9-Presentation Day! Going to elementary schools...

Today was the day.

I was nervous. I was excited.

They were nervous. They were excited (possibly just to miss school, but excited none the less).

By the time the 8:25 bell rang there was a staggering stack of permission slips piled on my desk. It was an oversight on my part, and I had to rush these all out yesterday afternoon. After sorting through and checking off names I was relieved to see that everyone remembered their slip. Note to self: don't accept an more excuses about forgetting homework.

First, second, and third period flew by, and as soon as I was able to scarf down some lunch it was time to go. The bell for fourth hour rang and kids rushed to meet in the cafeteria carrying posters, markers, files folders filled with papers, even a bag of stuffed animals (and of course lots of candy for bribery).

As I reviewed expectations, reminded them about rubrics, and upholding these character values we were going to teach, we boarded the buses and I sent Ms. Tillman off to Akron. We headed for Mentone.

I could hear students rehearsing, discussing last minute plans and details, and talking about what they might expect once we arrived. When we got there we put on name tags, announced room numbers, and headed for the classrooms.

The next hour passed so quickly, especially since I was bouncing around from room to room.

The kids did great! As I visited classrooms there were kids speaking up, taking charge, and stepping up as leaders or working with kids individually that I've seen nothing from all year! This is what I truly love about PBL is seeing the kids in a totally different environment. I believe I wrote about this after the Baker Youth Club project/visit. Seeing students who don't normally excel in the classroom engaged, involved, and communicating is so exciting. I so truly believe that PBL really engages those students we might normally lose. They get to see this project that they've worked so hard to create actually being applied, and they're making it happen!

I received a lot of positive feedback; I'll post their rubrics/evaluations that the teachers gave them later. For now here is a slideshow of pictures!

9 -- Character Ed. Project Due Date has Come and Gone :-\

The character education projects were due yesterday for my Freshmen.

*Sigh*

Needless to say I was disappointed in what was turned in. However, I do want to take some responsibility for their failures (and successes) throughout this project. I know that there are a lot of things I would do differently with this project calendar, assessment, and expectations leading up to that final due date.

Project Calendar: 
Despite having this same issue with the short story project and Baker Youth Club, I didn't give enough time between the due date and that final presentation date. I think if I had the kids going to the elementary schools next week rather than this Friday I'd have more time for revision and feedback for groups that are struggling. At the same time they received way more feedback throughout the project process than last semester. They had a full blown critical friends group session and worked with both elementary school principals to get some feedback. I think next year it'll be important to discuss what to do with that feedback. So I think giving myself more time between final "due date" and presentation date will help me keep some of my sanity.

Rubrics (will be the death of me): 
I think my expectations as far as requirements could've been more specific for this project. I really gave the kids a lot of freedom and choice with the final product, which is great, but I fear that I needed to give them a rubric or checklist to also keep them in the guidelines and purpose of the project. I tried to steer them in the right direction during discussion, feedback, group work time, etc but I can see now where a physical, written product would've helped some groups reach their final goal, more successfully.

What I'm really struggling with and don't really have answers for is how to guide the kids through a project more. I think My Big Campus will be helpful next year because the project calendar will be there rather than on paper. I think the freshmen struggle with keeping track of deadlines, and setting out a project timeline. I had multiple checkpoints this time and chances for feedback.

I just expected to get more turned in yesterday.

12--Project 4--Rough Draft Checkpoint Reflection

Rough Draft Checkpoint:

For this project I was really unsure what to expect from each group. It's not that I hadn't been checking in, talking with them, working with them, etc, but it was the fact that the groups really took this project in different directions than what I'd expected. I think the timing of the rough drafts was way better for this project than it was for my freshmen. I set the rough draft date a full week before the final drafts were due and it really gave me time to assess and give feedback. I was able to see what groups were in trouble and discuss that with them. I think next time I might have the groups make a list of the items they think they should turn in and then when we conference the class before I can add a couple things I  expect to see with their rough drafts as well. This will help ensure that we're all on the same page. Many of the rough draft pieces that were turned in didn't have much more information than the pitches I'd seen a few weeks earlier. I know from talking with the groups that many had made progress but I don't think they were clear on what needed to be turned in and what I wanted to see.

