March 9: Final Face-to-Face Class Meeting

Phew, if I am exhausted, I can only image how you all feel ;-)  Between TPAs, coursework, observations, and classes where some struggle to find meaning, your heads must be spinning. . .Alas, our course is almost over!  I really believe you will all have fun tonight in Coronado.  You will get a chance to see someone who has a lot of experience doing the type of reform that we have discussed in class.

The final "assignment" will be on the drop.io site as well as put in visually below.  In order to use Embedit.in, all you need is a Google account, which you all have; to use Scribd, you will need to create an account or use Facebook to get an account.

I have posted a link to the class GradeBook on our blog.  I am using CSUSM ID numbers instead of names.
I will create Project Surveys for the Class Management/Discipline Project, Blog/Reading Reflection, and Class Attendance/Participation (attendance, blog post comments,  & Twitter use).  This allows me to not only get your take on the experience, but to give assignment feedback as well.  I honestly appreciate the feedback I have already received under the Rethinking Schools & Ethnography Surveys!!

I expect everything to be completed by next Tuesday @ midnight. . .see the instructions for the final. . .papers are due on your blogs Fri; peer comments/All surveys due Tuesday.





Final Question: What is the one thing that you learned in this class that you will take with you?

Directions to Palm Academy

Here are the directions to Palm Academy
My expectation is that we will begin promptly @ 6pm so we can leave around 8-ish
call my cell: 619-944-7599 if there are any issues

Agenda:

• Tour of Palm & Discussion of History, Community Partnerships, & Service Learning
• Classroom Management/Discipline Discussion & Assignment
• Final Exam/Reflection Instructions/Discussion
• Course Evaluations

View Larger Map

Some Housekeeping. . .

What should be completed by class time Tuesday:

1. Rethinking High Schools Project Survey (If you complete by 8am Tuesday morning I will give you your grade in class)
2. Classroom Management/Discipline Survey & assignment (as of Mon afternoon, we only have 12; with 2 per student, I should have more than 40)
1. Bring Teaching in Secondary Schools text to class Tuesday
2. Either print survey data or bring laptop to be able to access the data!
3. Read assignment instructions ; start to consider Your Classroom Expectations!
4. Natural versus Logical Consequences . .good simple explanation.
1. Natural Vs. Logical . . .more academic.
3. Ethnographies should be added on CSUSM Educators
1. Notes on Executive Summary (from last week's post): Written Executive Report that outlines the design of your study, major findings, and reflections on the process (shared with me via GoogleDocs or on class Ning)
2. Title of your group should be school name and then my name, Heil
3. Movies are embedded into the text box
4. You can also paste your "executive summary" underneath the embed code of your movie OR you can embed a link to the summary on Google Docs (click "share" get link for this document.  Choose permissions, then use the link feature in the ning text editor to add the link!) 
5. Please complete the Ethnography Project Survey linked at the top of the blog!
4. Reading Reflections and Tweets should be up-to-date.  Reading Reflections:
1. Ch 1 Rethinking HS (Week One RR post)
2. Ch 1 Disrupting Class (Feb 9 post)
3. "What Makes School Ethnographies Ethnographic?" (Feb 9 post)
4. Designing Groupwork (RR4 post)
5. Rethinking Schools (March 2 post)
6. Final Exam (instructions to follow)
5.  Classroom Attendance/Participation:  I am still having trouble getting everyone to leave comments on the weekly question. . .this collaborative piece is a part of your attendance/participation.   
1. Also, if you missed/were excessively tardy a class and want to make up the points you lost: you may complete two more articles from the assignment in Reading Reflection 5. . .Ensure that you put the words "extra credit" after the blog post title.
6. Final Exam - I will go over in class (something will be posted tomorrow)
7. Directions to Coronado. . .I will post later tonight.

Leave a comment to let me know you have read and understand what is expected by tomorrow evening!

March 2: Flight at the End of the Tunnel?

I really enjoyed class last week.  Thanks for making it fun.
Tonight is the penultimate class and I hope that we can produce some awesome ethnographies by the end of the class period.  As usual, there is some small glitch in our schedule for next week (click here and press play).  I received emails from both Blake and Byron notifying me of the credentialing meeting next week from 4:30-5:30.  I have emailed to see if they can come to our class this evening, but I haven't heard back yet.  I hope to have a plan by the time class starts this evening. . .or we will have to "Improvise and Overcome!"
Anyway, I noticed that a few of you have already posted some responses to the classroom management/discipline survey.  I have put a link to the results page on the blog.  Ensure you can get in a couple of observations by the end of the week.
I have also been looking at your blogs.  Most of you are caught up with the reading reflections; however, there are still a few who need to complete some more.

