excellent interview question, other students started to model their questions after that one and create even better questions. This collaboration naturally raised expectations and fostered creative thinking, especially since students were trying to prepare questions for future conversations. ||
 * ** Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use **
 * Daily Lesson GAME Plan ** ||
 * ** Lesson Title: ** Online Collaboration |||| ** Related Lessons: ** Narrative Writing  ||
 * ** Grade Level: ** 8th Grade Language Arts |||| ** Unit: ** The Power of Story  ||
 * ** GOALS ** ||
 * ** Content Standards: **
 * Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.
 * Follow rules for collegial discussions and decision-making, track progress toward specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.
 * Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers and respond to others’ questions and comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas.
 * Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in light of the evidence presented.
 * ** ISTE NETS-S: **
 * ** Instructional Objective(s): ** Students will utilize online collaboration tools to organize, communicate, and share various aspects of their group project. Students will collaboratively create interview questions that reflect their understanding as to the interview process and techniques. Students will utilize the social bookmarking tool to share and communicate additional research related to their group theme and focus. ||
 * ** ACTION ** ||
 * ** Before-Class Preparation: ** Students will come to class having read and responded to additional student blogs, added research to their Diigo accounts, and created a rough outline of the content of their group project. ||
 * ** During Class ** ||
 * ** Time ** |||| ** Instructional Activities ** || ** Materials and Resources ** ||
 * 20 minutes |||| I will begin the lesson by explaining the overview of the next phase of the project and reviewing the lesson objectives and agenda. I will then introduce students to a new online collaboration tool through Zoho Projects. The project account is already created, and I will explain and model the following features:
 * Tasks—how to view tasks and mark completion.
 * Task Progress—visual tool to keep us motivated and focused.
 * Meetings—shows dates, times, locations, who attended, and our agenda.
 * Documents—when gathering information from home, upload media files to share with classmates and for ease of access at school.
 * Forums—each group has their own forum to ask questions, share project news, get feedback, and communicate ideas.
 * Wiki—each group has their own wiki to create a rough draft or outline of their final project. || -lesson agenda
 * 20 minutes |||| Mini-lesson: Conducting an Interview
 * Asking universal questions to help the interviewee think and reflect on the topic.
 * Asking specific questions related to the focus and theme.
 * Asking leading questions when the interviewee is struggling to respond.
 * Being flexible and deviating from prepared questions in response to interviewee’s content.
 * Note-taking during an interview.
 * Asking the interviewee to repeat information that I did not catch.
 * Recording the post-interview summary and analysis. || -Conducting an Interview Guidelines (handout)
 * 40 minutes |||| Group Work:
 * 10 minutes |||| Wrap Up:
 * Reflect on how to navigate and use our Zoho account.
 * Share examples of the interview questions students created, which the class will evaluate.
 * Review what the students need to accomplish before our next meeting, which I will show them on our Zoho account as well. || -computers
 * ** Note: ** This lesson is designed for extended class meetings of 90 minutes; however, this lesson can easily be taught during 2—45 minute classes, which is the standard amount of time for a class period in my school building. ||
 * ** MONITOR ** ||
 * ** Ongoing Assessment(s): ** Through the Zoho Projects account, I will be able to monitor and evaluate the types of interview questions students are creating, and from their comments in the forums, I will be able to determine their evaluation thought processes and make adjustments when necessary. If the feedback indicates that most of the students are struggling to create effective interview questions, then I will reteach certain components and provide additional modeling. While students are practicing their interview questions, I will assess the verbal and nonverbal communication skills and make adjustments when necessary. The Diigo project group accounts will allow me to monitor the groups’ progress in finding personal accounts on the Internet related to their theme, and I can assist struggling groups when needed through more effective search strategies.
 * ** EVALUATION ** ||
 * ** Lesson Reflections and Notes: **

From preparing and implementing this lesson using an online collaboration tool, it is evident that such tools “save valuable time and increases the efficiency in making decisions” (Hargis & Wilcox, 2008, p.14). Additionally, such tools to help prepare students for the collaborative workplaces they will encounter in the future.

References Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2011). //English language arts standards: writing:// //grade 8//. Retrieved from [] Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2011). //English language arts standards: speaking &// //listening: grade 8.// Retrieved from [] language-arts-standards/speaking-and-listening-6-12/grade-8/ Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2011). Spotlight on technology: social networking and online collaboration, part one [Webcast]. //Integrating technology across// // the content areas //. Baltimore, MD: Laureate Education, Inc. Preparing for the Journey: Problem-Based Learning Kathryn Hargrove Walden University

Dr. Marie Larcara Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas EDUC-6713 October 9, 2011 Preparing for the Journey: Problem-Based Learning When creating a Problem-Based Learning Unit Plan, I considered the characteristics of PBL and the characteristics and sources of a good PBL problem (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). As Dr. Ertmer suggested, I examined previous lessons that were important to the curriculum but could benefit from higher creative and critical thinking skills, more student engagement, and authentic scenarios (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). In previous years, my students wrote Literacy Narratives in which they reflected on their experiences with reading and writing and how those experiences shaped them as current readers and writers. For those students who loved to read and write, this unit of instruction fit them perfectly, but those who constantly struggled with these skills found this unit especially difficult and struggled to connect with the concepts. In order to create a unit that is equitable for all learners, while still meeting the content standards and curriculum, I created a PBL Unit in which students are attempting to determine why story is so powerful and enduring. They will examine this problem from multiple perspectives, so that students who may not have had positive experiences with reading in the past can use the positive experiences of others to derive meaning. Throughout each stage of the process, students will engage in reflection that will help them synthesize their findings and reflect on the greater meaning. This unit will culminate in students creating and presenting a digital story that demonstrates what they learned and chronicles their discovery process. Although this unit will be implemented for all students later in the school year, I am piloting this project with a small group of students after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays for extra credit. Their final project grade will be recorded later in the year when the rest of the students complete it, and during that time, the students from this extra credit group will function as teaching assistants and will help students work with the various technology tools while I work with students on content.

