Lesson Plan Implementation

My lesson plan is to have students reflect on what they learned within the a Civics module on the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Federalist and the Anti-Federalists. Students are already required to submit a paragraph for each in their journal prompts. Now I want my students to share what they have learned by contributing to a class wiki.

The rollout of the lesson has been slower than expected. One of the first issues was that I needed to create over 200 student accounts and get each student their logins/passwords. Since a majority of my students do not actually attend my class, it was difficult to explain the additional assignment, which was outside of the graded assignments in the module. I was not approved to include this into the module so I was hesitant at first in getting very few responses.

My lesson went better than expected considering some of the restraints. I anticipate that as the weeks go by I will get more and more student involvement. The hope is that I can continue this experiment with WikiSpaces and convince other teachers to try similar lesson plans. If these go well, they could be put into the modules as a required assignment.

I have just over 200 students enrolled in Civics. Of these, probably 40 I see on a regular basis in school. The rest I interact with entirely online. For them it was a bit more difficult to get them to add their journal prompt to the wikiSpaces page. Students submitted their work to the four journal prompts and were directed to add to the entry on the class wiki. I could not make it mandatory and it would not show up as a grade. Still, I got a decent amount of student involvement.

I started by spending a class period teachings how to login and edit pages within the Wikispaces page itself. Then, I told students I could track their edits and wanted to them contribute to the broad concepts they already learned in their first Civics module. Essentially I provided them with a medium in which to express their thoughts and work through their own understanding while anonymous contributing to an online article.

Students ideally learned something they considered important about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or the Federalist or Anti-Federalists opinion of the role of government. These are complex and nebulous topics, creating lots of room for student involvement. The affordances of the wiki is that I can track student edits and see real-time how they can edit and refine their collective understanding of a topic.

Students are socially constructing knowledge when they take part in a class wiki. The Social Studies often deals with very real topics that are open to interpretation. For over 200 years politicians, scholars and citizens have been interpreting the Constitution, the Bill or Rights and the role of government their own way. A class wiki was a chance for students to do the same in a way that supplements the course content. Each learner has a way to contribute that is both meaningful and ideally assures that multiple perspectives are represented.

There were constraints with the technology, especially at first. At first the Technology Director at my school told me I could not add a wiki to the module. Then, I was able to create student accounts but could not add it as a part of the module. The last major hurdle was getting students familiar with creating a collective document. Overall it was a learning process that I am continuing to take part in.

Lesson Plan with Technology

Content	Civics Module 2 – Origins of American Government and Federalism Challenging Concepts – American Government was built on the principle of balance between States rights, Federal rights and Individual rights. The Constitution and the Bill or Rights were designed in a specific way to protect the rights of the individual. HSCEs: C2 - Origins and Foundations of the Government of the United States of America 2.1 Origins of American Constitutional Government 2.2 Foundational Values and Constitutional Principles of American Government
Pedagogy	I plan on teaching this unit to students over the course of several weeks. Students progress through the module at their own pace. I will add the wiki project as part of a requirement for completing the module. Students will get a foundation in the topic by reading articles, viewing slide shows and watching videos. They will be responsible for several discussion questions before adding their constructive comments to the class wiki page. I take into consideration the fact that students learn by doing the actual work. In the case of Social Studies, students do the actual work of a historian, examining the primary documents, reading what others have to say and contributing their own opinion to the collective knowledge base. I also consider the fact that kids learn socially and should feel more comfortable taking risks and making mistakes. Every wiki article will have several edits and there will be a discussion board element to work out the final version.
Content and Pedagogy	The topic of American government and the system of Federalism is not an easy one to teach. Many of the concepts are up to interpretation. Much like the Constitution itself, a lot if left to interpretation. The benefit of this lesson is to allow students the ability to arrive at their own conclusions while respecting the facts and respecting the opinions of others. Unlike a straightforward lesson on the foundation of the American government, this lesson gives a chance for engagement and reflection. Students can collaborate together on a class wiki. I chose this specific lesson because of the timing and the fact that there are many opinions on this topic.
Technology	I will be using Wikispaces to create a class wiki. This technology may not be absolutely necessary but it definitely helps to teach students that there is no one right answer to the proper role of our government. The purpose of creating a wiki is to have students come to an agreement of why our government is set up the way it while realizing that not all students will agree on the proper role of government. The use of a class wiki will produce deeper understanding and create more of a collaborate environment. The fact that all student work is completed online, and that many students do not actually see each other in person only adds to the need to create a collaborative online project. Students will have to refute their opinions and find evidence online to justify their stances.
Technology and Pedagogy	Technology and Pedagogy meet well here. Much like the idea of TPACK, the unity of technology and pedagogy mean that the medium, in this case a wiki, is used to express and reinforce the lesson. Students must explore the topic on their own in a guided fashion (pedagogy) and then apply their knowledge using the tools provided (technology).
Technology and Content	The choie of technology used for this lesson helps to portray the need to collaborate and compromise, much like our American government. Students will work together to find the best resources to explain the more concrete facts such as "What is Federalism?" and "Why is the Bill of Rights so important?". Students will engage the less concrete ideas such as the proper role of government and the separation of powers by contributing to a class wiki in a democratic form.
Assessment	I want my students to know why the Founding Fathers designed the government the way they did. I want them to see that compromise is a big part of our government and that the Constitution is meant to be solid enough to stand the changes of time while being flexible enough to evolve with our changing concept of government and the nature of change itself. I am not entirely sure how students will know when they know it. The idea of a self reflection is important in each module and I hope that students will provide a good idea of how much they know with the final writing prompt. Students will also display their knowledge by their contribution to the wiki. I will assess what students have done by tracking their contributions, which wikispaces does nicely. All I need to do is see what each individual contributed and grade accordingly. Students cannot pass the module and move on until they have showed some form of mastery. Technology plays a very important role in assessments.

