PBL+Project+Paper+as+of+11-8-10

= update on: 11/11/2010Hickory Ridge High School Problem Based Learning Activity Dolphins Team Angela Davis Gwendelyn Fristensky Kassandra Gallegos Renee’ L. Hanson Florida Gulf Coast University   =

**__ Introduction __** Hickory Ridge High School is currently a focal point of attention in the Wingfield School District. A large urban school of approximately 1800 students, Hickory Ridge’s population is comprised of approximately 15 percent exceptional or special needs students, 46 percent white, 40 percent African American, 12 percent Hispanic, and 2 percent Asian. The students’ needs at this school have changed over the years as is the case with many schools in our nation, and the faculty and school community have worked to meet these changing needs. The student demographics vary greatly from the Iowa State average. According to the Iowa Department of Education the state average includes 82 percent white, 5 percent African American, 0 percent Hispanic, 2 percent Asian, less than 1 percent Native American and 2 percent Multi-Race. The vast difference in demographics as compared to the state average as well as the overall student achievement levels makes Hickory Ridge High School an interesting case for school reform as well as a good place to implement technological innovations. Hickory Ridge has been under the leadership of Jim O’Connor who was a middle school teacher for eight years prior to moving into an assistant-principal position. Serving thirteen years as an assistant principal has provided Jim with a lot of experience and led the way to his promotion last year as principal of Hickory Ridge. Jim’s years serving the school district and community have given him great insight into the community and he is actually known as the “keeper of the history.” The staff members at Hickory Ridge see him as knowledgeable but he is not well respected and they don’t believe he has a real grasp on the district’s vision for their school. He is able to provide the younger staff with perspective and understanding of the community but the younger staff members also see him as having a very limited amount of power and importance. They don’t see him as being able to help them with their upward mobility within the district. Over the last four years while serving as superintendent of the Wingfield School District, it has become evident that changes must occur. Each year new teachers known as “fast-trackers” have been placed at Hickory Ridge making a total of twenty-seven. These “fast-trackers” have all been in the top 10 percent of their programs of study and are knowledgeable about desired school reforms and are readily willing to share their expertise in the area of technology. The decision to place these teachers at Hickory Ridge was a carefully planned idea implemented in hopes that the principal and aging teaching staff would learn innovative programs and stay closer to the cutting edge of what is happening in education rather than settle into the whole “We’ve always done it this way” mentality. The plan is not going exactly as hoped because the new teachers feel that Principal O’Connor is always second-guessing their work and the aging staff members are not really interested in making any major changes to their programs. The new teachers question the principal’s ability to do his job properly and question whether or not the aging teachers can really get the needed results. Pressure from the board is mounting and school reform must be implemented. The board has a good vision for Hickory Ridge but implementing that vision will take some work on everyone’s part. Several different areas must be addressed to make reform happen. A plan must be developed and there must be stakeholder buy-in. **__Mission and Vision__** Stakeholder buy-in to the school’s mission and vision are critical in creating a uniform belief system within a school. The Education Commission of the States (1992) purports that having a shared vision is a critical piece of the educational reform puzzle that anchors and gives meaning to the whole. Without that uniform belief as the glue that all stakeholders buy into, the odds that you will end up with a cohesive staff working for the benefit of increasing student achievement are slim. Therefore, one of the first steps in the plan is to generate a new mission and vision that involves district level personnel who actually have already expressed their desire for this school to be a reform model and a school rich in technological innovation. Other stakeholders that should be included are the administrators, faculty, non-instructional staff, students, parents, and community members/business partners. There’s an old saying, “If you don’t know where you are going, any route will do,” which is a trap that Hickory Ridge cannot afford to fall into yet again. As development of the vision begins it is important to remind the stakeholders that the old vision doesn’t have to be scrapped and that Hickory Ridge does not necessarily have to start from scratch but rather they can build on what is already known to be working and make improvements as are deemed necessary. The vision should reflect those common beliefs that bind the stakeholders together in their shared responsibility for the students. According to the Education Commission of the States, a vision: · can provide a common reference point for participants with different perspectives, · can raise public expectations for both educational system and student performance, · helps gain support for reform, · can help build persistence among the stakeholders, · can help motivate and inspire people, · allows a school community to control its own destiny, · can provide continuity through changes in leadership, and · provide a professional focus for teachers and administrators. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Developing a vision can be accomplished if everyone agrees that they are there for the best interest of the students and to increase student achievement. After completing this first step in the plan, another important aspect at Hickory Ridge must be addressed and that is the issue of building a community of respect.

