Complex Problem Model

It has been quite an experience trying to wrap my head around this complex model project. After I finally chose my topic, I began to brainstorm how I would model my problem: Students not involved in extra-curricular activities don’t perform as well at school. I decided to use a concept map to begin to brainstorm my ideas. The complex problem that we modeled in class together about War helped me to understand how to start to model a concept. Through building upon concept maps or flowcharts, it is easier to make progress and develop a working model.

When creating my concept map, I focused on the effects that may result from not participating in extracurricular activities.



Although I came up with a lot of ideas, I still needed to figure out how these concepts all related to one another. I decided to organize my concept map into four main areas that show the effects of students not participating in extracurricular activities:
1. Real-world experiences
2. Opportunities for responsibility (individual and group)
3. Interests, talents, and abilities
4. Levels of social, emotional, and healthy behavior



After I organized the concept map, I planned to create a flow chart to show the effects of not participating in extracurricular activities and the steps that could be taken to try to solve this problem.



After beginning my flow chart, I realized I had no idea how I would continue with this model. I couldn’t wrap my head around it and felt completely lost. I also didn’t think I had enough research or data to support the information that I was trying to display in the flow chart. I decided to scrap the flow chart. I needed better data!

To truly model this problem, I decided that I needed to compare the effect of extracurricular activities on student performance/success for different Chicago Public Schools. After searching for quality data, I found the CPS website to be very helpful. This website listed statistics for each of its schools. The factors that I included in this comparison were school type, # of students, ethnicity, socio-economic status, average days absent, average ACT, meets or exceeds state standards, participation in extracurricular activities, and enrollment in college. I used Excel to organize and compare this data.









I also created separate tables to compare extracurricular participation with several different factors. Some of the trends I found were:
1. Schools with white students as the predominant ethnicity had the highest extracurricular participation (92%).
2. Students who are involved in extracurricular activities tend to have fewer absences.
3. Students who are involved in extracurricular activities tend to have higher ACT scores.
4. There seems to be a correlation between more student absences and a lower numbers of students meeting or exceeding state standards.
5. There is a correlation between high extracurricular participation of students coming from schools with fewer low income students.
6. Charter/Selective schools have higher levels of student participation in extracurricular activities.

This model isn’t complete. There are still some factors that I would like to compare. I would like to explore the relationship between the causes of low extracurricular participation and the effects that not participating in extracurricular activities has on students. I would also like to explore the possible solutions for attempting to solve this problem. I am not sure if this problem can be solved, but I think I have created a good foundation in attempting to identify and explore this complex problem.

List below are some of the sources I used:
http://www.answers.com/topic/extracurricular-activity-3
http://www.academicleadership.org/student_research
http://www.hcausa.com/media/Case-for-Extracurricular-Facilities.pdf
http://socialworktoday.com/ezine
http://nces.ed.gov/pubs95/web/95741.asp
http://www.cps.edu/Schools/Find_a_school/Pages/Findaschool.aspx
http://mywebspiration.com

Mini-Unit Reflection

The process of creating a mini-unit of a complex problem to use with my students proved to be quite challenging…which I suppose was the intent. I started by considering important topics that I cover throughout the year. I wanted to choose a topic that the students would be interested in and could foster exploration and meaningful learning.

As I considered topics: inventions, the impact of a natural disaster on the food web, and endangered animals, I knew I had to pick a topic that would really hold the attention of the students. Naturally, I decided that exploring the impact that a natural disaster would have on a food web in the students’ local environment would be the best choice. This topic would relate to the lives of the students, seeing that it is something that occurs in their local environment. It would also hold the attention of the students, because they all find natural disasters to be a very interesting topic, as we have already studied tornadoes and icebergs this year.

The plan for my mini-unit was the have each student choose an organism to research that exists in our local environment. The student would then create a table (database) to organize the characteristics that were related to the organism. This information would later assist them in creating a food web for their organism and a flowchart showing the impact (cause/effect) that a flood would have on the food web.

After the students had the information in a chart, they would then create a food web to show the relationship between their organism and the organisms in the level below it that it eats.

Next, the students would create a flow chart, showing the impact (cause/effect) that a flood would have on the food web. This flowchart would correctly organize each organism of the food web into producers, herbivores, and/or carnivores. The possible impacts of would be listed for each organism and would list possible ways the organism could adapt or survive. The students would then draw arrows to create a food web on the flow chart. This would be a powerful visual, because it would show not only the food web and relationship between the organisms of each level, but also the impact of the flood on each student’s food web.

After each student had created their own food web and food chart, we could compile all of the students’ information. Together, we would first create a food web to show the relationship between all of the students’ organisms. A flow chart would then be created to show how a flood would impact all the organisms in our class food web.

