COLLABORATION IN ACTION (part 3)

Scenario 3 was a challenge - much more difficult than the previous 2 scenarios.  The most difficult part of the project was trying to coordinate meetings with so many different people.  Teachers are very protective of their planning time and meeting after school is a very touchy subject for some.  The second grade teachers that I was working with were not resistant to the much more intensive collaborative process but they were definitely not used to the higher taxonomy.  It took some patience on my part to move them from a very superficial, "resource provider" level of collaboration with the MC to one that was more involved in the planning and evaluation process of the unit.  I will say, however, that when the process was finished, the teachers all were very impressed with the product that was created and our hard work was evident in the quality of the unit.  No one person could have created and implemented the unit that we did - it was definitely a worthwhile collaborative process.  Working as the MC on the project was very interesting because it was such a large undertaking - especially involving the MARC outside the school.  Working with the MARC was a pleasure - they were so eager to help in any way that they could and contributed greatly to the first phase of our unit.  I think it's so important that our county has this resource and being able to bring their knowledge and resources to our students was very rewarding.  Overall, I believe the unit was a great success - everyone involved was very pleased with the product and we are all so excited to see how the children respond to the lessons.

"Evaluation" Delving Deeper

Self evaluation is more difficult than I expected.  It seems very indulgent in a way to deem your own work successful.  I suppose that is why we create specific criteria to use in our evaluation.  My group's criteria were based on the Standards for NC media coordinators - we focused on the big ideas of leadership, developing 21st century skills for a variety of learners, knowledge of learning, and self reflection.  I think our criteria was specific enough to be able to evaluate without bias.  I tried to look at my group members' units objectively and based my evaluations on the criteria that we outlined specifically.  Their units were both very successful as was my evaluation of my own.  I think that we all tried to use a high taxonomy level of collaboration in our units which naturally drove them to meet the criteria that we outlined. 

COLLABORATION IN ACTION (part 2)

The second scenario for our collaboration project was to design a lesson plan with a classroom teacher.  I wanted to step out of my elementary school comfort zone (which turned out to be the most intimidating part of this project) and decided to collaborate with a high school English teacher.  It was time for me to do an inquiry-based unit (the second challenge of our project).  Ms. Wilson, my partner in the project, was awesome.  She was completely on board with the project and was very receptive to my ideas.  I had to get past my intimidation to be designing a unit advanced enough for High School Honors English IV.  Ms. Wilson was just beginning an Othello unit and we decided that this would be a perfect opportunity for an inquiry unit that would allow the students to learn more about the context of the play - whether it be directly related to the play or Elizabethan England in general.  She was excited to design a lesson that would justify her students' Honors status.  Focusing on inquiry, research skills, and a creative product to communicate ideas are, I believe, appropriate 21st century skills for higher level students.  

COLLABORATION IN ACTION (part 1)

In the first part of our unit plan assignments, we were asked to collaborate with a classmate on a unit plan/lesson plan - either inquiry or literature based.  My group (of 3) decided to choose an elementary literature-based unit for 4th grade.  We focused on an ELA unit on Native American literature and wanted it to be as cross-curricular as possible (we were thinking of how to tie it in with 4th grade NC social studies and possibly even geography).  The hardest part was choosing the unit that we were going to do and grade level, probably because this was so open-ended.  Overall, the collaboration went really well within our group.  We used digital methods mostly (google docs and email).  This made our communication very "to the point" and concise.  We operated on a high level (according to the taxonomy from our reading) of collaboration, involving one another in every aspect of the planning of our units even down to the assessment methods.  This, although it takes more time, makes the lessons and units so much more enriched.

Teacher Observation

For our teacher observation assignment, I observed one of Wentworth's best teachers - Donna Strader.  She is beyond a doubt an excellent teacher, all the teachers and students love her.  It was very interesting for me especially to have the opportunity to do this because my background is not in education.  I've never actually been in a classroom to observe before (aside from being a student myself).  It was an awesome learning experience.  I learned a lot from actually comparing "best practices" from our readings to what Ms. Strader was doing in her classroom.  There are different levels of collaboration and I assumed that, because Wentworth really seems to focus on it, that she would be operating on a very high level (using Loertsher's taxonomy).  I found out that this was not the case.  The collaboration that is happening with Ms. Strader and the media coordinator is on a very superficial level.  She IS using the media coordinator as a resource on some very specific projects BUT mostly after the lessons are already planned out.  This is not to say that she is an ineffective teacher or that her lessons are bad but they could definitely be enhanced by involving the MC earlier in the process and working more closely with her in planning and evaluating projects.

