On Tuesday, Ms. Andronik provided a lecture on research to assist the upperclassmen cadet's in deepening their understanding of research. Our focus on research has been to assist the cadets in their development of their BIG IDEA PROJECT to develop their own sense of innovation. If you missed the class or need a refresher click on the link below:
Part I of your Mid Term is about: Big Idea Project Review and Research Update. Conducting research and managing your information is key for your mid-term which is a separate blog entry.
LOOKING FORWARD TO SEE YOUR RESEARCH AND THE STATUS FOR YOUR PROJECTS.
After the group activities (Cadet Leader You Have a Dilemma and Edward Snowden: Hero or Traitor) where as small groups you were tasked with conduct hasty research from a variety of sources to solve a situation or make yourself more aware of a particular topic. We had a lecture ( Research 101 PowerPoint) in class on Tuesday that talked about research and how it is a critical skill in just about everything you do in life. FOR HOMEWORK, (due tomorrow Friday) I want you to watch the below video and make a summary comment in the blog comment section about WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED ABOUT RESEARCH SO FAR???
VIDEO TO BE WATCHED FOR HOMEWORK: Watch this video lecture overview about Research from a college professor in Montana. Still watch the video when he talks about using the library because even though some of his university's college systems are different, the PROCESS (using a search database or library catalog) and FUNCTIONS (how to use the data base or library catalog) are similar.
WHAT IS NEXT? On Monday, our class will receive a How to Use the BMHS Library for Your Research Class? Report to the library computer room on Monday.
Purpose of this Task in Class: To become more familiar with the school-wide rubric (assessment tool) which will be used for you to assess and evaluate yourself, your peers, and that the teacher will utilize to assess and evaluate you.
Administrative Instructions:
Provide every student with their own hard copy of the rubric (BMHS Problem Solving / Critical Thinking / Innovation).
Have students write their own name and class period on the top of the rubric.
Rank the criteria in sequence from (Step 1) Define the Problem through (Step 6) Develop A Plan of Action to familiarize them with the process.
Write the name of "Homer Hickam" on the upper right corner of rubric sheet. (He is the "student" they the "teacher" will conduct a summative assess on from the movie the October Sky. Homer Hickam was one of the West Virginia Rocket Boys who through his passion for space, creativity, and innovative spirit launched amateur rockets in high school.
Have each student split each criteria assessment box in half by drawing a line. See below picture.
Conduct a quick review of the rubric criteria (6 criteria) and assessment ratings (basic, goal, developing, exemplary)
CLASSROOM TASK: The discussion associated with the assessment ratings is more important than the assessment ratings themselves.
Step 1:(Your Summative Assessment of Homer Hickam) Review rubric content and scoring criteria by yourself. In the teacher evaluation column grade Homer in each of the six rubric criteria and assign one of the following assessment ratings (B,G, D, or E). (Individual Summative Assessment) Assessment Ratings: Basic, Goal, Developing, Exemplary (refer to rubric for definitions of each rating for each category)
Step 2: (Group Collaborative Feedback on Hickam Summative Assessments) Form into 4 person small groups and discuss your grades with the group. Annotate the group grade on the rubric sheet. Taking the BMHS Problem Solving / Critical Thinking / Innovation school wide rubric, in small groups you will grade Homer Hickam's performance in his big idea project.
Steps 1 and 2
Step 3: (Formative Self Assessment on Your Big Idea Project) Remain in your small group seating arrangements. Now that you are somewhat familiar with using this rubric to assess someone else (Homer Hickam) as well as discussing how other in your small group used it to assess Homer Hickam, now you will conduct a formative self assessment of your performance thus far on your Big Idea Project using the rubric. Do not collaborate during this step. Your candid assessment of yourself is key. Your assessment DOES NOT EQUATE TO YOUR GRADE.
Steps 3 and 4
Step 4: (Group Collaborative Feedback on your Formative Self Assessment) Once your self assessment is done, now you will collaborate and share your formative self assessment (Big Idea Project) per criteria with your small group. Collaborate and give each other constructive input on how each can improve. Step 5: (SNSI Teacher Formative Assessment of Student's Performance on their Big Idea Project). Teacher will use the rubric to assess each cadets present level of learning on their Big Idea Project at this time. Their assessment rating score will be entered in the bottom quadrant of the student score box for this evolution. Note: If you were absent see the teacher to make up this assignment.
