Identify desired results
The can be no doubt that communications skills are universally recognized as important within the STEM fields. Communication and other interpersonal skills can make or break the career of an engineer, scientist, or mathematician. Perhaps the most important of communications skills for students is writing. Writing is the process through which students think on paper, explore ideas, raise questions, attempt solutions, uncover processes, build and defend arguments, brainstorm, introspect, and figure out what is going on. Yet, I believe there can be a strong argument made that many students in today's educational system tend to dislike and avoid the writing process. Many students feel writing takes too long. For some, writing is a very strenuous task because there are so many components which need to be pulled together. Another reason may be that students no longer enjoy the slower, more refined process of written communication because they spend so much time watching the faster-paced visual modality of television and social media. Maybe that is the problem. The slow, traditional form of writing that is presented in the classroom is not keeping up with the fact paced forms that information is presented to us today. So, my big idea is to combine both worlds, taking the traditional components of writing and merging them with the multi-sensory presentation platforms of video and social media.
Growing access to emerging technologies are creating new avenues for teaching and learning, and my students are now in a position to create to learn, with video production being a valuable tool for literacy development. I want to merge my students’ interest in grassroots video with the educational literacy goals that are aligned with the literacy standards. Video making projects will encourage students to communicate their emotions and thoughts, and can be very similar to writing projects. I plan on modifying writing projects to video format in order for students to gain the added benefits of media-based activities. Learning outcomes from video projects include the development of reading, speaking, and writing skills, as well as teamwork and organizational skills. Also, video-based projects will encourage students to develop multimodal literacy. Multimodal literacy, developed by Professor Gunter Kress and Professor Carey Jewitt, has been defined as the ability to use various representational formats, including visual, spatial, audio, and linguistic modes, to make meaning. In short, digital video projects can promote student creativity, accommodate students with different learning styles and ability levels, and connect students with their out-of-school interests.
Determine Acceptable Evidence (Performances of Understanding)
Video and motion graphics are can transform how concepts are communicated largely because video can show processes in motion rather than still snapshots of one point in time. Therefore, formative assessment will compliment the process of video making. To begin, self and peer assessment will be a strong part of the assessment practices. With peer assessment students begin to see each other as resources for understanding and checking for quality work against content we are going to cover. Group members can give each other formative peer feedback during the process of making their films. This peer feedback will provide students with a heightened sense of awareness of their film’s attributes and flaws. Usually the students’ best and most immediate feedback will be their viewing, via the small camera screen or on the computer, of their own films and listening to the comments of peers. I can examine the self assessments and the peer assessments and identify students' strengths and weaknesses.
Teacher observation and frequent feedback throughout the production process will also form a key part of the assessment practices. The more I know about my students, the more I can help them. Observations can help me determine what students do and do not know. I can provide feedback through my own observations for informal assessment of the many learning outcomes, including development of movie-making skills, language and teamwork skills, conceptual understanding and affective outcomes. The emphasis here is on both the process and the final product. I will also place emphasis on the observations of audience feedback during students’ presentations. There are several instruments and techniques that I can use to record useful data about student learning. I will most likely create a Google Document to organize these notes so that they can easily be used for adjusting instruction based on student needs.
Reflective video clips could also be incorporated into student digital portfolios to allow them to clearly display a video based record of their learning journey. Students could describe the details of their activity, what they did and how they would do it next time.
Rubric and surveys will also be important grading tools that can be used to clarify your expectations, make grading more efficient, promote student learning, and assess student learning. The rubrics could include a list of dimensions or aspects of the video assignment, such as organization,creativity, use of color, depth of analysis, etc.
Learning Experience and Instruction
Context:
Tilton STEM is a K-8 school located on the West side of Chicago. Tilton STEM is a neighborhood school with approximately 350 students. Our school has a lab dedicated to STEM, and I teach or facilitate in the lab. The curriculum I teach is focused on STEM and encourages students to use the engineering design process. The students are accompanied by their teacher during their time in the lab. Students in grades 6th through 8th attend two STEM lab session each week that run during the afternoon. I work with teachers in their homerooms during morning classes. I assist teachers with implementing technology and STEM practices into the teacher's lessons.
Content:
This will be a year long project that will begin shortly after school has started and classroom routines have been established. Students will work during class and before or after school on their videos. The content of the student work will depend on the classroom teacher, but they content can be wide ranging and emphasis will be on the storytelling and how their stories are told visually. Although the content of the film will depend on the units of study that are going on in the classrooms, I am going to encourage students be involved in the curricular decision-making process and learn to take responsibility for their own learning.
