Virtual Visit Summary by Jillian Crawford & Elizabeth Marsh Virtual Professional Development Proposal Jill and I have fleshed out the majority of our plan for the following semester. We will observe one another using FaceTime (for the sake of ease and familiarity). If possible, we would like to do more than one 'virtual' observation, but will need to examine that as the project continues. Our observation timeline provides us the time to focus on one partner first, then the second. This should allow both of us to examine our own practices and exchange feedback without the distraction of 'trying to get the other one done' at the same time. We plan to blog weekly, by Friday to ensure that we are keeping on track. Jill will observe me before 4/22, during one of my Grade 10 US History courses. My Fall Topic has extinguished itself, so I will likely focus on my student-created assessment of learning on the Civil War. My assessment for this unit is to create a 'piece' of a website, using Weebly. They will communicate with each other through the blog on Weebly. Each group will be assigned a particular portion of the Civil War (by choice and by differentiated support- readings, content, etc). I hope that Jill will be able to observe the instruction of how to construct the site and design or the 'how to represent your information best' instruction (please note that this proposal was not the lesson assessed, updated proposal below). After 4/22, I plan to observe Jill. Her project connects to her Fall Project, which includes utilizing the iPad and the Flashcard Creator App to differentiate vocabulary instruction for her English Language Learners. In a small group setting, Jill will share her integration of the app into her instruction. As for administrative concerns, we have chosen students who have been 'approved' to be recorded and shared digitally. We also have few concerns about administrative approval. My only issue is that as an EL school, we have a very flexible schedule (with fieldwork dictating when we teach what topics). As our spring semester has not been fully approved, I am not completely sure I will be on the Civil War topic by the time we have observations. We plan to vote the schedule in as a staff on Monday. UPDATES to the Proposal: For Elizabeth’s lesson, the schedule prevented the plan above. An alternative technology lesson was used instead. Please see a more detailed overview of the lesson here: http://tgsushistory.blogspot.com/p/freedom-trail-historian-project.html. Students have been learning about the road to and the route of the American Revolution. As our culminating historical research project, students were assigned a stop along Boston’s Freedom Trail. In pairs, students conducted research collaboratively, using critical research skills and sharing information through GoogleDocs. To support them in their research, we arranged a Skype interview with the Creative Director of the Freedom Trail Foundation. Students were able to direct questions to an historian to help guide their research. The Skype interview portion of this task was the lesson observed.
Planning Notes
Week 1
Draft Proposal
So we can add as needed and then Saturday AM, I can just add in some formatting to make it look nicer... I’ve added questions as comments to the right, so you can answer there or right into the text. whatever works. Looks awesome, as always, you are very organized and I greatly appreciate that. Thanks for getting this doc up and running! I filled in my areas and we’ll go from there! If I wrote anything you disagree with, please feel free to edit/change! Thanks again :-) Summarized Guidelines for Proposal - written statement that lays out how you and your peer will observe one another using technology. - virtual visit should be done, such that at least once you are observing, and once you are the observed. - in "proposal" paper I'd like to hear something about the technical approach, administrative concerns, plans to enable the technology, and a tentative timeline for events. - cc Mike
Category
Jill
Elizabeth
Observation Timeline (to be observed) (still to be determined) Weekly Blog Deadline
After 4/22: Between 8:30-12:20, M-F
Tuesday - Friday 9:50-11:20AM (preferred) to 1:303:00PM. Will be done before 4/22
Friday
Wed or Friday is best for me.
Topic: can be tech integration project from Fall or can be another tech project Technical Approach:
Utilizing the iPad (Flashcard Creator App) to teach vocabulary terms to students who are ELL
oof... not sure on this quite yet.... let me look at my calendar to determine what/how I want to teach this next chunk...
We will meet virtually through the use of FaceTime on my iPad. An iPad will be set up at my back table so that Elizabeth can observe the two students and I utilizing the
I have an area where I can set a laptop in the back of the classroom and do either FaceTime, Skype or WebCT for the observations. We are fully wi-fi, etc, so
Admin Issues:
Flashcard Creator App.
no issues there.
None- the students who will be included in my virtual visit already have signed permission slips for video taping that is used for teacher’s educational purposes. I will just be sure to inform my principal of our virtual visit.
Our school is really bizarre about scheduling, so I am hoping that we are still on track with the plans as we lay them in the proposal. Otherwise, I don’t foresee too many issues. I’ll teach as usual, just with a laptop on in the back for you to ‘observe’.
Week 2: Final Proposal Posted Weeks 214
*The blog on HuskyCT includes our on-going conversations about the content of our lessons for our virtual visits and various technology topics. Testing Face Time to ensure its viability for virtual visit on 3/27/13.
