Let's Taco 'Bout Assignment #2

During one of our monthly staff meetings I showed the staff how to access some of our online reference materials, such as our online databases. These databases are available to all students and teachers in our district and they can access them both at school and at home. After the staff meeting I was approached by a grade 3 teacher, Mrs. F., who wanted to talk to me about an upcoming project that her class will be doing. When looking at The Concerns-Basesed Adoption Model (CBAM) and the Levels of Use of the Innovation, Mrs. F. was at the Non-Use level before this staff meeting. She was going to continue with teaching her unit using the same resources she has used in past years. After hearing and inquiring about resources that would be useful to her, she moves into the Orientation level.

Here are the Science curricular connections that Mrs. F. had planned for the upcoming project:

Big Idea	Living things are diverse, can be grouped, and interact in their ecosystems.
Curricular Competencies	• Demonstrate curiosity about the natural world • Collect simple data • Identify First Peoples perspectives and knowledge as sources of information • Co-operatively design projects
Content	• biodiversity in the local environment • the knowledge of local First Peoples of ecosystems

The project is to use the Seven Sacred Teachings and the animals that are associated with them to create a research project about one of the animals. Students will work in pairs to gather facts about an animal, where they live, what they eat and what characteristics the First People associate with the animal. Students will then present their information to the class on a poster board. The information that Mrs. F. already had Non-Fiction books about each animal and posters about the Seven Sacred Teachings.

When looking at the Leading Learning Action Planning : Using Standards Growth Indicators you can see the growth that Mrs. F. will be able to make with this project.

Standard	Where are you now?	Where do you want to go?	How will you get there?
Fascillitating Collaborative Engagement to Cultivate/Empower a Community of Learners	• Non-Fiction texts provided by the teacher • No online resources	• More online/database knowledge for both students and teacher	• Collaborate with Library Commons Teacher • Use World Book Kids

Adapted from Leading Learning, 2014

I began to work with Mrs. F. to make some modifications (per the SAMR Model) and move her into the preparation stages of using innovation. Mrs. F. was most interested in having her students have access to both print and online sources. I suggested that Mrs. F. use the World Book Kids database that we have access to. This modification to her lesson will allow students to have access to materials that is at their reading level and information that is highly targeted for their project.

I offered to Mrs. F. to do an introductory lesson with her class on how to use World Book Kids during their library time. I would show her students how to log-on, search and record information from this database. As a result, when Mrs. F. introduced this project, her students would already know who to find the information they needed and they would not need extra project time to teach this resource.

By the end of this project, Mrs. F. had moved from the Non-Use stage into the Mechanical stage of use of innovation. Through our collaboration we were able to introduce a new online reference source into her classroom. She now feels more comfortable and confident with using an online database which will positively benefit her students learning.

Another teacher I was able to support using our school reference materials was Ms. R. who was working with her grade 5 class on creating a Genius Hour project. When looking at Ms. R. and CBAM she is currently at the Routine level. Her class frequently uses both print and online sources and creates projects that has student use various outlet to showcase their learning, such as iMovie and the Explain Everything app.

Here are the Applied Design, Skills and Technologies curricular connections that Mr. R. wanted to meet:

Big Idea	Skills are developed through practice, effort and action.
Curricular Competencies	• Generate potential ideas and add to others’ ideas • Outline a general plan, identifying tools and materials • Construct the final product, incorporating planned changes

            Seeing how Ms. R. is already at the Routine level of CBAM, I looked to see how I could help her into the Refinement level to enhance her student’s learning.

Using the Leading Learning Action Planning : Using Standards Growth Indicators, I set up a plan to help Ms. R.

Standard	Where are you now?	Where do you want to go?	How will you get there?
Fascillitating Collaborative Engagement to Cultivate/Empower a Community of Learners	• Use of various print and online sources • Students and teacher are competent at using apps	• New online and print sources	• Introduce Encyclopaedias in library • Introduce Learn360

Adapted from Leading Learning, 2014

           

During the classes’ library time I introduce the student to our encyclopedia section. I specifically show them the Make it Work! series by World Book. This series shows students facts, pictures and experiments on topics such as Building, Earth, Flight, Sound and Body. Many students in this class have a keen interest in various science topics so this series is a great addition to their sources of information. I will also introduce them to Learn360. This is an online database of videos on a variety of subjects from Dance, Technology, Sciences, Careers and Sports. You can search for videos for a specific grade level so students can find appropriate videos for their age.

            Having new reference resources in their “tool kit” will benefit both the students and the teacher as they move forward to into new projects. By the end of this project Ms.R. will be into the Refinement stage of CBAM and hopefully will explore more of the online and print reference materials our school has to offer.

References:

“BC's New Curriculum.” Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies 5 | Building Student Success - BC's New Curriculum, curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/adst/5.

“BC's New Curriculum.” Science 3 | Building Student Success - BC's New Curriculum, curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/science/3.

Learn360 - Login, learn360.infobase.com/p_Home.aspx.

SAMR Model - Technology Is Learning. sites.google.com/a/msad60.org/technology-is-learning/samr-model.

“Standards of Practice for School Library Learning Commons in Canada.” Leading Learning, 2014, llsop.canadianschoollibraries.ca/.

The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM): A Model for Change in Individuals, www.nationalacademies.org/rise/backg4a.htm.