Much of the knowledge students absorb is best acquired when they explore and actively construct their vision of what is real, rather than passively learning about it. Therefore, students will benefit because of the active involvement that is required. I will focus on story development, guiding students with the structure of the film and how they want to create their story. Also, the constructs of the student-created video allow for the student to make many of the decisions related to the production. Students will have to consider the cast, location, shot list, and how they want their films designed. Video production allows students to become writers and actors, thus developing their creativity. Students can develop and enhance many skills during the process including , problem solving, creativity, abstract thought, social skills, tolerance and self-control as they engage in dramatics.
The nature of this project requires that students work in small groups. Therefore, a cooperative learning model will be used to determine the guidelines for the activities, learning environment and student evaluation. Each student in the group is responsible for a different aspect of the video. The success of the entire project directly relates to the performance of each individual. Roles and responsibilities will be defined and created with input from the teacher and student groups. Students will be informally evaluated by their peers and teacher. Conversations and student observations during video production can provide the necessary information for the teacher to form reliable evaluations. Specific feedback can be collected by having students complete a self-evaluation form. The information, provided from the student's perspective, can be used to make improvements in the structure, activities, and content of the unit of study.
Pedagogy:
The very nature of video production lends itself to cooperative learning. They are going to be writing their own scripts and storyboards and will be encouraged to be creative with their filming. I want the student to take a risk-taking approach to their movie-making. To ensure that students have great opportunities to use these things, I intend on supporting them in developing their skills, to encourage them to continually assess and enhance what they are doing, to hear what they really want to do and figure out what they can do to make this happen. The group must function with a spirit of cooperation for the project to be successful. In reference to the big idea, the task is for each team member to contribute to the goal of producing a video by performing his or her responsibilities as effectively as possible.
Technology:
Using video could be as simple as recording a student oral presentation, or as elaborate as producing an original short film. The complexity of the project will determine the technologies necessary to accomplish the goal.
The can be no doubt that communications skills are universally recognized as important within the STEM fields. Communication and other interpersonal skills can make or break the career of an engineer, scientist, or mathematician. Perhaps the most important of communications skills for students is writing. Writing is the process through which students think on paper, explore ideas, raise questions, attempt solutions, uncover processes, build and defend arguments, brainstorm, introspect, and figure out what is going on. Yet, I believe there can be a strong argument made that many students in today's educational system tend to dislike and avoid the writing process. Many students feel writing takes too long. For some, writing is a very strenuous task because there are so many components which need to be pulled together. Another reason may be that students no longer enjoy the slower, more refined process of written communication because they spend so much time watching the faster-paced visual modality of television and social media. Maybe that is the problem. The slow, traditional form of writing that is presented in the classroom is not keeping up with the fact paced forms that information is presented to us today. So, my big idea is to combine both worlds, taking the traditional components of writing and merging them with the multi-sensory presentation platforms of video and social media.
Growing access to emerging technologies are creating new avenues for teaching and learning, and my students are now in a position to create to learn, with video production being a valuable tool for literacy development. I want to merge my students’ interest in grassroots video with the educational literacy goals that are aligned with the literacy standards. Video making projects will encourage students to communicate their emotions and thoughts, and can be very similar to writing projects. I plan on modifying writing projects to video format in order for students to gain the added benefits of media-based activities. Learning outcomes from video projects include the development of reading, speaking, and writing skills, as well as teamwork and organizational skills. Also, video-based projects will encourage students to develop multimodal literacy. Multimodal literacy, developed by Professor Gunter Kress and Professor Carey Jewitt, has been defined as the ability to use various representational formats, including visual, spatial, audio, and linguistic modes, to make meaning. In short, digital video projects can promote student creativity, accommodate students with different learning styles and ability levels, and connect students with their out-of-school interests.
Determine Acceptable Evidence (Performances of Understanding)
Video and motion graphics are can transform how concepts are communicated largely because video can show processes in motion rather than still snapshots of one point in time. Therefore, formative assessment will compliment the process of video making. To begin, self and peer assessment will be a strong part of the assessment practices. With peer assessment students begin to see each other as resources for understanding and checking for quality work against content we are going to cover. Group members can give each other formative peer feedback during the process of making their films. This peer feedback will provide students with a heightened sense of awareness of their film’s attributes and flaws. Usually the students’ best and most immediate feedback will be their viewing, via the small camera screen or on the computer, of their own films and listening to the comments of peers. I can examine the self assessments and the peer assessments and identify students' strengths and weaknesses.