The Rubric is a tool to evaluate and assess student learning and can be used to measure the effectiveness of student centered activities. It assists the teacher in how to navigate the depth and direction
As we finished the movie, October Sky, we saw how Homer Hickam, who came from humble beginnings, but had a passion for rocketry. He and his fellow "Rocket Boys" developed the ability to plan, design, and launch rockets. They accomplished this at a time where many of the countries in the world at that time could not accomplish what they did in a poor West Virginia coal mining community. As we reflect on our focus on innovation (STEM-Social topics), student creativity (passion and interest), and increased "student centered learning" let us take a look at the future. Watch this video about Innovation High
Classroom Assignment to be completed by the beginning of your class period on Monday, November 18: 1. Watch all three videos (33 mins in total): Video 1. Innovation High School (above video / 22 minutes) Video 2. Watch the video: Invisible Bike Helmet from Sweden (3.5 mins) Video 3. Watch the video: How Gardening Involves Interdisciplinary Learning (7 mins) 2. After watching the videos, make a blog entry (Comments section) commenting on the following: A. How Brien McMahon could move more towards innovative learning in the near future? ( Make specific recommendations) B. What have YOU learned about innovation so far? C. What have you learned about yourself from working on your Big Idea project so far...?
Ensure your comment blog entry addresses all three areas listed (A,B, C) above after watching the videos (Videos 1,2,3).
This is an example of how a student used biology, agriculture, and economics to develop food for the cafeteria. Think of what your Big Idea Project will look like at the end of this school year...?
Public Speaking is a critical skill for a Senator Cadet! Whether it is a big project classroom presentation, a job interview at McDonald's, an impromptu speech in English class, presenting your answer and thought process in Math class, or a chance meeting with someone important to your future. Those that can speak in a public setting (as listed above) in a clear well thought out manner with enthusiasm and confidence will stand out and be sought after by many organizations. The picture listed above is of a BMHS student giving a speech as a member of the Center For Youth Leadership (CYLF) at a public event with her state senator in attendance. Impromptu Speech: For today (Monday), you will be given the following task: Develop an impromptu speech about your "Big Idea" (your innovation project) that is 2 to 3 minutes in length. You are not limited to but, cover the following areas in your speech:
Describe your Big Idea
What effect does your Big Idea have on others?
Be prepared to give your speeches on Tuesday and the remainder on Wednesday which is uniform day.
Homework:
On Tuesday in class with the aid of a computer (class computer or BYOD/ Smart phone), show me a quality link on the Internet that is connected to you Big Idea.
Monday: (Focus) Review the BMHS Schoolwide Rubric: Problem Solving / Critical Thinking / Innovation Rubric as a Tool To Guide You In Your Big Idea Project (STEM-S Innovation Project).
Using the BMHS developed schoolwide rubric for Problem Solving / Critical thinking / Innovation (Revision 6/2013) we discussed the use of this rubric to guide our (individual student and teacher) efforts in their year long Cadet Innovation Project (AKA Your Big Idea Project). We discussed the criteria and how the criteria would be sequenced during the project. We also discussed the assessment criteria (basic, developing, goal, exemplary) that they (the student) would use to assess themselves and that the teacher would use to assess to meet their Innovation project expectations.
Tuesday: (Focus) Getting Connected: Technology Admin for Upperclassmen).
I will select three students to assist in administrative support technology functions required for students to use the class blog (Senator's Cadets) and conduct the higher level of research required for their innovation project. I use a number of Google applications so they need to be connected.
Station One: Collect Student email addresses to establish connectivity to them
Station Two and Three: Assisting their registration to classroom blog as a member, having them make a test post (comment), and downloading the free App Blogger to their smartphones since we use them in class (BYOD) as additional computers.
Find a quality secondary source from the Internet that pertains to your Innovation project.
Wednesday (Short Day): (Focus) Uniform Inspection. Senior Naval Science Instructor conducts a weekly personnel inspection assessing: appearance in uniform, cadet knowledge, and bearing. This event is a test where they receive a grade.
