Reflection for Round One Implementation of the Dream It Project
Round one implementation for my Dream It is that it can happen, but did not work the way it was planned. I am going to take scaffolding the scientific method longitudinal. Since I see students once a week the maturation over years is important in this project. I need to develop scientific thinkers at a younger age.
This Dream It may not happen this year. I am changing from the eighth grade students to the fourth grade students. Hoping this change will be more effective over longitudinal years. This is going to take time, but it will be time well invested. With this journey starting with fourth grade children I think the instruction will stick and be more meaningful. They are still excited about school when we begin the complex process. Together we will explore questions and work hard on thinking in a higher order fashion. There will be excitement for investigation with room for practice which will build confidence. The more practice at the earlier years will provide students with self-assured experiences. With these solid experiences students begin to develop investigations independently.
My Dream It project is to encourage student independence for scientific investigation through scaffolding the scientific method. I promoted students to be creative in their own way based off their interests as I introduce and modeled each piece of the scientific method. I felt that through modeling and breaking things down they would naturally motivate and pick a topic that interests them. Many did but then went we met again a week later the excitement and momentum was like starting back at square one again. So again I would model and introduce another piece. I felt the excitement with the students again. Then a holiday would require a day off or even a scheduled field trip, so it might be two weeks before I would see them. This would make meeting deadlines and keeping momentum going difficult. At one point students were focusing on the creative parts more than doing the research and completing the experiment. Time is ticking and students are not producing each piece that was modeled. I found myself frustrated and had resorted to having them go back to the traditional science fair project. I needed them to focus on a completed project. Students still learned and accomplished many things. First of all they had never used their Email accounts nor did they work in a Google Drive. They learned how to create a Google document and how to retrieve it later and view feedback. They were able to revise and submit more than once for final assignment grade. I think this was one of their first research projects they had been required to do. Students need to learn how to read an article and paraphrase.
Overall the students learned many new things but not quite the goal I had in mind. Students learned how to sign on to their email accounts. They navigated around Google drive to find assignments that were given and a timeline schedule with important due dates that included a check off list. Students had fun creating the first two mini assignments. Many students enjoyed the feedback that they received and would comment back. As students worked farther into the project some explored Google sheets and forms depending on the experiment they were working on.
My goal was to make them successful for completing the scientific method as independent learners. I would say maybe 30% finish the project. Not a very high rate. It was very discouraging the lack of motivation they exhibited. I know that 90% are much more fluent with using email and Google drive and all its components. Part of the problems that I faced was the momentum of the project. Days off, field trips, High School fairs all took time away from a weekly guide to continuously work with a common weekly check to complete the goal. Another hurtle was the lack of continuity within the team. I could have worked harder at asking for support in the areas of expertise. We had a completely new middle school team and they were still learning the ropes so to speak. I had no common time to meet with teachers and stress the needed support.
For round two I am working with the fourth grade students. I know this sounds watered down but my thoughts are that students at this age love exploration. They may not master the entire goal but after layers of instruction each year they will be actively scaffolding the scientific method for student independence. They will work in groups and develop a science fair project as a group before they move on to individual projects. I want them to see the whole big picture using the parts of the scientific method to make a whole finished project.
Round one implementation for my Dream It is that it can happen, but did not work the way it was planned. I am going to take scaffolding the scientific method longitudinal. Since I see students once a week the maturation over years is important in this project. I need to develop scientific thinkers at a younger age.
This Dream It may not happen this year. I am changing from the eighth grade students to the fourth grade students. Hoping this change will be more effective over longitudinal years. This is going to take time, but it will be time well invested. With this journey starting with fourth grade children I think the instruction will stick and be more meaningful. They are still excited about school when we begin the complex process. Together we will explore questions and work hard on thinking in a higher order fashion. There will be excitement for investigation with room for practice which will build confidence. The more practice at the earlier years will provide students with self-assured experiences. With these solid experiences students begin to develop investigations independently.
My Dream It project is to encourage student independence for scientific investigation through scaffolding the scientific method. I promoted students to be creative in their own way based off their interests as I introduce and modeled each piece of the scientific method. I felt that through modeling and breaking things down they would naturally motivate and pick a topic that interests them. Many did but then went we met again a week later the excitement and momentum was like starting back at square one again. So again I would model and introduce another piece. I felt the excitement with the students again. Then a holiday would require a day off or even a scheduled field trip, so it might be two weeks before I would see them. This would make meeting deadlines and keeping momentum going difficult. At one point students were focusing on the creative parts more than doing the research and completing the experiment. Time is ticking and students are not producing each piece that was modeled. I found myself frustrated and had resorted to having them go back to the traditional science fair project. I needed them to focus on a completed project. Students still learned and accomplished many things. First of all they had never used their Email accounts nor did they work in a Google Drive. They learned how to create a Google document and how to retrieve it later and view feedback. They were able to revise and submit more than once for final assignment grade. I think this was one of their first research projects they had been required to do. Students need to learn how to read an article and paraphrase.
Overall the students learned many new things but not quite the goal I had in mind. Students learned how to sign on to their email accounts. They navigated around Google drive to find assignments that were given and a timeline schedule with important due dates that included a check off list. Students had fun creating the first two mini assignments. Many students enjoyed the feedback that they received and would comment back. As students worked farther into the project some explored Google sheets and forms depending on the experiment they were working on.
My goal was to make them successful for completing the scientific method as independent learners. I would say maybe 30% finish the project. Not a very high rate. It was very discouraging the lack of motivation they exhibited. I know that 90% are much more fluent with using email and Google drive and all its components. Part of the problems that I faced was the momentum of the project. Days off, field trips, High School fairs all took time away from a weekly guide to continuously work with a common weekly check to complete the goal. Another hurtle was the lack of continuity within the team. I could have worked harder at asking for support in the areas of expertise. We had a completely new middle school team and they were still learning the ropes so to speak. I had no common time to meet with teachers and stress the needed support.
For round two I am working with the fourth grade students. I know this sounds watered down but my thoughts are that students at this age love exploration. They may not master the entire goal but after layers of instruction each year they will be actively scaffolding the scientific method for student independence. They will work in groups and develop a science fair project as a group before they move on to individual projects. I want them to see the whole big picture using the parts of the scientific method to make a whole finished project.