Model of a Complex Problem

This project has lead me down a long curvy road, with many bumps, twists and detours that lead be back to where I started. It took me a very long time to wrap my head around what I was being asked to do- create a model of a complex (unsolvable) problem. With some assistance, I finally came up with a topic; how having students with ADHD in a classroom affects the classroom environment and the teacher’s ability to service the other students in the class.

So to start I made a concept map in Inspiration. I discussed the negative factors and the behaviors of students with ADHD, but before I got much further I realized that this type of map was not working to organize my thinking about the topic.

I needed something that was going to give me numerical data to put into a model. So I thought about a number line. My first draft was on scrap paper, just quickly trying to decide if this idea would work any better.

I took my ideas of what effects the classroom environment and especially students with ADHD and made a diagram with boxes. At first I labeled one side negative and one side positive, the effects that had a major impact would be on the far ends while effects that had little impact would be in the middle or neutral. My first draft was mostly my own ideas on the topic. Than I started my research to see what other things affect the classroom and students with ADHD.

I read articles on the Effects of ADD and ADHD in the Classroom, Understanding ADHD, Educational Effects of ADHD and Strategies for Behavior Management. As I was reading I would write down various things that affected a classroom and students with ADHD. The problem I ran into was that there were so many factors that influence the classroom environment and how do I decide which ones have a greater impact. I also thought that maybe I would divide the factors into categories, but when I did that I still didn’t have data to use in a model.

As I searched for ways to get more data, I found this really interesting website. It’s called Data Masher and had data sets that you can instantly compare. This finding took me on a total sidetrack and I started thinking about what else I could try to model. But I put so much energy and time into my problem I couldn’t just abandon ship and change topics.

So back to my problem, I choose 5 categories that seemed to have the most impact. They were parents, resources, severity of ADHD, strategies and class size. The key thing I am missing is numerical data for each category that I could plug into a model and determine the classroom is affected. So since I don’t have that- I tried a different solution. For each of the five categories I came up with 3 options from the best scenario to the worst.

Once I had those categories figured out, I thought I was well on my way to being done. I just had to put the data in Excel and set up some formulas and voila I had my system. But again there was a bump in the road. I started by creating down-drop boxes but I could not figure out how to add a value to the item chosen. Then I tried to look into how buttons worked. My hope was that the user would be able to pick one of the three choices from each category (each choice has a different numeric value) and then be able to add together all their selections and give them a number value of how much the ADHD is or is not affecting their classroom environment.

This is the progress I have made so far in creating a model. Maybe someone will have a suggestion on how I could move forward to make it a working model. Although I feel like the five categories are strong and have a lot of influence on the classroom environment, there is not actual data to support my choices. If I was to create a different model I would try and think of a model that has more physical data to research.

Reflection of Mini Lesson Unit

The assignment was to "Conduct a problem-based mini-unit for your own students (videotaped). The mini-unit must require the students to create one or more models (using the Mindtools discussed by Jonassen or others subject to the approval of the instructor) that can be used to evaluate changes in their conceptual understanding."

This assignment was a challenge. I have put together mini units, and used PBL in the past put incorporating a model to show conceptual understanding was a challenge. The ideas for making models from the readings, in class and on the Internet were way too advanced for second graders. Jonassen's mindtools seemed to be way above my students’ ability level and examples of PBL on the Internet were not comprehensive enough to include models. And since I had to ask a teacher if I could use her class time to teach the unit, I felt like I needed to know exactly what I was going to do before I asked a teacher. So I was confused with the assignment and was trying to figure out what/how I could tie this into some part of the 2^nd grade curriculum, this combination made me feel overwhelmed.

After I collected my feelings, I just decided I would go to the 2^nd grade teacher and ask her if she had any suggestions. We were just starting research reports on mammals in the computer lab when I showed her my assignment. All the sudden the light bulb went off in my head and had an idea for students to create a model to define which characteristics an animal needed to be characterized as a mammal.

