The Experiment Is Working

Last week, while I stood back and watched the class interact with the naturalists of the Save the Bay organization in Palo Alto, it dawned on me how superfluous I was at that moment.  As cold as it was, the students whipped out answers and opinions, ideas and questions that demonstrated their facility with the wetland habitat.  Yes, we have been studying the San Francisco Bay watershed both in and out of the classroom.  But it was more than that.  The students showed confidence in their aptitude and in their abilities as problem solvers and global citizens.  To say that I was proud of them at that moment would have been an understatement.

I got to thinking.  Could I take any credit for this?  Had I had anything to do with their high level of comfort and engagement that morning?  During this frigid moment of cogitation I realized that I was beginning to encounter my professional transformation from a "sage on the stage" to a "guide on the side."  I know that this is the direction I have been heading (or wanting to head) for years.  It's the type of pedagogy that seems to fit the disposition of students born into this new century.  With information all around us that can be accessed at any time, it is foolish to continue to believe, as we did a half century ago, that teachers could retain their position as the single source of fact checked data on the planet.  Teachers have a new role to play.  A pivotal role.  A guiding role.  

The frosty morning reflections brought to mind the many instances these last few weeks when I have been able to get the class started on some project, some research topic, some engaging writing assignment, then to quietly step back.  Asking the probing questions to push their thinking farther, assisting when the perfect word went missing, guiding a collaboration that had soured, providing the nugget of instruction at the exact point of need, this has defined my new job.  Instead of taking the burden of learning onto my shoulders - as I have for 40 years - I have begun to leverage their brains, their aptitudes, their talents and ideas, and nudge them in the direction of required standards and competencies.

In the classroom, I have made a concerted effort to provide an environment that invites questioning, experimentation, and understanding.  I have attempted to inject humor and delight into everything we do.  I have been scrupulous in my call for quality work and well-informed opinions.  But I have not burdened the students with the idea that they have to be correct all the time.  Nor, have we permitted the idea that being correct more than once, or having a good idea makes one better or smarter than anyone else.  We have an investigative mind-set that leaves everything open for question.  In class, I readily acknowledge that I do not have all the answers.  No, I have not stepped entirely away from directed instruction. There are, after all, skill sets that must be taught and mastered.  But, in keeping with the spirit of the class, we do tend to ask rather than answer questions.

None of this transition has been easy.  This transformation has involved huge amounts of planning and coordination. But I have had a great amount of assistance from a great number of parents.  For this I am extraordinarily grateful.  We would not be where we are without this continuing support.   The students may not realize it yet, but they are lucky to have so many dedicated individuals - parents and teachers - so focused on their success.  So, we end this 4th month of Integrated Exploratory class on a high note.  This experiment, with its countless variables, seems to be working.

School Our Way

Have you spoken to your student about how different his or her school day is?  If you haven't, you may want to ask.  I've included some recent images of the "goings-on."

 

  

Everyday Math and the Exploratory Curriculum

In recent years, I have not been shy about my feelings concerning the Everyday Math program. As a mastery teacher I have not been a big fan. I did not support it during the adoption pilot last year. However, this old goat may be singing a new tune.

Permit a bit of history. I began my teaching career in 1969-1970. In my many teacher training classes as an undergraduate and in both of my masters programs, there has always been an emphasis on child developmental readiness for specific learning tasks, a prescribed way of delivering instruction (a la Madeline Hunter’s lesson line), and, during the last decade, a series of federally mandated standards that define the parameters of curriculum taught; how it’s taught, when it’s taught, and what benchmarks determine mastery. I have, in my 40 years in the classroom, watched the proverbial pendulum swing from constructivist methodologies, where students make their own meaning from curriculum, to behaviorist methodologies, where students are instructed and assessed in a rigid cycle that purports to bring curricular mastery. For most of my 40-year tenure, my teaching has been evaluated on the basis of student academic growth in terms of specified points above or below basic on nationally normed standardized tests. This evaluation protocol has, to a great degree, determined my development as a “mastery teacher.”

By “mastery teaching” I mean that I am likely to stay with a concept or skill until I am assured that every student in the class has achieved mastery. Provided me with a √ on a skill-mastery list. You, as Integrated Exploratory parents can immediately see the fall-out from mastery teaching in a district like ours. It slows down the rate of learning for some students and has lead to the extraordinary levels of differentiation that occur at both the K-3 and 4-8 schools.

