Links, Learning and Liberation: Successful Independent Learners

Links, Learning and Liberation:

Successful Independent Learners

Rosa International Middle School

Cherry Hill, NJ

Ms. Tammy McDonald, PrincipalNina M. Kemps, Library Media

Specialist

What is the International Baccalaureate Middle Years

Program?What is required?

How is our school different?

International Baccalaureate

Organization (IBO)Middle Years Program

… is designed to provide students with the values and opportunities that will enable them to develop sound judgment and to choose wisely.

Learning how to learn and how to evaluate information critically is as important as the content of the disciplines.

Fundamental Concepts

Communication

Holistic view of

knowledge

Intercultural awareness

AREAS OF INTERACTION FORM THE CORE OF THE

PROGRAMME Approaches to Learning

Community Service

Environment

Health and Social Education

Homo Faber (Inventiveness & Creativity)

MIDDLE YEARS PROGRAMME CURRICULUM

Dimensions of

Learning

Knowledge Understanding

Application Attitude

TRANSFORMATION AND DISCOVERY

Start of every day

All staff members are advisors

Every advisor has 12 - 15 students

Two days advisory & three days personal project

Programs compliment each other

Models BEST PRACTICES

TRANSFORMATION AND DISCOVERY

Advocate

Community Service Facilitator

Home - School Communication

Academic Monitor

Adult Role Model

Personal Project Facilitator

What are Personal Projects?

What is required? Let me see a few examples.

Role of the Personal Project (IBO)

The personal project is:– Significant body of work – Extended period– Student’s own initiative – Very important to programme– Creative piece of work– Demonstrate skills of approaches to

learning

IB Requirements

An extended piece of work

Reflective writing about the

learning process

Bibliography

Rubric assessment – including self-assessment of process and product

Addressing the Areas of Interaction

To understand and apply the Approaches to Learning

•Effective study skills•Critical, coherent and independent

thought•Capacity for solving problems and

making decisions

To address two or more of the other Areas of Interaction

Approaches to Learning

In their individual work, students should develop

the ability to do methodical work

sense of achievement and self-

discipline

care for a job well done


In their individual work, students should develop

care for language & for

adequate, precise vocabulary

coherence of thought &

expression

self-sufficiency & responsibility


In their social and cultural environment, students should

develop

the ability to communicate experiences.

team spirit


In their social and cultural environment, students should

develop

an open-minded attitude towards the world and its people, and respect for their own culture and the culture of others.

a critical view of humanity and society.

Format Creative writing

Essay

Invention

Music, drama, art

Science experiment

Let me see afew

examples.

Communication Skills

Every student became a teacher!

REFLECTION

JOURNAL

WRITING

• Assists advisors as they guide students

• Journal entries are used for reflective writing and self evaluation

We are teaching the learning process!

Self evaluatio

n is important

.

How do Personal Projects align

with standards ?

National, State, and Cherry Hill Information Literacy

NationalAmerican Association of School Libraries

(AASL)and

Association for Educational Communication and Technology (AECT)

Information Literacy Standards for Student

Learning (1998)

Information Literacy Standards

Information Literacy

– Accesses information efficiently and effectively

– Evaluates information critically and competently

– Uses information accurately and creatively


Independent Learning

– Pursues information related to personal interests

– Appreciates literature and other creative expressions of information

– Strives for excellence in information seeking and knowledge generation


Social Responsibility

– Recognizes the importance of information to a democratic society

– Practices ethical behavior in regard to information and information technology

– Participates effectively in groups to pursue and generate information

Cherry Hill Information Literacy Standards

Uses information accurately and creatively

6-8 – Organizes information for practical application

9-12 – Organizes information for practical application in an effective and appropriate manner

Rosa’s Personal Project and Information Literacy

Standards


NJ Core Curriculum – link provided to www.emanj.org. website matrix

Research model

What has Rosa established to guide

students towards year-long Personal

Projects?

How do we develop successful independent learners?

Transformation & Discovery

Strong library media program

Tools

High interest lessons

Skills built into lessons

Application throughout school curriculum

Read

Ask

View

Explore

RAVE

FLIP IT!

FLIP IT!Focus—form essential questions

Link—connect prior knowledge and plan

Input—make meaning by implementing (search, shift, sort, and store)

Payoff—putting it all together in a product.

Intelligent—always asking If …..

Thinking—responding with Then …..

I-SEARCH• Personalizing the learning

• Writing reflectively about the learning process

• Aligns with FLIP IT! Model

• Students meet the IB requirement

Online Reflective Writing

A. Personal Connection to Topic Including Focus Quest

In this section I should:• Indicate why I care about the topic

including why I wanted to learn more. (Make the personal connection.)

• Include your essential questions.


B. The Story of My Research: In this section I should tell the story

of my learning:

• Describe problems in locating information and how I solved them.