"Selecting Resources" Delving Deeper

I LOVE selecting resources for unit/lesson plans.  In this delving deeper our group chose to select resources for a 2nd grade unit in weather patterns.  It was so interesting to research possible fiction and nonfiction resources to suggest.  I used my own 2nd grade colleagues as a resource (which was a HUGE help in getting started) AND I used Amazon, which probably isn't the most professional way to do this type of research, but I found it helpful to be able to use their feature to "look inside the book" Amazon's reviews, although not professional, are detailed and helpful (I think).  We're going to be talking about selection tools and acquisition in Dr. Moe's class soon so I'm sure that I'll learn the "proper" way to do this.  I will say that it is very difficult to make a judgment call on the "worth" of a resource without actually having it in my hand to evaluate.

Eeyore

Apparently, I'm an Eeyore.  One of our first assignments in class was to take a personality survey and the results from it identified for each of us a Winnie the Pooh character identity that pertained to how we functioned on a team.  Eeyores are quiet, reflective, and creative which is pretty dead on correct for me.  I was very nearly a Rabbit - who is focused on organization, which is pretty true for me too but I think Eeyore was most correct. 

It is interesting that my first group for our first 2 projects in class was made up of 3 Eeyores and 2 Rabbits but again, it makes total sense when I look back at how our group functioned.  We were very focused and organized, we only "met" together one time for each assignment because everyone preferred to individually reflect on the project and compile a google doc as information or ideas were formed, and we definitely came up with very creative products with both projects.  The other groups both did very standard presentations whereas our group made a "padlet" (super cool btw) and a "fakebook" as final products for our presentations.  I honestly loved working in a group with people that functioned the same as me but I can see where teams could be made even better with more diverse personalities. 

The first 2 group projects went very well - the first one on the constructivist learning method was very enlightening.  I think I teach the majority of my lessons this way (it lends itself to Art very well as all of our art lessons are accompanied by hands-on projects).  It makes sense that students learn more completely by "experiencing" things for themselves.  Our second project on inquiry-based research methods was also very cool.  I can see the importance of having very detailed and particular ways to teach children how to research and problem-solve.  We focused on the Big 6 in our group which is a very stream-lined approach to research.  It was difficult to choose one of the methods over another without having seen them in action and because many of the methods were VERY similar to one another. 

First Impressions and What Brought Me Here

I was nervous about starting something totally new but, after having my first 2 classes, I am sure that I am in the right place.  It seems that I'm not the only person in my cohort with a non-education background which makes me feel less like a "fish out of water."

After finishing my undergrad work in architecture and starting to work in the field, I knew immediately that I could not do that for the long haul.  Design school was so interesting and "hands-on" but the field of architecture was SO different. I spent my long 10+ hour days staring at a computer screen drawing shower details and wall sections.  When the economy went crazy and I got laid off a few years later, I was upset but also subconsciously relieved.  I unenthusiastically looked for other architecture opportunities but, in the back of my mind, was already thinking about what else I could do.  After moving back to our hometown with my husband, I accepted a job with Wentworth Elementary school teaching visual art.  I immediately loved the job and looked for ways to advance my non-licensed teacher assistant position within the school system.  I was immediately drawn to the library.  I've always loved children's books - when I was having my daughter, other friends of mine who were also pregnant were buying diapers, clothes, "practical things".  I was buying books.  She was going to have the most extensive baby library in North Carolina.  After finding out that the librarian at our school also went through Appalachian's MLS program, I began looking into my options.

I do not regret my original decision to go to architecture school.  I think that it gave me a very diverse education and taught me how to thing creatively - something that may be able to help me bring something new to the field of library science.  I actually see a great deal of similarities between the "minds" of architects and librarians which is very comforting.  I feel like both fields require a certain balance of left brain and right brain thinking.  Creativity and logic seem to be equally important.  I am definitely very balanced in my thinking - whenever I've taken those quizzes that are supposed to tell you which side of your brain is dominant, mine have always been almost exactly equal.  My 2 favorite subjects in school were math and literature.  I guess what I'm getting at is that it takes a certain kind of person to do any job (there's no way that I could do ANYTHING in health care - I'm not wired that way) and that I think I've finally found something that fits my personality and strengths perfectly AND gives me the opportunity to be "hands-on," to build something tangible and usable by a diverse, collection of people, and to make a difference in people's lives.  I am beyond excited to see where the next few years takes me!