Hulsewede+2011

=__**21st Century Learner PD**__= This wiki is one way to demonstrate the professional learning I have done on differentiation and 21st century learning skills in the classroom. One of the books I began reading this summer, after returning from the Asian Society conference in Washington, D.C, was a book by Heidi Hayes Jacobs titled, //__ [|Curriculum 21] __//. Both the information from her book along with what I learned at the conference, have motivated me to implement students' involvement with technology in my units of study in order to prepare them for a changing world that will require efficient technological skills. Although a lot of what I learned seemed overwhelming and insurmountable given my experience and abilities with Web Tools 2.0 and the limited technological resources for students to use in their learning, I have taken some small steps towards these goals. I learned that it is essential for students to demonstrate their knowledge of content using 21st century media such as creating and collaborating on a wiki. This prompted me to open up a free wiki account on Wikispaces.com and to create Mr. H's wiki. I spent some time playing around with the wiki features and learning just how to use a wiki for educational purposes. On Mr. H's wiki I can create pages for different assignments, subjects, and projects. To get my students involved with learning how to use a wiki, I had them open up their own accounts and to join the Mr. H wiki. It is an engaging tool for students to post assignments, view other projects, and to collaborate on projects. One example of this is a social studies project I created connecting ancient cultures to modern times. (Connecting history to modern times was another point that resonated with me from the book, //__[|Curriculum 21]__//. Social Studies curriculum should relate or connect to something happening in our present time. It is not beneficial, engaging, or relevant for students to only learn history, but to find how to apply these lessons from history to the modern world.) In this 1st project I gave the students a choice of two activities, a differentiated technique I learned from the Rick Wormeli book, //__[|Fair Isn't Always Equal]__//. Both activities had their own tie into modern times. Click the link below to read the project requirements and the rubric.



====I demonstrated to the students on how to upload files, wiki links, and external websites to the //Ancient Culture to Modern Times// page. While some students were successful at posting to the page, others weren't. I had better success with the majority of the students uploading to a wiki on a second project. The links below takes show some of the projects presented in different web-based formats. Also, there is the link to the //Ancient Culture to Modern Times// page where the students posted their projects for members to view. These projects were presented in a variety of media, such as, Power Points, wiki pages, blogs, and podcasts (Each of these forms of media were noted in, //__[|Curriculum 21]__//, as essential skills that students should be implementing in the classroom or through project based learning).====

Ethans Project

[|Native Americans]

Ancient Cultures to Modern Times

A second example of how I implemented student use of the wiki is when my partner teacher and I had the students pair up to do another project; this time a group project on Catholic saints for our November Value Session. For this project, I was able to assign each group their own project page on the wiki that only they could edit. I taught them how to use some of the wiki features to collaborate outside of school. For example, each page has a discussion tab, which is essentially like sending an email message. I showed them that once they had edited their Saint Page (putting information about their saint, typing an interview, posting a Power Point slide), that they were to send a message to their partner on what it was they did to progress their project. Also, I re-taught them how to upload documents to the wiki. This time I had better results of students independently uploading their projects to their wiki page. The link below takes you to the //Saints Project// page.

Saints Projects

Creating and learning the dynamics of a wiki has been a small milestone in my professional development. While the knowledge of how education is shifting into a more technological world seemed overwhelming to me at first, I was able to take a small step in learning how to use a wiki and lead my students into a corridor of the future. Wikis are also an excellent tool for teachers to use among themselves in collaborating and for professional learning. St. Raphael teachers could use one to have a collective pool of differentiation resources. Below I have embedded a YouTube video on what a wiki is. The best way to get started with learning a wiki is to know what it is and how it can be used.

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I have already started on my next 21st Century learning goal by becoming familiar with [|Prezi]. The book, //__ [|Curriculum 21] __//, mentions that a Prezi is an excellent way for students to show their mastery of content using technology. In fact, the book expresses how using web-based media to demonstrate knowledge of content is more relevant in today's world than traditional methods such as, test, quizzes, dioramas, etc. The reasoning behind this theory is the more students work with web-based media in school the better equipped they will be for the 21st century job market. ==== I have created a free account on [|Prezi.com], and have started utilizing Prezi with my classroom demonstrations. However, my goal is not for me to be the only one using Prezi, but for my students to learn how to demonstrate content knowledge with this technology. I am collaborating with Mike Dezarn to help my students become familiar with Prezi, so that they can have another medium to use for project based learning. Click the link below to view a Prezi I’ve used to teach the Columbian Exchange in Social Studies class. ====

[|Prezi: Columbian Exchange]


