Cognitive
Created by Kristina on 09 Sep 2007 | Tagged as:
Course
EDTEC 572: Technology for Course Delivery
Project Name
Line Graphs and Circle Graphs Lesson Plan
Files
Statistics Lesson Project Proposal
Statistics Lesson Workplan
Statistics Lesson Instructor Manual
Line Graph Lesson Materials
Circle Graph Lesson Materials
Project Description
The purpose of this project was to figure out the best way for a 6th grade teacher (specifically in New Hampshire) to teach students how to analyze, interpret, and create line graphs and circle graphs. Since both my partner (Denise Littlefield) and I had experience teaching math, we decided to focus on an area in which we have seen students struggle, statistics. We began by finding resources which already existed to teach line graphs and circle graphs. Based on what we saw, we then wrote a project proposal, to really spell out the specific goals and objectives for our statistics lesson and the reasons that students require instruction in this area. After determining our goals and objectives for the lessons, we created a work plan for how we would meet these goals and objectives using the resources we collected and created. The work plan included outlines, a list of deliverables, a style sheet, and a development schedule. Finally, we created an instructor manual with notes, questions, and resources, along with the various worksheets and other materials needed for the lesson.
EDTEC Standard
Initially, Denise and I discussed the types of problems we have seen in our math classes. We analyzed our experiences and other resources, to create a lesson to meet the needs of our audience. Our initial research gave us general ideas that we then formed into new and creative ways to teach students statistics. Additionally, to make our instruction more effective, we analyzed the way our audience learns by using our own previous experiences as teachers and all of the resources and methods we found other teachers using. In the end, we took all of this information and produced a creative solution to a real problem. The lessons we developed met the objectives we originally stated in inventive ways using technology, real-world problems, assessment tools, and small group activities that will help our audience learn and retain the information.
Problems and Opportunities
One of the greatest opportunities I faced within this project was working with someone at a distance. Since Denise lived in New Hampshire and I lived here in California, we had to develop methods of communicating across a great distance, while also dealing with the time difference. One way we overcame these barriers was by using technology, specifically Breeze. In the beginning, I had limited knowledge of the program, but as we progressed through the project, it became more comfortable to use. Since the world of instructional design frequently includes working with people in other places, this was an important lesson for me. In addition to using technology, we also developed a very specific timeline. The timeline consisted of every task we needed to complete, the person completing the task, and the due date for that task. We also included review time and edit time for each deliverable. In the end, we had very few issues meeting our deadlines because we were so thorough with our development plan. I am already using these planning skills in my instructional design job now. I understand the importance of timelines, especially when working with many people from many different departments or even many different countries.
My Capabilities
This project demonstrates my abilities to solve a problem in a creative, yet timely manner. Initially, I started with only an idea of what I wanted to accomplish and when it needed to be completed. I took that knowledge and created an end product that met the objectives using a multitude of learning methods and resources. I also met all of the deadlines needed for the project. In addition, I used many project management skills to make sure the project stayed on track and that each person accomplished the needed tasks on schedule. Instructional designers must understand the basic knowledge of project management because many times they work with people from a variety of departments to receive subject matter expertise.
Lessons Learned
This project taught me a valuable lesson in working with someone in a very different situation. In addition to the distance between me and my partner, we had also both had a very different experience in our masters programs thus far. This was the only distance class I took while in the program and the only time I worked with a distance student; however Denise had experience working in this situation on many prior occassions. I found that I turned to her for suggestions on how to deal with certain issues. In the past I have taken the lead in group projects, but in this case, I took a step back and let someone else take the lead. I learned a good lesson in humility, and that sometimes other people have more knowledge than I do based on their previous experiences. In addition, I learned the vast importance of time lines and deadlines. Because we were the only people in class who decided to work in a group on this project, some interesting challenges presented themselves. In our development plan, we had to build in time for review from the other team member and edits after the reviews. If one of us did not meet a deadline, we were both affected; therefore, we made strict deadlines for each task and met each one.