Week 10
Email exchange setting up Elizabeth’s Observation
Weeks 814
Elizabeth’s Observation on 3/29 FIELD NOTES: Background information on the Freedom Trail (I had to brush up on my history!) http://www.thefreedomtrail.org The Freedom Trail: Welcome to the Freedom Trail, a 2.5-mile, brick-lined route that leads you to 16 historically significant sites — each one an authentic treasure. Explore museums and meeting houses, churches, and burying grounds. Learn about the brave people who shaped our nation. Discover the rich history of the American Revolution, as it began in Boston, where every step tells a story. Summary of lesson I observed: Started with student (Anna Faith) gave me an overview of her project and tour of classroom ● Overview of lesson: Each group is assigned to research and present on a different stop along the Freedom Trail. Research was conducted and notes were taken on Google Docs with assigned group. Students will interview an expert, via Skype, from the Freedom Trail to answer any questions they have (this is the part I observed). On April 9th, the groups will present (5-10 minutes) along the Freedom Trail in Boston. This will be videotaped. A video of each stop along the trail will be put together with Google Maps and shared on the school’s website. ● Anna Faith’s stop on the Freedom Trail: The Old South Meeting House (traveled from Meeting House to harbor to dump tea)
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Today: working on Google Docs to plan presentation then skyping in with expert ○ Pros of Google Doc shared by student: Elizabeth made a template; use with students in other classes or absent students, keeps noise levels down ● ½ class skyped with workers on Freedom Trail yesterday, other half today Q: Did you have to pay experts for skype time? ● “The Old South Church” - Congregation Church had a pastor or reverand but welcomed all citizens; riots happened, pews were ripped up, church was ruined ● Focus on Phyllis Wheatley
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Q: Was she the first woman to publish a book? ○ A: No, first African American though; poetry book highly successful; met George Washington, poem on Boston Massacre. Once she was free from slavery, she struggled with publishing another book, lost many family members...did not get to enjoy the “fruits of her success.” Worker has a theory that her burial Q: How much time at each stop?
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A: The Old South 5-10 minutes; some stops are longer but 90 minutes includes presentations and walking time
Q: Is the church the first restoration project in history?
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A: He has read that too. Many buildings have been restored but his overall answer is YES...can use “weasel words” like “one of the first” but he feels confident that yes it was. Q: Do you know other people (besides Samuel Adams, Samuel, Phyllis Wheatley) who were involved in the Meeting House?
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A: William Dawes on the midnight ride, Thomas Prince-religious book?, Joseph Warren, Margaret Signer (modern- women’s right to vote/birth control/gave famous speech with mask on) expert will email other names, George Hughes, John Hancock
Facetime with student
Facetime Observation of Skype interview between student & Trail expert; Student taking notes on Google Docs; Elizabeth setting up computer to Skype
Skype interview (AnnaFaith/partner and Expert on Freedom Trail)
Jill’s Observation on 4/30 FIELD NOTES: In this lesson, Jill planned to front-load vocab with her ELL students, in anticipation of their new upcoming unit. The content in the app was created using Quizlet and then uploaded to the app. Jill also plans to use the content loaded into the app as a center during the actual unit for all students, so the development of this resource will serve double-duty. Before the session started, Jill gave me a tour of her classroom. Very high-tech. She has an LCD projector connected through a student desktop. She has two classroom desktops, two classroom iPads (down from 10 at the beginning of the year for redistribution to other users), and a document camera. Along with the LCD projector, she has a SmartBoard. To guide her students during the Readers Workshop (to free her up to run the ELL pullout), she froze the instructions on the SmartBoard screen, which meant they could still utilize the student desktops for AR quizzes and BrainPop. During the observation, Jill also shared with me other tech lessons she had developed for this unit, including a project using QR codes in conjunction with the iPad. Students could use the iPad to access videos and other online content in their investigation of Rocks and Minerals. ELL Session: Jill pulled the two students back to a center table and prepped them. She indicated that the lesson was similar to their previous lesson on Space, and explained to them where to find the flashcard app and the file within the app. Jill talked the students through that, allowing them to navigate through the app, instead of having it open for them already—key for digital literacy! “Let me tell you a little bit about what you are going to do. On front you will see the word, on other side you will see picture and definition. You are going to touch here to get it to flip and then touch here again to flip it back. Go through the words and then move it to next or I Know.” She continued with additional details on how the rotation goes along with more options. The next step in the lesson, once students had filtered through the 20 words, was to do an informal check for understanding. Questions to follow up on: Is it pretty easy to get additional iPads when needed? How ‘operational’ are the kids on the iPad or does that require additional education? Jill had wanted to add the .99 with extra features- to add sound- especially ideal for ELL differentiation, but no more money… how to deal with that situation? Sounds like there are some barriers to how quickly you want to move forward. How to remove those barriers? For the pictures, did you research the pictures or were they available in quizlet?
