I have hit a few roadblocks this week in my goal to update and infuse technology into my fourth grade math teachers’ lessons. First, we were unable to hold our weekly meeting today. One of the teachers had to use her preparation time to go pick up her son. The meeting is postponed until tomorrow. Another roadblock is that at a math meeting yesterday I learned that our scheduling next year will tell us specifically which lesson we are to teach on exactly which day. How in the world will that work with problem-based learning? Teachers will have to teach the math series each day according to this new schedule. Administrators should be able to walk into any math class on any day and know exactly what is being taught. The only positive outcome I view with this is that when students transfer from one school to another in the district (which happens daily), they should be at the same spot in math as our school. In addition, I learned that there is going to be a template for each daily math lesson. Specific times will be allocated to specific sections of the lesson. There is NO ROOM in this template or this schedule for any flexibility in math. This template lists the sections and time frames per section for each daily math lesson. So, now when administrators walk into the room they will not only know exactly what lesson is being taught but exactly which section of the lesson will be taught at which time. The final kink in the plan is that I met with my principal yesterday and she told me she is reassigning many teachers to different grades next year. The fourth grade team that I have been working with all year is now going to have only one of the teachers the same next year. Should I still plan with them as if they are teaching fourth grade next year (they do not know they are being moved)? Should I modify the entire plan now that the math department has squelched my dreams? I really do not know how to progress or if I should progress from here. The only idea I have at this point is to talk to the head of the math department and ask if we could pilot a problem-based math curriculum next year. The only problems with that are that we have spent a ton of money on our current series, and I have no idea if the teachers who will be teaching fourth grade next year will go this route with me. I am trying to be flexible and remain positive about this, but it is difficult. Any advice??
My second goal is going well. We have eight new students this week. I have ordered bubble sheets for them so I can test them. I have only gotten to one so far. Also, the newest benchmark data is now available in the computer for me (Laureate Education, 2009). I can add the data from this assessment to teacher’s data charts so we can look for trends in student data and performance (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer, 2009). Then I will schedule my final data meetings of the year where we will review data (Laureate Education, 2009). In addition this is the meeting where I will model how to assign specific assignments for Compass Odyssey. My schedule is now lighter than usual, so I can use the extra time to begin researching and developing activities for each anchor for anchor folders. I will then be a resource person for the teachers and students. I have not yet had a chance to research additional differentiation sites. That task remains on my list.
References:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas [Motion Picture]. Assessing Student Learning with Technology. Baltimore: Author.
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