Sixth Meeting

12/5/2012

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Attendance:  Mike Cook, Keith Brodt, Chris Becker, Trevor Robinson, Brian Hurst
 
Trevor reported on his Law class's trip to the courthouse.  Although it involved a lot of listening, the students reported that it was interesting to see the real life application of the subject. 
 
Most of the session was spent on Mike's slide show presentation of his visit to High Tech High.  Students are selected via lottery.  Teachers are referred to by first name.  Student projects are promininently displayed on the walls, including "dissections" of common objects (paintballs, cell phones, electronic toys, etc.).  Given the small size of the school, there appeared to be little flexibility in student options.  Students seemed to move as a group and much of the learning focused on projects (black box presentations, hovercrafts).  Good ideas Mike saw included using an iPad as a document camera (using a flexible arm), and cabinets with "white board" doors that could be written on.  Mike was unable to determine what these students did for PE.  Mike also saw an interesting use of text polls at the student assembly.  Group members came away with new ideas to try in their classes.
 
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Fifth Meeting

11/15/2012

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We had an interesting discussion based meeting.  Three of our five
regular members were absent.  In their place, Brian Hurst and Trevor
Robinson were joined by Sabrina Wiens and Shawna Denman.  Brian is
continuing to work on his webpage, providing work and information to
parents and students.  We discussed methods of measuring how much use
this is receiving.  Trevor has instituted the use of "mind breaks"
during longer, lecture/discussion based classes, including playing short
(2-5 minute) action based games like "Bingo, Bango, Bongo", to get
students moving and blood flowing to their brains again.  Other topics
discussed included how one might add high interest activities to lessons
for students on self-paced programs, and the role of relationships in
motivating students.  Shawna shared her interest and involvement in
TRIBES training which is designed to facilitate relationships with
students.
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Third Meeting

10/4/2012

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  • Most group members voiced the concern that September was busier than expected. It's easy to fall back on "old ways" when under a time crunch.
  • Group members discussed the use of white boards.  They're good for group work and students seem to enjoy using them.  Hopefully this is more than the novelty effect.
  • We discussed the progress on websites and how to keep them updated from year to year, once established.
  • Mike commented on a couple of hands-on activities he tried since the last meeting -- an orange peel surface area activity and a measuring activity.  Both were well received by students.
  • The challenge of finding balance between activities and content coverage was also discussed.  There was general support for cutting back on direct presentation to allow for activities, but it is a balance.
  • The group recommitted themselves to the process of taking "baby steps" towards our individual goals under the umbrella question "How will alternate instructional strategies improve the learning and engagement of the students in my class?".
 
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Second Meeting

9/12/2012

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Reviewed progress of each of the group members in meeting their goals
Discussed the use of websites to communicate with students and parents (weebly.com)
Technology/software is a challenge when it comes to creating online lessons
Implementation of new activities has met with mixed success



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First Meeting

8/28/2012

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Our group's name arose from the comment that we would all start by taking baby steps towards our goals.  Our group members are all working on individual questions under the umbrella question "How will alternate instructional strategies improve the learning and engagement of the students in my class?"  Many group members are interested in using technology to support their question.  Specific ideas discussed included:

        -flipping the classroom (providing the lesson online) 
        -creating video demonstrations which would be available to students who have been absent 
        -increasing the availability of online support material for students 
        -introducing more active and hands-on activities within the classroom

For our next meeting on September 12th, group members have been asked to refine their focus and come prepared to discuss the specific strategy they will be introducing as well as the "baby steps" they will need to take to implement it.

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