I am beginning the pre-plan for a unit in Child Psychology. I am looking at changing the way I have students research a Child Psychology theorist. I currently have them choose between 16 different theorists. They research biographical information, basic ideas about how the theorist believe children develop and provide an outline of the key aspects for their classmates. Before they choose a theorist, they see a power point and take notes from my lecture in a flip chart about the 16 theorists. They then research the theorist and make a short presentation to the class. I conclude with a matching and 3 essay questions quiz. I envision them using google docs to work with two other students. Pre-plan questions to ask:
1. What resources would you need? I would need a classroom set of computers. What else?
2. What barriers might arise? I run a Kid’s Klub 10 days during the quarter with pre-schoolers coming to the HS. It has taken 4 or 5 days to complete the theorist process. I will need to make sure the process fits within that time frame. I will get the computer lab reserved early in the quarter.
3.What are appropriate technology tools or strategies to meet your instructionsl goals? Google searches and google docs I envision three students all contibuting to the final paper. Then decide if I want to include a presentation. If so what would be creative and meaningful ways to have a group of three students present to their classmates.
4. What preparation will students need to effectively use a new tool or strategy? I will need to teach them the tips for a very focused google search. I will need to teach them the aspects of google docs.
Anyone used google docs with a small group of students? How did it go? What challenges do you see with this approach to a unit?
Thanks for your thoughtful reflection. I like the direction you’re going: greater collaboration and opportunity for discussion and peer-to-peer checks for understanding (not to mention the wonders of peer editing), so much of the shared learning happens BEFORE the final presentation.
Is your focus/interest with the redesigned lesson mainly on enabling collaboration, moving away from the previous individual-work model to small group work? Google docs is commonly used for collaborative writing, that’s for sure. It functions much like a wiki in that it tracks changes and edits, keeps a history so you can revert to previous versions, and allows contributors to work synchronously from different locations, or asynchronously.
That said, it sounds like your class may not have the typical challenges of distance or time. Are there any other tried-and-true methods in your toolbox that you’ve found effective for small-group work that could be used in your face to face setting? In other words, what problem or challenge do you see being solved by using Google docs? If there’s no clear answer, you might be better served with a non-tech solution. Okay, that’s my public service announcement for the day.
Where Google docs might be really valuable is in allowing your students to work together beyond class time. For that kind of collaboration and ownership/authorship, it can be a powerful tool in their hands.
Considerations:
–Do you want to have a guiding/facilitating role in their small groups? If so, you might act as the author/owner and set up the doc for each group, then invite them as collaborators. Or they could set it up themselves and invite you. Either approach would allow you to see their work in progress.
–Do your students have district email accounts? Google requires an email address to create an account. In order to create and edit docs, each student will need an account. This is a common hurdle with free web 2.0 applications, and different districts have devised different workarounds to allow teachers to use a tool that’s valuable for teaching and learning but still maintaining student privacy standards. Some teachers create an entire class’ worth of anonymous, dummy email addresses (student1, student2) that then allow them to create accounts for their students. Much finagling. Many appl developers are starting to better understand the unique education related issues and adjust their services according. Edublogs, for instance, offers a way for teachers to create blogs on behalf of their students without the usual email address key. All of which leads me to. . .
–Another option to consider that allows for collaborative writing is a wiki. Many free options like Wikispaces, PBWiki, and MediaWiki. For most, you can set it to allow editing by anyone without requiring a log-in, which would get around the account creation issue. A wiki would also allow you to centralize their work in one general place where you and they could easily track progress—you could devote a page to each group, and link them all together under a Child Psych Theorist Assignment page.
–Do you want groups to be able to view other groups’ work? If so, again, a wiki might be a good option. Google docs allows you to publish your doc as a publicly viewable link, even while it’s in progress. So that’d be another way to share the knowledge.
As with many tech-enhanced teaching situations, there’s likely a significant amount of direct teaching ABOUT the technology necessary the first time around. But the next time around, once they have the hang of it, they’ll be learning USING the technology, and the focus will be back on your content. And your integration of said technology will be that much more effective, appropriate, and seamless.
My apologies but I cannot find a name – silly me…is it posted?
Thoughtful & creative ideas. Scott gives a lot to think about.
All the best,
Gordon.