Spying 21st Century Skills: March A Edition

Here at the beginning of March, teachers have had kids spending a lot of time on making judgments and decisions based on content knowledge.  The skill of evaluating, or making judgements based on criteria and standards through checking and critiquing, is the second highest category in Bloom's Revised Taxonomy.  Our teachers here are making GREAT strides to give kids a safe environment to practice this skill.

1.  EF (Gr. 5 - ELA) has posted an LMS Discussion Board where she has students evaluate the movie trailers for popular books.  She asks kids to answer the following questions: What do YOU think movie makers are thinking when they transform a book into a movie? What are their motives?.
(Make Judgements and Decisions: Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis)

2.  JP (Gr. 5 - Soc. Studies) has posted an LMS Discussion Board where she has students read a passage about Adolf Hitler and explain what they think "Anti-Semitism" means.  As part of the process, Mrs. Palen is responding to each child's post validating their answers and asking further questions for clarification.
(Reason Effectively:  Deductive Reasoning; Make Judgments and Decisions: Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis; Communicate Clearly: Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using written communication & to communicate for a range of purposes )

3. SL (Speech) is having students record themselves as they speak using the program Audacity. Students use these recordings to assess their own progress on speech skills, and Mrs. Lunsford is using these recordings as evidence for progress monitoring.

(Make Judgments & Decisions: Reflect critically on learning experiences and processes)


Teachers have also spent time having kids reflect on their own learning and progress!

4.  JP (Gr. 5 - ELA) has asked students to create their own LMS Quiz Show and Crossword Puzzle games based on major themes they have studied in language arts.  This has included games about figurative language, point of view, etc.  Students crafted their own questions and answers and with the help of the teacher created the game on the teacher's LMS page.
(Collaborate with Others; Be Self-Directed Learners: Go beyond basic mastery of skills to explore and expand one's own learning and opportunities to gain expertise)

A 5th grade social studies teacher here at school used a debate format to assess student knowledge about the social welfare programs of Depression Era United States. This was a great example of making kids think, evaluate, and support their findings! It was amazing to see kids support with evidence why a certain program from the '30s was the best social welfare program from that time. The teacher structured the debate as follows:

- 2 minute Introduction to the program - multiple students could speak from that group
- Two 1 minute rebuttals from other groups

Logistically, the teacher thought through student movement and preparation. They all wore these "debate signs" where they wrote the position on the front and the evidence on the back. The students used the notes on the back as guides for the Introduction and during the rebuttals. The teacher also allowed students to change positions as they listened to the introductions and the rebuttals. However, if the student moved, they had to explain why they changed their minds. This was a great example of kids completing higher order thinking inside of Social Studies. The best part about the process is that the kids were excited and passionate about their points of view. Because the teacher built in the rebuttals, the debate became a true summative assessment of this standard.



• Civic Literacy: Understanding the local and global implications of civic decisions


• Reason Effectively: Use various types of reasoning (inductive, deductive, etc.) as appropriate to the situation


• Make Judgements and Decision: Effectively analyze and evaluate evidence, arguments, claims and beliefs; Analyze and evaluate major alternative points of view; Synthesize and make connections between information and arguments; Interpret information and draw conclusions based on the best analysis


• Communicate Clearly: Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts; Listen effectively to decipher meaning, including knowledge, values, attitudes and intentions; Use communication for a range of purposes (e.g. to inform, instruct, motivate and persuade)



For some ideas on how to grade this kind of activity, check the links below:

http://myweb.lmu.edu/tshanahan/nt-debatescoring.html

http://www2.lhric.org/ertc/Wendy/Wzrubric.htm

http://www.orland135.org/UserFiles/File/AOSlattery/AOSlatteryCommunications/Debate_Rubric.doc

Spying 21st Century Skills - Progressive Storytelling

Here at PHES, we have registered for a progressive storytelling opportunity with students and teachers from around the world.  I saw this great idea on the ASCD Brief last Friday, and I just knew that our upper grades would want to try it out.  The neat thing about this option is the interactive and collaborative nature of the storytelling process.  Our students will post various story starters once the Spring session opens. When this happens, others from around the country and in oversees schools will add paragraphs to the stories as the time passes.  In the end, the students' story starter has led to a version of the story the student has never thought about!  To learn more about this opportunity, check out the wikispace below.  The last day for Spring registration is March 11th!

21st Century Skills
- Collaborate with Others: Assume shared responsibility for collaborative work, and value the individual contributions made by each team member

- Communicate Clearly: Articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using written communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts

- Work Creatively with Others: Develop, implement and communicate new ideas to other effectively; Incorporate group input; Demonstrate orginality and inventiveness in work

- Think Creatively: Create new and worthwhile ideas

http://writeyourstory.wikispaces.com/ (wikispace for project)

http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/town_business/116795763_Theirs_is_more_than_a__progressive__writing_exercise__It_s_advanced.html (Article from the ACSD Brief)