Before people can function together, before teachers can work together, before teachers and students can work together productively, there must be an atmosphere of respect. According to Sweetland (2009), children benefit when the adults in a school building work together productively and joyfully. Sweetland (2009) also mentions that too often schools end up being places of isolation, competition among students and teachers, and place unneeded emotional stress on those involved. Rather than being places of nurturing and encouraging, faculty lounges and eating areas become places to complain about fellow teachers, students, administrators, and regulations. Rather than work for continual improvement, many educators fall into the blame game trap. In an effort to build respect among colleagues at Hickory Ridge, Professional Learning Communities will be implemented. Professional learning communities place teachers in a role of being the solution rather than the problem. Ample time will be provided for Professional Learning Communities to meet and have time for reflection, talking with coworkers, and finding new solutions to some old problems. It takes time to build a community and Sweetland (2009) acknowledges that Professional Learning Communities take a long-term commitment if change is to take place, in fact, it could take three to five years for cultural shift to not just get planted but actually have time to grow and sustain. Some ways to build respect include; cooperation, leadership, balance, service and responsibility. Staff members will feel better about themselves when they have a leader they admire and respect. When staff members feel that a leader is concerned about him or her as individuals, they work harder. Working to develop this admiration and respect can be accomplished by creating collaborative activities that bring out the best of everyone. One activity the principal can introduce that will aid in “breaking the ice” is called “Colored Broken Squares.” In this activity participants form small groups of five people and try to put together pieces of puzzles to form a square in front of each participant. Participants proceed according to specific rules which are enforced by the principal and the assistant principal can be appointed as of the observer and the facilitator. After the activity, a debriefing session can build on experiences and feelings of the participants and the comments of the observers to examine the points raised by this activity. Principals can raise the expectations of the school community and help everyone live up to the mission of the school by using this process, reports Hyman (1986). Having a principal who is credible and trustworthy is a major step as well. The principal needs to exercise a high degree of moral leadership to raise the expectations of all staff and internalize the school’s goals and its philosophy. It’s important for the principal to keep the organization toward the vision and mission. It’s the responsibility of the administration to keep everyone focused on the school’s and district’s goals. This can release their creative energies to work in cooperation and harmony to achieve preferred results. The school staff, with the principal’s guidance, should understand the difference between what should and should never change, keeping it consistency with the vision. By having a balanced atmosphere where everyone is being heard through, evaluation and reflection, could bring a balance among the staff. Creating communities that include old teacher, new teachers and administration can be a chance for everyone to speak in an environment that is non-threating and equal. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">**__<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Communication __** <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Sometimes to implement reform we have to be willing to throw out the old and accept the new and nothing could be truer than in the area of communication for the members of Hickory Ridge. In fact, Sweetland (2009) believes that meaningful learning often requires the development of new means of communication. One idea that will be included in the professional Learning Communities will be for teachers to write on index cards factors that influence student performance. Then they will separate the cards into two stacks: In my control and Out of my control. Sweetland (2009) reminds us though that the objective of the activity is not to reach consensus, but rather to open up discussion of the role of the teacher, inviting teachers who feel disempowered to acknowledge and claim the power of their personal influence, making space for redefinition and reflection on individual and collective responsibilities. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> According to Mullen & Hutinger (2008), when principals facilitate the study group process, they create informed teachers and achieve higher scores among students. Principals are also able to integrate school-wide study teams to build understanding and create effective strategies for student success. T he power of the study group process is a representation of the growth process. The study group process is respectful of the fact that teachers know that there are no easy solutions for the complex issues they face. In truth, educators recognize that improving schools and one’s teaching practice is a journey. This journey may well have no definitive end in sight, the road may be pocked with potholes, and sticking to the path may be an act of trust at times. It will not be easy and it won’t have immediate results, but it will honor the participants as professionals with expertise and experience to contribute, and, over time, it will contribute to teachers’ own learning and sense of professional status. “The administrators, teachers, and counselors use these principles for guiding their study groups: students come first, everyone participates, leadership is shared, responsibility is equal, and work is public” (Murphy& Lick, 2005). Student achievement can be measured with teachers analyzing current achievement levels; setting goals for improvement; analyzing, adjusting, and refining instructional strategies; and evaluating student outcomes. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">A way to assure the importance of community collaboration, staff at the end of the school year, can recap the year to discuss the needs for the next school year. The principal can ask teachers to identify topics that require their collective attention, such as working with the unmotivated students, using the question and answer technique in the classroom, and cooperative learning. Some other important topics include technology in the classroom and reflective techniques for teachers. When different teachers share the same problems or issues, staff can consider these matters for in-service opportunities for the next school year. To drive change, Gilley & McMillan (2009), found that effective skills, while isolating the specific leader behaviors deemed most valuable to implementing change: motivation and communication.
