Mike Dowson ’ s NPDL Learning Story Grade 7 Guy B. Brown School

Which of the six C ’ s did you target for this learning task and why?

Citizenship: Health of the environment: All of our work was focussed on creating sustainability

Communication: Communication through presentation, discourse, audience participation, expert consultation, collaboration, written and electronic communication

Creativity: Seeking out new ideas and blending ideas to create an attraction which is both sustainable and appealing to people as a destination.

Critical Thinking: Students select their own criteria and assess their own work based upon the criteria which they have set out through classroom discourse and group reflection.

What content area(s) were the focus?

Learning Skills, Language, Science, Geography

What was the Deep Learning Task Design:

Through guided/scaffolded inquiry and a focus on building student knowledge of sustainable technologies, the class was charged with the tasks of creating conceptional and physical models of an attraction or business which could be established upon the Stelco/US Steel Lands which were recently made available for sale. We examined the area and came to the conclusion that the proximity of the Stelco lands to fresh water and the history of industrial activity on those lands adjacent to a drinking water source was a concern which required mitigation. Students created groups which then began to create businesses or attractions which would offer a sustainable and human friendly alternative to the historical lands of the area. Students engaged in modelled, shared and independent research, consulted with experts and business owners and employed their own background knowledge to create plans, models and reports and media presentations which outlined their ideas on how the land should be used.

What was the driving question?

Is it possible for humans to create new viable business and attractions using a sustainable model of development?

How were students and family engaged in designing the learning task?

During the front-loading stage of the unit, parents and students were involved in flipped instruction by building knowledge of different sustainability technologies and concepts at home. Notifications and resources were sent home using Remind.

https://sweden.se/nature/the-swedish-recycling-revolution/

Deep Learning Success Criteria

How were students engaged in designing/understanding the learning criteria and assessment methods?

Prior to the beginning the design and construction tasks within the unit, we spent some time front loading on the concept of sustainability. We explored waste management in Sweden, a variety of definitions of sustainability, simplistic applications of sustainability such as local consumption and high levels of sustainability such as net-zero living. After doing so, we created our own pillars of sustainability:

Once we were familiar with each pillar, the class split into their

respective groups and identified a smaller set of pillars which they wanted to focus on during their work. These pillars became the content focus of their work. The students based all of their decisions upon the criteria which they set out for themselves. They also became a major component of the written work which the students produced on Google Drive. An example of student work can be found below.

Learning Design Elements

How was the learning design steeped in a real world problem of relevance to the learners?

As stated above, the unit began by exposing the students to fact that Stelco lands were for sale. We read the following article as a class and in small groups.

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5272678-for-sale-prime-contaminated-waterfront-land/

We then used Google Satellite Images to examine the space.

The focus of our conversation which evolved rather quickly was on the nature of the land and of it’s proximity to our drinking water source. We then discussed what would like to see the land used for in the future, and what we would not like to see.

What were some of the structures you put in place to build a culture of learning anytime, anywhere with any learner?

Over the course of the unit I employed Google Drive and iPads more than any other element. The students used a template which was created to help focus their written work and knowledge building. The template was flexible to account for the criteria which each group had selected. An example of a completed template can be seen above.

I also provided a resource table which each group had access to through google drive. It contained key search terms, resources, websites and people/organizations which they could access. I have been working on Google Querying with the class. Rather than typing a question into the

Query line, the students were able to use content and key words from the table to find more useful results. All resource pages were vetted before placing them on the access page. Students were also encouraged to add to the resource page if they found a website of interest (Though this did not happen)

https://docs.google.com/a/hwdsb.on.ca/document/d/1e-u1yRvrHu-1ZhVdMdV2VFDy4Z3rlO1fsc80orsLfNg/edit?usp=sharing

What strategies did you focus on to develop the six C ’ s?