12--Project 4--Rough Draft Submission Samples

9 -- Critical Friends Group -- Feedback Session

Today we did a "Critical Friends Group (CFG)" Feedback Session in all of my English 9 classes.

Yesterday groups were given a "lesson plan worksheet" to set up the steps they would go through when they're at the elementary schools. They had to fill in a rough draft and discuss it as a group. They were also instructed that once they were finished with the lesson plan sheet they needed to prepare a short 1 minute presentation they would share with the class during our CFG feedback protocol.

When they came into class I had the desks arranged so that the presenters would be the center of attention but could sit rather than standing in front of the class. I knew this would make most of my students more comfortable and put the group up on a "podium" so the rest of the class could casually direct their feedback at that group rather than me as the facilitator. During presentations each group also had a group member up front at the document camera showing their lesson plans worksheet from Monday.

The directions for the feedback protocol are outlined in this Google Doc titled CFG Protocol Outline. You could always adjust the times if you want the rounds to go longer. For this group 45 seconds seems like forever!

I invited teachers, staff, administrators to come in and be a part of the feedback sessions as well.

After going over the expectations and reminding them of our classroom expectations (Communication, Respect, Responsibility) we started the protocol with a group who offered to volunteer.

I have to say that I was really surprised by how well my freshmen went through this activity. I asked each student to participate at least three times in the protocol, which I tallied on a roster for points. I encouraged those who tend to dominate conversation to sit back and be OK with silence so others are encouraged to speak up. The students also had to write down 1 "I like", 1 "I wonder", and 1 "next step for each group that presented; this was another way for me to tally participation. (The template for that piece can be found in this Google Doc titled CFG Feedback Tracker). There is a page with small boxes for each group, and there is a page with larger boxes for the students when their group is in the "presenter" role and needs to take notes of all the feedback they're receiving.

I think most groups received very valuable feedback and suggestions. I even had one student in a group who, during their reflection time in the last round, said, "This made me realize that our group has a lot of struggles to overcome and that we need to use our time more wisely because we have a lot to do."

Here is some feedback from those who came in from outside our classroom to observe and give feedback.

"I thought it was very well organized as far as having established structure which allowed for all sides of the conversation. I enjoyed getting to hear what each group was doing, thought maybe if there could be more input from all the group members (I know that they have a selected facilitator/leader) to round out what the plan/idea was.Overall I was very impressed.  Some of the students who spoke were ones who I would not have expected and they did so enough that it went beyond the 'I just want my participation points' issue."  --Assistant Principal Jon Hutton

"I had a great time in the class just listening to the students plan a lesson for the [elementary schools].  The topic was great as some of the students could also use a few pointers on manners and good behavior.  The pace of the class really surprised me in a good way.  Man you students better be sharp and ready to participate.  I wish more students would have vocalized their thoughts as I saw some great ones written down on paper but not vocalized.  Nice group work with every student having a job to do." -- Math teacher Terry Screeton

"Giving the students an opportunity to discuss this plan amongst their peers and a chance for reflection and suggestions is also a wonderful idea. I was impressed with the participation of many students and how the class as a whole conducted itself.  A couple of students started to add more than a suggestion or two and I would have liked to see others step in and contribute; however, overall it was good. This is a great way to promote confidence with speaking in front of other people and the freedom to express constructive criticism appropriately" -- Counselor Scott Bibler

 Looking back after the conclusion of the project -- 3/12/13: 

 I don't know how to encourage or help students take the feedback they receive from CFGs like this and better apply it to their projects. I also think we should do the CFG earlier in the project timeline...or at least not so close to the final deadline. I think doing the CFG on a block day would be more beneficial because groups would have time after we're finished to decompress and discuss how they're going to change their path and adjust their management logs.

"Digital" Management Log Resource!

Found an awesome resource for taking our "Project Management Logs" (source: bie.org) online! Perfect for going digital next year. I think the kids will really like these and I think this digital version allows for more changes, adjustment, and I can monitor 24/7! There is a "pro" version but the free one seems to work fine as long as students remember to post their links to their Edmodo small groups and write down the links.

http://scrumy.com/Project3Mason 

http://scrumy.com/Project3Mason