Tonight we will watch some of the video we didn't make it to last week, and then we will work on the ethnographies.  We will also discuss our plans for next week and beyond.  You should re-familiarize yourself with the chapter on classroom management from the Teaching in Secondary Schools text (ch 9)

Reading Reflection 5:  I didn't give you the assignment last week as I knew everyone was probably working on their ethnographies.   For this reflection, I want to to choose an article from this Rethinking School link (it is also tagged ed530 on my delicious page).  There are some interesting articles revolving around educational issues that you might now find pertinent.
For the reflection:  Put the article name in the Title (Example:  RR5: Creating Democratic Schools). Tell which article you chose and why.  Give a brief analysis of the article and explain how you could use this information in your present or your future!  Also, read at least three other peers' reflections and leave them a thoughtful comment.

This week's Question: Discuss one thing that has stood out to you in the classes you have been observing. . .this could be about the teacher, students, or the class in general.

Feb 23: Does Financial Aid Cover your Ethnography?

Before I discuss the evening, I need to ensure that everyone is very clear on my expectations so far. . .

• I have asked that you tweet at least two (if not more) times per week on educational topics (I also discussed in class last week the need to leave feedback for peers)
• I have asked that you leave a comment in the comments section for the weekly blog post
• I have asked that the reading responses be sincere and completed before class the next week (even if we do not meet in person)
• I asked for the Ethnography questions to be emailed to me on or before Friday
• The Rethinking High Schools web-based presentations, assessments, and comments should be completed

As of 10:30 p.m. on Monday evening, not many have completed all of the requirements.  This is not exemplifying a sincere effort on the class as a whole.  I will be very lenient when it comes to grading the chapter presentations and ethnographies, as I appreciate your willingness to take on a task that is still a work in progress for me; however, this does not apply to the aspects of the class that are clear and the expectations explicit. I expect that you are all capable of reading the class blog and the class tweets to keep up with the simple expectations of reading responses and using Twitter. . .This will affect the personal blog/attendance and participation grade of the class.

Okay, now I feel better. . .now let's discuss what we are doing in class Tuesday, Feb 23.

• Debrief Ch 1-3 (Designing Groupwork)
• Marshmellow Toothpic/Problem Solving
• Video
• Ethography Questions/Work
• State Findings and support w/data (not the reverse)
• Due dates
• (1-2 page) written Executive Report that outlines the design of your study, major findings, and reflections on the process (shared with me via GoogleDocs)
• Discuss HW & Compassionate Discipline Assignment

This week's Question: If this class were Pass/Fail, how would it affect your effort (think about this in terms of last week's question)?  Explain.

Reading Reflection 4: Designing Groupwork

A simple request for your third reading reflection:

For each of the first 3 chapters of the Cohen text book Designing Groupwork for Heterogeneous Classrooms:
• summarize the content in 2-4 sentences
• connect the content to another reading, experience, or curiosity in 1-2 sentences

And close with the next thing you would like to know or are wondering about, related to designing groupwork for heterogeneous classrooms.


Please complete by Tuesday, Feb 23.

Feb 16: Completing the Circle or Not. . .

"Procrastination is the Art of Keeping up with Yesterday"

Okay, I hope everyone feels refreshed after an entire week away from class.  I got home late last night and spent some quality time with the class blog and on CSUSM Educators.  I noticed that many of you seem to put off your assignments to the last minute. . .I hope this simply means that you are master procrastinators and not forgetting to do your work.

Some thoughts:

• When answering the weekly question, you only leave a comment under the post; you do not create a separate post on your blog. . .and answering the question is important for me to know that you are receiving the information I am trying to communicate to you.
• In the reading reflections, I would like to see some more thoughtful responses to the 3-2-1 format.  This should not simply be a list, but a complete thought as to why you wrote/feel/abhorred what you read. . .Also, ensure you have completed the response before the next class session (even if we do not meet in person!!)
• Use Twitter to not only post your thoughts, but to learn something. . .you can also reply to your peers to let them know that someone has a modicum of interest in what they wrote!!
• Don't forget that I am requiring two posts per week, but you are welcome to do more!!

Tonight:

• I want to discuss your chapter presentations and answer any question about posting/assessing, etc. . .It is also important that you know how to leave feedback for your peers' groups
• We will discuss your thoughts on Disrupting Class/30-Second Video Demonstration
• The Broken Circle Activity
• Discuss Ethnography Assignment/Expectations for next week
• Competitive/Non-Competitive Gaming (if time permits)

Week 4 Question: Discuss something that you have learned well outside of school without little or no help from a teacher.  How did you learn?  Why do you think you were successful? (suggestion: could be gaming, sports, knitting, etc. . .)