Dilemma Discussions
ImagineIT Phase 5
This Phase of the Patterns Project proved to be very insightful. Not only did I receive some valuable input from my colleagues I also received input from my students and got to understand how they really feel about some things. The task was to consult with both my colleagues and students regarding the two dilemmas I identified in Phase 4. Those dilemmas were: how will I make enough time so that the project gets the attention required to fully implement it and what do we do about STEM learning in the classroom when we are required to follow a scope and sequence to the letter. I believe it is important to clarify that the aforementioned scope and sequence is tied directly to skills required for standardized testing.
I met with two of the 6 teachers I directly teach with everyday. Our third floor group is very cohesive and we support each other. The three of us met together twice to discuss the dilemmas I was having. Interestingly both had similar yet uniquely different ways to go about it. Initially we discussed the issue of time. Everyone agreed Time is a commodity of which we do not have enough. However some clever ideas came out of our discussion. One idea was to utilize the 30 minutes we have with our respective classes in the morning. My first thought was that if we used this time, since it was short the project time would be broken up too much and students would not get enough quality time. One counter thought to mine was that as long as it became routine there was really an ample amount of time to work each day. One half hour each day totals to two and one half per week which when looked at like that was a good amount of time. Since this time is built into our schedule for extra help and extra study, I could put the project group on task and still help the others. Basically doing both. Yet another suggestion was utilizing part of the math block time every other week. This time could be tied into the project since the project is math based and the students are studying math with me at that time.
Our next dilemma was how do we allow students to discover and learn beyond learning what is required for testing. STEM learning requires discovery and reflection and where do we get that kind of time. Our joint consensus was if I can write the project lessons so that the students have enough information to get started on their own they will in fact be working on the project through discovery. Maybe not as much as I would like to have but it is a start.
Next I brought these same dilemmas to a small student group for discussion. At first the students were very hesitant and perplexed. I asked why they were so quiet and if they understood what I was asking. They said they did understand however they didn't understand why I was asking them. I explained that I wanted their input because they see things from a different view than I do or other teachers do. They still seemed perplexed and someone finally verbalized they were not used to anyone asking their opinion on this type of thing. That was an eye opener for me because it brought to light how students are not asked their opinion on scheduling and classroom logistic issues. I started thinking maybe we should. They just might have some ideas that would alleviate other issues in the classroom. After we started talking about how we could make time for the project the students seemed to relax and maybe even were a little empowered. Many of their suggestions for increased time came a the cost of other class time or eliminating classes they did not care for much. We had a good discussion about how all classes are necessary and there is benefit in doing things that are not necessarily favorites. I brought up the suggestion of using the one half hour in the morning and asked if they thought that was feasible? They overwhelmingly agreed it could work. Part of our discussion included how did they feel about the project and were the willing to put the time in t complete it. I was completely happy with their response because they are truly excited to get going on the project.
This Phase of the Patterns Project proved to be very insightful. Not only did I receive some valuable input from my colleagues I also received input from my students and got to understand how they really feel about some things. The task was to consult with both my colleagues and students regarding the two dilemmas I identified in Phase 4. Those dilemmas were: how will I make enough time so that the project gets the attention required to fully implement it and what do we do about STEM learning in the classroom when we are required to follow a scope and sequence to the letter. I believe it is important to clarify that the aforementioned scope and sequence is tied directly to skills required for standardized testing.
I met with two of the 6 teachers I directly teach with everyday. Our third floor group is very cohesive and we support each other. The three of us met together twice to discuss the dilemmas I was having. Interestingly both had similar yet uniquely different ways to go about it. Initially we discussed the issue of time. Everyone agreed Time is a commodity of which we do not have enough. However some clever ideas came out of our discussion. One idea was to utilize the 30 minutes we have with our respective classes in the morning. My first thought was that if we used this time, since it was short the project time would be broken up too much and students would not get enough quality time. One counter thought to mine was that as long as it became routine there was really an ample amount of time to work each day. One half hour each day totals to two and one half per week which when looked at like that was a good amount of time. Since this time is built into our schedule for extra help and extra study, I could put the project group on task and still help the others. Basically doing both. Yet another suggestion was utilizing part of the math block time every other week. This time could be tied into the project since the project is math based and the students are studying math with me at that time.
Our next dilemma was how do we allow students to discover and learn beyond learning what is required for testing. STEM learning requires discovery and reflection and where do we get that kind of time. Our joint consensus was if I can write the project lessons so that the students have enough information to get started on their own they will in fact be working on the project through discovery. Maybe not as much as I would like to have but it is a start.
Next I brought these same dilemmas to a small student group for discussion. At first the students were very hesitant and perplexed. I asked why they were so quiet and if they understood what I was asking. They said they did understand however they didn't understand why I was asking them. I explained that I wanted their input because they see things from a different view than I do or other teachers do. They still seemed perplexed and someone finally verbalized they were not used to anyone asking their opinion on this type of thing. That was an eye opener for me because it brought to light how students are not asked their opinion on scheduling and classroom logistic issues. I started thinking maybe we should. They just might have some ideas that would alleviate other issues in the classroom. After we started talking about how we could make time for the project the students seemed to relax and maybe even were a little empowered. Many of their suggestions for increased time came a the cost of other class time or eliminating classes they did not care for much. We had a good discussion about how all classes are necessary and there is benefit in doing things that are not necessarily favorites. I brought up the suggestion of using the one half hour in the morning and asked if they thought that was feasible? They overwhelmingly agreed it could work. Part of our discussion included how did they feel about the project and were the willing to put the time in t complete it. I was completely happy with their response because they are truly excited to get going on the project.