• Describe breakthroughs! Tell when it really got interesting

• Tell how I changed, expanded, or revised my questions.

• Acknowledge how others in and outside the school helped me carry out my search.

• Suggest further questions or areas to explore at another time.

• Describe the sequence of steps in my search.


C. Connections to the Areas of Interaction: Approaches to Learning, Homo Faber, Environment, Health & Social Education, & Community Service

– This section should be at least two paragraphs long.

– I should make a strong connection between my project and two Areas of Interaction besides Approaches to Learning. (The Personal Project shows how I have mastered the Approaches to Learning.)


D. Evaluation of My Learning: In this section I should indicate what

completing this project has meant to me:

– Tell how I've developed my mastery of the Approaches to Learning.

– Describe what I will change when I do my next project.

– Set one or two goals related to Approaches to Learning for next year.

BIBLIOGRAPHY FORMS

Note taking sheets

Guidelines and rules

Required sources

Available online

Other Tools and Assistance

Calendars Library Requests

– Help locating information– Inter-Library Loans

Journal prompts Questions stems Team meeting time

Timeline - Year One

Establish learning community - Sept/Oct

Journal writing & developing questions - Oct/Nov

School-wide Projects - Parallel Universe (Homo Faber) and Global Issues (Environment & Health and Social Ed.) - Dec-Feb

Individual Projects - Mar - May

Personal Project Celebrations (3 days) - June

Timeline - Year Two Establish learning community - Sept

Journal writing & develop questions (6th) - Oct

School-wide Projects - Paralympics (Homo Faber &

Health and Social Ed) and You Be the Senator (Environment.)

- Oct - Dec

Parallel Universe (6th) (Homo Faber) - Jan - Mar

Individual Projects (7th/8th) – Jan - Mid May

Individual Projects (6th) - Mar - May

Personal Project Celebrations (5 days per grade

level) - Last half of May - First week of June

TIMELINE – YEAR 3

• Sixth and seventh may remain the same

• Adjustments to celebration times

• Eighth grade skills to stress

• Speaking skills and editing

• Deepen knowledge of Areas of Interaction

• Use the IB eight criteria assessment rubric

• Learning and Behavior Styles

• Use student trainers

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Baldridge – Plan, Do, Study, Act Teacher survey at end of year Use feedback Team meetings Model life long learning Mobius Strip

Group Assignment Must identify the 20 time-

slipped items in the picture, but you must have a plan as to how you are going to accomplish the task.

Must submit an alphabetical listing of the items.

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT Answer the following questions about

one of the time-slipped items:

– 1. Who invented it? When was it invented?

– 2.What need or want of the people prompted the invention?

– 3. What did the people during your time period use in place of the item or why didn’t they need the item?

How do you assess

Personal Projects?

Rosa Assessment

CRITERION A: - Planning and Development – (FOCUS)

– GOAL – The student will clearly state and explain the focus of his/her personal project giving a few key questions to be answered.

*Evidence of this will be found in the introduction and body of the project.

Rosa Assessment

CRITERION B: - Collection of Information/Resources - (LINKS)

– GOAL – The student will demonstrate his/her ability to collect relevant information from a variety of sources. Students should select sufficient information and appropriate resources to substantiate the project.

This criterion is to be evaluated by the use of the bibliographic note sheets. (The note sheets are to be turned in with the finished project.)

Rosa Assessment

CRITERION C: - Analysis/Creativity - (INPUT)

GOAL – The student will demonstrate his/her ability to make meaning by evaluating and using information from a variety of sources.

*This criterion will be evaluated through review of notes, journal entries, and the finished product.

Rosa Assessment CRITERION D: - Organization of the

Final Product (PAYOFF)

GOAL – The student will present a complete personal project that links to the areas of interaction, includes a bibliography, and reflective writing concerning the process.

*The final product will be used to evaluate this criterion.

Rosa Assessment

CRITERION E: - Review of Process– (INTELLIGENT THINKING!)

GOAL – The student will self evaluate the learning process and final outcome of his/her work.

*This criterion is to be evaluated by the teacher based on

the reflective writings in the learning journal.

SuccessfulIndependent

Learners

PERSONAL PROJECT


Tammy McDonald, Principal

Nina M. Kemps, Library Media Specialist


485 Browning Lane

Cherry Hill, NJ

856-616-8787

[email protected] [email protected]

Websites

Workshop Handouts

– http://www.cherryhill.k12.nj.us/rims/aaslhandouts.htm

Rosa Online Library– http://www.cherryhill.k12.nj.us.rims/library/rosa_internati

onal_middle_school.htm

International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO)http://www.ibo.org.

Educational Media Association of New Jersey

– http://emanj.org

Links, Learning and Liberation: Successful Independent Learners

Documents

Transcript of Links, Learning and Liberation: Successful Independent Learners