Wicked Problem Project

Problem

This school year I am switching from first grade to fourth grade because my principal wants to give me the opportunity to have students utilizing technology more to enhance their learning. I want to use technology to address several needs:

First, I want to increase student motivation for writing. Students often view writing as a difficult task with limited outcomes. Because of this, students at my school tend to have weak writing scores on the MEAP compared to the other subject areas. On the Fall 2011 test, 79% of fourth graders met or exceeded standards in writing compared to 82% in math and 84% in reading. To help motivate students, I want to give them authentic assignments to allow students to practice their writing skills and giving them an audience to read their writing that goes beyond me.

Second, it’s very important to keep parents involved and up-to-date with their child’s progress. Parents play an important role in their child’s education because students’ attitudes about education are often influenced by their parents. Furthermore, if parents are informed about their student’s progress they are more likely to be involved in their child’s education but also more supportive of the teacher’s efforts. However, it can be very challenging to continually send updates to all parents because of the large number of students in my class and the many assignments they complete.

Lastly, I want to expand the variety of assessments that I utilize in order to address different learning styles. Some students really excel at discussions, however, it can be difficult to document these for assessment purposes.

Solution

My solution to these needs is utilizing a learning management system, or LMS. There are many LMSs available including Moodle, EdModo, SchoolRack, and Edu2.0. After reviewing the different systems available, I decided to try EdModo. One reason I chose Edmodo is the interface is designed to resemble Facebook. Students are able to collect badges, make “posts”, and personalize their profile. This makes students more invested in the system and, hence, more responsible for their learning. Due to this fact, students are likely to be more motivated to interact with the system.

Another reason I chose Edmodo is its simplicity of use. This is important because students are new to using an LMS as no other teacher uses one in our school. Choosing a more complicated system, like Moodle, would require an extensive amount of time to train students to use. Furthermore, Edmodo does not require an email address for student accounts, which is a useful component since many elementary students do not have personal email accounts.

LMSs give students the opportunity to engage in writing in a more authentic manner as well as providing them with a greater audience. Students can not only complete traditional essays and stories, but also use writing to interact with their peers in discussions about topics in other content areas. These discussions, along with publishing other types of writing, gives peers and parents the opportunity to read the writing.

Edmodo allows not only teachers and students to interact, but also allows parents to see what assignments are due and how their child is progressing by viewing the gradebook. Teachers can also directly send messages to parents.

What is the TP knowledge for the solution?  (i.e., how does the technology you have chosen support the teaching strategies and methods you have chosen?)

Discussions are an important component of my pedagogy. Students engage in discussions about a variety of content including books, social studies topics, science experiments, and even each other’s writing. Edmodo, as my technology, will allow discussions that typically take place in class to occur online (which means students could also be involved in them at home). A benefit of this over face to face discussions is that it will give every student the opportunity to share their ideas. Whereas in class, there may be difficulty getting to everyone’s ideas due to time constraints and some students may not feel comfortable sharing their ideas.  Using Edmodo will allow everyone to share their ideas and give students the opportunity to read what others think and have the opportunity to respond.  Furthermore, by having discussions online it provides a way to document student’s progress as a means of assessment.

Another important component of my instructional pedagogy is having students engaged in higher order thinking. I accomplish this through a variety of methods including having students apply their knowledge to new situations, compare and contrast ideas, create solutions to problems, debating responses to open-questions, and summarizing information from multiple sources. As a technology, Edmodo can support these activities by giving students a “safe place” to do these things. Students who are shy or feel overwhelmed by the whole-class presence, are more likely to feel at ease debating their ideas online because it is less confrontational. Edmodo will also allow students to complete these types of activities in more creative ways. For example, rather than writing down a summary or solution, they could create a video, Glogster, podcast, or use another tool to share their ideas. Students could then share their products with the class or just the teacher using Edmodo.

What is the TC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically does this technology make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible?  Be sure to think about representation.)

EdModo can be used to enhance content. The fourth grade social studies curriculum is focused on regions of the United States. Edmodo has networks of teachers that allow classes from around the country to connect with one another. Using Edmodo will give students the opportunity to learn about other regions from first-hand accounts rather than just reading about it in a textbook. Students can share information about their region, and learn from others about the regions they live in. This may be done through pictures, videos, or written accounts. Students will not only be exposed to the physical geographical differences but also how it affects life in that region.

The Global Classroom Project on Edmodo will also allow students to engage in online discussions with others who may have different experiences and perspectives on topics such as books or current events. These differences will help students understand different points of views. This may be particularly important since students at a given school may have similar experiences. This opportunity helps address several key standards from the Common Core State Standards:

• SL.4.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on
• SL.4.2. Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

All of these activities require students to be engaged in writing to express their ideas. Edmodo makes content more accessible by giving students more options for displaying what they have learned. Edmodo will allow not only traditional quizzes, but it is a platform that students can use to submit videos, PowerPoint presentations, or just engage in discussions. The discussions that students engage in through Edmodo allow teachers to better understand their thinking and have evidence of it, which is important for accountability.

What is the PC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically do your pedagogical choices make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about how the student will experience the content given these instructional strategies.

Discussions are important for a wide range of content. They require students to examine different perspectives on issues. When having a discussion, they may be required to support their beliefs with evidence. This discourse not only expands students' minds and point of views of issues but it also allows teachers to see this change and use it for assessment. Teachers can also take part in the discussions and push students thinking by asking questions.

The higher-level thinking activities are an important component for teaching any content because it requires students to have a deep understanding of the content knowledge. For example, if students were to create a project comparing and contrasting two regions, they must first understand characteristics of those regions in isolation before they are able to define their similarities and differences.