Description of Plan:
The lesson I have chosen is my Introduction
to Inspiration; the grouping I have selected is Learning
Partners because of the possibility of group synergy. Learning
Partners (Leibowitz, 1997), also known as study buddies, is the
best method to focus on collaboration, cooperation, and innovation.
It is the easiest way I know to encourage the use of technology
in my curriculum.
The Introduction to Inspiration will take about four days to complete.
During that time, I can expect some students to be out of class
for one reason or another. Study buddies provides that the in
class "buddy" will take notes, learn how to boot up
the program, know where to find the lesson plan on the web page
(http://www.windyhillmiddle.org/12th.wk.htm}, and share with the
student that is out of class. Study buddies will ensure continuity
and clarity of the project.-does it support self directed learning?--
Another advantage of study buddies is that students can also share
e-mail addresses in order to work on the assignment at home. They
can call up the document on the Internet and work on it together
by use of a chat room.
The most important reason that I like to employ Learning Partners
is synergy. Synergy always insures that the output of two students
will be greater than that of one student alone. Through group
work, students get the creative juices flowing and stumble onto
alternative ideas. Creativity is very important for my Introduction
to Inspiration.
I incorporate the use of Multiple Intelligences (Hanson, 2002),
and Habits of Mind (Costa& Kallick, 2000), and have students
develop a three-Story Intellect while comparing and contrasting
the Monarch butterfly and the Florida Bluejay. I invite students
to conduct two Inspiration studies on the same page--one of the
Monarch butterfly and one of the Bluejay. Students get their research
off the Internet and copy and paste graphics to their Inspiration
project. When they are done, students are asked to reflect on
the differences between the Monarch and the Bluejay. How do they
fly, how do they migrate, and what do they eat? Finally, students
are invited to consider which one is the predator and what defenses
does the other have that give it a leg up on the predator? I am
hoping that students will discover that the butterfly by design
is inedible and flies in such a way that a Bluejay cannot capture
it. The butterfly, because of its irregular shaped wing structure,
flies irregularly and the Bluejay can only fly in a straight line.
Therefore, the Bluejay doesn't have a chance of capturing its
favorite meal, butterflies.
Roles and Responsibilities:
The role of promoting self-management, self-monitoring, and self-modification
is the glue that holds my Introduction to Inspiration together,
and it is supported by the use of Learning Partners. My responsibility
is to get my students to a point of reflection and Metacognition.
After the assignment is complete, I will conduct a classroom discussion
that addresses metacognition (Costa & Kallick, 2000) and how
the students came up with their conclusions.
References:
Costa, A. L., & Kallick, B. (Eds.). (2000). Activating &
engaging habits of mind. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision
and Curriculum Development
Hanson, J. R. (2002), Effective Teaching with Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences, Learning Differences, Vol. 4. Los Angeles: Cantor & Associates, Inc.
Leibowitz, M. (1997). Instruction for process learning. In A. Costa & R. Liebmann (Eds.), Supporting the spirit of learning: When process is content. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
--Chris--did you find any other groupings that you thought worked well with this project? This paper is excellent and should be interesting to observe! Well done.--Dr. Calvin 34/35--