"R"edefining Review

"R"edefining Review

          

          When creating another semester exam review seems like a daunting task, why not flip the script and allow for creativity and innovation to take over.  At least that is what Mrs. Ashley Anthony decided to try in her class at the end of the Fall Semester.  "I just want to try something different for this time around," Mrs. Anthony explained.  "My goal is to challenge my students to think out of the box to create a resource for all of my other students to be able to use to study for their semester exam."  Naturally, she knew that if students could explain a concept thoroughly, they had a true and deep level of understanding for that topic.

          Collaboration and communication were instrumental at getting this project off the ground.  From its inception, Mrs. Anthony knew that she wanted this project to be completely student-driven, even from the very beginning.  Any teacher would simply give their students a project description and a rubric to follow.  However, as an exemplary teacher, Mrs. Anthony had her students define the rubric themselves, rooting this project in a rich research-based best practice.  Giving them the basic expectations in the middle column of the rubric, students then were tasked, through small-group and whole-group discussion, to create their own exemplary and needs-improvement criteria to demonstrate success.          

          The time came for the students to begin creating their collaborative Google Site.  Students partnered together and self-selected the math topic that they felt most comfortable with explaining.  The directions were clear.  Keeping in mind the Math Workshop Model, students had to create a lesson that taught the concept in an opening, ask higher-level questions through a work period, and finally allow for students to reflect on what they learned through a student-created formative assessment.  The only parameters students were given were the project description and the rubric they created.  Then they were off.  Immediately there was a buzz about the classroom about which platform to use.  Rylan suggested, "We should make a self-paced Peardeck presentation because it is interactive, so students will be engaged, and they can continually review their work."  Kate's enthusiasm with embedding a Google Site in the review site was exemplified when she said, "This is the best way we thought to organize our topic of ordering fractions, decimals, and percentages."  Will quickly got busy combing videos into WeVideo to teach his topic.  He shared, "I loved this project so much because we each got to find our own way of sharing our learning through teaching others."  Other preferred methods of delivery were Google Slides, Powtoon, and Google Docs.

          The aspect of this project that stands out most is that Mrs. Anthony knew what her students were capable of and knew that she needed to differentiate for this class.  In having her students create this resource for all of the other students at Chisholm Trail Middle School, she exemplified the "R" in the SAMR model.  SAMR is an acronym standing for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition.  This model is a way for educators to assess how effectively they are using technology in their classroom.  Redefinition is in the transformation range, and it is quite clear that this entire project, from beginning to end, screams just that.  A transformation of a tried and true method of reviewing for a semester exam to one that is student-led, student-created, and serves as a method of instruction that reaches beyond their own classroom.  When asking Mrs. Anthony what her thoughts were on the entire process, she said, "I can't believe that it has taken me this long to try this with my students.  Every class is different and you have to know what they are capable of, but when you let them take the lead, they can produce great things.  This entire project seemed to transform the process of review and was an exciting way to do it."

Check out the 6th-Grade Compacted Math student-led semester review from Chisholm Trail Middle School by clicking the link below.

Notebooking Unleashed

Chisholm Trail Middle School and Prairie View Elementary School share a lot more than just a parking lot. Both campuses are brimming with innovative and creative professionals, continually seeking opportunities to transform student learning.  Mrs. Branstetter, fifth grade ELA teacher at Prairie View, Mrs. Bush, eighth grade ELA teacher from Chisholm, and Mrs. Thompson, eighth grade ELA teacher at Chisholm decided to think outside the box this year! All three teachers have been exploring options for students to digitally record and organize writing assignments completed in class.   Teachers hoped to provide a way for students to collect work so they could easily revisit content throughout the year, independently seeking feedback and monitoring their own progress.

Often times, the most common barrier teachers face when implementing more opportunities for feedback and progress monitoring is management.  Teachers are left wondering… How do I provide adequate feedback to all my students?  With 100+ students, how can I access all these stacks of journals anytime, anyplace?  How can I ensure it’s timely?  All of these questions bring up valid points.  In the article, 7 Keys to Effective Feedback, Grant Wiggins utilizes the research of John Hattie to develop the essentials of providing feedback.  Wiggins states feedback should be actionable, user-friendly, timely, ongoing, and consistent.  He also encourages educators to “work overtime to figure out ways to ensure that students get more timely feedback and opportunities to use it while the attempt and effects are still fresh in their minds.”  He goes on to say, “Before you say that this is impossible, remember… technology is one powerful tool.”  

These 3 teachers did just what Wiggins suggested, working overtime and turning to technology to find a solution!  The answer they had been searching for was interactive digital notebooks.  While maintaining a paper journal in class remains a priority, when appropriate, students also utilize a digital notebook for assignments where interactive feedback would be beneficial.  

Through the use of Google Sites, students are able to upload writing assignments and organize them in a fashion that’s easy to follow.  This process allows students to share their work easily with their teacher, classmates, and even parents.  By publishing their notebook, students can even reach an audience outside the walls of their classroom.  Imagine the implications of this for a student applying for a job, internship, or even college scholarship.  All of their work is at their fingertips and only a click away from sharing with the world.  With the potential for such a large audience at play, Northwest ISD has recommendations in place for students with regards to keeping their personal information private.  Classroom teachers have also explored ways for students to maintain utmost privacy on personal documents, such as progress monitoring.  For example, when students in Mrs. Branstetter’s class upload their grade monitoring document to their site, they will enable the “share” settings for only their teacher to be able to see.  When visitors click on this part of their site, they will receive a message that they do not have access to this individual document.  It’s the best of both worlds!    

Click the pictures below to enlarge the images and see a glimpse of a student notebook. In this example, the assignments from Unit 1 have been collected and organized on one page. The second image shows the section reserved for student Cornell Notes.

Looking ahead, these teachers see limitless possibilities for student success using this digital format.  As teachers attempting to prepare their students for a transition to the next level of school, either Middle School or High School, teachers are considering the potential of sharing these notebooks with teachers from the feeder campus students will attend.  At the end of the school year, students could give their soon to be teachers, a glimpse of what they have accomplished, prior to embarking on their next level in school.  Teachers would have a window into the classrooms of the previous year.  The vertical alignment this would allow for is priceless. With a little research and a lot of hard work, these teachers transformed an often mundane task into a dynamic learning experience for their students'.