** Research to Build and Present Knowledge ** Standard (W.8.7)—Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration. Standard (W.8.8)—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. Standard (W.8.9)—Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Standard (W.8.6)—Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others. (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2011) || ¨ 1. Creativity and innovation ¨ 2. Communication and collaboration þ 3. Research and information literacy þ 4. Critical thinking, problem solving, & decision making þ 5. Digital citizenship þ 6. Technology operations and concepts  || -//If You Give a Mouse a Cookie// // -Pride and Prejudice // -family pictures || -Internet -Diigo application || -Internet -Schoolwires software for blogs || ** Accommodations and Extensions: ** To accommodate for students at varying levels of readiness, I will provide additional, individual guidance as students conduct research and create blogs. This will take the form of additional modeling and step-by-step instructions for each technology tool, which every student received earlier in the school year. Additionally, students will have access to both their Diigo accounts and their blogs at home if they need additional time to complete the assignment. ** Back-up Plan: ** The activities can be completed without the Diigo and blogging software. The students can print the Internet articles and highlight and annotate the text on paper. Students can also write their synthesis and reflection on paper, and then pass around the classroom for other students to read and respond. || References Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2011). //English language arts standards: writing:////grade 8//. Retrieved from [] Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Spotlight on technology: problem-based learning, part one[Webcast]. //Integrating technology across the content areas//. Baltimore, MD: Laureate Education, Inc.
 * ** Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use **
 * Daily Lesson GAME Plan ** ||
 * ** Lesson Title: ** Preparing for the Journey  ||||  ** Related Lessons: ** Narrative Writing   ||
 * ** Grade Level: ** 8th Grade Language Arts  ||||  ** Unit: ** The Power of Story   ||
 * ** GOALS ** ||
 * ** Content Standards: **
 * ** ISTE NETS-S: **
 * ** Instructional Objective(s): ** Students will synthesize their personal reflections and internet research regarding the impact of oral and written story on individual people, including how it can shape identity, influence decisions, and alter perspectives. Students will communicate their synthesis on a blog and read and respond to other students’ blogs.  ||
 * ** ACTION ** ||
 * ** Before-Class Preparation: ** Students will come to class having responded to the following questions:
 * 1) 1. What are some of your most favorite stories that you read since you were a child? Why were these stories your favorite?
 * 2) 2. Has there been a story that you really connected with? Maybe you connected with the experience of a character? Or gained insight into a situation in your life through reading about others’ experiences?
 * 3) 3. Do you have a family story that is important to your personal identity? Or a personal story that has greatly affected the person you are today?
 * 4) 4. Why do you think stories are so important? ||
 * ** During Class ** ||
 * ** Time ** |||| ** Instructional Activities ** || ** Materials and Resources ** ||
 * 15-20 minutes |||| We will begin with a whole-class discussion in which we briefly share how students responded to the questions regarding how story has influenced them personally. I will model and provide personal examples to set them at ease. Additionally, to get students making connections between these reflections and images, I will have books and pictures to show while providing my personal examples.  ||  -answers to pre-meeting questions
 * 5 minutes |||| I will introduce the problem and project. Now that students have a context from our discussion, I will explain to them that we are trying to solve why stories are so powerful and enduring. I will emphasize the authentic relevance by referencing our discussion at the beginning of our meeting and pointing out that we are exposed to stories from infancy to old age, and engage in the sharing of stories all of the time. Students will each receive a general outline of what will occur during each meeting and what they are expected to do on their own in between meetings.  ||  -Project Outline  ||
 * 30 minutes |||| Students conduct internet research to find real examples of how stories have affected people, focusing on how they have helped to shape identity, influence decisions, alter perspectives, and any other way that the students may discover. Once students find a good example, they will highlight, annotate, and share to our class Diigo account.  ||  -computers
 * 25 minutes |||| Students will create a blog post in which they communicate their initial analysis of internet research. They will then synthesize this analysis of internet research with their personal experiences with story and reflect on what they believe is the power of story and why story is enduring. Once students post their initial reflection, they will read and respond to what other students write.  ||  -computers
 * 15 minutes |||| During the last ten minutes of our meeting, we will reflect on what we did and discovered. We will also discuss the next step in addressing our problem/question. I will then group students according to shared experience and perspective, as this will enable them to create a theme for their project. Students will be in groups of three. Students will briefly meet to discuss what they will each do for our next meeting.  ||   ||
 * ** Note: ** This lesson is designed for extended class meetings of 90 minutes; however, this lesson can easily be taught during 2—45 minute classes, which is the standard amount of time for a class period in my school building.  ||
 * ** MONITOR ** ||
 * ** Ongoing Assessment(s): ** Through the class Diigo account, I will be able to monitor and evaluate the types of examples students are finding and their level of analysis based on their annotations. This will provide feedback as to whether an aspect of the project needs clarification and if particular students need help analyzing and making meaning of research. The blogs will also allow me to assess the students’ ability to synthesize information from various sources and their level of reflection on the overall problem. Finally, I will use the information I gather from the initial class discussion, Diigo annotations, and blog posts to place students into groups based on common interest and experience.
 * ** EVALUATION ** ||
 * ** Lesson Reflections and Notes: ** I will be implementing this lesson on Tuesday of this coming week. I realize that there are components of this lesson that fit within the online collaboration requirements for next week’s lesson application, but online collaboration is an essential component throughout, which is why it appears in this first lesson as well.

Hello Kathryn,

This PBL sounds engaging and novel. A few things that came to mind as I read your lesson plan are how you could discuss how different culutres have used stories to explain deities and history and also how you could have students choose a problem that they are interested in and write a narrative that addresses the issue. They could look at the use of symbolism, for example, and other writing methods that have been used in the past before applying them to their own narratives. Then you could have the students publish their writing by sending them to interested parties or by posting them on a website. I look forward to hearing more about your PBL.

Brandon

Kathryn,

I think you have mapped an excellent lesson for your students. What is Diigo? I also think it's great you are measuring your students understanding using a variety of assessment methods (Diigo, blogging, etc) that I think your students will appreciate. Thanks for sharing and good luck.

Jessica

Hi Kathryn, This is a great lesson to teach narrative writing. I like that you will model and provide personal examples. I think that is an excellent way to help students learn. I believe that when students feel comfortable and have a connection to a teacher, then the students do better academically. I also like how you have incorporated technology throughout your lesson to engage and meet your students needs. Erika ||