Using PBL, Technology, and the SAMR model to TRANSFORM LEARNING

I recently was blessed with the opportunity to attend a conference that truly changed my whole way of thinking in education. While attending the Keystones Technology Innovators Summit at Shippensburg University, I was surrounded by educators who want use technology not only as a tool, but as a way of transforming the way their students learn. We had the opportunity to hear some amazing speakers including Aaron Sams (@chemicalsams) and Randy Ziegenfuss (@ziegeran). Both these speakers and many others expressed the need to refer to the SAMR model as we move through the digital conversion in our classroom.

During this time, I was reminded that Technology has always been entering the classroom. from the introduction of chalk, to the availability of pencils, all the way to one to one ipad conversions. What we run into is forgetting to ask ourselves, what is the purpose of this technology as I use it throughout my instruction. For those of you unfamiliar with the SAMR model. take a minute to watch this video.
What you will see is how Dr. Ruben Puentedura has developed a model that allows us to check the purpose and value of using technology in the classroom. The four stages of SAMR include Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. I will spare you the reading and let you enjoy the video, it really is good, but I a going to briefly share how the four areas are different.
Substitution is simply replacing a tool (pencil and paper for a word document.) Augmentation allows you to change the product using technology (Fonts, boldface, size of paper.) These two steps only enhance the learning experience. This is obviously still a step in the right direction. But our call to action as educators is to transform the learning of our students. This can be achieved by utilizing the next two tiers of SAMR. Modification gives you an opportunity to give and receive feedback and alter your product using a variety of tech tools. Finally, Redefinition  allows you to take a product to the next level by creating an entirely new product, rather it be a multimedia presentation or a interactive video.

So, the question to address here is how can I connect PBL and technology through the SAMR model. First, I think it's important to realize that PBL provides students with the opportunity to guide their own learning. This is vital because students are going to be working on and designing a product that they are personally invested in. Where technology comes into play here is being able to provide students with a large suitcase of tech tools that will allow them to plan, produce and present their product to their teachers, peers, parents, and the rest of the world. PBL provides a call to action, it gives a purpose for learning, the tech tools that you give your students provide them with the weapons they need to fight the fight. SAMR is really the training they need for the battle. How prepared do you want your students to be. By simply substituting or Augmenting assignments, you are not pushing your students to the next level. Now, please don't misunderstand. I do believe that this can and should be part of the proccess. IT could be a step in the direction of the final product, but it should not be the end all be all. By moving forward on the SAMR model you provide opportunities to Modify and redefine what the students are presenting. This is great because it really is full of opportunities. No longer to students need to be pigeon holed into a slightly enhanced learning opportunity, their options for production and presentation are only limited to the tech tools you provide access to.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/introduction-to-the-samr-model#

Why Project Based Learning?

I still have the bad taste in my mouth. Ninth Grade chemistry with Mr. Baylor. The horrendous flow chart. I never was one for memorization, especially in a class that had some many fun things to explore.... like BUNSEN BURNERS! Yet, I was in a "look but don't touch" environment for most of my "incarceration?"  because of my inability to MEMORIZE A FLOW CHART!

Skip ahead a few years. Junior year of college. I was in my social studies and science education block. I remember walking in and seeing a substantially large cardboard box, about the size of a small chest freezer. One by one we were asked to climb into the tight quarters. After squeezing my quite large six foot frame inside, it took all of my mental strength to handle the 30 seconds of urine attacking my nostrils as well as the dirty, filthy, only God knows what touching me. After those 30 seconds were up and I was allowed to vacate this brief hell I was in, I was told that what I just experienced was a microscopic sample of what a slave might have experienced on his travels to the new world. I was hooked. I couldn't wait to listen to or read whatever was about to be put in front of me.

Why do I share these two experiences. Neither one is Project-Based. The big difference between the two: I was given a purpose to learn in the 2nd scenario. I was excited. I craved the learning experience.  On the other hand,  I passed with a 61 in freshman chemistry and to this day I believe it was because my teacher didn't want to have to deal with me again. The worst part, I really have a part of me that craves that basic understanding of chemistry. I had such a desire to learn, it just wasn't fostered. I believe that PBL provides that drive for learning that so many students are desperately craving.

That brings me to the purpose of this post. It isn't just to convince you (or myself right now) why hours, and hour, and hours should be spent on the planning and preparation for PBL, but really to give justifications for the validity of PBL.

I believe a couple questions need to be asked before we spend the time proving the worth of PBL.

• Why change? What's wrong with the way we're doing things.
• What's the real goal in education?
• What's our role as teachers?
• What do we need to do to be successful.