Most mathematics texts follow the behaviorist methodology cycle: build background, instruct using task analysis to break the skill or concept into tiny chunks, guide student practice, provide independent practice, assess learning, then build on that learning. Frankly, this strategy certainly retains some appeal for me. It does work. But it doesn’t allow for those students who need less practice, and who enjoy digging deeper and wider into a particular concept or skill. This, I am beginning to understand, is what the Everyday Math program brings to our table.

In a second extraordinary “Ah, ha” moment of this extraordinary exploratory year, I have begun to see this recently re-adopted program as the perfect compliment to our Integrated Exploratory program. It is not mastery based, as the whole Exploratory curricular focus is not mastery based. It does not provide massed practice. Instead, it spirals around and around, revisiting concepts at increasingly higher levels, until students naturally develop crucial arithmetic understandings. It allows for student interaction with mathematics on an exploratory basis. It slowly (almost imperceptibly) builds deep conceptual foundations of mathematical understanding as it broadens student computational competence.

Unlike some currently popular imported programs, Everyday Math (EM) has a horizontal rather than a vertical structure. It relies on fundamental concept development to solve a wide variety of problems using a wide variety of strategies, rather than insisting on memorized algorithms to solve a particular type of problem. In this way, EM students become better equipped to venture solutions to unknown or unfamiliar types of problems using their broad understanding. It should be noted that once a student has mastered a particular problem solution strategy, be it traditional or one of the interesting variations discussed in the Everyday Math text, students are encouraged to use the one (or ones) they find most comfortable.

Vertically based, single-algorithm-reliant instruction can, in fact, disadvantage students. Having only a single algorithimic skill at their disposal, some students may become stymied when faced with unfamiliar types of problems because they cannot readily (or easily) apply their usual solution strategy. They may not be equipped with the broader mathematical foundation or the requisite higher level thinking strategies to do the job. Everyday Mathematics is about developing critical thinkers who are undaunted by unfamiliar situations or questions; mathematical or otherwise. And isn’t this what Exploratory is all about?

I confess. I have taken some liberties with the program. I have elected not to teach the program unit by unit as the publishers suggest. I have taken specific skill sets that relate to what we are doing, and have integrated them into our larger explorations. An example of this is our upcoming math instruction on coordinate grids. We are (and will be) using many of the skills in Unit 9 (e.g. coordinate points on a 4-quadrant grid, x and y axes, and addresses of cells to locate information) when we begin our field studies in science, and when we learn Excel to record field study data in spreadsheet format.

Although I cannot, in good conscience, say that I believe this program is the right and proper fit for every child. I believe it is a program that matches the current tenor of the Integrated Exploratory program.

More Images from BTSN

Back to School Night: Design Challenge

For those who missed our Back to School Night event on Wednesday evening, I am adding a few photos to this post. Parents were invited to use the Design Process to create the "Ultimate Backpack for a 5th Grader." Parents were prompted to think about how this strategy can impact the engagement of their students. And, judging from the intensity of the interaction, and the positive comments after the activity session, it appears that Exploratory Class parents know, understand, and accept this strategy as a viable classroom option.

More photos will follow.

Hands-on Science

On Tuesday we were treated to an in classroom science lab. Lisa Dettloff, former science teacher at Nueva School in Hillsborough, broughtScared Pepper,Rainbow Milk, and an assortment of vinegar and baking soda explosions to our class. We discussed what avariable is. We were able to choose an experiment and a variable to change. We recorded our observations in our investigations journal, and are currently constructing posters to demonstrate what we learned.

The students were thoroughly engaged and delighted with the 90 minute activity.

Here are a few photos of the experience.

Smashing a Paradigm

The first “ah ha!” moment of the many I expect this year occurred last Wednesday in the car as I got to the crest of the hill and started my descent towards home in Half Moon Bay. The thought started – as they are apt to do – by my review and processing of the day’s classroom interaction. Watching, listening, I became aware of an undercurrent of competition between and among the students. They waved hands, craving the opportunity to answer a question with a correct response or complete explanation. They fell into a typical pattern; displaying their intellect by showing or telling what they already know.

