By Dianne DentonT527- How to Teach for UnderstandingHarvard Graduate School of Education

Context

Technology?• Students work individually, with a high level of didactic instruction• Library in the process of being built, books shipped from Strathmore • A few laptops, but not dust-proof, and no internet access• Cell-phone access in town

• Opened in 2007

• Joint project by Davis, Matt, and Ravi “Harambee for all” and the community

• Form I (grade 9) English class

• 126 students, 4 classrooms, electricity, an administration building, and a science lab

Targets of difficulty

ThroughlinesWiggins “Backwards Design”

Technology as…• new pedagogies (applicable in context and facilitates making connections between subject matter and students’ lives)

•large-group brainstorming •group work/ dynamic groups• peer review

• voting flashcards(addresses large class sizes)

Scaled technologies:• library (English as a medium of discovery)

• computers and email (English written fluency)

•cell phone (English oral fluency)

“New technologies are processes that affect how we can make sense of the world… this impacts knowledge building in new and dynamic ways” (Yelland, 2007)

“New technology includes any new tools for information and communication beyond the ones traditionally used for teaching and learning” (Wiske, 2005)

Design

Culminating performance of understanding

• Introduction and learning diagnosis• Brainstorming• Career investigation

• Writing the personal documentary• The idea is for students to write a little bit

about themselves and their career goals, imagining that they are sharing this information with someone at a university or a visitor to the town.

• Participate in peer editing according to explicit guidelines outlined in a rubric

• Dynamic groups

• Preparing for the oral presentation/ interview

Rubric for written documentaryUnacceptable Acceptable Excellent

Explains why they chose the career they did and how it relates to their interests and strengths (P)

Supports the rationale for choosing a career with 2 – 3 interesting facts that they researched (M)

Uses a wide variety of vocabulary that fits their subject (K)

Uses correct sentence structure, including correct uses of “a”, “the” and “to” (K)

Writing is easy to understand (F)

Writing is interesting and makes the reader want to know more about the student (P)

Insights and Puzzles

How do I create a rubric specific enough for students to use in peer review when the criteria are difficult to quantify?

Would it be better to use dynamic groups or to jigsaw students based on ability to scaffold the process of peer review?

Asante sana!Harambee For All Children• http://harambeeforallchildren.org/index.php

Ravi, Matt, and Davis

Stone and Shane

CCDT partners – Jahnvi and Christine