Originally I had planned for the students to create a food web and flow chart of 10 + organisms in small groups. I realized that this would be too difficult for my students. It would be hard for them to make these kinds of connections on their own. This is why I decided to have the students do their own mini-project before we came together as a whole group to compile our information and create a food web and flowchart that represented all of the organisms of the students. Although this would still be challenging for the students, it would present them with a problem that they could work at solving. Through trial and error and connections between the flow chart and cause/effect activities we had done earlier in the year, the students would be able to work through their problems.

This assignment has allowed me to challenge myself, while finding a project that would challenge and motivate my students, as well. I am excited to try this mini-unit in my classroom and to observe the student thinking and problem solving strategies that go into attempting to solve this complex problem. Hands-on activities, such as these, provide students with powerful learning experiences that relate to the real world and require them to apply their prior knowledge when going through problem solving steps.

Course Concept Map

In order to create a concept map of the content of the TIE 512 class, I have to reflect upon the important topics that we have discussed in class. As a starting point, I looked over the class syllabus and the course textbooks to refresh my memory. I also used the notes I had taken on the elements of a complex problem and the steps in problem solving to allow me to start to piece together the concept map. The concept map we had created in class from the problem solving presentations also provided me with valuable information that I wanted to include in the concept for the course content. Even though at first this task seemed overwhelming, I realized that I had a lot of information and just had to figure out how to organize it into a concept map.

I organized the concept map into five main topics: Problem Solving Theories, Models, Elements of a Complex Problem, Problem-Based Learning, and Problem Solving Steps. These topics have been the focus of our reading, presentations, and class discussions. As I was working, I made connections between each of the sub categories. All of the sub categories are really related, though, considering they all focus on the idea of problem solving. I am sure there are even more connections than I made, but these are just the ones that jumped out to me.

The problem solving steps we have discussed in class relate to the problem solving theories/theorists that we presented on in class. Many of these steps were evident in their theories/strategies. The elements of a complex problem and PBL learning obviously go hand-in-hand. In order to create a PBL situation, you must have a complex problem. The idea of using models was discussed in some of the problem solving theories and is also used in PBL situations. As I mentioned above, all of the concepts we have discussed in class are related. The ideas are all intertwined within each other. Creating this model, not only allows us to show what we have learned, but also allows us to better understand and make connections that we otherwise may not have seen. By developing a model, we are enhancing our knowledge of PBL. This should be our goal in our own classrooms. We need to create situations for our students in which they can learn and show their understanding as they are modeling.

http://mywebspiration.com/publish.php?i=345748a15275

20 Essential Questions

Listed below are essential questions that could be used for various subjects in a third grade classroom:

Math
1. How can I use multiplication?
2. What is the relationship between multiplication and addition?
3. How can arrays be used in multiplication?
4. How can patterns help me remember multiplication facts?
5. How are number properties useful in solving multiplication problems?

B.2 Solve one- and two-step problems involving whole numbers, fractions and decimals using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
C.2a Select and perform computational procedures to solve problems with whole numbers, fractions and decimals.
C.2b Show evidence that computational results using whole numbers, fractions and decimals are correct and/or that estimates are reasonable.

Language Arts
1. How can a student brainstorm topics for a personal narrative?
2. How can an author organize his/her ideas before beginning a first draft?
3. What elements should be included in the first draft of a narrative?
4. Compare/Contrast the difference between the revising and editing step of the writing process. 5. Why is each step in the writing process important?

3.B.2a Generate and organize ideas using a variety of planning strategies (e.g., mapping, outlining, drafting).
3.B.2b Establish central idea, organization, elaboration and unity in relation to purpose and audience.
3.B.2c Expand ideas by using modifiers, subordination and standard para¬graph organization.
3.B.2d Edit documents for clarity, subjectivity, pronoun-antecedent agreement, adverb and adjective agreement and verb tense; proofread for spelling, capitalization and punctuation; and ensure that documents are formatted in final form for submission and/or publication.
3.C.2a Write for a variety of purposes and for specified audiences in a variety of forms including narrative (e.g., fiction, autobiography), expository (e.g., reports, essays) and persua¬sive writings (e.g., editorials, advertisements).

Science
1. How do you choose a topic to research for a scientific experiment?
2. What questions should be asked before conducting the experiment?
3. What are the steps that should be taken to answer these questions?
4. What tools are necessary to complete the experiment?
5. How will you display the results/solutions of the experiment?

11.A.2a Formulate questions on a specific science topic and choose the steps needed to answer the questions.
11.A.2b Collect data for investigations using scientific process skills including observing, estimating and measuring.
11.A.2c Construct charts and visualizations to display data.
11.A.2d Use data to produce reasonable explanations.
11.A.2e Report and display the results of individual and group investigations.

Social Studies
1. What impacts have trade and exploration had on one another?
2. Why are countries interdependent on one another?
3. Why do cultures trade with other cultures?
4. What would happen if trade didn’t exist?
5. How are trade and transportation related?