Reflecting on this rush to answer, often times without verifying truth, I realized that this pattern dominates. And that the reason for this tendency is (ack!) my fault! Or, perhaps more accurately, the fault of the standards movement currently in play in classrooms across the nation. This demand for quick response, for spitting back facts without digging deeper, has been the pedagogy of teachers, the Holy Grail of administrators, and the objective of standards-based tests for several decades. Follow the prescribed lesson line, we are told. Have students answer with the mandated, publishing house specified answer. Answer correctly, or don’t bother. Many students will not even attempt to offer an answer if they are not completely certain that their answer is indisputable. Classroom interaction is right or wrong, yes or no. And there is the reverse. Other students, convinced that they are correct, insist on relating something they ‘heard’ as truth with little or no proof. Where is the deep thought? The intellectual rigor?

Can you imagine the stress experienced by these students? Probably. Many of us have experienced the unforgiving arena of America’s classrooms in our school experiences. The linear, assembly line, square-peg-in-square-hole structure so indicative of 20^th Century learning. Rewards are given to the quick and vocal. Ridicule to the thoughtful and tentative.

The paradigm created by the standards movement is the antithesis of what the Integrated Exploratory class should and will be. It will be my job to smash this archaic pedagogy and bring back deep, critical thinking, and continuous questioning. My questioning techniques have just begun to reflect this change in teaching style and should improve as the year progresses. The students however - steeped for several years in the ‘show how smart you are by getting the right answer’ brew – are not yet comfortable with big questions that may be unanswerable. Some of this is due to their age and their developmental readiness for such brain excursions. Trusting that a divergent response will be accepted, welcomed even, is a huge leap of faith for all of them.

I have begun this classroom refrain: “It is not what you know, but what you want to know that is important.” Asking BIG questions that may not have simple answers, having the stamina and drive to dig deeply to find out, and presenting what has been wholly or partially understood, is how we will be evaluated by ourselves, our peers, and our teachers. It is what makes us active learners.

Let’s smash this obsolete paradigm that allows students to think, “I am the smartest because I know more facts and can say them faster.” You can help. Reinforce for your student that it is what they don’t know, how they use their intellect to find out, and how clearly they can explain new understandings that is the keystone of this class. Our first true discussion about BIG Questions begins tomorrow.

Morning Meeting a Huge Success

Our morning meetings have been a sensation! I've learned why dogs have wet noses, why cats have pointy ears, that a man from Jamaica can run 26 miles an hour, and that at least one of us thinks women should have more rights than men... but is not quite sure why. :-) The eight students who have presented have been prepared and articulate. Current events reporters may need to be reminded to cover the event as a journalist would; sharing who, what, where, when, and why the event is important. Day-In-History reporters, similarly, should share the 5 Ws of a single event of a single historic day.

Our blog settings have been refined now, and we are able to read all comments. These student- written comments have become a rich source of text for quick, point-of-need English language review. Students respond to a blog post every day as a standing homework assignment. Time is ALWAYS available during school (at recess or lunchtime) for students to accomplish this task. So, not having Internet access or a computer at home should not be an impediment to success. If you do have online services at home, make it routine to have your student check the homework page every afternoon/evening.

The Integrated Exploratory teachers are looking forward to meeting and chatting with our parents at tomorrow evening's Meet And Greet event from 5:30 until 8:00.

First Day of School

A few expected kinks and challenges, but we are well on our way. It is great to have so many returning students! And so nice to have some new faces! If today is any indication of how the year will progress, it should be a sensation. Your students are lively and engaging; exactly what Integrated Exploratory is all about. Ask your student to talk to you about his/her day. How do they like the new structure? Did your student find out anything about him/herself today? What was the highlight? Be sure to visit the homework section of our website for relevant activities. I've taken a photo and have posted it to our website home page.

Integrated Exploratory and the Debate Over One-to-One Laptop Use

In the spring of 2008, as part of my Master's Degree program in Instructional Technology, I engaged in a literature review on the topic of one-to-one laptop computer deployment. As we in Portola Valley begin to dig more deeply into the efficacy of such an undertaking, I offer that point-counterpoint paper titled: The Efficacy of One-to-One Laptop Initiatives in the Public School Environment. The full text, in PDF format, has been uploaded and can be read on the NEWS page of our classroom blog.

