James+K

November 2 I have come to realize that DI is NOT an individualized program. I also have come to see how UbD and DI are linked. It is reassuring for me to know that this isn't a "new" initiative and that our previous work with PLCs was all for not. I have tried some different strategies in my classroom with positive results. The pre-assessments have given me lots of information about where the level of knowledge is. They have become more comfortable knowing that the "tests" help me to find out what they know and that I'm not trying to trick them. Assessment has a lot more meaning, well for myself anyway. I'm not really sure that I could explain the "change" but I know that there has been a change.

May 11 My students main concern about the pre-assessments is "does it count for marks". When I tell them its for me, that eases their concerns. I give students "practice" tests for math which they find very helpful for studying and also to see where they need more work (for me as well). They really like having choice for some assignments where they can choose a format which they are successful at. May 11 I think my understanding of the 3 non-negotiables is a little fuzzy yet. I have a general idea of the 3 but would not feel comfortable/confident to be able to explain them. I think I have the best understanding of the Supportive Learning Environment. The exercise we did this morning with the Frayer model really helped me to better understand this one. I guess if we did that for the other 2, I would feel more confident. My lack of confidence in myself would prevent me from feeling really comfortable trying to explain them to someone. I feel like I really need to review the non-negotiables again to make it clearer to me. Perhaps a little more self confidence would help too. I've done a few things with trying to create a supportive learning environment. We "celebrate" student's success with my oral language program. When someone gets all 5 days correct, I add a paperclip to the chain. When the chain reaches a certain point (the board ledge), the students get a priviledge. I started this celebration in January and so far the students have watched 2 movies. They are currently working on their 3rd chain. In our school's PLC initiative, we have been "unwrapping" the ELA curriculum. The other Gr. 5 teacher and myself have been working together on this and we have made great strides in this area. We have both applied these skills to other subject areas so student's are using the skills outside of ELA. I really need to work on the continuous assessment. I am often doing the pre-assessment and the post assessment but as far as continuous, its not happening. This is an area that I would like to focus more on next year.

May 11 My mindset is at the point where I am kind of excited about DI. I've come to realize my shortcomings in this area. My assessment practices have changed in the past year. For example, on-going assessment. I still find that I am doing assessments (unit tests), the same for everybody. I don't feel confident enough to be able to come up with different forms. I have used scribes and readers but is that enough? The biggest change for me has been using pre-assessments more. It makes so much sense to find out what the students know before I plan for them. Why keep re-teaching material that they already know? This change has been brought about by my exposure to PLCs and DI. I believe my teaching practices have become better over the last couple of years and this, too, is a result of my exposure to DI and PLCs. I have also become better about having more student choice in their assignments. They can use a format that they are comfortable with to ensure their success. The desired outcomes are the same but how they get there could be different. Again, this came about from my exposure to DI and PLCs. I almost feel like I have "permission" to do this as I wasn't sure if this was acceptable.

May 6 For my action research, I gave a pre-test to my social class with the topic, immagration. The test was a ten item test. The results sort of surprised me. Of the 17 students who wrote the test, 11 could adequately define the term immigration. They were able to tell me that it had something to do with moving. 14 students were able to give me one reason why most immigrants came to Canada. No one was able to tell me who the Loyalists were and why they came to Canada. Between 2 and 5 knew something about immigration during the war years. The area that had the lowest response, besides the Loyalist question, had to do with citizenship, becoming a Canadian and the rights of citizenship. These results have guided my planning to Loyalists, the War Years and Citizenship. Naturally, I will be looking at the other areas but my focus will be on those three areas. I am very happy I was able to "discover" the areas of least knowledge. This exercise has helped me immensely and I will definitely be using it again.

March 11 - I do oral language daily. We put up 2 sentences that require correcting (it could be spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc.) We correct them together and then the students copy them into their books. A lot of students were very careless in copying and would still have mistakes. I started a new incentive. If they get all 5 days correct, I will hang a paperclip onto a chain at the top of my whiteboard. When the chain touches the board ledge, they get a privledge. The first week I only had 4 students with all 5 days correct, the next week 11, then 9, then 11, the 3, then 8. Interest was sort of slowing down so this week is "doubles" week - 2 paperclips! I also used it as an incentive for a student who continually got it wrong. I told him if he got 2 days in a row correct, I would give him a paperclip. This helped him be more careful. It has also made the rest of the class "lookout" for the weaker students. They will check weaker student's work before they hand it in. My students have earned a movie and are working on their 2nd chain.

October 19 DI is a way to reach all learners in your classroom. Since all students are unique with their own learning styles, so should instruction be it content, assessment or process. DI Project Routines Physical Environment Teacher Beliefs Choice Relationships Celebrations

"knowing and doing" gap November 16 - There is a lot I need to learn. Since I have an intern, I haven't had much opportunity to try things but have done some reading. I need to put a little more planning into things as some students need a little more direction than others, something I didn't really take into consideration. I get excited by trying new things. I also get excited when students get an "aha" moment. I still feel like I have a bit of a knowing and doing gap. I'm really looking forward to when I have my class again and able to try to implement some ideas. I think one of my biggest issues is that I lack self confidence in my abilities. I have an irrational fear of incompetence. I never feel like I'm good enough and if I do something really well, I "fluked" it off.