15.D.2a Explain why people and countries voluntarily exchange goods and services.
15.D.2b Describe the relationships among specialization, division of labor, productivity of workers and interdependence among producers and consumers.
17.C.2b Describe the relationships among location of resources, population distribution and economic activities (e.g., transportation, trade, communications).

Reading
1. How do readers use the text to make connections?
2. How do readers “think beyond the text” to make connections while they reading?
3. How can a reader use personal experiences to relate to the events/characters in a story?
4. How do text-to-text connections allow readers to better understand what they are reading?
5. How can readers make connections between what they are reading and the real world?

1.C.2c Compare and contrast the content and organization of selections.
2.B.2a Respond to literary material by making inferences, drawing conclusions and comparing it to their own experience, prior knowledge and other texts.
2.B.2c Relate literary works and their characters, settings and plots to current and historical events, people and perspectives.

Source used: http://publish.learningfocused.com/307643

A Complex Problem I've Faced in the Past Year

A complex problem I have faced in the past year was an issue I was having with classroom management. The situation was I had a 6th grade homeroom made up of 20 students, about half boys and half girls. At the beginning the year, we had discussed rules and proper classroom behavior. The students were well-behaved and were following classroom rules. However, as the year went on, I started to feel like I was losing my control of their classroom behavior. The students were pretty well-behaved overall and never did anything that I would specifically think of as really "bad" or disruptive behavior; however, I was still feeling as if I didn't have the class under control sometimes. This was becoming very stressful for me and was causing me to feel frustrated every day.

I decided I needed to think about what was going on and why I was feeling at a loss for control in the classroom. I figured out that the times when the students were the chattiest and hard to refocus was during transition times. The students had a hard time going from once subject or activity to the next without talking to their friends and starting to lose attention. This was hard because I would have to refocus the students after each class, and it was wasting instruction time. This transition time was the problem. I figured out that the factors were the students understanding of "transitions," expectations from previous years, how I expected them to behave, and how I conveyed the transition rules to the students. The students were expected to transition to the next subject in an organized and quiet way, but obviously they weren't clearly getting this message. Obviously the stakeholders in this problem were the students and I. I knew that the desired state of affairs would be that the students would make easier transitions. The perceived contradictions between the desired state of affairs and the desired outcome was the loss of instruction time and transitions that were taking too long. This would allow me to take full advantage of instruction time, keep me less stressed, and allow the students to benefit from the best use of our time during class. The problem was......how do I accomplish this?

I decided to brainstorm how I could solve this situation. I knew I could talk with the students about proper transitioning behavior. I could also make an individual behavior system for each student, where they would get a consequence if they weren't following directions. However, neither of these options seemed like it would do the trick. The students in this class had to be held accountable, but I wasn't sure how to do it. As 6th graders, I knew that they cared what each other thought and didn't want to be seen as un-cool. I thought I could use this to my advantage. Instead of having an individual behavior system, we would use a whole class behavior system. I figured this would hopefully have a good affect on the students who were transitioning well, because they wouldn't want to let down their classmates.

I would write the word "Cardinal" on the board at the beginning of the day (it is our school mascot). During transition times, if the students weren't able to get ready quickly and with little disruption, they would lose a letter. Each time this would happen, they would lose a letter. Their goal was to have at least one letter left at the end of the day. If they had a letter, they would get a tally mark. When they reached 5 tally marks, they would get a reward. Later in the year, I increased the amount of tally marks to 10 to make it more challenging. A few of the possible rewards were an ice cream party, 20 mins. to play games, extra recess etc. These were obviously things that the students wanted, so using a whole class behavior system was a good idea. The benefit would be that I could make the most of my instruction time and be less stressed trying to get everything accomplished in a day. The students would benefit not only because of the instruction time, but also because they are affected by a teacher's mood. A calm, stress-free teacher makes for a much happier classroom environment.

I found this system to work very well. As I thought, the students had a good influence on each other and helped keep each other in check. I felt less stressed at the end of each day, which in itself, let me be a better teacher. The students were more respectful of my rules and responsible for their own actions and those of their classmates. If one student was being disruptive, a classmate would remind them to get ready for class or to follow directions, because they were working together as a team. If one student messed up, the whole class would be affected, and it might cause them to not get the reward they had been working towards. The whole classroom environment and “classroom family” mentality was better and allowed us to make the best use of the time that we had together each day.

Current Complex Classroom Problem

A current problem that I face in my classroom is identifying the special learning needs of one of my students. This 3rd grade child seems to have problems with focus, reading directions, processing speed, and independence. She was on a behavior/academic chart last year (in 2nd grade) and was said to have made great process throughout the year. The chart was used to monitor focus, reading directions, and working independently.

