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.