Rather than a single set of strategies, beyond the gradual

release of responsibility through Modelled, Shared and Guided instruction, I have spent some time developing a praxis model, that is to say a theory-based model through which I guided my interactions with the class. For each C I created a set of guiding questions which I endeavoured to internalize and to keep myself focussed while working with the kids. The model below also attempts to align the 6 C’s with the provincial achievement chart. The work I did on this is largely rough, but the thinking I had to do to complete it certainly helped me focus on the kinds of content and in-situ skill development which was a regular part of my practice. Upon reflection I feel this was a good strategy because aside from the stated forms of instruction which applied mostly to research and writing process, student work was varied to the level that I could not create any hard timelines or specific methods of instruction which would help the kids at the class level.

How did collaborative learning partnerships unfold throughout the implementation?

There were five levels of collaboration which unfolded throughout implementation:

1. Gradual release of responsibility. Inquiry always began through modelled instruction as I learned earlier in the year that a laissez-faire release of responsibility rarely resulted in focussed student work. Collaboration began with modelled behaviours including how to find information, how to delegate tasks within a group, and how to interact with an outside expert (Cheryl Paterson was a huge component in this as this was the role which she most regularly played when she came into the classroom.

2. Invitation of an expert to the classroom. We invited Cheryl’s husband Chris who was the lead architect responsible for building the new Engineering building at McMaster University. The building he worked on achieved a Leeds Gold Certification. Before inviting him into the room we co-wrote questions which we emailed to him to direct our in class presentation.

3. Student-to-expert. After coaching and the experience of crafting questions in advance of our expert’s visit, students generated questions during Chris’ presentation which they then used to guide their work. Students also called local businesses to find out about the kinds of decisions they had to make. During this time the students recognized that while they may not be consulting with sustainability experts, they could take the information they gathered and apply their own knowledge of sustainability to the ideas and wisdom they gathered.

4. In-group collaboration. Students needed to delegate tasks to group members. Students did so by sharing their work with editing abilities on Google Drive, and by arranging times to work at recess and from home.

5. Student Expert. During the media component of the unit, many students demonstrated strong abilities with respect to filmmaking and file sharing. Several students (Jewel, Maddy, Joel, Alyssa and Kyle) took on the role of expert and were able to guide other students through media creation and sharing.

How did the contribution of student voice and agency impact the task as it was unfolding?

While the subject area and context of our studies was created by me, the students were able to create their own projects based on their interests: Winter Sports, Skateparks, Malls, Trampoline Studios, Nature Reserves etc.

Students were also actively involved in creating applications for the knowledge they gained which were more specific to their sustainability pillars. For example, after receiving a suggestion from our architectural expert, one group researched the suggestion and determined that they did not want to follow his advice as it didn’t suit their project as well as they may have liked. As a result, they had to formulate an alternative plan.

Conflict resolution was an aspect of student voice which was a regular occurrence. Students needed to share their needs and opinions with the rest of their group. At times they were able to mediate their own discussions, other times it required various levels of intervention. A key learning for many students was in finding out that delegation requires input from the people who are being delegated to.

How did you build in student self/peer formative assessment to accelerate the learning?

The use of exit cards was highly important. Over the course of the unit, my most commonly spoken piece of advice was that students needed to dig deeper into the technologies they were exploring. Many students were inclined to state that their work was sustainable because it was solar powered, or that locally produced materials and supplies were a sustainable decision but were unable to explain why solar power or local supplies are in fact sustainable. Regular exit cards proved to students that they needed to dig deeper and find the Why’s and How’s of these technologies.

A summative teacher, self and peer reflection piece will be conducted later today. The checkbric can be seen through the link below:

https://docs.google.com/a/hwdsb.on.ca/document/d/1OXbzW4XynEuTtCRFjApq-38fy-Fewfdaq2V5vH97P2c/edit?usp=sharing

What pedagogical practices did you use to tailor and support deep learning outcomes for each student?

As can be seen above, the use of a collaborative resource base, real-time document and report writing, collaborative inquiry, research skill development and the gradual release of responsibility have been present throughout the process.

How did you communicate progress?

Through the assessment of exit cards and regular individual and group conferencing students were able to learn about their gains in knowledge building.

Leveraging Digital

How did you leverage digital to accelerate and deepen the learning?