Jill’s classroom, students busy with reader’s workshop. Instructions for what to be doing are on the SmartBoard.
Students in RW doing independent work.
QR Rocks and Minerals Worksheet.
ELL Students working in app.
Jill instructing ELL group.
Close-up on iPad.
In context of classroom.
Final Reflections Admittedly, I was skeptical about the project and its overall usefulness for Professional Development. Perhaps years of poorly planned (and sometime painful) professional development have jaded my view on PD. So when I was paired up with Jill, who teaches elementary school, I wasn’t sure how this would really benefit my overall teaching and figured I’d ‘check the box’ and get the assignment done. However, I was really surprised how effective this was as a model for PD for me personally and as a concept to apply in schools in general. I think it was incredibly effective because I was able to work with a fellow teacher whose teaching I respect and whose teaching philosophy is similar to mine (which is not always the case when paired up in the same school). It was also convenient in that the planning for it didn’t have to happen from 4:00-5:00 PM, when we can be in the same room at the same time, and that the visit was when it worked best for us (and we didn’t have to secure release time and make sub plans to be able to see another teacher in action). Lastly, the project was most beneficial in that it reminded me that good teaching is good teaching, whether at the graduate level or in the elementary school classroom. As secondary teaching moves towards more interdisciplinary learning as in Expeditionary Learning, I realize I have much to learn from elementary school teachers, who have been doing it for years and are, quite frankly, incredibly skilled at it—at least that is the case with Jill. Matching Philosophies instead of Physical Proximity Jill and I do have much of the same approach to teaching and it centers on practicality and student need. We also are total digital dorks, so we definitely fed off of each others’ enthusiasm for all things digital. It was also helpful to hear her questions on my motives behind decisions, which forced me to re-examine instructional choices. It prevents the ‘I do it this way because I always do it this way’ and reinforces the fact that we ought to be thoughtful at every point in the planning and execution of our teaching. I have had the unfortunate experience of being a member of a department where few teachers had similar approaches to teaching. I still vividly remember an impassioned argument I had with a department head about student reading levels. She continued to complain that students weren’t reading at level and that it wasn’t the job of the Social Studies department to address it. I couldn’t get beyond the fact that none of the skills-based standards even mentioned reading. Must you know how to read on grade-level to explain why the Hawai’ian kingdom fell? I thought not, she disagreed. I was incredibly frustrated at that approach and as a result, had little respect for her dealings with students and little confidence in her ability to lead our department. I couldn’t believe that teachers were not willing to meet kids ‘where they are’ and I had much internal strife that year, determining when to hold my tongue and when to voice my difference of opinion. I felt like each PD session was a moral dilemma for me. This project offers an easy solution to that issue. While every teacher may not have experienced PD quite like mine, I know even the mention of PD solicits audible groans from teachers—and not just from the ones who only teach for the paycheck, not for the love of it. This model lets you choose a partner that can match and can challenge you to become a better teacher. You are no longer geographically restricted to the people you can work with and, as my next point mentions, time becomes an enabler, rather than a restriction as well. Convenient and Cost-Effective Time was not an issue at all, unless you consider the fact that teachers never do have enough time to do anything! The nice part about the digital PD was that we could do all of the planning asynchronously and when it was most convenient for us. That meant I could really be thoughtful about what I was doing, rather than trying to slap together something in a one-hour session, in person. We were also able to schedule our observation time with convenience as a central factor. We both chose times that we could observe each other, without missing a single instructional minute with our students. What I particularly value about that is that I didn’t have to waste school funds on a substitute (as I currently do if I want to observe a fellow teacher at my school) and that I didn’t have to spend time prepping substitute plans for my absence. As we have found in many other facets of life, technology can save us time and money—why not apply that to PD? Focus on Pedagogy as a Skill Set As I previously mentioned, being able to observe a different teacher, at a different level, in a different environment is only going to improve my teaching. I hadn’t realized this before, but keeping your PD internal is like keeping on the blinders… while certainly some great new ideas are generated amongst our staff, it is essential to see what other teachers are doing in other locations. I have already
‘stolen’ a few ideas that I got from Jill and put them into place in my classroom (and they worked)! Good teaching really is good teaching, regardless of the level. You know it when you see it and most often, if it works with one set of learners, it will probably work with most learners. Of course, there are some activities that I can do in high school that I couldn’t do with elementary school students and viceversa—I have actually gotten death stares from 16-year-olds because I wanted to play a “game”—but for the most part, if the instructional reasoning behind a plan is sound, it can be much more widely applicable than just that one instance. Most importantly, this project reminds me that I have to keep my eyes open always for ways to improve my teaching.