Project Evaluation

Approaching Future Projects

One of the most important things I learned was how to develop a purpose for creating new projects. Previously, I always focused attention on using technology to enhance and improve relevant, content based learning that was already taking place in my classroom. However, my approach was that when I found an interesting tool, I would think creatively about how I could apply it. While I think this worked well and the majority of the projects I created were beneficial, this didn’t always mean I was improving the areas of my instruction that were most important or that most needed revision. Instead, I have learned to really evaluate my content and identify a problem or pattern of student work that clearly needs to be targeted and improved. Then, spending time researching and developing a project using a new technology tool is completely worth the time investment because I will know I am aiming to make a serious and important improvement in education, moreso than just improving a unit where students are already finding success.

Lessons Learned

It is important to apply the same methods and strategies of effective teaching when using technology, both in teaching students how to use the tool and in guiding students to use the tool to develop skills. I think revisiting the 7th grade research unit from the beginning helped me to realize where all of the holes were. Specifically, we were assuming far too much on the student’s part, expecting them to use skills and strategies that require far more practice than one or two class periods. This realization allowed me to utilize task analysis—really break down every skill required, how to explicitly teach that skill, and then create opportunities for students to practice and receive feedback on their ability to use each skill. It seemed like this requirement would take far too much time to tackle, especially when there are so many other benchmarks to meet as well. However, that is how this project helped me because I also realized that just as teaching too many tools would be overwhelming it is also irrational to throw too many skills at students and expect them to use them all at once. Therefore, I realized that by spending a small amount of classroom time over a longer period of weeks would allow students to build and develop their skills through the use of the technology tools. Then, by the time we fully dove into the research project the required skills would be honed and students would also have developed strategies to engage with research and informational reading online.

This understanding really forced me to rethink the way I think about lesson planning. Many teachers feel the pressure of having to teach far more content standards than there is ever time to teach. But my two greatest lessons here are first to sort the standards and choose the most important ones to focus on. It is far more beneficial for students to leave a course with a deeper understanding of the most important standards, than to leave with a brief overview of one hundred standards, especially because the skills and strategies required throughout the course of the year (the ability to summarize, analyze, synthesize, evaluate, create, differentiate, conclude etc) can only be truly utilized when an individual has deeply engaged with content matter. My second point is that when approaching genre-based learning, we tend to teach one genre in its entirety before moving on to the next. Instead of viewing our instruction as complete, consecutive, and concise, by allotting small increments of instruction over a longer period of time, students can actually start to build on their skills and are far more likely to transfer and retrieve these skills when necessary. I had never thought of teaching a unit in this way before, but after creating this project I realize that sometimes it is the only way to fully prepare students for what you expect them to do.

Project Revisions for Future Use

I will definitely be using this project again next year, but the biggest thing I will change is the incorporation of blogs. As mentioned previously, I was concerned that overwhelming students with too many tools at once would be counterproductive, so instead I used the commenting tool on the social bookmarking site for students to post their assignments. Looking back, I think this was the best decision to not overwhelm myself as well. The techquest project was implemented over the course of 24 weeks, with the goal of leading students into a 12 week research unit that included a WebQuest based mini-research paper, training in MEL, and an extended and in-depth final research paper. All of these elements are completely new to my classroom, so that alone can be both exciting and horrifying. In addition, I was asked to support implementation of this same project development in two other classrooms. So needless to say, even the incorporation of one more unknown element (blogging) could only add to the uncertainty and necessary training required. Instead, I feel that now I have had the chance to see the projects and units in action and analyze student work, I feel far more confident in implementing this project again next year. As a result, I also feel more comfortable revising the project to include the use of blogging. While I knew from the start that it would be the best way to achieve my desired outcome, I also realize that change takes time, even for ourselves, and scaffolding our own learning is just as useful for us as it is for our students.