Aside from the above examples, it can be said that students rarely approached their work without learning tools which are represented in the above text. Of utmost importance was the use of Google Docs and Drive as collaborative learning space. Having finished most of our final presentations just yesterday I can confidently state that without the research template, the students would not have the same focus in their studies as they would otherwise.

Allowing students to use iMovie and a variety of other film-making tools definitely helped them to cement their knowledge and skill building. The links below showcase some of the media works which students created for their final classroom presentations. The enthusiasm which comes through the presentations speaks to the value in “leveraging digital” throughout the unit. I would go so far as to say that Leveraging Digital and Communication should be overlapped as one of the C’s.

Order: Alyssa et al.Aaron et al.Joel et al.

https://youtu.be/NP2H_OWUXbg

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2CI3Po9e-RxMGxrNkNpem1HUU0/view?usp=sharing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBom0-oisAA

ASSESS AND REFLECT:

How did you measure and demonstrate growth on the Deep Learning competencies?

Based on the deep learning progression, I have focussed on the following areas. I have given a general classroom rating below.

Citizenship Deep Learning Progression:

Dimension: Genuine interest in human and environmental sustainability

Stage: Emerging: Learners are starting to recognize how each person’s actions impact the environment. With guidance they are able to design solutions that incorporate this concept. At this level learners are likely to be interested their local environment.

Dimension: Leveraging Digital

Stage: Deepening: Learners used digital aspects effectively to improve global, cultural, and environmental elements of the learning process. Digital opportunities were also used to tailor solutions for a global and multicultural audience in ways that contributed to sustainability and social justice in their parts of the globe.

Communication:

Dimension: Coherent communication using a range of communication modes

Stage: Deepening: Learners understand, select and use a range of communication modes and tools to produce coherent communication i.e. communication that makes sense and reflects coherent and connected ideas, not a single simple thought.

Dimension: Substantive, multi-modal communication

Stage: Emerging: Learners are beginning to weave different elements of their thinking and turn them into a more coherent message. They are starting to use more than one mode of communication, such as visual images, soundtracks and spoken word, for example, in film or digital presentations.

Dimension: Leveraging Digital

Stage: Deepening: Learners used digital aspects effectively to improve both the efficiency and quality of communication during the learning process. Digital opportunities were also used to tailor communication of key concepts to different audiences, in ways that enhanced their understanding and retention of key ideas and concepts.

Creativity:

Dimension: Economic and social entrepreneurialism

Stage: Emerging: With guidance, learners are beginning to develop an entrepreneurial way of looking for a need, problem, or opportunity in the world that they might be able to solve in a way that generates economic and/or social benefits.

Dimension: Considering and pursuing novel ideas and solutions

Stage: Emerging: Although learners’ thinking is grounded in knowledge of existing solutions, they are not fixed to one particular way of thinking, and are learning to be more innovative with some guidance and prompting.

Critical Thinking:

Dimension: Evaluating information and arguments

Stage: Emerging: Learners have good information search skills and some useful ‘filters’ that allow them to discern whether information is trustworthy, relevant, and useful. They are learning how to evaluate logical arguments to identify unfounded assumptions, flawed premises, logical leaps, faulty reasoning, and unjustified conclusions, but skills in this area are still just emerging, as is their ability to explain their thinking processes.

Dimension: Meaningful knowledge construction

Stage: Developing: Learners are able to find different points and pathways into learning that activate, assess, and build on their existing knowledge and beliefs.

They have good skills in interpretation and analysis of information, and are able to use this to construct meaningful knowledge, but usually only within one discipline at a time. Synthesis and evaluation skills are generally still developing.

How did your learning design end up connecting to Curriculum expectations?

Media:

1. demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts;

3. create a variety of media texts for different purposes and

audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and

techniques;

Writing:

1. generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an

intended purpose and audience;

2. draft and revise their writing, using a variety of informational,

literary, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the

purpose and audience;

Reading:

1. read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of

literary, graphic, and informational texts, using a range of strategies

to construct meaning;

Oral Communication:

1. use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate

with different audiences for a variety of purposes;