Teacher observation and frequent feedback throughout the production process will also form a key part of the assessment practices. The more I know about my students, the more I can help them. Observations can help me determine what students do and do not know. I can provide feedback through my own observations for informal assessment of the many learning outcomes, including development of movie-making skills, language and teamwork skills, conceptual understanding and affective outcomes. The emphasis here is on both the process and the final product. I will also place emphasis on the observations of audience feedback during students’ presentations. There are several instruments and techniques that I can use to record useful data about student learning. I will most likely create a Google Document to organize these notes so that they can easily be used for adjusting instruction based on student needs.
Reflective video clips could also be incorporated into student digital portfolios to allow them to clearly display a video based record of their learning journey. Students could describe the details of their activity, what they did and how they would do it next time.
Rubric and surveys will also be important grading tools that can be used to clarify your expectations, make grading more efficient, promote student learning, and assess student learning. The rubrics could include a list of dimensions or aspects of the video assignment, such as organization,creativity, use of color, depth of analysis, etc.
Learning Experience and Instruction
Context:
Tilton STEM is a K-8 school located on the West side of Chicago. Tilton STEM is a neighborhood school with approximately 350 students. Our school has a lab dedicated to STEM, and I teach or facilitate in the lab. The curriculum I teach is focused on STEM and encourages students to use the engineering design process. The students are accompanied by their teacher during their time in the lab. Students in grades 6th through 8th attend two STEM lab session each week that run during the afternoon. I work with teachers in their homerooms during morning classes. I assist teachers with implementing technology and STEM practices into the teacher's lessons.
Content:
This will be a year long project that will begin shortly after school has started and classroom routines have been established. Students will work during class and before or after school on their videos. The content of the student work will depend on the classroom teacher, but they content can be wide ranging and emphasis will be on the storytelling and how their stories are told visually. Although the content of the film will depend on the units of study that are going on in the classrooms, I am going to encourage students be involved in the curricular decision-making process and learn to take responsibility for their own learning.
Much of the knowledge students absorb is best acquired when they explore and actively construct their vision of what is real, rather than passively learning about it. Therefore, students will benefit because of the active involvement that is required. I will focus on story development, guiding students with the structure of the film and how they want to create their story. Also, the constructs of the student-created video allow for the student to make many of the decisions related to the production. Students will have to consider the cast, location, shot list, and how they want their films designed. Video production allows students to become writers and actors, thus developing their creativity. Students can develop and enhance many skills during the process including , problem solving, creativity, abstract thought, social skills, tolerance and self-control as they engage in dramatics.
The nature of this project requires that students work in small groups. Therefore, a cooperative learning model will be used to determine the guidelines for the activities, learning environment and student evaluation. Each student in the group is responsible for a different aspect of the video. The success of the entire project directly relates to the performance of each individual. Roles and responsibilities will be defined and created with input from the teacher and student groups. Students will be informally evaluated by their peers and teacher. Conversations and student observations during video production can provide the necessary information for the teacher to form reliable evaluations. Specific feedback can be collected by having students complete a self-evaluation form. The information, provided from the student's perspective, can be used to make improvements in the structure, activities, and content of the unit of study.
Pedagogy:
The very nature of video production lends itself to cooperative learning. They are going to be writing their own scripts and storyboards and will be encouraged to be creative with their filming. I want the student to take a risk-taking approach to their movie-making. To ensure that students have great opportunities to use these things, I intend on supporting them in developing their skills, to encourage them to continually assess and enhance what they are doing, to hear what they really want to do and figure out what they can do to make this happen. The group must function with a spirit of cooperation for the project to be successful. In reference to the big idea, the task is for each team member to contribute to the goal of producing a video by performing his or her responsibilities as effectively as possible.
Technology:
Using video could be as simple as recording a student oral presentation, or as elaborate as producing an original short film. The complexity of the project will determine the technologies necessary to accomplish the goal.
- Outlining, Scripting, Storyboarding: Students will need to begin their projects by outlining, scripting, and creating storyboards. Students need begin with what they have to say, what they intend to show, and their main points. This could be accomplished through creating a shared Google Doc.
- Filming: The key to a good video project is the actual footage. We have video cameras, iPads, Mobile phones. Anything that is available and able to capture footage.
- Editing: Tools such as Microsoft MovieMaker, Apple iMovie, and Final Cut Pro will allow students to add soundtracks, voice overs, special effects, captions, and titles.
- Publishing: At the most basic level, a camera can be plugged into a TV or projector and shown to the rest of the class. Online video sharing sites YouTube & Vimeo and class websites can provide students with an even broader audience.
