This week, my 4th Grade Math and Science students will be Skyping with a 5th Grade class at an intermediate school my students will be attending next year. My goal is developing motivation within my students helping them to realize the information and curriculum they are using in my class will be used again in their next grade level. This seems like a simple concept, but I truly don't think students grasp the depth of this idea. During our video conference my students will be addressing 3 questions to the 5th Graders and taking notes on a graphic organizer of what they learn:
1. Is what I'm learning in elementary school (especially in Math) DEFINITELY used in the intermediate school and if so, how?
2. What are some circumstances I might find difficult to adjust to in intermediate school if I'm not a diligent elementary student now?
3. What are some decisions I could make now that would ensure my success in intermediate school?
My students will pose these questions, and the 5th Graders will have the responsibility of taking on the "mentoring" role giving advice back. From the data my students collect in this video conference, they will post on our blog the main ideas that most impacted them. They also will respond to 2-3 other student's ideas and comments. We will also be inviting the 5th Graders to join our blog and continue giving advice and suggestions throughout the year.
I see this blog serving the purpose of developing motivation within my students for developing responsibility within their own learning. Through not only hearing the interaction on Skype, my hope is that the student's Skype and blogging interactions and learning from one another will continue throughout the year! While this may not be a "typical lesson" blog, I feel the motivation component could greatly impact many of my academic lessons in the future!
1. Is what I'm learning in elementary school (especially in Math) DEFINITELY used in the intermediate school and if so, how?
2. What are some circumstances I might find difficult to adjust to in intermediate school if I'm not a diligent elementary student now?
3. What are some decisions I could make now that would ensure my success in intermediate school?
My students will pose these questions, and the 5th Graders will have the responsibility of taking on the "mentoring" role giving advice back. From the data my students collect in this video conference, they will post on our blog the main ideas that most impacted them. They also will respond to 2-3 other student's ideas and comments. We will also be inviting the 5th Graders to join our blog and continue giving advice and suggestions throughout the year.
I see this blog serving the purpose of developing motivation within my students for developing responsibility within their own learning. Through not only hearing the interaction on Skype, my hope is that the student's Skype and blogging interactions and learning from one another will continue throughout the year! While this may not be a "typical lesson" blog, I feel the motivation component could greatly impact many of my academic lessons in the future!
6 comments:
Working with students in a transition year (preschool to kindergarten, kindergarten to first, fifth to sixth, eighth to ninth, twelfth to college)always poses the challenge of preparation. I work with eighth graders and I find that my greatest responsibility is to prepare them for the expectations of high school the following year. This project accomplishes this goal and transcends ages and grades, bravo! One challenge my district faces with social networks (as your blog will act as) is the appropriateness of posts. Setting clear guidelines and expectations would avoid a lot of conflict I am sure. Additionally, as administrator of the site you have ultimate say on what is posted and can thus delete postings, right?Do you see this as an issue? If so, how will you address it?
Kitty,
I feel as though your blog will ease the students' tensions when arriving to a new school. Since their fears of the upcoming year will be exposed and discussed, they will feel more confident transitioning to the next grade. Even though it is not directly correlated to your objectives, it will intrinsically motivate the students to continue working their hardest when they see the relationship between the skills they are learning now and the skills they will need to be successful next year. They are also working on reading and writing skills through socialization of the blog. Perhaps you can buddy up the students with a fifth grader so that they have a mentor that is familiar to them in their new school.
One challenge in your blog might be assuring that each student's post is commented on and their concerns for the following year have had a response. This will assure that the students understand the effectiveness of a blog and stay motivated to continue posting their feelings and questions. One way that I was going to address this challenge in my own classroom is by assigning particular students comment days. These will be days in which they are able to comment on their peers' blogs. I was going to have a name stick for each student in my class. Prior to commenting on other student's blogs, they have to pull one name out of the jar to comment on for that day. The other two comments can be made on posts of their choosing. This method would assure that every student has a comment on his or her post. You could also assign a buddy system where they are required to comment on their buddy's post plus additional posts of their choosing. This way every student in your class sees the benefits of posting on a blog.
I would like to add to my previous comment...
After reflecting I saw a connection between your use of blogs as a social tool that provides opportunities for mentoring and our weekly resources, particularly Thornburg's thoughts. This current age of communication is marked by numerous opportunities for deep societal transformation; through the incorporation of broadband, social networking, and other communication technologies has shrunken the globe which in turn allows immediate access to global peer groups. This has great potential to transform the classroom and education across the board. One of his greatest points is Thornburg’s observation that “creativity will be needed to apply the benefits of new technology in education” (Thornburg, 2010). You have been able to creatively address a need you have (communication and support across grade levels) with technology. Bravo!
Michael, thank you for your encouragement, and I certainly can understand your position in helping prepare your eighth graders for highschool!
You are absolutely correct in teachers having control of posts before publishing. This is a built in feature within my website which allows me to edit or delete anything I find inappropriate. I have dealt with several students comments that were unacceptable. They were promptly deleted. Parents and students are both contacted and punitive consequences could be applied dependent on the circumstance. With cyberbullying and other concerns of appropriateness to consider, I take very seriously each student's internet safety!
I love your idea of having your student’s Skype with a 5th grade class. They will gain a lot of insight from the experience by asking questions. I think that the blog activity will help the students to take their new knowledge and think about it before posting. By allowing all students to post, they can read each others responses and learn from them also. Many blogs are based on reading and writing, but you are utilizing blogging across the curriculum (Richardson, 2010). It is important for students to be able to speak in mathematical terms and this will push them to do so.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Keri, thank you for expressing your concern for making sure each post is commented on. I'm not sure that has been a big concern of mine. I certainly don't want to make anyone feel left out, so at times I could use the buddy system. One of my concerns in making sure responses are truly free flowing and insightful, and if I implemented a regiment of answering someone that a student didn't particularly want to write to, this could stiffle important creativity and desire for blogging. I do hear your concerns and will certainly take them into consideration.
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