 * __Math PD__**

A book I read this summer for professional development in teaching mathematical computation was //__ [|Number Talks] __//, from ** [|Math Solutions] **. Math Solutions is a company founded by Marilyn Burns, one of today’s most highly respected mathematics educators. This book explains different strategies teachers can use to lead students in a 10 minute discussion on solving mathematical problems mentally. For example, in an intermediate number talk, one strategy students learn is called //Making Landmarks and Friendly Numbers//. Students learn to solve (98 + 2,365) by adding 2 to 98 in order to work with an easier number, 100. Adding 100 to 2,365 is easy to do in your head. The number sense comes in when students realize that once you add the hundred to get 2,465, you must remove 2, since it was added to one of the original addends. The correct answer is 2,463. This is just one of many strategies students learn from doing Number Talks. This 10 minute experience, if taught at the early stages of education (kindergarten) and continued up through 5th grade, is designed to increase student comprehension of number sense. In today’s world, it is essential for students to truly comprehend math. When students only learn an algorithm they are only learning a process, a ‘how to,’ they may even know that process well enough to get the correct answer, but they are not truly learning math. Using number talks allows students to learn different strategies for solving problems and gives them an opportunity to evaluate the efficiency of the strategies. It fosters logical reasoning and ultimately gives students a choice of choosing the strategy that will be the most efficient for them to use (differentiation). Below is a video on Number Talks

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__**Differentiated Techniques**__

Finally, I have shared some files and differentiated techniques I have learned from my professional development in differentiation. Some of these were techniques I learned last school year from reading Rick Wormeli's book, //__[|Fair Isn't Always Equal]__//, but have refined some of these this school year.

====__Anchor Activities based on pre-lesson assessment__: For example, to teach the curriculum for multiplication in 5th grade, which is to multiply multi-digit numbers, I needed data on where each student was with their multiplication skills. I began by giving a tiered assessment. Every student took the top tiered assessment (the problem with the most digits: 3253 x 83), whoever passed that assessment proved to be able to work at an independent level with the curriculum. These students worked on a challenging activity that utilized multi-digit multiplication and applied the skill in a real life situation. The remaining students who didn't pass the top tier, took the next assessment (scaled back the digits slightly 46 x 74). Whoever passed this assessment began working on an independent activity at their level, until I could get these students in a small group and work with them on problems from the top tier. Finally, I gave one last assessment to see if the remaining students could multiply a problem such as (243 x 4), again, the students who passed this assessment worked on an independent activity at their level, until I could work with them on getting them to the next tier. At this point, I was able to start teaching small groups, beginning with the students who needed the most intervention. All week, I was able to move students up the tiers and eventually the majority of them were at the top tier. Most students were able to, at least, complete multi-digit problems by the end of the week. A final formative assessment grade was given for the standard and I continued giving some students remediation work to do before the exam (summative assessment)====

> ==== ==== > > ====__4 point scale__: gives students and parents a better indicator on student progress with a learning objective than a score from the 100 point scale. Students have copies of the 4 point scale in their binders and frequently refer to it when given back an assignment that has a grade of a 4, 3, 2, or 1. Below is a link of the 4 point scale I use, which shows descriptors for each point.====
 * ====__Manditory re-dos or re-takes__ on student work that doesn't show a sufficient level of mastery. Also, mandatory additional (remediation) assignments for students to do before they do a retake. Below is a sample file of one of the remediation assignments I use for Social Studies quizzes and tests.====
 * [[file:Test Analysis.pdf]]
 * [[file:Test Analysis.pdf]]




 * __Thinking Logs__: Students learn how to make connections to what they read; question what they read; and formulate opinions about what they read in social studies. After I model what it means to make connections, opinions, and questions to what you read, students write about their own connections, questions, and opinions, in depth. They are to always back up their thinking with factual reasoning. Students are given a graphic organizer to help guide them through their thinking. I prefer these types of activities over standard worksheets to assess if students comprehend the reading because it allows student choice and creativity. Below are links to these types of graphic organizers, along with a rubric of my expectations when students are writing their thinking logs. Eventually, most students are weaned from the graphic organizer and write their thinking in a journal, while other students still use the graphic organizer for guidance.

[[file:Writing Meaningful Connections Graphic Organizer.pdf]][[file:questioning graphic organizer 2.pdf]][[file:Statement of Opinion.pdf]][[file:Thinking Log Rubric.pdf]]
====These are some of the differentiated techniques I use in my classroom. I will continue to add differentiation techniques and 21st century learning skill techniques, activities, sources, and videos to this wiki. I am also interested in inviting other teachers to read and share the differentiation methods they are using in their classrooms on this wiki.====

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