The overly used saying goes, "Why fix it if it's not broken?" Well folks, its broken! It needs fixed. Students are bored. We spend more time generating mundane test-prep activities than we do actually getting to know our students. We mask our distaste for test-based curriculum with peppy attitudes and sugar-coated learning games, but really, its a facade. And I swear, if I have to slap on that fraudulent smile for one more dog-and-pony show that we call a PSSA pep rally, I'm going to throw up my cafeteria chicken nuggets all over the front row of kindergarten students who still have no idea why were singing songs about taking tests. It's sad. It really is. Why are we doing this? We know it doesn't hold value. 

We have to let go of the idea of what traditional education is..or was. "This history constrains our capacity to embrace the central role of the learner in his or her own education. We must rethink the very foundations of schooling if we are to base our practice on our understandings of learner's needs.' (Brooks, M., & Brooks, J. (1999, November)) We're all aware of it: not all students can learn all the material the same way or at the same time. Yet we continue, at least as a whole, to succumb to a pre-determined scope and sequence handed down from above, and I'm definitely not referring to a higher being. So I guess the bigger question is why do we do it? What holds us back from doing what we know is right? The ramifications of state testing. Because "State Standards = State Tests; State Test Results = Student Achievement; Student Achievement = Rewards and Punishment." (Brooks, M., & Brooks, J. 1999, November) And we certainly don't want to get in trouble for doing the right thing (Even though we drill the idea of doing the right thing no matter the cost into our students character development activities as early as pre-school.)

The worst part about the whole thing... catering our curriculum to the tests provide results (or so the tests show), so we only promote this style of education. But fear of failure should not be the motivating factor in our decision to shape our educational approach. I think this is where we transition into asking "What's the real goal?"

Personally, I became a teacher because I was a bored student. I didn't want anyone to have to go through the daily routine of faking an illness (unsuccessfully every time) to stay home  like I tried to do. I also realized as I grew older that it couldn't always be recess and gym. So the question becomes  how do we make the learning experience purposeful and engaging while provided real-world connections that provide retention of acquired knowledge.that can be utilized in the real-world.  Wiggins and McTighe say "If we don't give students sufficient ongoing opportunities to puzzle over genuine problems, make meaning of their learning, and apply content in various contexts, then long-term retention and effective performance are unlikely, and high schools will have failed to achieve their purpose." (Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2008, May)) Enter PBL. Now, this isn't saying you eliminate your role as teacher, in fact, it grows. Wiggins and McTighe recommend the weaving of 3 instructional approaches: Direct Instructor, Facilitator, and Coach. (Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2008, May)) Why is a combination of these three roles so important, why so complex, well because learning is complex. "Learning is a complex process through which learners constantly change their internally constructed understandings of how their worlds function. New information either transforms their current beliefs-or doesn't. The efficacy of the learning environment is a function of many complex factors, including curriculum, instructional methodology, student motivation, and student developmental readiness. Trying to capture this complexity on paper-and pencil assessments severely limits knowledge and expression." (Brooks, M., & Brooks, J. (1999, November)) 

The very last part of that statement is the kicker. The whole purpose of the standardized tests (and our current way of creating and delivering curriculum) is because its placed in a pretty package. Easy to produce, easy to administer, easy to grade, Therefore, the powers that be have decided, "let's just do this, it looks good enough." Well maybe not quite that way but you get the idea. I mean it makes sense on some whacky, the students well-being doesn't matter sort of way. But we all know it's clearly not the best way. I genuinely believe even the "man in the educational high castle" as well as all his minions would agree that it's not the best way, it just works. 

Our real purpose should be helping our students gain knowledge and understanding, Our job is to assess that this is happening. If we disagree with the use of paper and pencil test, than what's the alternative. How can I be efficient and still be valuable. Out of all the articles I read for this unit, one graphic got me more excited than anything else. But before I show it to you I have to refer back to Wiggins and McTighe: 

"Learning for understanding requires that curriculum and instruction address three different but interrelated academic goals: helping students (1) acquire important information and skills, (2) make meaning of that content, and (3) effectively transfer their learning to new situations both within school and beyond it."

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2008, May)

So how can we assess that students are acquiring information, make meaning of it, and transfer it to new situations that can be utilized in the real world. This one graphic got me hooked on PBL and the ability to assess within. My mind went down the proverbial rabbit hole of my current curriculum, but it was the key to my understanding and practicing of PBL

Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2008, May)

I felt this was so important to share because I think it sums up the value and practicality of PBL. Even as a first grade teachers this provided me with an indefinite number of ideas on where to proceed. I think it was the match that lit the fuse as it pertains to pursing PBL in my classroom. It has me excited to try harder for my students and I think that answers the question, Why Project Based Learned? Because we need more as teachers, our kids deserve more, and what were doing isn't working. PBL is purposeful, its meaningful, and it holds real-world advantages. And all pedagogical reasoning aside, it just seems like more fun than a manual. 