Thursday: (Focus) Welcome Back NJROTC Video and Military Ball Brief. The Commander of Naval Service Training Command and a Powerpoint Brief for our annual Military Ball.
Welcome Back NJROTC Video: CDR, NSTC welcomes cadets back and talks about the expectations for cadets in our citizen development program to set the example and discussions on avoiding substance abuse, hazing and bullying, sexual harassment and assault prevention, proper conduct and behavior, and safety in the form of Operational Risk Management (ORM).
Military Ball Brief: Educate the cadets about our annual event
Friday: (Focus) Stretching for Stress Management and Team Communication Drill.
Stretching: Due to the weather there will be no outdoor activity, but we will conduct a student led group stretch for the purposes of maintaining flexibility and as a form of stress management.
Team Communication Drill: Each class is broken down into 3 person teams. They participate in a competitive air hockey competition where it is single elimination. Two team members (as observers) direct the third team member who is blind folded to play the game. They are interdependent of one another and need to function as a team to be effective. After a winner is announced, then we conduct a group debrief discussion on the whiteboard. (See picture below)
TIME TO ACTUALLY GET STARTED ON YOUR BIG IDEA PROJECT!!! You are going to actually give "birth" to your big idea that is going to have an impact on the world... home... school... neighborhood...community...church...team...organization...city... state... country...or the globe.
This project is YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW YOURSELF HOW AWESOME YOU ARE.
Class Activity: Based on our last class and blog entry, you were tasked to be ready to state your innovative big idea in today's class.
1. Look at the whiteboard in the front of the class, and you will see five different colored papers with an innovation category (STEM-Social) written on each.
Innovation Categories and Corresponding Colors:
Science: Red, Technology: Orange, Engineering: Blue, Math: Brown
Social: Green
2. Take two minutes and confirm what category you are curious or passionate about (this guidance is not new to you). Go to the back of the room and take a small colored piece of paper associated with the innovation category your big idea originates from and return to your seats.
3. Teacher will groups students by their innovation category (colored piece of paper) into small fishbowl (circular) groups.
Group interaction:
Small Group: One person at a time presents their "big idea" to your group and each person provides feedback, not agreement or disagreement to their idea. They rotate until each person has presented their idea and received & provided feedback.
Large Group (Class): Once small group interaction is done then, they will each present their idea to the entire class which provides their idea to exposure to the potential collaboration with other ideas from other categories.
4. Each student will write their big idea on their colored piece of paper and turn it into teacher by the end of class.
The Big Idea Journey has begun, you have taken the first step....
I called it your Cadet Innovation Project (CIP), but I am not sure if we need a Name Change. We talked about Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Social oriented projects you can choose and develop in order for YOU to change the school, your community, city, state, country, or the World???
Here is a video on the importance of STEM Education:
So What Is Your Big Idea To Change Somebody's World...? Is it related to: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, or a Social Topic...? Homework for the Long Weekend: 1. Watch both videos for background. 2. Determine your first guess on YOUR BIG IDEA for your Innovation Project and Bring it (Your Big Idea) to class on Tuesday. THINK BIG......
What is a Personal Learning Network and why are we talking about it...?
Let us start with a definition from Wikipedia of Personal Learning Network as a start: A personal learning networkis aninformal learningnetwork that consists of the people a learner interacts with and derives knowledge from in apersonal learning environment (PLE). In a PLN, a person makes a connection with another person with the specific intent that some type of learning will occur because of that connection. Learners create connections and develop a network that contributes to their professional development and knowledge.The learner does not have to know these people personally or ever meet them in person.
One aspect is that the learner contribute and derive knowledge in a PLEthrough various nodes.In this way, the learner chooses which mediums (digital, F2F, P2P,) and social media to build a PLN. Specifically, the learner chooses whom to interact with in these media and how much to participate. Learners enters thePLEwith certain goals, needs, interests, motivations and problems that are often presented to the people they include in their PLN.Moreover, the learner will collaborate and connect differently with various members. The learner will establish stronger relationships with some members and have a low level of connection with others. Not all nodes will be equal.Some of the member roles include searcher, assembler designer of data, innovator of subject matter, and researcher.