Using Barrell’s Curriculum Process, gave me a clear understanding of exactly what I needed to include in the unit. What helped me evaluate my lesson the best was the rubric for the criteria of a problematic situation. I could see the areas that my unit was lacking in. One thing I wish I could have changed was to allow the unit to be more boundryless. I only had a limited amount of time with students to complete the unit and I since I do not work with the students everyday I felt it would be simpler to keep one end goal in mind. But as I went through the unit, I realized that the student thinking was really being done when they created their “model” or checklist as they called it, because they were faced with a challenge of proving what some of them they already knew. It was really neat to sit back and listen to the student discuss the best way to show their results of the characteristics of mammals. I really thought it was interesting to observe the students while they were researching and deciding on characteristics. They had originally put habitat as one characteristic an animal needed to have to be considered a mammal. But their checklist was a yes or no, and they didn’t know how to answer that column. They had multiple discussions and decided that they would put the initial of where the animal lived (grassland=G). But in the end when looking at all their findings realized that habitat did not belong on their list.

Overall I think this was a good unit. For next time I would change a few things, but I thought the model and observing the students discussions really showed the students thoughts and perspectives more clearly than they concept maps they created.

TIE 512 Concept Map

Essential Questions

Essential Questions for Elementary Students PBL

SCIENCE

1. Did you ever wonder where ice goes when it melts, or where a puddle goes when the sun comes out?

11.A.1e Arrange data into logical patterns and describe the patterns.

2. How do life cycles differ from one living thing to another?

12.A.2a Describe simple life cycles of plants and animals and the similarities and differences in their offspring.

3. How are sounds made?

12.C.2a Describe and compare types of energy including light, heat, sound, electrical and mechanical.

4. What makes a bad storm?

11.A.2d Use data to produce reasonable explanations.

5. Are we at risk from earthquakes here?

6. 12.B.1a Describe and compare characteristics of living things in relationship to their environments.

7. How can you make the world a better place?

13.B.1e Demonstrate ways to reduce, reuse and recycle materials.

HEALTH

8. What do our bodies need to be healthy?

23.B.2 Differentiate between positive and negative effects of health-related actions on body systems

SOCIAL STUDIES

9. What is the American Dream and to what extent is it achievable for all Americans?

16.A.5a Analyze historical and contemporary developments using methods of historical inquiry (pose questions, collect and analyze data, make and support inferences with evidence, report findings).

10. How has the American Dream changed over time?

16.A.1c Describe how people in different times and places viewed the world in different ways.

11. How and why does a nation decide to go to war?

14.E.1 Identify relationships that the federal government establishes with other nations.

12. If you could change the town we live in, how would you make it better?

18.C.5 Analyze how social scientists’ inter­pretations of societies, cultures and institutions change over time.

13. What is needed to start a business?

15.C.2c Describe how entrepreneurs take risks in order to produce goods or services.

14. What factors shape our values and beliefs?

18.C.5 Analyze how social scientists’ inter­pretations of societies, cultures and institutions change over time.

15. How would life be different if I was born during my grand parents generation?

16.A.1a Explain the difference between past, present and future time; place themselves in time.

ENGLISH

16. If you were the boy in this story, how would you handle the problem he faces? What are the traits of a good leader?

2.B.1a Respond to literary materials by connecting them to their own experience and communicate those responses to others.

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL

17. How are we alike and how are we different?

2B.1a. Describe the ways that people are similar and different.

18. What makes a good friend?

2B.1b. Describe positive qualities in others.

19. What makes for a fair punishment?

2D.1b. Identify approaches to resolving conflicts constructively

20. From cocoa bean to a Hershey bar, have you ever wondered how they made that?

15.A.2a Explain how economic systems decide what goods and services are produced, how they are produced and who consumes them.