I didn't really like the card system. I would be more inclined to use the paper document. I would have all my students complete one and keep it on file. I would use it as an "awareness" activity so that students would realize that there are different ways to learn. Once an awareness was created, we would co-construct activities, rubrics, evaluation methods to suit the different styles. When the students are aware and comfortable, I would offer more choices for assignments/projects/evaluation. I would also encourage students to try different styles as we are not necessarily only one style of learner. I think this would have the students be more accountable for their learning. I would also be interested in having the parents also do some work in this area so they can get a better idea of how their child learns best and what that style "looks" like. I would like to have parents come to school to see the learning in action.

- some things I really enjoyed today have been the vast amount of websites I got that will work very well in my classroom. I will be sharing these with my intern as she is very good with technology and will use them often. Choice Theory - I really like this theory and have always tried to use it in my classroom. I think that since all learners are not the same, neither should their projects. Recently (ok, last November), I had an "aha" moment about assessment. Damian Cooper said that we know about and use multiple intelligences but then assess the same way. What a concept! It only makes sense that students don't learn the same so they shouldn't be assessed the same. Therefore, I feel that choice is really an enlightning and empowering motivator for students. -learner type? Well, not sure but it appears that I am a visual learner. INFP. I have a creative intelligence. January 25/11 We studied the novel, Number the Stars. Our student services teacher and I split the class into boys and girls. She took the boys group and I took the girls group. After we did the novel, I created a "menu" of tasks for the students to do. My question is Will using a menu contract lead to deeper understanding? I tried to group the choices according to the degree of difficulty (in my opinion). The way the menu was set up gave the students at least one writing assignment, some research assignment and a visual interpretation assignment. I collected data by using a 3 question exit slip. (What they liked, what they didn't like and how to make it better). Upon going through the exit slips I found that the majority of students really liked the idea of having different choices. There was one student who felt there were too many choices and found it difficult to choose. Next time I would ask them to tell me one thing they learned. (Some of the choices involved learning more about different aspects of the Jewish faith, for example). I would like to link the tasks closer to my goal (What I want them to learn). I would also have a better assessment (rubric). Jan. 25/11 ActionResearch ** DI Action Research **

** Coming to the Question ** Participation n DI   Reflections on your class and your own teaching values and beliefs

** //Question:// ** **// Will using a menu contract lead to deeper understanding? //**

** Reconnaissance ** How will I learn more? Hand-outs, wiki resources

** Action and Data Collection **

**What do I experiment with? What action will I take? (**what, when, who) **I created a menu with 3 different sections. Each section focused on a different aspect of the novel, Number the Stars. The menu contracts would be given to students after they had completed the novel study. The students were given a lot of time to plan, research, and complete the contract. **

**How will I collect data?** (formal observation**,** survey, questionnaire, interview, etc.) ** I used a 3 question exit slip to collect data. I asked what they liked, didn’t like and what should be included next time. ** ** REFLECTION: ** ** I found that the majority of the students really liked having different choices of what they could do. One student thought there were too many choices and found it difficult to decide. Less than half the students thought there should be more art or drawing type of choice. About ¾ of the students were satisfied with the whole experience. One student thought that the writing/research type of choices were just too hard for her. ** ** Next time I would like to have made the packages look a little more professional (look more like a menu!). I liked the amount of choices I gave in each section. I didn’t think it was overwhelming. Some students really need to work closer with the teacher so they can be guided. ** ** I really need to make a closer connection to my non-negotiable. I sorted the choices more according to the degree of difficulty as opposed to what it was I was hoping the student to learn. Definitely more thought and planning will need to go into this project in the future. **

** AHA!! ** ** The students really liked this project. I found that they are starting to make choices based more on their strengths as opposed to what their friends are doing. I really need to get exemplars for this project. A better rubric for evaluation would make this better for myself and for the students. ** ** I also found that the more time you give some students, the less they do. When a student is completed, there should be something they can go to rather than have them complete homework. Better access to computers would make their research easier so book ahead. **

** Action Research for March 1 ** ** Question: Can my student s handle flexible grouping?** **Does flexible grouping enhance learning?**

**Jan. 25 - Reflection** **I heard some really great ideas for flexible grouping. I have often struggled with trying to get some students involved. I really like the group generator.com.** **Something I don't do a lot of is grouping by interest. I like that idea of students being grouped by interest. I need to make sure my flexible grouping has a purpose that aligns with my learning outcomes, not just grouping for the sake of grouping.**

**I really got to reflect on my action research about respectful tasks. I realize that I need to plan a little differently when creating my tasks.** April 12-Reflection The biggest task/challenge is the unwrapping the curriculum. I think there are so many new curricula that the task is a bit overwhelming. I would benefit from having time with my grade alike writing partners to work together on this. I would like the time to finish Stage 2 and get a good jump on Stage 3. It is helpful to have staff here to help us when we hit a snag.