References

 Brooks, M., & Brooks, J. (1999, November). The Courage to Be Constructivist. Retrieved July 03, 2016, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov99/vol57/num03/The-Courage-to-Be-Constructivist.aspx 

 Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2008, May). Put Understanding First. Retrieved July 03, 2016, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may08/vol65/num08/Put-Understanding-First.aspx 

Project Based Learning (PBL) - Reaching the Gold Standard

Each year I watch teachers work hard to transform their instruction to meet the needs of 21st century learners. As a group of educators, we slowly continue to make the transition from whole-group instruction to small-group, we move our role from instructor to facilitator, and continue to search hard to find ways to include technology to keep our students engaged for as long as we possibly can.

I have watched as teachers, who have done it "their way" for years begrudgingly make the transition from their whole group to small group instruction, working hard to create center-based activities,  and trying hard to keep up with the fast paced entrance of technology that continues to force its way into the classroom. Although these methods and ideas continue to invade teachers repertoires, one method continues to fight hard to make it's way into the mix....PBL, or project-based learning.

My personal belief for PBL struggling to become so widely used is the complexity of preparation that it brings. I recently watched some videos on edutopia.com which modeled some exemplar classrooms using PBL, and from the outside looking in, it might look as if the students are the ones doing all the work. But upon closer examination, that would be exactly what the teachers want you (and their students) to think. Most of the work that is done by the facilitators are done behind the scenes. This includes setting up field trips, organizing a variety of experts to be available to the students, and making sure the students have the appropriate expectations laid out for the length of the PBL opportunity. The great thing watching these students work through this process is the amount of authentic learning that occurs. Ultimately, this is the main goal of PBL, creating authentic learning opportunities that incorporate a variety of standards and allow students to have accountability while sharing their learning.

In order to make sure PBL is not just another fad in learning, The Buck Institute for Education has created a set of Gold Standards.

Image taken from
 http://bie.org/blog/gold_standard_pbl_essential_project_design_elements

The graphic above shows you the a representation of what the gold standard for PBL looks like. At the center of every PBL should be an in-depth understanding of standards and concepts. It also must be based around critical thinking, problem solving, and self-management. Each PBL should begin with a challenging question which will help make the learning more meaningful. Sustained inquiry is a cyclical process that does not involved a simple text-book reference, but more of an in-depth search for answers. This could include a variety of resources, including expert interviews. Once answers are found, students dive deeper into their questioning and begin the process again in order to find more detailed information. In my opinion, one of the most important features of a PBL is the authenticity that it brings to the table. This is the "real-world" learning experiences that are provided from the learning opportunity. One of the best examples of this is from one of the videos I recently watched. In Eeva Reeder's geometry class, students are working hard to design what a school might look like in the year 2050. Not only is this a perfect example of what an authentic learning experience looks like, but it has the total gold standard package. Click here to read about and watch Ms. Reeder's class in action. Fewer things bring engagement more than giving students voice and choice in their learning opportunities. This makes it an easy selection as part of the gold standard. "More advanced students may go even further and select the topic and nature of the project itself; they can write their own driving question and decide how they want to investigate it, demonstrate what they have learned, and how they will share their work." (Larmer, 2015) At times, reflecting on an experience can be more valuable than the experience itself. That is why reflection is a crucial aspect of the gold standard. This includes students reflecting and evaluation how they might approach their next project. The next step might be the hardest pill to swallow, and it's something that needs to be taught as much as anything. Critique and revision might be one of the more difficult aspects of the gold standards in PBL, but it is definitely a crucial step. This does not only include critique from peers and teachers, but from real-world experts as well. This is just another step that gives PBL opportunities their authenticity. Ultimately, a PBL would be nothing without the public product. Not only does this add more authenticity, but it gives accountability to each student. What better way to demonstrate learning than to share your learning with parents, teachers, peers, and members of the public.

These standards are the baseline for establishing PBL opportunities in the classroom. As a first grade teacher, I am still skeptical to how this can all be done, but I am not skeptical that it is worth it, and where there is a will, there must be a way. If you need convinced on the validity of the value of PBL opportunities, look no further than the following videos. 

More fun than a barrel of ....Worms?! - Curiosity about a classmate's cystic fibrosis leads to a study on genetics.  

March of the Monarchs - students follow the butterflies' migration. 

As a primary level teacher, I see the excitement and importance of PBL, especially after the previos videos. Over the next few weeks, as my excitement and learning grow, I hope to share with you how we can make PBL's a viable learning opportunity in any classroom.