Social Constructivists

Sounds like some fancy academic terminology, right?

Basically, Social Constructivists believe that groups construct knowledge together, "creating a small culture of shared artifacts with shared meanings. When one is immersed within a culture of this sort, one is learning all the time about how to be a part of that culture on many levels."  To a social constructivist, knowledge is a social activity.

Language is probably one of the most obvious examples. We are not born thinking in terms of language but are raised into that culture. Your language and culture determines a large part of who you are, where you get your sense of identity and what your social expectations are. Another example of knowledge being something that is socially constructed is wikipedia.

Watch this short video to learn more.

Student Interview

     I interviewed three students at my school. The two questions I posed were "What are the two major political parties in the United States?" and "What is the responsibility of the President?"

     On the second day of class I gave my students a Naturalization test, 100 questions they might be asked if they were attempting to become a United States citizen. This test gave me a good baseline on what my High School students knew, and what gaps might exist in their knowledge.

     One week later I conducted interviews with some of my students. What I found was not necessarily shocking, but it is something I would like to address. In general, students had a rudimentary understanding of the political system in America, but lacked some key information. Most students I interviewed knew the two major political parties, but did not understand the key differences between them. Students also seemed to be confused about the role of a President. In general, students believe the President had much more control in their daily lives than he actually does.

     Here is a link to the my interview.

Side Project

     One thing I remember from my first round of Teachers Education courses at Michigan State University was my professor telling us that as teacher we need to have hobbies and a life outside of teaching. He wanted to make sure we understood that you can't make teaching your life.

     My first thought was, "Well duh." Obviously, if all you do and talk about is teaching you will get burnt out. You'll become the person at parties that talks people into a corner, droning on and on about the importance of educating our youth. I don't want to be "that guy."

     Since I was 17 my friends and I used to come to Detroit to see concerts at the Shelter, Saint Andrews and the Majestic. This was a two hour drive each way from Charlotte, often on school nights. I still showed up the next day, ears ringing and often wearing a new concert t-shirt and a wide smile.

     One thing is for sure, my students are nothing like I was in my high school. When I first got into teaching I knew where I wanted to work. I saw myself teaching in Detroit. I knew it could get frustrating at moments. I knew I would face challenges. I also knew I would need to find a way to let off stress. Seeing how I'm getting older (29 on the 25th) and I don't really go to concerts all that often anymore, I chose to buy a project house in Detroit.

     The place was cheap enough. It cost me less than a single paycheck. A two unit, six bedroom house for less than a paycheck. If you know any stereotypes about teachers its that we don't make a lot of money. You can put two and two together and realize it didn't cost much. You can search the HUD website for yourself and see what a house will cost in your area.

     I purchased the home January of 2012 with my best friend, Chris Sand. It has been a long process with some major ups and downs, but the lower unit is now complete and has been rented out. Over the next I hope to finish the upper unit and have a two unit, six bedroom home in Detroit. If I can do it, you can do it.

Photo Gallery

     

Wicked Problem Project

Here is my Wicked Problem Project.

Professional Learning Plan

My Professional Learning Plan:



To grow as a professional I realize I need to gain some new skills. I would like to improve in my ability to manage and track student information. My goal is to have students submit some of their assignments online. It would also be nice to have assignments available online so myself or my students can access them from home at any time.

I would also like to expand my personal learning network. I envision doing this through message boards and professional organizations like MACUL and ISTE. I have already learned so much working with other professional and hope to continue to branch out in the future.

Keeping informed on the latest information on technology and education is very important. I am just beginning and now in the future I will have to stay current on the latest technology. RSS feeds are a great way to keep on top of the latest news, blog posts and other online articles.

I am looking forward to taking what I learned so far through the MAET program at MSU and applying it to my teaching. I already have a good idea of how to use Web 2.0 tools to engage students in meaningful, creative ways. I enjoy using online videos, Webquests and social networking sites to have students buy into their learning.

Between now and next summer I would like to have an entire semester of learning totally accessible online. This would include information, assessments and additional resources. Just as it is important to create a "classroom feel" in your class, it is just as important to create that feeling online. Having all my lessons online would also make it easier for students to get makeup work and to track their learning.

This is obviously just a beginning. I am excited as to what is ahead in the future.