At the end of the day, the teacher and child would both evaluate the child's progress in these areas. If the child succeeded overall in these areas throughout the week, she was given a reward on Fridays. The chart was said to give the child motivation to push her to give more effort and care to her daily work. At the beginning of this year, I didn't start off using the chart. I wanted to see how this child had progressed and form my own opinions about her abilities and work habits. It became clear quickly, that she needed some kind of accommodations. To keep her on track, yet encourage her independence, I formed a new system. I wanted to be able to help this child, but build on the growth she had made since the previous year, since she was now a third grade student.

I started by taping visual reminders on her desk. These reminders were "Focus," "Re-read directions," and "Try on my own before asking the teacher for help." Although these seem to help, I haven't gotten the results I wanted. Instead of pointing to a reminder or having the child make a correction on her own, I often have to use verbal or tactile reminders to keep her on track.

I met with the mother recently to discuss her daughter's progress. While the mother would simply like to go back to the old chart, I would like to continue to push for more independence and accountability from the child. I feel that verbal and tactile reminders, in addition to her visual reminders on her desk give the child more immediate feedback. She knows when she isn't focused or on task, because she is corrected by me immediately. With the chart, she is told about her progress at the end of the day, rather than when the undesirable behavior actually happened.

The first step I will take is to determine my goal: To get the child to start to become internally motivated and to become more independent, while making progress, both academically and behaviorally in the classroom. In order to do this, I must construct a model that monitors how the child performs in the classroom with the current conditions (the verbal/tactile reminders and visual reminders on her desk) vs. the new system that I am going to put into place.

The new system will stick with the visual reminders on her desk. However, I am also going to add a number chart. She will get 5 points for each day. Any time I have to correct her behavior from one of the categories of her reminders, she will lose one point. If she still has at least one number left at the end of the day, she will earn a point. If she gets 4 out of 5 points at the end of the week, she will get a reward. Her reward will be a special job in the classroom.

The reason for the new system is to monitor how motivation for the reward affects her progress. Does she perform better or does it not seem to affect her progress? This system will also allow her to gain more independence. When she is corrected, I will remind her to cross off one number; however, she will be responsible for this. She will be provided with instant feedback throughout the day, rather than waiting until the end of the day to review her progress.

In order to determine if she has made progress, I will be able to monitor her behavior through observation. However, in order to monitor her academic progress, I will administer the Aimsweb Reading, Math, and Language Arts tests. I plan on evaluating her progress throughout 4 weeks. In the first 2 weeks, she will be given the Aimsweb tests at the beginning and continue using the behavior/academic system that we currently have in place throughout that 2 weeks. During the second 2 weeks, I will use the new behavior/academic system, with the number chart. At the end of these 2 weeks, I will have her take the Aimsweb tests again. I will then be able to compare/contrast how the old system worked vs. the new system. This will allow me to identify if motivation and responsibility for her own actions/independence are affecting her success in the classroom. This will allow me to gain insight into what isn't working and form new strategies and accommodations if they are needed.

I believe this problem hasn't yet been solved because proper documentation hasn't been kept to evaluate the successfulness of the behavior/academic systems being used in the classroom. I am hoping to gain better insight with this model, which will allow me to better understand and meet the needs of my student.

Criteria for the Selection of Web-Based Materials

The topic of finding credible resources plays a very important role in our classrooms today. I often find that students don't know where to start when researching or navigating the web. They usually don't know how to determine whether or not a website is credible or may know only some of the important criteria that a credible website should have. It is important that teachers take the time to properly instruct their students on this topic.

When I took the Instructional Design course for National-Louis, I chose to develop an instructional unit on website credibility. I found that students at my school where often lost when it came to researching for their science fair project. In searching for ways to remedy this problem and planning/developing my unit, I came across a section on Kathy Schrock's website that specifically dealt with this issue. On the site I found information about the 5 W's in evaluating a website. http://kathyschrock.net/abceval/5ws.htm The 5 W's are who, what, when, where, and why.

Who: This determines who wrote the website and if they are an expert.
What: This asks what the purpose of the site is and if the info. differs from other sources.
When: This determines when the site was created and last updated.
Where: This asks where the information on the site comes from and who sponsors the site.
Why: This asks why is the information on the site useful to my research and why should I use it.

This is an easy format for students to use and could easily be made into a chart for students to use when evaluating a site. The students could answer each of the questions (who, what, when, where, and why) to determine if a site is credible. The student would know that if even one category isn't credible, that means that they shouldn't use that site.

I think it is also important to teach students what kind of search engines/meta search engines are helpful to use. This gives the students a base to start from when researching. They should also be aware of the domain names of sites (.com, .net, .edu, .org, .gov etc.) and know which ones are better to use than others. Providing the students with this kind of information will go a long way in helping them to become better researchers. It is important to give our students the best information we can about Internet safety and website credibility. This allows our students to be more aware and gives them the tools they need to succeed.