Follow this link: http://www.cms.pvsd.net/~mbarton/news.html

The concluding paragraph reads:

Through this literature review, two things have become clear. First, the true, long-lasting benefits of technology integration so far are found in improved conditions for learning, not in the acquisition of discreet academic skills. And second, as Ross, Lowther, Wilson-Relyea, Wan, and Morrison, (2003) succinctly state, “although results are promising, …further research that investigates student access to and educational use of laptops is needed” (p. 14).

Navigating the Seven Cs

There has been much discussion about the 21^st Century learner. Today’s middle school student will, in a few short years, enter a world of work that is dramatically different from that of even a decade ago. The U.S. Department of Labor suggests that the average worker will have more than 10 jobs before he or she reaches the age of 40. Further, it reports that jobs most in demand for 2010 did not even exist in 2004. Business and industry are calling for a workforce steeped in a series of competencies that will keep them nimble and competitive. As educators we cannot afford not to focus our teaching on these essential competencies.

Last year Corte Madera administrators, teachers, and parents participated in a 21^st Century Committee. From that series of meetings we derived a series of seven over-arching competencies that give foundation to the Portola Valley School District’s mission to educate a “global student.” They are:

• Collaboration and Teamwork: This means valuing and respecting all team members as people, their role in group work, and their contribution to group effort.
• Critical Thinking: This means actively taking part in problem solving tasks, application of learned skills, discernment between opposing or conflicting ideas, and self-evaluation.
• Creativity and Curiosity: This means taking academic risks, exercising flexibility, and demonstrating resilience following failure.
• Communication: This means the ability to articulate orally, and in written, non-verbal, and technological ways, and to demonstrate capacity for aural (listening) understanding.
• Citizenship: This means understanding civic and global responsibility, engaging in service learning, and demonstrating empathy and respect for cultural and individual differences.
• Cultivation: This means developing and appreciation of the arts, maintaining physical and emotional health and wellness, and expanding a love of learning.
• Competency: This means developing academic skill sets including all basic skills fundamental to future learning.

Our Integrated Exploratory class will be taking initial steps in this direction during the 2009-2010 school year. At the beginning of the school year, students will be given the opportunity to define and discuss each of these competencies as each relates to his/her individual learning style, his/her interests, and his/her personality type. Then, on a regular basis, students will be asked to reflect on their individual work ethic and productivity in terms of these 7 competencies.

Authentic Assessment in the Integrated Exploratory Class

Researchers in education, and classroom teachers as well, are continuously seeking answers to the sticky question of assessment of student learning. Nowhere will this question be of greater importance than in the Integrated Exploratory class where cycles of inquiry, project-based learning, and cooperative collaboration will be featured. Providing students with options for authentic product design and individual choice permits opportunities to restructure some of our assessment procedures.

In their recent book Powerful Learning: What We Know About Teaching for Understanding (2008), Barron and Darling-Hammond of Stanford University list three key characteristics of assessment systems designed to support cooperative and inquiry-based learning. They are:

1.) intellectually ambitious performance assessments that help students learn and apply desired concepts and skills in authentic and disciplined ways,

2.) evaluation tools, such as assignment guidelines and rubrics, that define what constitutes good work and effective collaboration, and

3.) formative assessments that guide teacher feedback to students and help to inform teacher instructional decisions throughout a project.

This school year we will use a combination of formative assessments, meant to question student thinking (iterative cycles) and guide production of project work, and rubrics that provide rigorous academic standards for both production and collaboration. Generated by personal reflection on work and continuous action toward improvement, students will assume a greater responsibility for their own learning.

We plan to provide many opportunities this school year for students to exhibit their learning through public presentation. Perhaps you would like to join one of our review panels. Calls for reviewers will be posted throughout the year.

The Design Thinking Experience

This week I had the unique opportunity to join a group of about 40 other educators at Stanford’s Design School. Our eclectic group represented multiple age ranges, genders, educational organizations, and nationalities. The workshop was a 4 –day whirlwind tour of the Design Thinking process that allowed all of us to grapple with the higher level thinking skills and strategies involved in the problem-solving process.

