Appendix L 

Caption:

1. This is a proposal that I submitted to the Connecticut Educator’s Computer Association (CECA) on an IT assisted project-based learning unit on Civil Rights Movement Heroes.

2. It demonstrates my knowledge constructivist theory, individual and cooperative learning.

3. Through development of the unit I addressed NETS Strand 2, CCCT Strands 1 and 2.

IT Assisted Project Based Learning

 in a Constructivist Language Arts Classroom

Abstract

Language Arts curriculum focuses on enduring understandings. The following unit on Civil Rights included understanding heroes and “The Power of One.” Technology is infused into and enhanced throughout the unit. Activities include: collaboration and reflection through blogging; using appropriate electronic research and citation methods; presentation of new knowledge through web page development; taking a teacher developed online quiz based on facts extracted from their classmates’ web pages; and students creating a wall of honor, from online facts, for the 41 fallen heroes of the American Civil rights Movement.

Description of Project

This project followed a constructivist model for IT Assisted Project Based Learning. Within the project, students were asked to; learn IT as an integral part of the research process within the subject matter of the content area; apply “higher-order” thinking and; practice using accumulated knowledge and skills in the context of a new problem/project area, contributing to students’ transfer of learning.

All of the activities within the unit were student centered, with minimal guidance from me as the teacher. I provided resources, advice and feedback as students delved into their individual research and presentations.

Our curriculum focused on heroes, and as February is Black History Month it was a natural choice to focus on the Civil Rights Movement and its heroes. Moreover, although the district has a predominantly African- American student population, students have limited, and/or incorrect knowledge of this particular time in American history. This statement is based on the average scores of a diagnostic pre-test given to students at the beginning of the unit.

The first task was for each class to develop criteria in order to evaluate whether or not a person is a hero. After students developed their criteria, they responded to two questions within the media of a web log; located on the district’s web site. They were also asked to provide thoughtful responses to two of their classmates’ posts. The two questions were: What makes someone a hero? and; What are the characteristics of a hero? Please see http://www.blmfld.org/page.cfm?p=2770  for details of the conversations that developed within this blog.

Next, I created a “hero hat” containing notable Civil Rights figures from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/bhmpeople2.html.  Each student chose one name from the hat. Many students had never heard of the person they chose, so we needed to go over some basic research and citation skills for them to effectively locate information relevant to the task. To do so I provided students with a hero worksheet and an MLA citation worksheet which were located in their electronic shared folders and on my web page: http://www.blmfld.org/page.cfm?p=1748.  These tasks addressed Grade 8 Connecticut Framework Curricular Standards (CFC)  2.7  Demonstrate ability to take notes, print out or record selected information from a wide range of sources of information and 1.5  Determine an appropriate course of action for addressing the essential question, with minimal assistance.

We spent five days in the computer lab working on this assignment. Each day I provided guidance for the day’s expectations within the students’ electronic shared folders. I included general timelines and all relevant resources needed to complete the day’s task.

Students began to research the hero he or she chose. They predominantly used the www.iconn.org database and www.wikipedia.org for their research. This addressed Grade 8 CFC Standards 1.4 Identify, locate and use an array of print and non-print resources available through the library media center independently, and with assistance, access resources outside the school and; 2.8  Demonstrate ability to identify and use a variety of features to locate information using an Internet search engine or directory. Students filled out their hero worksheets electronically and used http://citationmachine.net/ to correctly cite and save their references into their MLA worksheets. All of their work was saved into the electronic submission folder for my review and feedback.

Assessment/Evaluation

When students completed their research, they were asked to build a webpage using 4teachers.org Poster Project http://poster.4teachers.org/. I provided them with directions and a grading rubric in both their electronic shared folders and on my web page http://www.blmfld.org/page.cfm?p=1748. Student web pages were to include a relevant image with correctly cited copyright information. Additionally, they had to include their MLA formatted citations at the end of their narrative and provide at least two relevant, working links for their readers to find more information on their hero. This addressed CFC Standards 6.2  Apply established citation standards for giving credit for information and ideas used; 6.4  Adhere to district’s acceptable use and copyright policies and understand the relationship to local state and national legislation and; 5.4  Demonstrate the ability to independently use personal productivity software and multimedia to create products in a wide range of formats- web pages. To view students’ finished products, please see my web page: http://www.blmfld.org/page.cfm?p=1748.

Assessment was based on the grading rubric for the Poster Project. The rubric addressed analysis, synthesis and evaluative skills based on student responses to the essential questions, as well as appearance, mechanics and functionality of the web page. As a culminating activity/assessment, I created an online quiz using http://quizstar.4teachers.org/.  All of the questions on the quiz were extracted from information located in student web pages. Students registered in QuizStar and located the quiz I developed. They also had the Poster Project page open which contained all of their classmates’ web pages. In doing so, my students were able to take advantage of their classmates’ research in order to extend their own knowledge of notable Civil Rights Heroes. Students had to locate answers for the quiz questions by finding facts in the texts and through drawing inferences from their peers’ pages plus prior knowledge. This addressed CFC Standard 2.6 Select and use appropriate resources and/or equipment to accomplish a given task. I was also able to access, analyze and disaggregate data provided from this quiz using the reports tool in QuizStar. This allowed me to see where student weaknesses lay and to address them in future lessons.

Students were proud of their products and had one question that had not been answered in their research. How many people died during the Civil Rights Movement? We located the answer from: http://www.crmvet.org/mem/41lives.htm which told us that 41 people had been killed from 1954-1968. My students decided that they wanted to create a Wall of Honor to recognize the 41 fallen heroes. They used the Vietnam Memorial as a model. Using information from the webpage above each student created a short obituary for those killed during the Civil Rights Movement, and posted it on the door to our classroom.

CECA Goals and Vision

I believe that this project exemplifies the CECA Vision Statement of promoting effective 21^st century educational technologies in Connecticut in many ways. My students were able to successfully complete this project with minimal assistance from me. I provided them with resources, guidance, feedback and direction, but it was up to them to use their time wisely and effectively. More importantly, as an inquiry based learning unit, students were able to critically look at events and people from the Civil Rights Movement and develop their own interpretations of how history impacts their own lives. The project also revealed the teacher as a life-long learner, as by the end my students became the experts on their topics, and I learned much from them.

Essential 21^st century skills include: analysis, application and evaluation. This IT-Assisted Project Based Learning unit of instruction provided my students an opportunity to improve those skills and sparked interest in pursuing questions that were unanswered in their research. Rather than teaching my students facts through lectures, they were able to teach themselves: research skills, citation skills, history and its repercussions on modern day life and; how to locate and evaluate information in order to reach deeper understandings and develop their own interpretations.  

I also believe that this project is in direct alignment with CECA’s goal of actively advocating for educational technology. Many teachers and staff were very interested in this project and watched it closely. I have had several requests for more information and resources on IT-Assisted Project Based Learning. Additionally, I believe that sharing this project with CECA and other educators around the state will help to establish a powerful knowledge network that can be used for collaboration and school improvement.

Modeling and Replication

This project could be adapted for any discipline and for any grade level that includes research assignments. The tools that I used are readily available online and can be easily customized to suit varying curricular needs. Rubrics, quizzes and web pages can be made increasingly complex for higher level grades, or made more manageable for lower grades and for differentiation. This project is especially suited for differentiation, as criteria and rubrics could be adjusted to accommodate Special Education students. Basically, any research endeavor would be enhanced through using this model.