Discovery Education Spring Virtcon and CBL

Last week I was honored to be contacted by Karen Ogen, who serves as Coordinator of Media/ Technology Magnet Program in Columbia, South Carolina, in regards to her Keynote presentation entitled "Igniting A Passion for Learning" for Discovery Education Spring VirtCon.  Her plan was to present several different avenues to inspire and challenge students in the classroom, which included Genius Hour, gamification, maker challenges and Challenge Based Learning (CBL). She then approached myself and other DEN Stars with the opportunity to share a bit about our experiences with these learning frameworks. I was sent few questions and asked to share about something I am truly passionate about, CBL. 

Since we all know that when people are truly passionate about something asking them to keep things brief is hard and due to her time constraints she had to cut everyone's section down some. However, I still had my video pieces on my computer  and I thought I would share the full version of my answers here for those still interested. 

 

 

Stop Girl Bullying 

Gabbing the Gifted-1st CBL Challenge

CBL Across Manatee 

Peace Solution

 

Challenge Based Learning (CBL) Resources

https://www.challengebasedlearning.org/

iTunes U

Helpful Books

 Making Thinking Visible 

by Ron Ritchart, Mark Church and Karin Morrison

Comprehension and Collaboraton:Inquiry Circles 

by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels

Teaching Science with Interactive Notebook

by Kellie Marcarelli

 

CBL Across the District -Part 3/ Multimedia and Language Arts Common Core Standards

I have said in an earlier post that the Common Core K-5  is chalked full of standards that focus on strategies rather than specific content and incorporating them into a Challenge Based Learning (CBL) challenge is quite natural. Honestly there are a lot of programs and frameworks out there making these claims, which should leave us all with questions about how. Since which standards are covered in during the CBL process are based on the  activities chosen it is impossible effectively communicate about all of them that maybe covered within a challenge in just one blog post. For this post, I am going to focus in on using multimedia in the mist of student research or guiding activities.

 Like so many of our challenges, Discovery Education has played on huge role in our guiding activities and we found a ton of helpful videos and other resources. It can never be just quality of the information in each video, but what skills students can hone while interacting with that information that is important. Many of the same skills used in create Strategic Readers  and laid out The Common Core Language Arts Standards  should be considered when guiding students through using any multimedia content. 

With those principles in mind, I have chosen to explore and adapt many reading comprehension lessons and activities found in Strategies that Work by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis, Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action  by Stephanie Harvey and Daniel Harvey and for me the most practical The Comprehension ToolKits . These thinking skills need to be explicitly taught and video is just another avenue. These lessons and/or activities might include; organizing information and taking notes using Fact Question Responses (FQR) Chart, determine importance and the use of many graphic organizers. 

 I am not trying to suggest that students shouldn’t be required to read. I am suggesting that the thinking behind some of the comprehension skills can be taught and honed through the use of multimedia. It is stated throughout much of the literature on reading comprehension that a readers job is to make meaning from that text, which relates as much to a students' thinking as it does to being able to read the words on the page. It is my opinion, that having students use these skills when interacting with multimedia can only strengthen our students' thinking. 

At the core of a CBL challenge is a real world problem and along with that comes an authentic solution that is generated from student research. With each lesson or guiding activity we move closer to fulfilling what is stated in the Key Design Considerations for Common Core English and Language Arts:

 ”To be ready for college, workforce training and life in technology society, students need the ability to gather, comprehend, evaluate, synthesize and report on information and ideas, to conduct original research in order to answer questions or solve problems, and nonprint texts in media forms old and new. “

 

CBL and Common Core K-5-What I need to do?