The Design Thinking process consists of distinct phases. Once a general problem, or problem area, is identified, the process begins. Phase I, Empathy, means gaining knowledge and understanding of the person being impacted by the problem: the end user. We accomplish this through interviews, gathering artifacts, and engaging in authentic research. Then, after synthesizing this material, the designer moves on to Phase II, establishing a point of view that reflects the user’s needs. Next, the designer carefully delineates and defines the problem to be solved. This articulation becomes Phase III. Prototyping is Phase IV. This phase excites imagination and engages creativity. Synergy, through positive group interaction, is at its height. Brainstorming, sketching, and wild ideas are welcome. It is here that construction of a model (e.g. 3-dimensional object, flowchart) to solve the problem occurs. Part of this phase is preliminary testing. This means that a typical user is asked to view and give genuine feedback on the prototype by experiencing the solution in its raw form. The designer takes this feedback critique and reworks the prototype; often moving through several iterations before Phase V, Storytelling, begins. Storytelling, or “pitching,” adds an element of closure to the process. It is the presentation of a 3-minute story in which 1.) articulation of the problem and characteristics of the intended user are imbedded, 2.) the solution (prototype) is shared within the context of the user’s needs, 3.) the impact on a greater picture/audience is acknowledged and explained, and 4.) ends with ideas that are credible, emotional, or unexpected. Ideas that stick in the listeners’ minds. Once the story is told, listeners and users continue to offer feedback so that the prototype is continually refined and/or until a new problem statement is developed.

The cyclical nature of the Design Thinking process we learned this week was aimed at adult learners. It is a lengthy process full of social and emotional aspects having to do with group dynamics, and closely tied to the availability of fluid space, ideation, and access to numerous craft and communications materials. The process we expect to use in 5^th grade will, necessarily, be streamlined to include only 3 of these phases: Empathy, Prototyping, and Feedback. There will be considerable guidance in determining researchable problem statements that are curricular in nature. And we hope to move through one entire process cycle each quarter using our big question as a foundation for inquiry and problem solving. We plan to focus on a single element of the process during one of these cycles. But we will apply the process, as needed, throughout the school year as typical classroom problems arise. A rubric to determine quality of student engagement in the Design Thinking process is being constructed. For more information, you may want to connect with http://dschool.stanford.edu/k12

Parents familiar with education and classroom curricular delivery systems may want to know the difference between Design Thinking and Project/Product-Based Learning (PBL). I see PBL as more teacher-guided; having specific outcomes (information and products) in mind at the very beginning. Although students engaged in PBL do have significant choice in presentation of their learning (e.g. PowerPoint, iMovie, podcasts, wiki posts, written report, musical composition, skit, painting, etc.), the learning is circumscribed within a set of given guidelines and matched to a rubric that evaluates elements of the product. Design Thinking, in contrast, appears to differ in that the outcome of the learning is not known at the outset of the investigation, and the product or solution can be innovative and surprising. We will use both PBL and Design Thinking, as well as direct instruction (DI) and inquiry circles, as means of curriculum delivery this school year.

We are planning a quick 'parent participatory' demonstration of Design Thinking at our Back-to-School Night in September. Hope to see you then.

Resources for Integrated Exploratory Parents

For a better understanding of our new approach to curriculum delivery, you may want to pick up:

• Disrupting Class by Clayton M. Christensen
• A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink
• One Kid at at Time by Eliot Levine
• The Big Picture by Dennis Littky
• Comprehension & Collaboration by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels
• Nurture by Nature by Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger

or, visit other schools headed in the same direction:

http://www.lgusd.k12.ca.us/tlda/documents/FislerSiteBrief.pdf (Fisler in Fullerton)

http://fsd.k12.ca.us/menus/1to1/index.html

http://www.lgusd.k12.ca.us/tlda/index.php (Los Gatos)

http://www.reedschools.org/millennial.html (Reed in Tiburon)

The "Global Student" and the Importance of Technology

In its vision statement, the Portola valley School District (PVSD) recognizes the development of intellectual curiosity, personal responsibility, and the skills to navigate a diverse and rapidly changing world as fundamental attributes of a “global student.” To that end, the District’s Strategic Plan is unambiguous in its call to provide a world-class education for its students. Components of this initiative, as defined by their 2006 public statement, include the ability of students to understand and value other cultures and perspectives, and to confront challenges by applying critical thinking, problem solving, research, and communication skills. That same document charges the professional staff to identify and implement instructional strategies that effectively meet individual student needs and learning styles by investigating alternative structures for classroom organization and instructional delivery. Proposed changes in the delivery structures in our 4^th and 5^th grade classrooms for the 2009-2010 school year will meet these calls for conscientious restructuring.

