RR22: PROVIDE peer feedback for each Peer Group ITU.

RR21: IDENTIFY how you can use these assessment strategies in TPA Tasks.

I actually used all of the strategies mentioned in RR19 on my TPA. I felt that these were valid and useful differentiation strategies and will continue to incorporate them when appropriate.

RR 20 IDENTIFY 2-3 assessment strategies you can use in your unit.

One of the major assessment strategies that I will use in my ITU plan is that I am giving the students the option of choosing a style of assessment that they prefer. This is a valuable strategy in that it gives students a voice in the assessment process and gives them a sense of ownership. The predominate assessment strategy used in my ITU will be that of the informal formative. I want my students to really engage with the content, with a focus on empathy and understanding the plight that minorities have endured and continue to endure so I will have them write numerous reflective pieces focused on these ideas. 

RR 19 IDENTIFY strategies to differentiate assessment.

There are many ways to differentiate assessment. For my language learners I always try to give them formal tests/quizzes in L1, this seems to make a real difference especially for learners with lower literacy skills related to reading. As a by product, these students also get visual and real cue that you are going to try and make a difference for them. Especially if they have not had this before and then you take over a class and all of a sudden here is a test that they can read and understand much easier. I also differentiate on written assignments. For example, on one particular assessment the class was to write a five paragraph essay. My student was unable to complete this task because of his level of writing proficiency, so I had him answer short answer prompts that related to the same content.  Another way I have differentiated assessment is for my SpEd students, on multiple choice tests I reduce the number of distractors for them if they have a reading or comprehension related issue.

RR 18 Identify how you will use cooperative learning in your ITU. Be specific and describe the strategies you will use for each component.

I will use cooperative lerning in the final project of the ITU. The final project is a poster based project, however, some students may opt for alternative projects.

1.  Positive Interdependence - In this project each student will be required to research a different topic related to the a local Native American tribe. They will then have to make sure that the other two members of the group learn the material.
2.  Individual & Group Accountability - They will be held individually accountable for the section of the project that they are to research. Each day the role of checker will change so that everyone plays the role for one full day.
3.  Group Processing - As a group at the end of the day they will have to write a summative reflection about how well they are making progress towards the goal.
4.  Social Skills - As the role checker they will have to practice their leadership. The group will also have to develop decision-making and possibly conflict-management skills because it the group that has to decide which students research which topics. 
5.  Face-to-Face Interactions - They will have to teach each other the information that they have learned about their specific topic.

RR 17 Identify the 5 different components of Cooperative Learning.

1.  Positive Interdependence
2.  Individual & Group Accountability
3.  Group Processing
4.  Social Skills
5.  Face-to-Face Interactions

RR 16

Completed in class.

RR 15

RR 14

Allia and I will use a supportive co-teaching method for the three classes we will co-teach. During these classes we will switch roles as needed.

RR 13

As I was not present for most of the presentation I cannot say what was modeled. However, in talking to my classmates trying to get caught up to speed I asked about the Co-teaching and they all said that all four of the styles were modeled.

RR 12

After looking at the samples there are many things that are usable in my ITU. I really liked the format used in the Great Oak ITU and think I may use something similar. Furthermore, for us some of the information in that ITU is still relevant and it gave us a starting point for some of our school information.

RR 11 Complete Strategy Matix

See ITU for complete information on strategies.

Response #10

Response #9

ITU TASK #3

This is a rough copy. Other members of the team are still working on this.

Reading Response #8

While viewing these cluster maps I found many ideas and resources that may be useful in my ITU. For my part of the ITU on Native Americans it will be helpful for my students to look at government agencies and how they have responded to Native Americans. Also, based on our community I feel that it would be beneficial for my students to routinely look for current events involving the local tribes. Another great idea would be to role play or simulate various situations involving Native Americans throughout history. I also saw an idea about voter registration and thought it would be a good idea to have my students research the idea or possibility that Native Americans are underrepresented as voters and if so my students could do a voter registration drive on the reservation.

Reading Response #7

According to the reading there are several items that make service learning successful.

1. Integrated Learning
2. Genuine Needs
3. Youth Voice and Choice
4. Collaborative Efforts
5. Reciprocity
6. Civic Responsibility 

The reading also gives a blueprint for service learning which as follows:

1. The first step is to find points of entry in which to introduce the service learning.
2. Map out the plans for the learning
3. Clarify partnerships
4. Review plans and gather resources
5. Begin process of service learning in action
6. Assess the service learning experience

Kaye also breaks down the four stages of service learning:

1. Preparation
1. identify a need
2. analyze the underlying problem
3. collaborate with community partners
2. Action
1. take action that has meaning
2. uses previously learned and newly acquired academic skills and knowledge
3. has a real consequence
3. Reflection
1. describe what happened
2. examine the effects
3. discuss thoughts and feelings
4. Demonstration
1. report back to peers
2. writing articles or letters to local papers
3. make and display presentations 

Reading Response 5 & 6

Task:

Watch 2 videos on Youtube: Vision of Students in the 21st Century & Vision of Teachers in the 21st Century. See below for links. 

In watching these videos and reading the accompanying post I was both motivated and irritated. I was motivated by the videos to make sure that I learn how to integrate technology in my classes that achieves the objectives depicted in the videos. On the other hand, I was irritated by all of the negative feedback from other teachers bashing the videos and going off on tangents about things that we not really related to the message.

Create a Personal Learning Network (PLN).