Resources

 Larmer, J., & Mergendoller, J. (2015, April 21). Gold Standard PBL: Essential Project Design Elements. Retrieved June 28, 2016, from http://bie.org/blog/gold_standard_pbl_essential_project_design_elements 

 Curtis, D. (2001, October 01). More Fun Than a Barrel of . . . Worms?! Retrieved June 28, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/more-fun-barrel-worms

Curtis, D. (2002, June 06). March of the Monarchs: Students Follow the Butterflies' Migration. Retrieved June 28, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/march-monarchs

 Armstrong, S. (2002, February 11). Geometry Students Angle into Architecture Through Project Learning. Retrieved June 28, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/mountlake-terrace-geometry-design

Virtual Field Trip - Google Earth Assignment

For our final assignment in my EDIM 508 class, we were asked to create a virtual field trip using Google Earth. I have used Google Maps before in my first grade classroom as part of our map unit and introducing maps. The only prior experience I have had with Google Earth was just browsing, and things have changed very much since the last time I used it.

 I chose to take my students on a virtual field trip to see different volcanoes in the United States. The main purpose of this field trip was to expose them to volcanoes and help them to understand what they are. This would lead into further lessons of the layers of our earth and how other land forms are formed. I think the Google Earth assignment comes with both pros and cons.

The obvious pro of this activity is that this gives students an opportunity to see the actual location of each of these volcanoes and what it looks like. I do like the ability to add information to the locations and its very nice to have the ability to add pictures or even overlay them directly on the map. It was nice to loop our field trip back to our school to finish up the assessment and it felt, to me, that we really completed our field trip by coming back to our original spot.

One very big con to this was the user friendliness of the software. I feel that it does not present the tour/trip in a way that a new user could just pick up and run with. Even in the upper elementary I feel that the students would need serious direction, and for my first graders I would have to lead them through this adventure.

After completing, I don't know how often I would use this type of field trip in my own classroom at this time, but I do want to stay close to this idea because if it were more user friendly or primary friendly I might be more apt to use it frequently. Again, it does create a nice opportunity for students to be exposed to the actual locations of the landmarks.

You can view my virtual field trip on volcanoes here.

Unit 6 - The Respectful and Ethical Mind

When it comes to activating and developing the respectful and ethical minds in my students, I like to think that I begin this process at the beginning of the year in first grade. During the first week we read a book about good decisions and manners in school. At the end of the book, it shares some rules and manners that students from other countries follow during their school days. The students are immediately very intrigued by many of them. It gives us a good conversation starter on how important it is to follow our own rules but to be respectful of others rules or traditions/routines that we may not be familiar with or accustomed to. We follow up with this story by creating our own set of classroom expectations and procedures as a community of learners in our classroom. After reading and looking a little further into epals, I would like to add technology to this experience by giving my students or the class as a whole an opportunity to communicate with classrooms from other areas first hand in order to better understand what types of expectations and cultural traditions are commonplace in their learning environments. I could see this continuing throughout the year with many other areas for learning, but I do like that this could set the tone for understanding others points of views and cultures from day 1. Although engaging the respectful and ethical mind is commonplace in our classroom, I do feel that my students need to be exposed to many other views during a young age. Many of my students have little exposure to anything outside of our small town, so by allowing them to work, talk, and collaborate with others, this would better prepare them to accept and understand others much better. I see that incorporating technology will allow me to not only expose them to others, but also allow them to be a part of the conversation and answer their own misconceptions as well. I look forward to seeing this play out in the upcoming school year.

Glogster and the Creative Mind

As part of my EDIM 508 class, we were asked to create a glog to use for instructional purposes. The most difficult part of this assignment was finding a way to create an assignment that a first grader could complete independently while still fostering the growth of the creative mind. I decided to create an opportunity for students to learn the difference between fiction and non-fiction texts. In my glog students had the opportunity to listen to a few different stories and then take a short self-assessment on their ability to delineate between the two. After having the opportunity to hear different stories, students will focus on the fiction texts. Students will watch a video where other students around their age level give a book review of fiction stories. A final assignment will include the student choosing a fiction book from our class library and writing a book review of the story.  This will allow me the opportunity to assess their ability to distinguish between fiction and non-fiction based on their book selection. It will also allow me to understand their comprehension and retelling skills.

 One of the main concerns with this project was the students ability to understand how to use the glog and their ability to complete the assignments independently. Now that I have used Glogster, I believe it will be much easier to create glogs when the opportunity arises. I would have liked to add voice to the instructions but I struggled to get the "Grab" option to cooperate with me. With more practice this would be a highly beneficial tool to use, especially with this age/grade level. I look forward to creating more of these throughout the school year as the opportunity presents itself, and I would like to have the opportunity to see how the students respond to such an activity. You can check out my glog by clicking here.