Portola Valley is not alone in its quest to provide authentic instructional strategies designed to increase student achievement, student engagement in learning, and accountability by shifting responsibility for learning from teacher to the learner. A smattering of other visionary school districts are heading down this path, knowing the risks, but understanding the consequences of inaction. Education futurists, thinkers, and authors have issued repeated calls to step away from the strictures of the ‘standards movement’ into collaborative classrooms that promote synergy rather than competition. Classrooms that exude the entrepreneurial spirit; that acknowledge individual learning styles, engage multiple pathways to goal achievement, promote connections instead of discreet skill development, provide rich opportunities for higher-level problem solving, and generate an atmosphere where effort and attitude, not necessarily raw intellect, lead to success. This is how our Integrated Exploratory classes are being designed.

This, then, is where the deployment of on-demand computing (i.e technology) becomes critical to the success of our design process. The 2006 PVSD strategic plan states unequivocally that ‘classroom/network infrastructure should promote optimal and innovative teaching and learning.’ During this school year we will turn technology tools from playthings into vehicles for creating knowledge through collaboration. We will employ Web 2.0 applications (e.g. Skype, email, websites, blogs, wikis, social networking sites) to convey ideas, exchange and evaluate data, communicate cultural understandings with local native Spanish speaking peers, publish products or projects, correspond with peers and experts, engage in a web-based national service project, and truly connect with our larger world. In the 5^th grade, during the first weeks of school, we plan to use laptop browser technology and Enterprise level infrastructure to access online resources to:

• investigate aspects of ancient civilizations,
• explore our individual personality types, learning styles, and interests,
• prepare a learning profile on Renzulli
• research current events, and 'The Day in History,’
• prepare and evaluate a peer challenges,
• review and practice mathematics facts,
• post information to topical wikis,
• post daily responses on our limited-access classroom (moderated) blog, and
• provide appropriate images to promote point-of-need background development in all academic content areas.

During the early weeks of the school year we also plan to use standard desktop applications to:

• compose quick writes, prepare and complete reading comprehension notetaking T-charts (Pages, MS Word), and other written work,
• capture images for our first exploration project - Ourselves As a Fundamental Human Resource (PhotoBooth),
• guide our understanding of the landforms of North America (Google Earth),
• record, chart, and interpret frequency data from our wetlands exploratory (Excel),
• prepare a digital portfolio (Mac OS),
• interact with experts and advisors (Skype),
• enhance mathematical concept development (AKEKS),
• listen to and interpret the works of Gustav Holtz, Phillip Glass (iTunes),
• record classroom activities (Garageband and iPhoto), and
• develop lexicological and mathematical skills (dictionary, calculator).

We will learn:

• the ethics of using the Internet appropriately, and
• proper ‘netiquette.’

The above list is but a sampling of the probable uses for on-demand computing in the Integrated Exploratory classes this school year. As the term continues, additional explorations and their requisite presentations/exhibitions using other computer applications (e.g. ActiveBoard, KeyNote, PowerPoint, iWeb, iMovie) will be fully integrated.

On-demand computing will assure that our Integrated Exploratory students develop those 21^st Century competencies that business organizations and multi-national agencies claim many of their young employees lack: collaboration, critical thinking, creativity & curiosity, communication skills, citizenship, cultivation, and competency. On-demand computing will provide digital equity within the ranks of our students. It will revolutionize our classrooms, converting them into interdependent learning ecosystems where just-in-time information will secure knowledge connections for each individual student. On-demand technology will transform our learners into the independent thinkers, the creative and curious, ethical, and risk taking individuals that our global society so acutely demands.

Through technology, the Integrated Exploratory classes will realize their commitment to define[ing], align[ing], implement[ing], assess[ing], and communicate[ing] the structures, curricula, instructional practices, assessments, and professional development needed to produce the Global Student.”1

1 PVSD Strategic Plan 2006-2011, November 28, 2006

Welcome to the Integrated Exploratory Class 2009-2010

Hello Students and Parents.