 * __ Building a Community of Respect __**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Comprehensive School Reform <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">As the superintendent of the Wingfield School District, recognizing the need for comprehensive school reform has led to many discussions with the School Board members. The School Board decided on two comprehensive school reform models involving high schools: Co-NECT and Talent Development High School. Implementing these will help solve several of the issues going on at Hickory Ridge High and if the Wingfield School Board finds these to be successful, these models will be implemented at other high schools in the district. The district is also reviewing a few other reform models that begin with Pre-K and continue through high school so the transition from grade to grade and school level to school level will provide students with continuity of expectations and hopefully have a very positive impact on student achievement. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> Co-NECT is a school reform model which aims to improve students’ achievement through the integration of technology into instruction. This model reorganizes a school into multi-grade groups of students and teachers. According to Cunningham and Cordeiro (2009) lessons connect curriculums through interdisciplinary projects. The Co-NECT model was designed around these five benchmarks: <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">1. Shared accountability for results: The whole school works together to attain goals. <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">2. Project-based learning - Teaching for Understanding and Accomplishment: <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">All students are continuously involved in projects and activities that ask tough <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">questions, involve the application of knowledge to real-life problems, produce <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">deep contextual understanding, and cause students to produce authentic, high-quality work. Many activities generate and depend on multiple, two-way partnerships with parents, businesses, and other members of the community. <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">3. Comprehensive Assessment for Continuous Improvement: Assessment is <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">standards-based and uses multiple measures of student achievement. Results are reported in informative, timely, and interactive. Results guide improvement in teaching and learning. <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">4. Team-Based School Organization: Teachers are organized in small learning communities or clusters with built in time for planning and reflection. Student grouping is designed to keep students and teachers together for more than one year and the grouping is flexible and purposeful. <span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">5. Sensible Use of Technology: All members of the school are able to access modern technologies. Technology is fully integrated into the curriculum. (Ross)

<span style="font-family: 'Times-Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">The Board felt that this reform model would be effective for Hickory Ridge because of the model’s blend of collaboration and technology. Hickory Ridge is in need reform that will get teachers working together and supporting one another. The Co-NECT model allows for teachers of different academic content areas to collaborate to integrate curriculums and create problem based learning activities that spans many content areas. Since Hickory Ridge has district-driven and supported technology initiatives, it is equipped to handle the technological integration of the Co-NECT program. Some of the newer staff members are digital natives whereas some of the older staff members are digital immigrants and need help seeing technology as a bridge rather than fence. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Another model of school reform that the Board of Education of the Wingfield School District decided to implement at Hickory Ridge High School is the Talent Development High School reform model. This model is directed at schools educating students in 9th through 12th grades. According to Cunningham and Cordeiro (2009) this model is aimed at focusing instruction on students’ academic needs and career interests by dividing large urban high schools into smaller units. The Board of Education members felt that this model would work quite well at the high school which has suffered adversely from a split of its faculty and by dividing the school into smaller units and pairing some of the aging staff members with some of the newer staff members in a smaller environment could not only result in a benefit to the students but also in helping build the respect and collaboration that the administrators are seeking. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">A report from the United States Department of Education Institute of Education Science indicates that the Talent Development High School reform model calls for schools to reorganize into smaller learning communities including ninth grade academies for first year students and career academies for students in the upper grades - to reduce student isolation and anonymity. Research for Talent Development High School reform indicates some positive results in a case study of 11 schools in the Philadelphia area. By the end of the first year, students earned an average of 5.2 credits and in the comparison schools they earned an average of 4.5 credits. The end of the second year brought even more noticeable results with the Talent High students earning an average of 9.5 as compared to 8.6 and the larges difference being reported in the third year of reform with students earning 13.2 credits as compared to 12.3. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Bringing innovation and risk taking into the educational practices at Hickory Ridge will be part of the process as the staff members embrace the comprehensive reform efforts that are district-driven initiatives. Though some will try to buck the system and stick with what they feel is tried and true, the smaller collaborative groups from the reform models, the mentoring programs, and staff development will ensure adherence to the new protocols that come with reform. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">EmpowermentAccording to Maele and Houtte (2009), success in implementing school reforms must embrace programs that increase teacher trust. At Hickory Ridge, Jim O’Connor is viewed by the staff as having limited power, importance, and as not being able to help them to gain desired promotions. He is viewed as being knowledgeable, but not well respected and unable to understand the school district’s vision for Hickory Ridge High School. With the push toward reform, now more than ever, there needs to be an atmosphere of trust and ‘team’ at the school. It must be headed by the principal, and supported by the staff.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Maele and Houtte (2009) state that the faculty trust in students, parents, colleagues, and the principal are associated with conditions of organizational value, culture, size, and group composition. With the creation of new vision and mission statements, Mr. O’Connor needs to make sure to include all stakeholders so as to unite them ‘under one flag’. The faculty seems to have trust already in the community and parents. Trust in administration and colleagues can be strengthened through team-building, and giving the faculty the power to serve on committees and carry out tasks throughout the reform process from choosing a program through assessment. The gaps in technology and teaching practices that exist between older and younger faculty need to be addressed, especially since the district reform initiative is one of creating a technologically driven, innovative school district. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">At Hickory Ridge, even though major pressure was put on the system to incorporate computers into the curriculum and daily instruction, the actual use of the computers by both teachers and students has been disappointing. The older faculty members are not motivated to embrace the integration of technology in the curriculum. Professional development in the area of learning new pedagogies is often found to be lacking in schools, and is the greatest obstacle to successful implementation (Groff & Mouza, 2008). Changes that must take place in order to implement technology use in the classroom may prompt teachers who are uncomfortable with technology and with change to resist and do only enough to skate by. In addition to quality staff development, an arrangement should be made for younger and older faculty members to work together in mentorship pairs or groups: the newer teachers mentoring the older teachers in technology and innovative teaching practices, and the older mentoring the younger in the informal structures of the school and community. Since many of the parents are also technically advanced, they could serve as somewhat of a mediating presence during technology mentoring sessions. Through empowering the staff and bringing them together the group will be better motivated to take on reform of the school under the district’s vision. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Motivate Staff to Look Into Promising and Innovative Reforms/Programs <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Getting the staff to work together and on the same page as far as the school’s mission and vision are concerned will go far in motivating them to contribute to finding an appropriate reform program for Hickory Ridge. The district’s reform efforts allowed a core of Hickory teachers to participate in activities that included technology-based tours and attending forums on the implementation of pilot programs to reform schools. Many of the younger teachers may already have knowledge of reform programs that may be appropriate at Hickory Ridge High School, and with new willingness to work together Mr. O’Connor might successfully appoint some catered think tank sessions to look over the extensive research and pertinent knowledge that exists for the desired reforms and promising innovative programs. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">In situations where staff can work collaboratively with one another in varying groups and in varying roles and by extending their responsibilities, they come to recognize the worth of their work as individuals and to the school as a whole. They become happier in their work, and more willing to take on challenges and take risks (Lance, 2010). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The parents of Hickory Ridge students also want to be involved in what is going on at school, and they should be enlisted in the many tasks involved in school reform. As stated by Guhn (2009), it is important, however, to make sure that parental support is not overly-present or given too much weight as it can be counterproductive by introducing more stress to the process. The positive energy that is brought by the support of the parents can be a catalyst for the staff. The value of increased community and parent involvement is a well-documented antecedent for successful education reform, and connecting the school with the community through ICT (communication technology), is one way to keep the energy flowing from the parents into the staff (Hohfeld, Ritzhaupt, & Barron, 2010). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">**Celebrating Hickory Ridge__** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">According to the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (2004) the average public school teacher age in the State of Iowa is 46 years old. Hickory Ridge High School’s teaching staff consists of 45.6% of the teachers at age 46 or older and the remaining 44.4% being under 46 years of age. Of that 44.4%, 37.8% are under the age of 30 and 21.4 % are actually under the age of 26 which would be indicative of a younger generation of teachers coming in fresh out of school who are digital natives. They have grown up with technology being part of their lives and could offer a lot in the way of mentoring and training for staff that is not as comfortable implementing technology in their classrooms. The staff at Hickory Ridge can also be proud of the fact that 56.9% of the faculty has a master’s degree, 2.4% have obtained their education specialist degree and 2.4% have obtained either their doctorate or a professional degree.