I once heard a speaker say, “Our schools should have an academic focus not a project focus.” This is a statement I full heartedly agree with and due to the integrated model of literacy feel that Common Core Standards also supports. With that said, just because projects are present does not mean that the academics have taken a backseat. On the contrary, they are as front and center as ever before and Challenge Based Learning (CBL) is an excellent example of Common Core in action. It is important that with both CBL and Common Core we, as educators, focus on the process rather than the solution, which means our role, as educators, will need to change. We will need to make the shift from being less of a dispenser of information to being more of a guide and lead researcher. As a lead researcher, we will need to be prepared for many conversations and coaching sessions during our CBL challenges. Most of our conversations, will result in mini-
lessons on the hows and whys of doing quality research. To raise students that are career and college ready we need to rethink not only how work is being done, but how and when lessons (or mini-lessons) occur. Throughout the CBL process the educator, that is acting as a guide, is giving instruction through mini-lessons when a student need arises or when a standard fits into the purpose hand. Since Common Core K-5 is chalked full of standards that focus on strategies rather than specific content incorporating them into a CBL challenge becomes quite natural. However, this is going to require educators to become very familiar with the Common Core so that when learning opportunities arise they are more than ready to address both the standard and the need.
   
Honestly, I believe that real learning takes place in the process and due to that belief I feel that, as educators, we should not be doing anything for students that they can do for themselves. When involved in CBL challenges students are not only involved in the process, but are holding the majority of the labor responsibility. They are no longer waiting for the answer, but going out to discover their own answers. In my observations within our CBL Challenges engagement has been very high and both research studies done by New Media Consortium have shown that as well. Living out this type of engagement Common Core Standards K-5 are not just covered, but honed as well. 

With that said, I must be better at documenting the learning that is taking place and the progress each child is making. What mini-lessons need to be taught? When do these mini-lessons need to be taught? How am I going to document these lessons? What is being used to document learning and mastery of standards? Basically, if I believe that the learning is truly taking place in the process then where is my proof. Maybe, the fact that I am asking myself these questions is part of the process and that is where my learning is right now. Which leaves me the summer to read up and review research on authentic assessment and portfolios (ePortfolios). As well as, working on a lesson plan template that will do a better job of meeting our needs. I suppose what has been said is true, "One can't do better, until she knows better."

First Impressions of The Common Core

I have been hearing about The Common Core for about a year or so now on Twitter and other mediums. Still, it wasn’t until a couple of months ago when I began working on a team, with five other educators throughout our district to write a K-5 Gifted Scope and Sequence, that I actually took the time to read through The Common Core.  As I read through the introduction, the key design consideration and the standards themselves I actually got very excited about the possibilities. Sure it is wonderful that most of the country will be working towards the same standards and that the overall goals are to prepare students to be college and career ready.  However, the more time I spent exploring them three main principles caught my attention: 1) that the standards suggest interdisciplinary approach, 2) that critical thinking is expected across all content areas and 3) at their core they were about learning strategies that students can be use while exploring any new content and/or problem.

 Also, while I was in my early exploration of the Common Core, I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs at FETC in January 2012 and viewing Alan November’s TEDxNYED Talk.  It was then that my brain really began to imagine what putting these standards into practice might look like. I was picturing classrooms involved with curriculum models like; Problem Based Learning, Inquiry Circles, Challenge Based Learning and other Constructivist Learning Models. Along with, school hallways and classroom websites full of meaningful and well developed student driven projects. 

Then a couple of weeks ago the buzz started about The Common Core a bit closer to home. Since this has happened I feel that what  has taken the lead focus in many conversations has related to the assessment and materials. These things are important and in no way am I saying that they should not be discussed. I am just not sure that these topics should be taking the lead in early conversations. It would be like gathering a group of college freshmen together who want to be Certified Public Accountants (CPA) to discuss their future. Then leading the conversation with the format of the CPA Exam and which specific software to buy so that your customers' IRS audits will be most effective.

Honestly, I truly think The Common Core could bring about some real exciting changes to education, but as educators we need to be involved. With that said, I would like to suggest every educators go to The Common Core website, download the standards, read, explore, discuss and think critically about them. Let’s approach these standards the same way we would want our students to approach our curriculum. We would expect them to start by reading the actual document, think, reflect, discuss with their peers and then build something from the knowledge gained. Seriously, here is our chance let's lead by example.