In case you missed this explanatory letter, I am including it here.

What is this exactly? Integrated Exploratory is exactly what it says it is. Throughout the course of the year your students and I will explore larger topics into which all California State Standards and Frameworks have been integrated. The class will offer a series of open-ended projects centered on Big Questions. This means that your student will be able to engage in quasi self-directed study, searching out answers to questions that have meaning or relevance to him/her. It does not mean that the class will become a “free-for-all” with little or no accountability for content. It does mean that direct instruction will be a part of every day. It also means that your student may not be involved in exactly the same activities, projects, and lessons on the same days, at the same times, or in the same ways as other 5^th grade classes. I expect to complete a long-range plan for the year before the end of June. I will make this basic curriculum plan available to you, and will invite comment at that time.

The Developmental Component: This new structure of curriculum delivery has a significant developmental component. Students who are 10 and 11 years old are moving – at their own pace – from CONCRETE to FORMAL operations. The Concrete Operations phase is characterized by a student’s ability to think abstractly and to make rational judgments about concrete or observable phenomena, which, in the past, he/she needed to manipulate physically to understand. In teaching this child, giving him/her the opportunity to ask questions and to explain things back to you allows him/her to mentally manipulate information. Formal Operations is characterized by no longer requiring concrete objects to make rational judgments. At this point, students are capable of hypothetical and deductive reasoning. Simply put, they are able to see beyond themselves and understand that they can, to some degree, manipulate their world. Instruction for this pre-adolescent can become wide-ranging because he/she will be able to think divergently and consider many possibilities from several perspectives. (See http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/piaget.htm for further information.)

Where your student falls on this developmental continuum will play a significant role in his/her ability to participate in this type of study. Although there is very little adults can do to hasten this natural development, it is hoped that all students will be fully engaged in the ‘understand –> observe –> define –> ideate –> create (prototype) and –> test’ cycle that is essential by second semester. This product producing and reflective process will be taught during the first weeks of school. Also during these beginning weeks, considerable time will be given to developing the interpersonal skills necessary to work as a fully contributing member of a team. Interdependence (i.e. if one succeeds, we all succeed; if one fails, we all fail) will become a watchword as we move through the year.

Parent Involvement: There will be many ways in which parents can volunteer their help. These opportunities are:

Title	Description
1. Offsite/Field Trip Procurer & Organizer	Work with teacher to find and book curriculum related field trips that are not part of the regular 5th grade series
2. Grade Level Field Trip Organizer	Work with teacher to organize trips that are part of the regular 5th grade series (Age of Sail, Symphony, etc.)
3. Speakers’ Bureau	Work with teacher to find and book curriculum related speakers and schedule actual (on site) or virtual (Skype) visits
4. Technology – Locate Curriculum Relevant Internet Sites	Work with teacher to find, and post to our website, appropriate curriculum related websites
5. Technology – Manage/Input Student Software Accounts	Work with teacher and IT staff to input student names into specialized software accounts (Renzulii, g-mail, etc.)
6. Technology – Monitor Classroom Blog & Wiki	Work with teacher to read and allow or deny daily blog (and wiki) posts by students
7. Reading Period Monitors	Work with teacher to monitor student reading period so students are engaged in “reading to learn”
8. Secretarial	Work with teacher to keep student files orderly and paper distribution (class to home) flowing
9. Small Group Leader(s)	Work with teacher to engage students in small group instruction or, assist with the management of project task completion
10. Art Consultant	Work with art and classroom teachers and students to integrate artists and artistic genre, as well as artistic techniques/principles into student projects
11. Music Consultant	Work with music and classroom teachers and students to integrate musicians and musical genre, as well as musical techniques/principles into student projects
12. Foreign Language Consultant	Work with classroom and Spanish teachers to coordinate Bi-Lingual Buddies program with Hatch School in Half Moon Bay
13. Global Cultural Consultant	Work with classroom and other foreign language speakers to develop communications (e-pals, Skype conversations) with similar age students in at least 1 other country
14. Math Cnsultant	Work with math and classroom teachers and students to integrate math concepts into student projects (This is not a pull out math program!)
15. Science Consultant	Work with science and classroom teachers and students to integrate scientific principles and concepts into student projects (This is not a pull out math program!)
16. Science Project Assistant(s)	Work with science teacher during direct instruction to distribute materials, check student engagement and thinking, assist with clean up
17. PodCast Technician	Work with classroom teacher and students to integrate well scripted Podcasts into projects, and/or for general broadcast on the website
18. Videographer	Work with classroom teacher and students to integrate well scripted and rehearsed video into projects, and/or for general broadcast on the website
19. Service Learning Coordinator	Work with classroom teacher and community resource managers to develop a meaningful service learning project