Sources
http://questioning.org/mar05/essential.html
http://www.oakcrest.net/news/essential.pdf
http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/6-12/essential%20questions/Index.htm
http://connes.wcpss.net/pdf/Magnet/Second%20Grade%20Modules.pdf

What to cook?

A problem that exists in my life everyday, is what to cook for dinner. (Sorry I was tried about write about school life). Everyday when I come home from a long day at school I have to decide what to cook for dinner. There are a few possibilities:

1. Ordering/ going out

2. Cooking myself (which is involved and means I would have to go to the store)

3. Have cereal

4. Just snack throughout the night

Most of the time, I just find quick things in the cupboard that will satisfy my hunger but may not be very healthy or nutritious. I’ll get a snack when I first get home that that will keep me full until about 7:00 and then I don’t want anything really filling because I will be going to bed soon. Also, when I am just cooking for myself I am not motivated to spend a lot of time making a meal for myself. If I am cooking for someone else I will gladly spend that time to prepare a meal, because someone else is relying on me. But if it is just for myself I see the preparation time as time wasted.

Going out or ordering out is always fun, but can get expensive if you take out too often. The other problem about getting food from restaurants is that the food is usually unhealthy and loaded with a lot more grease and fat than what you could cook at home.

The fact is that cooking every night involves prep time and planning, but is cheaper in the long run than eating out every night and is also healthier for you. Now that I have decided which of these possibilities I am going to choose- cooking myself, I have to decide what to cook. Which might even be a bigger problem than my first. I only have a limited number of dishes in my repertoire that I know how to make and they are all very simple and planed.

To cook a complete meal you need to grocery shop and plan out what you are going to make so that you have the ingredients. (So now I have two disadvantages, I don’t know what to cook and I dislike grocery shopping.) Maybe I need to re-evaluate what my problem is :)

Problems We Face

There are many problems that arise daily, some are little that are solved within minutes while others are more in-depth and require multiple perspectives. When I read the requirements for this blog I thought of many problems but many of which I am not ready to share with the world in a blog.

One problem that has not been resolved this school year deals with keyboarding. Keyboarding is a very important skill for 21st century learners, especially as they begin to use computers more and more. Our school district has an old outdated scope and sequence for keyboarding that has to be updated. There is also no specific person who is supposed to be teaching keyboarding. Does the responsibility of teaching keyboarding fall on me as a technology teacher? Though, I have never taught it before and have not been provided with any guidelines. Or does it fall on the classroom teachers who may have seen keyboarding instruction in the past but have never had any formal training?

Keyboarding is a skill I want to work with the younger students on because as I have been working with the older students doing projects that require them to type many students still are hunting and pecking. When these students are in high school they will most likely be required to type all their assignments on a computer, and if they do not have the necessary keyboarding skills they will become frustrated with the typing requirements.

There are many people in the school that should be involved with creating a new scope and sequence for keyboarding, along with coming up with a curriculum to teach the students. But as we all know as teachers there are so many things thrown on our plate this days, some get lost in the shuffle. Keyboarding does not hold the same weight as academic concerns or RTI, so it has not been solved. The people who should be involved are the teachers, principals, the director of technology and myself, as the technology teacher.

One reason we have not solved this problem is because there are so many people involved. Everyone is waiting for someone else to come up with a solution they can just go along with. As a new person to the district, I sometimes feel like I should not walk into a new situation and start making big changes. I have made smaller changed within the computer lab but not huge changed that effect the whole school. I have begun to give the students keyboarding assessments to see where the students are even at with typing. I have read many articles about introducing students to keyboarding, which has motivated me to worked more with the first and second graders introducing them to beginning keyboarding skills.

To solve any problem we first have to admit that there is a problem. I know we are lacking a keyboarding curriculum but know we have to create a plan to put a curriculum in place.

Keyboarding Websites-
Keyboarding and Your Child

ISTE Books for Keyboarding

Keyboarding PPT

Keyboarding Activities

Teaching Keyboarding in Elementary