PLNs are becoming an important part of professional development in several fields with some businesses creating their own e-learning content and PLEs for their employees. In addition, PLNs have become prevalent in the field of education and are rapidly becoming adopted as centers for the diaspora of field related information (in this regard, they are also often referred to as PROFESSIONAL Learning Networks).
WHY DEVELOP A PERSONAL LEARNING NETWORK?
This is one of the best ways of using all available resources to improve and manage your own learning. Any network is about PEOPLE, PROCESS, and SYSTEMS (TECHNOLOGY).
PEOPLE: Anyone you can interact with to help you learn. Friends, fellow students, family, teachers, mentors and coaches, and subject matter experts (SMEs).
PROCESS: HOW, WHEN, and WHERE do YOU LEARN and COLLABORATE. Is it digital, Face to Face (F2F), or Person to Person (P2P)? Do you learn during school (07:30 am to 2:15pm), at home during homework time, at work, or throughout the day? It isn't all about technology, sometimes you meet people to talk with them about things you want to learn.
SYSTEMS (What Web 2.0 types of technology do you use?): Internet, Blogs, wikis, social media, etc. How do you use information technology to gain access to info about things you want to learn, to learn faster and more in depth? Besides texting, Google search, twitter, and Facebook what Web 2.0 technologies do you know?
Developing a PLN will help you now as a student and in your future life as a professional, so lets get started!! This will also help you in your Cadet Innovation Project....
Cadet Innovation Project....I know you think I am crazy...what can you a teenager do to affect the lives of others, let alone the world. After watching this YouTube video, how can you still think that....? Remember it all starts with with YOU being curious about something that you are interested in or something that bothers you that you want to fix. What are you curious about? What do you have a passion for learning about or a particular challenge or problem you want to fix? You need to use your imagination...?
Part of your Cadet Innovation Project is to open your mind to the concept of innovation itself. Let's look at a some definitions of Innovation according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary says :
A. the introduction of something new, a new idea, method, or device
B. In technology, an improvement to something already existing. Distinguishing an element of novelty in an invention remains a concern of patent law.
There is a tendency to think that INNOVATION is about IDEAS...well that is only part of it. INNOVATION is about applying action and your talents to that great IDEA and through a series of trial and error experiments discovering what works and what doesn't, and refining your idea and innovative concept.
Sometimes by collaborating with another person or group, your idea combined with someone else's idea results in Innovation as well. Let us look at an example.
Background: Being ever a believer is using multi-media to learn, I stumbled upon the movie, Pay It Forward, on television this summer and it got me thinking. Mind you my grandmother, used to call television the "idiot-box" because in the days of no Internet many people spent countless hours sitting in front of it just watching TV shows as participating in life passed them by. I saw a scene in the movie where the 7th grade teacher gave his class the project to
"THINK of an IDEA to CHANGE the World and PUT it into ACTION."
Scene from Pay It Forward. I also read a book, Innovation, recommended by a fellow teacher (Mrs. Pavia) which not only talked developing innovations that are STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) related, but they included the category of Social related Innovations which answered my concern. You see, I am not a STEM-kind of person, but I am a Socially Conscious kind of guy, so that is what I would pick... Project Organization: Phase One (PLAN) Marking Period One: Brainstorm & PLAN Your Innovation Project Phase Two (PREPARE) Marking Period Two: PREPARE Your Innovation Project Phase Three (EXECUTE) Marking Period Three: Finalize and EXECUTE Your Innovation Project Phase Four (IMPLEMENT) Marking Period Four: Implement Your Innovation Project...start changing the world. Summer: Think of Your Next Year's Project ...or if approved, how to expand your Innovation Project... Tasks:
Research the concepts of:
STEM, Social Causes, and INNOVATION.
Discuss the concept of "brainstorming" and researching to support it.
Familiarize yourself with the concept of Project Management and Program Management.
Learn how to develop a Plan of Action & Milestones (POA&M).
We will work on this periodically throughout the year in class, but you are expected to figure out a way to change the world at the school, community, group, city, state, country, or global level....
The Realm of Possibility is within each of you, what are you going to do with it....Use it or let it atrophy....?