As we move through the year, these roles may morph in new and exciting ways, and additional roles for parents may develop as the year progresses. If you see something (above) that strikes a chord, let me know right away (851-1777 X2239 or mbarton@pvsd.net) so I can begin to plot out and schedule our year.

Internet Use: No, we are not the Technology Class, but we will be spending a lot of time online this year! Therefore it is important that your student be permitted to get involved in the Internet in a big way. We will need your permission to have your student access not only classroom approved Internet sites for research, but that he/she begins to understand the broader implications of Internet usage through blogs, wikis, email, and other Web 2.0 technologies. We most certainly will be using Skype to bring in outside experts to answer questions, and we may even find a social networking site helpful in managing local and global connections. The Network Use Policy (NUP) that you signed when your student started at Corte Madera included some but not all of these aspects of Internet use. Therefore we will be asking you to sign an addendum to the current NUP that will cover all school related network/Internet use.

In addition, we will spend some time early in the year teaching Internet ethics (i.e. appropriate citizenship while on line), Internet Safety (i.e. what to watch out for online), and Internet Literacy (i.e. how to tell when information is authentic).

Physical Structure of the Classroom: We expect our classroom to look very different next year. It is a relatively small space to accommodate all that we hope to do, so we will need to keep a streamlined profile. We will have no desks filled with consumable workbooks. Collapsible tables and moveable partitions are being ordered. Students will share ALL materials (sets of textbooks, markers, etc). Personal items will need to be left outside in book bags or at home. There will be ample storage to accommodate project work, and each student will keep a portfolio of completed class work, writings, projects, and evaluations. Students will be responsible for classroom set up and clean up every day.

Authenticity and Accountability: This program will try to approximate, as closely as possible, the higher education and working world into which these students are headed. We wish to make this experience as authentic and relevant as possible for students of this age. So it will be important for your student to “step-up” and take control of his/her academic production and social responsibility. Individual students and/or student teams will, as the year progresses, become completely accountable for project work; and, 95% of student work will be completed in school. Accountability for QUALITY work is one of the hallmarks of this Integrated Exploratory program. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, sloppy or incomplete products will be considered unacceptable and returned for further refinement. Rubrics will be the preferred method of quantitative evaluation. The structure of the 5^th grade report card may also change. But this is an administrative decision that has not yet been made.

Homework: Homework expectations will be different as well. What will be routine are: 1.) responding to a blog post by a student peer or the teacher, and 2.) reading for pleasure. Beyond this, students will determine, based on daily personal reflection, what it is they must do to prepare for their next day. As teacher, I will check day-planners and will authorize each student’s independent choice. Here are some examples: If it is his/her turn to report on a current event, then he/she must locate information and prepare a short talk. If a group presentation is scheduled, he/she should rehearse. If he/she is part of a group delving into a particular topic, he/she should spend time researching the topic. If he/she is having trouble determining the mathematical probability that their model may fail, he/she may need to work with the concept of probability. If he/she can’t remember when to use the homonyms there, their, or they’re, he/she should spend some time thinking about and writing sentences containing the tricky words. If his/her team is constructing a product and needs materials found easily at home, he/she should gather those materials to support his/her team efforts. Students should spend 45 – 60 minutes on relevant homework. And, don’t forget to chat with your student about his/her school day --- every day. As your child’s first teacher, you can offer much in the way of background knowledge, perspective, and guidance.

Communication: It is important that we establish firm lines of communication early on. Having frequent conversation will be essential to the success of this program. To that end, I would like to form an e-mail distribution list of all Integrated Exploratory parents. This list will not be made public and names will never appear in the address line of any email. Please email me at mbarton@pvsd.net so that I can include your name on this most important list.

We have now created this blog, with pages for parents and students. This blog, it is hoped, will provide our special Integrated Exploratory community with a place to exchange ideas and share opinions.