This past week has been hectic as the end of the third grading period is fast approaching and a lot of my students are doing what they can to get in any assignments that they are missing. I give them half credit for work turned in late, which they have figured out is a lot better than getting no credit at all. I have been getting their input on what they want to accomplish with the WebQuest that I will put together on Spring Break. I am in a difficult situation at my new school, since I was surplused at the end of the calendar year (Happy holidays to me!) and then I got placed in a school where the teacher could not handle the students, and could not speak or teach the language. I have been in a rough spot trying to get through a years worth of instruction in a limited period of time. The students all respect me and I established guidelines from the start and all of the students are enjoying my class, but the problem that I am encountering is what the students do not know but should know if I had been here since the beginning of the school year. I have decided to allow for “Spanglish” in their final presentation in the WebQuest because I can not hold them accountable for what they did not receive through no fault of their own.
I have already found an abundance of resources to implement in the WebQuest for my students for one part of the project which would be the foods from other countries. The problem that I am finding is good and valid sites that are in English for specific parts of the culture elements that I am looking for. I like the WebQuest because it is essentially a self guided project with the links to specific information already there for my students. I make the foundation and then they build the house for this project. I just need to make sure that the resources that I find for them in English are viable sources of information that is to be used for their project.
My action plan is going fine and there isn’t anything that I need to modify to complete my plan. I just need to stay focused and get the foundation build so that I can have my colleagues go through the WebQuest to see if it all makes sense before I give it to the students to complete.
The best thing that the GAME plan has taught me is that it is a lot easier to do things when there is an actual plan instead of just “winging it.” I have always had this problem of not organizing my thoughts on paper before I jump into doing something. I try to think things out in my head first then write it out, but a lot of the time I skip over something that I want to cover and then have to go back and add it. Some times I put my thoughts in the wrong order and have to go back and edit the paper to have it make sense. I know that these things can easily be avoided if I simply outline a plan then follow it so that I know everything is covered and in the order I want it to be in.
I am having a lot of fun making another WebQuest for my students to complete. They really enjoy working on digital projects that allows them a different type of assessment than they normally would do. When talking to my students about this WebQuest and explaining to them what it is, their eyes start beam with excitement at the possibilities to express themselves in a unique way for their final exam.
I have already found an abundance of resources to implement in the WebQuest for my students for one part of the project which would be the foods from other countries. The problem that I am finding is good and valid sites that are in English for specific parts of the culture elements that I am looking for. I like the WebQuest because it is essentially a self guided project with the links to specific information already there for my students. I make the foundation and then they build the house for this project. I just need to make sure that the resources that I find for them in English are viable sources of information that is to be used for their project.
My action plan is going fine and there isn’t anything that I need to modify to complete my plan. I just need to stay focused and get the foundation build so that I can have my colleagues go through the WebQuest to see if it all makes sense before I give it to the students to complete.
The best thing that the GAME plan has taught me is that it is a lot easier to do things when there is an actual plan instead of just “winging it.” I have always had this problem of not organizing my thoughts on paper before I jump into doing something. I try to think things out in my head first then write it out, but a lot of the time I skip over something that I want to cover and then have to go back and add it. Some times I put my thoughts in the wrong order and have to go back and edit the paper to have it make sense. I know that these things can easily be avoided if I simply outline a plan then follow it so that I know everything is covered and in the order I want it to be in.
I am having a lot of fun making another WebQuest for my students to complete. They really enjoy working on digital projects that allows them a different type of assessment than they normally would do. When talking to my students about this WebQuest and explaining to them what it is, their eyes start beam with excitement at the possibilities to express themselves in a unique way for their final exam.
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4 comments:
Anthony,
Your last sentence, "When talking to my students about this WebQuest and explaining to them what it is, their eyes start beam with excitement at the possibilities to express themselves in a unique way for their final exam," made me smile. This speaks volumes about what a difference you have made in your students' lives. It is said that things happen for a reason, and it seems that it was meant for you to be brought into these students' lives to help them learn what they were suppose to be learning all along. It also seems as if you have made tremendous strides in the short amount of time you have been their teacher.
As regards to your GAME plan, I appreciate what you've learned. I can relate with what you stated. Having to write down our GAME plan in a methodical system has helped me stay on course and not jump ahead of myself just like you! Maybe what we take away from this assignment will help both of us for now on out.
Keep up the good work with your students. You are doing an amazing job!
Kimberly
Amanda to Anthony-
It sounds like you are doing a great job with your GAME plan, and you seem to have the focus necessary, so keep it up!
I can relate to what you've learned from the GAME plan-taking the time to write out and work through a whole plan is so much more effective than when we simply "wing it". Students can certainly gain a lot from our teaching regardless, but when we plot out our intentions and all aspects of the plan, it really does seem to be better! Our readings this week said that "it's important that you don't isolate the assessment strategies and tools that you use in the Monitor and Evaluate stages of your instruction and just 'tack them on' at the end. The cycle of instruction is iterative and the stages overlap" (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009, p. 139). You have embraced this, and your plan is thorough and intentional. Bravo!
Have a good week,
Amanda
Resources
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Kim,
Thanks for the encouraging words, I am beginning to think that I was placed at this school for just this reason. I need to keep the students best interests in mind and keep on making sure they are learning everything that they need to know by the end of the year.
Amanda,
I find that being a foreign language teacher it is more and more tempting to just "wing it," since I know so much more than any of the students and my supervisors. It is easy to fall into this trap but it is amazing at how much more smoothly a day goes by when there is an effective plan to follow.
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