Entry #16: Strong staff development experience
eases concerns about 8th graders' exit projects
Has it only been two weeks since the last entry? Seems like so much longer.
The holidays always feel a bit like a time warp, and then you return to
school with a crashing reality.
At our school our re-entry was cushioned by a staff development day on the
4th. My Critical Friends Group had volunteered, actually it was a bit stronger
than that, we requested the time on the first day back to organize our discussion
about "exit" projects.
Our District is requiring exit projects in grades 4, 8 and 12 for promotion
or commencement. This is a brand new requirement. The projects must be multidisciplinary,
standards-based, include student research and writing, and be presented
by students. In 2002, there will be a service learning component added.
Anxiety has been running high. Questions abound. Answers vary depending
on who you ask, and or what day of the week you ask them. Questions like,
presented to whom? Where's the rubric and who will design it? Who is responsible
for managing these projects? Are projects assigned or do students choose
them? Are they culminating projects or one-shot wonders? What about accommodations
for Special Needs? The list goes on and on.
Instead of piloting this new requirement and allowing teachers and students
to fine-tune it, it was handed down as law. This is never the best way to
organize for success. My CFG decided that although we'd been instructed
that we need not be unduly concerned about the projects because "it
was just the first year", that we needed a real coversation as a staff.
Our principal was in full agreement, and we started planning last month.
We decided that our focus would be on Project Based Learning. We felt that
calling the projects "exit projects" gave the impression that
they were the narrow responsibility of 8th grade advisors only. We wanted
everyone in our school involved in the support of our students' efforts,
to show what they know.
We also decided that lots of our teachers were already doing great multidisciplinary
project work with kids and that they needn't be so worried about this new
requirement. We wanted to showcase what we already know and, in one members'
words, "bump it up" from an activity- based approach to a truly
project based one.
The day began with a human continuum exercise. Staff members were asked
to form a human rating scale. If you felt comfortable and ready to start
the "exit projects" you stood to the left end of the line and
if you felt lost you stood to the right end. Of course there was lots of
room in the middle if you had mixed feelings.
After folks lined up, a colleague got a few volunteers who were willing
to explain why they chose their spots to speak and he then allowed folks
to adjust their own placements accordingly.
The activity allowed us all to focus and gave us a great reading on our
audience and their varied comfort levels with our topic for the day. We
agreed to repeat the activity at the day's end to assess our progress and
generate our next steps.
After the continuum, we sat in small groups for a think-pair-share of some
key questions. We talked about the definition of project-based learning
and its value for students. We talked about mentoring and assessing the
work and we talked about the actual management of these projects in our
already crowded schedules.
The crowd was very animated. People were really sharing their ideas and
concerns. I only observed one person who was balancing her checkbook instead
of participating, and nobody was grading papers.
After recording the highlights of their discussions, the teachers shifted
to a summary of an article called, "Learning Through Projects"
by Donna Shaw.
A CFG colleague asked everyone to choose a sentence, then a phrase, and
finally a word from the reading that stood out for them. After a time to
read, volunteers from each table shared these sentences etc. and we received
another picture of our group's focus.
We heard phrases like "the process of constructing knowledge -- not
merely obtaining it" (Brooks & Brooks, 1993), and "transforms
the teacher from being the knowledge provider to being a facilitator"
( Shaw, 1999). Teachers also talked about the projects lending authenticity
to our instruction and going " beyond school walls" (Shaw, 1999)
. The text rendering was a good way to capture the essence of the reading
without using too much of our precious meeting time to discuss it. Teachers
volunteered that they could use this method back in their classrooms too.
After a short break, another CFG member presented a diagram of a pyramid
which symbolized our understanding of the building of skills and content
through the middle grades. She explained that the exit projects, or as we
prefer to call them , "the culminating projects," should reflect
the students' growing understanding and repertoire of skills as channeled
through their chosen topic.
Next we asked people to look at another graphic organizer which contrasted
the differences between activity based thematic units and a truly, project
based approach. We asked the groups to select a theme and contrast the way
they might "push the envelope" to make their student work more
rigorous academically.
One of my colleagues had generously agreed to let me introduce his seventh
graders' service project as an example of one that needs a push. His seventh
graders collected funds to buy toys for an area child care center. They
bought them a new refrigerator too. When they donated the items they got
some local TV coverage and we were all very proud, but now we were wondering:
What did they learn? And how can they learn more?
He and I have agreed that in order for this work to continue and become
an exit project, we need to expand both its focus and the skills used to
complete it. We've begun talking with the kids about the various tangents
they might pursue.
For example, the whole area of early child development can be introduced,
and kids can choose to focus on the many tie-ins which exist. Some may choose
to look at nutrition, or exercise and development. Others might be curious
about which toys are best and which skills are supported by those items.
Still others might look at gender differences or reading readiness. The
list is endless, but it all adds focus to their charitable work.
The students have voted to make a video which documents their project from
now until next Spring. We are applying for an artist in residence grant
to help us learn/teach the skills necessary to develop a good video.
In our meeting, after viewing the one-minute video clip, I introduced our
perspective. We then used a large block of time for this activity, and it
really paid off. Each table designed a large chart which highlighted the
differences between a grab-bag of activities and a focused project approach.
It's not always easy to look at your favorite project -- one that both you
and your students have enjoyed -- and decide to "fix" it. However,
in the spirit of understanding that the work needs to be continually evolving,
everyone got busy.
The chart papers were posted around the room and we all took a gallery walk
to observe the ideas and approaches which our colleagues had assembled.
One table looked at a theme which could be expanded annually from grades
5 to 8 when a culminating project could be assembled. Another group decided
they would use participation in the JASON XI expedition as the basis of
their work.
We were pleased by the response and proceeded to comb through group discussions
to see if we could begin to break down the skills our students need at each
grade level.
The grade groups made the point that each level has a piece of the responsibility
for the projects, but this time was a little unfocused because people weren't
clear on the topics being covered. The discomfort which people felt during
this segment was clear in the reflection sheets.
People are still looking at the skills as being somewhat narrowly tied to
a given project. We need more discussion about the key skills that all of
our kids need before they leave us. Seeing the projects as a way our kids
can demonstrate skills mastery, regardless of their topic, is what we're
aiming for, but we're not there yet.
After the grade groups, we went into our small learning communities and
had our final discussions for the day. People really liked the opportunity
to come together for this work and reflection. In these groups the 8th grade
teachers shared their plans for this year and began to discuss the ways
we could all support our eighth grade students. We also talked about the
inclusion of our special needs kids and their teachers in this process.
All in all, the day was a success. The final continuum showed that most
people reached a comfort level about starting the projects. We're not out
of the woods, but we're definitely on our way.
It felt really good to get beyond the discomfort and jump into the work
in a pro-active way. Our CFG really took the bull by the horns and made
the point that we, as a school, can help define these projects in a way
that makes sense for our kids and their learning. Instead of seeing the
projects as one more thing the administration says we have to do, we have
begun to look at them as an opportunity to have our kids construct their
own knowledge and design their own product for assessment.
We are going to discuss the rubric and assessment piece later this month
at our staff meeting. I'm anxious to see the way the lessons learned on
Tuesday are filtered through this next step. I'm thinking we need a good
reading about rubrics for preparation before that discussion. I'll have
to see what other people are thinking. I think I'll email the CFG and my
principal to see if they agree.
Happy New Year!
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