I have started my PLN by getting my blog up and running and joining two Grouply groups and by also creating a Twitter account.


Reading Response #5
This task was completed with my team as outlined in RR #2.

Reading Response #4

RR4: IDENTIFY what tasks you would be well skilled at leading and contributing to for the ITU assignment.

Task 1: Them for Interdisciplinary Thematic Unit

Task 3: Context Information- Community, School & Student Population

Task 5: Unit Overview of Activities

Task 6: Unit Objectives, Standards, & Assessments

Task 11: Service Learning

Task 12: Student Descriptions

Reading Response #3

TASK:
Read Roberts, P. & Kellough, R. (2004). A complete guide to integrated thematic units. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson and make a list or highlight models & resources to share with your ITU team. Bring hard copy to next class meeting.

Hard copy with highlights will be brought to class. 

Reading Response #2

This reading response is based on activities found in "Teaching in Secondary Schools" by Baldwin, Keating and Bachman. They are designed to get our team started and focused on creating a professional level ITU.

Activity 7.1

At this time we have decided to use the following resources in creating our ITU: state standards, local curriculum guides, public libraries, internet resources, student interests, textbooks, and my PLN.

Brainstorming Native American theme: segregation, conflict, equality, tribes, reservations, land, manifest destiny, sovereign nation, removal, culture, political organization, missions, religion, geographic location. We did our individual web diagrams on a white board. Mallory is constructing the consolidated visual web for our team.

The process we used was to initially discuss ideas on the phone and then we met at the library as a group to further discuss the ideas and decide on out theme. We debated the the theme's scope and decided on a larger scale as opposed to concentrating on a single tribe. We then did the brainstorming.

Activity 7.2

Our theme is going to be Native American Indians.

Native American Essential Questions

English:

• How did the Native Americans contribute to the history of literature and writing in America?
• What is the importance of resurrecting “dead” American Indian languages for historical or linguistic purposes?
• Many Native Americans were forced to attend schools that removed them from their families for long periods of time often returning unable to communicate with their own families. How would language isolation effect the family unit? How would language isolation affect a person’s self esteem of perception of themselves? How does language isolation effect Native Americans today?
• How are Native Americans portrayed in the media? How does their representation effect public perceptions of Native Americans? In what ways do these representations progress Native American values and ideals? In what ways do these representations further Native American stereotypes?

History:

• What impacts have Native Americans made on American culture?
• Based on the injustices endured by the Native Americans what, if any, reparations should the government provide the Native Americans with? Why?
• Why is it important that we as a country value minority cultures

Biology:

• Should Native Americans use DNA research to prove tribal ancestry?
• In what ways do Native American cultural beliefs about their environment relate to current day environmentalist issues?

Over-arching

• What insight can we gain from Native American culture in our push for a greener Earth?
• What are the impacts, either positive or negative,  of tribal casinos on the surrounding communities?
• What defines a Native American?

Reading Response #1

As a CSUSM credentialing candidate we are required to read and respond to numerous education based readings covering a wide range of topics. I will be responding to these readings and topics in this space. Please feel free to add comments about my responses or the readings themselves. This first set of responses is based on a number of readings from the "Focus On" series found on the NEA website. As stated by the NEA, "The 2004 - 2005 Focus On series examines and enriches our understanding of this achievement gap for six groups: American Indian and Alaska Native students; Asian and Pacific Islander students; Black students; Hispanic students; women and girls; and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered students. Each publication highlights some of the barriers to learning and success faced by one of these groups of students, concrete strategies to address these barriers, and additional resources for school personnel."

Task: Identify research-based instructional strategies you can use in your ITU.

1) Asians and Pacific Islanders: In designing our ITU it will be important for us to be aware of this segment of students, while the Temecula area does not have a large segment of this population it is certainly significant and growing. To effectively reach these students teachers need have an appropriate level of cultural competency and they must use this competency to create an inclusive classroom. Furthermore, we must teach these students to examine the curriculum and look for items that my be lacking or that may be to simplistic in their representation. 

2) African Americans: In this article a few of the main points that need to be considered are that as teachers we need to hold our African American students to the same level of expectations as our other students. Furthermore, the article points out that African American students may need more encouragement than other students, while being held to a high standard of achievement.

3) Hispanics: According to this article there are many steps that teachers can take to help ensure the success of Hispanic students. As with all segments of disadvantaged students one to the best ways to increase achievement is to make the subject matter relevant to them and meaningful in the big picture. This article also states that cooperative learning is effective in assisting Hispanic students raise their level of learning. Along with this this teachers need to supply this population with challenging curriculum that has real world applications.

4) LGBTQ:  I think all of us are equally appalled when we hear someone use a racial slur of any type and we are quick to reprimand those that use these types of terms. We must be equally swift in our actions against those that use anti-LGBTQ language. However, we must do more than simply punitively punish the offender, we must educate them on how and why the words are hurtful and damaging. All students have the right to feel safe and secure at school and we have not only the duty but the power to make that a reality.

5) Native Americans: As with most of student segments mentioned above it is important to "build a comprehensive school curriculum that is culturally-based, that promotes language development in both the Native language and English early, and that provides the literacy base so critical to improved academic performance.” 


6) Girls: In order for us to help our female students achieve at their maximum we must strive to continue to break down the gender stereotypes that are still to common on campus. For example, use inclusive language, call on all gender types equally, make sure women are given equal "wall space" and included in the curriculum as active participants in history, science and all other areas.