- What changed in your set up from Cycle 1 to Cycle 2?
The overall change in Cycle 2 is that it will be shortened. The students are taking longer than expected with creating the WikiPages. This is a plus and minus. I am excited that they are really engaged and working hard, yet on the other hand, this has put me behind schedule. I do have to remember that overall, it is the learning that is the focus, not my AR project.
- What’s happening that you did not expect?
Although I am trying to make these activities interesting and engaging, I didn’t expect the students to really get in to them based on the underlying content of reading. Before starting many students complained about reading the RSS feeds. But as we got into creating our Popplets and they began breaking down the stories, the students were able to understand them. Overall, my 7th grader are my complainers – about everything. So I expected them to bulk at creating the WikiPage, but I was wrong! They love it. They are really trying hard to find information, pictures and they want to tell all they can about the subject. I have had a few students change their topic, but overall the students picked something they found interesting and are going above and beyond.
- How are you tracking data differently?
The first time around I focused mainly on their engagement and motivation, and less on the details of their Popplets and WikiPages. This time around, I am focusing more on their accuracy of finding the main idea with supporting details and the content and details of their Wikipage.
- How do you foresee FPE contributing to your capstone project?
I am not sure if this class will contribute to my capstone project in a significant way in terms of my students. I do think this class will be a lifesaver for creating my final capstone project. In addition, I teach a video unit with my 8th grade students and I believe this class will provide with wealth of information for me.
Stacey Kramer 