Monday, September 22, 2014

Learning Design for Multi-Age Partners

We will use the successful cycle of learning that
 Hattie's research demonstrates as a guide.
As I noted last week, we're fostering kindergarten-fifth grade buddies this year.

After two weeks of an explore, free-range buddy share, and play, we're ready to dig in and use a design template to lead our work.

The design begins with our objectives which include the following:
  • Fostering school community with cross-age friendships.
  • Developing fifth graders ability to teach and coach younger children.
  • Providing fifth graders with an opportunity to review essential skills by teaching.
  • Providing kindergarten students with an introduction and practice with regard to their essential skill goals.
  • Developing Michael Fullen’s 6 C’s:
    • Character
    • Citizenship
    • Communication
    • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
    • Collaboration and Teamwork
    • Creativity and Imagination
The learning design will include the following steps:

Our first big project will be a "hands" base ten place value chart.
Identify Essential Skill
The kindergarten teacher will identify an essential skill she wants the buddies to focus on.

Design and Plan:
The kindergarten teacher and I will design a multi-step collaborative project that includes the following components:
    • Learning Objectives
    • Vocabulary.
    • Success Criteria.
    • Fifth grader introduction and teaching--we will teach fifth graders how to coach and teach the essential skill.
    • Group introduction.
    • Fifth grader introduction to buddy.
    • Fifth grader modeling.
    • Fifth grader coaching as the first grader does the task.
    • Fifth grader and first grader completing their section of the learning task.
    • Choice and Extension: After the initial essential skill work is complete, then the fifth grader and first grader will have a chance to extend the learning through a number of multi-modal choices--choices that are mostly hands-on, creative, problem solving tasks.
Student-share
Depending on the type of project, we will give students a chance to share their learning with each other, via an online or offline display, and/or a presentation to students outside of our group.

Assessment
We will use a combination of informal and formal assessments to determine the strength of the learning. We will share the assessments with students in age appropriate ways.

Buddies offers educators and students valuable one-to-one teaching time. Using a thoughtful design template to lead that work helps us to make the collaboration and learning deep and valuable.