Evaluating the GAME Plan

In the progression of my GAME Plan in EDUC 6713, I have reflected upon the following questions as they guide me in completing the necessary tasks for the course.

-How effective were your actions in helping you meet your goals?
One of my goals was to learn new assessment tools to use in the classroom that will measure another dimension of my students' learning. By using more open-ended short answer questioning within my laboratory reports that I newly expect of my students, I realize that the students are further challenged by demanding a higher ordered level of intelligence as they explain their answers.

-What have you learned so far that you can apply in you instructional practice?
So far I have learned how to diversify my instruction so that I realize how to reach the needs of not just the general student within my courses but the exceptional student that required individualized instruction.

-What do you still have to learn? What new questions have arisen?
As I have discussed in previous blog entries, I do notice that a digital storyboard activity is a necessary component of our GAME plans. I am critical and pessimistic that my current plan will not be conducive for the students to use one in their projects. I am interested in learning how to use such a tool in my classes and what projects would be best geared in using such resources as a component of the project assessment.

-How will you adjust your plan to fit your needs?
In the future I do have strong intentions to use a different problem based learning activity that is more conducive to using a digital storyboard program and software. As much as I love the alternative energy project that I proposed in the past, it is my intuition that there might be another activity and unit plan that will better fit the needs of this course. I am highly contemplating switching the GAME plan to the forensic mystery of the softball pitcher's death due to electro-static activity.

Monitoring the GAME Plan

As an update on the GAME plan I will answer the following questions to notify all my fellow cohort colleagues and instructor of Walden EDUC 6713 of my project progress.

-Are you finding the information and resources that you need?
Yes I am.

-Do you need to modify your action plan?
I may change my action plan to a project that may allow a digital storyboard lesson for it. Currently with my energy project, I'm having difficulty coming up with a digital storyboard lesson that will fit with it and looking forward into the course I realize it's a necessary component in the project's assessment.

-What have you learned so far?
So far I have learned how to diversify my lesson plans for those with exceptional needs and to choose the correct assessment for the right unit of study.

-What new questions have arisen?
If you notice two questions prior, I have completed storyboards in class before just never in a digital situation. It will be interesting to learn the software that will allow the students to accomplish this task.

Carrying out my GAME Plan

In reflection with regards to the preparation of my GAME Plan it is apparent that I will need various resources to aid me in carrying out the lesson activity. In order to guide my students in their research it would be beneficial if they could search out and possibly interview renewable energy researchers and industrialists to learn the latest trends in the technology. I do realize that this might not be possible for my students to complete before the conclusion of the project. So in response to this likely dilemma I've compiled the following websites that the students can utilize as their springboards into the research required for their alternative energy projects.

US Department of Energy:

http://www.energy.gov/

Energy Information Administration:

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/kids/

US Geological Survey:

http://energy.usgs.gov/

Energy Resources International

http://www.energyresources.com/

If there are any other online sites that any of my cohort peers would recommend, I would be extremely appreciative! Thanks!

EDUC 6713 GAME Plan

During this progress of this course, it is my desire to improve upon my students creativity in the physics curriculum. Too often within a given physics course, everything is cut and dry with facts and concepts that were already studied upon in the previous centuries of scientific exploration. Many laboratory assignments are only designed for students to simply repeat these explorations conducted by previous researchers and scholars of yesteryears.

My goal is to create a final project where students discuss the efficacy of alternative energy forms over the United States' high use of fossil fuels. Conducting their research in small groups they must choose an energy form that interests them and find out if it would be feasible (economically, socially, environmentally) for the US to switch to high use of that energy form or source. The analysis and research is highly open-ended and the students are allowed to use creativity in this approach. This concept addresses ISTE standard number one. After compiling their research students will use a wiki website to organize their information and debate within their own group dynamics whether or not their energy source is a viable solution to the US's energy problem. By using this tool and working in their small groups in this manner, the students will be learning new valuable skills that are heavily prevalent in the 21st Century workplace where it is quite common that decent project management skills are required. This tool and activity highly addresses the second ISTE standard. I will monitor the students progress in the month long project as an administrator on their wiki site and will develop a rubric that the students will be familiar about before starting the project. At the conclusion of the activity I will let the students evaluate its delivery on my part via an online survey so I can make future improvements for oncoming years.