Monday, February 9, 2009
Final Reflection
The project has come to an end and I definitely feel more prepared as a chess club sponsor. I might even strike up a game at Wednesday's practice! The 8 W's model was very effective in leading me through the stages of inquiry. It was very helpful to break everything down in stages. Once it was broken down, it was easier to see how the stages were so interdependent and how easily the cycle of inquiry restarts.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Chess has many supporters in the education field. There are many lesson plans out there for chess and incorporating it into your classroom. The game itself deals with quadrants and coordinates, lines and angles as well as thinking strategies. Children are forced to weigh their options and making decisions when playing the game of chess.
It was a little difficult to match the standards to the game of chess only because the standards have become so specific. If one were to look at the big picture chess would align with most mathematical reasoning standards. Here are a few I found that fit with the game of chess.
5.3.7 Use information taken from a graph or equation to answer questions about a problem situation.
5.7.1 Analyze problems by identifying relationships, telling relevant from irrelevant information, sequencing and prioritizing information, and observing patterns.
6.7.3 Decide when and how to break a problem into simpler parts.
A1.4.1 Graph a linear equation
A1.9.2 Decide whether a solution is reasonable in the context of the original situation.
It was a little difficult to match the standards to the game of chess only because the standards have become so specific. If one were to look at the big picture chess would align with most mathematical reasoning standards. Here are a few I found that fit with the game of chess.
5.3.7 Use information taken from a graph or equation to answer questions about a problem situation.
5.7.1 Analyze problems by identifying relationships, telling relevant from irrelevant information, sequencing and prioritizing information, and observing patterns.
6.7.3 Decide when and how to break a problem into simpler parts.
A1.4.1 Graph a linear equation
A1.9.2 Decide whether a solution is reasonable in the context of the original situation.
Here are few websites I would like to share. Some are geared towards children but I found them all to be very helpful.
Chess Kids
http://www.chesskids.com
Chess Guru
http://www.chessguru.net
United States Chess Federation
http://main.uschess.org/content/view/7324/28/
Chess Dryad
http://www.chessdryad.com/education/magictheater/
Chess.com Play. Learn. Share.
http://www.chess.com
Chess Kids
http://www.chesskids.com
Chess Guru
http://www.chessguru.net
United States Chess Federation
http://main.uschess.org/content/view/7324/28/
Chess Dryad
http://www.chessdryad.com/education/magictheater/
Chess.com Play. Learn. Share.
http://www.chess.com
Wishing
The wishing phase of the 8 W's model relates directly to the reflection element of Callison's information inquiry elements. During this phase, I am able to reflect on the process and draw on its strengths and weaknesses. Callison believes that reflecting must occur as well in both summative and formative levels. Overall, I think the project went well. I had some frustrating points dealing with the tremendous amount of information initially. Once I decided that my topic was just too big, I was able to lessen the information and the frustration minimized. A strength would be the use of blogging. I felt the blog was a great tool to share the thoughts and feelings I had throughout the project. It also allowed me to see other students' frustrations as well. A weakness would be instantly reverting to my old trusty source, the Internet. I have a bad habit of trying to get all my information for the web. I really had to force myself to explore other sources. I think one of the greatest challenges of the project was keeping up with the requirements of spreading out the postings and comments. I am the type of student that wants to just dedicate a day to an assignment and do it from start to finish. Completing the project in small chunks gradually was different for me as a learner.
I am not sure if anything could be done differently for this type of project. Though I found the spreading out of postings difficult, I feel it is necessary to do it in this manner to show the process of inquiry.
I feel my personal inquiry experiences are very similar to those of my students. The generation of students I am teaching are very Internet familiar and often look to it for all their information. Every fifth grader I have knows how to "google". I also believe that they too feel the frustration of being overwhelmed with information. This is a major reason why I think students need to be taught models of inquiry to help sort through the information and minimize the frustration.
My personal approach to inquiry is still basically the same as it was before the project. I still need that haunting question to light a spark. In this case, it was my desire to learn how to play chess. And as usual, I turned to the Internet right from the start. I am not sure if that is good or bad. I know it is a great tool and it is necessary to utilize it in today's world. I do think that I have forced myself to explore other sources during this project. One thing that has changed is the reflecting. I rarely reflected on the findings but now I find myself analyzing and sharing the information. I find that I like discussing the topics with others.
The wishing phase of the 8 W's model relates directly to the reflection element of Callison's information inquiry elements. During this phase, I am able to reflect on the process and draw on its strengths and weaknesses. Callison believes that reflecting must occur as well in both summative and formative levels. Overall, I think the project went well. I had some frustrating points dealing with the tremendous amount of information initially. Once I decided that my topic was just too big, I was able to lessen the information and the frustration minimized. A strength would be the use of blogging. I felt the blog was a great tool to share the thoughts and feelings I had throughout the project. It also allowed me to see other students' frustrations as well. A weakness would be instantly reverting to my old trusty source, the Internet. I have a bad habit of trying to get all my information for the web. I really had to force myself to explore other sources. I think one of the greatest challenges of the project was keeping up with the requirements of spreading out the postings and comments. I am the type of student that wants to just dedicate a day to an assignment and do it from start to finish. Completing the project in small chunks gradually was different for me as a learner.
I am not sure if anything could be done differently for this type of project. Though I found the spreading out of postings difficult, I feel it is necessary to do it in this manner to show the process of inquiry.
I feel my personal inquiry experiences are very similar to those of my students. The generation of students I am teaching are very Internet familiar and often look to it for all their information. Every fifth grader I have knows how to "google". I also believe that they too feel the frustration of being overwhelmed with information. This is a major reason why I think students need to be taught models of inquiry to help sort through the information and minimize the frustration.
My personal approach to inquiry is still basically the same as it was before the project. I still need that haunting question to light a spark. In this case, it was my desire to learn how to play chess. And as usual, I turned to the Internet right from the start. I am not sure if that is good or bad. I know it is a great tool and it is necessary to utilize it in today's world. I do think that I have forced myself to explore other sources during this project. One thing that has changed is the reflecting. I rarely reflected on the findings but now I find myself analyzing and sharing the information. I find that I like discussing the topics with others.
Waving
Waving is a unique part of the 8W's model. This is where I get to share my information and product with a specific audience. Callison doesn't touch upon this area independently but I feel it is an important part of the inquiry process. I plan on communicating my ideas on chess through the pamphlet. When the call out for chess club begins, I would like to distribute these pamphlets to every homeroom. I think it will help draw more attention to the program and ease the anxiety of the worried students who think they do not know enough about the game.
I think my fellow fifth grade teachers would be interested in reading about my experience. I have already spoken with several of them about the project and they have been eager to check out the blog.
Waving is a unique part of the 8W's model. This is where I get to share my information and product with a specific audience. Callison doesn't touch upon this area independently but I feel it is an important part of the inquiry process. I plan on communicating my ideas on chess through the pamphlet. When the call out for chess club begins, I would like to distribute these pamphlets to every homeroom. I think it will help draw more attention to the program and ease the anxiety of the worried students who think they do not know enough about the game.
I think my fellow fifth grade teachers would be interested in reading about my experience. I have already spoken with several of them about the project and they have been eager to check out the blog.
Wrapping
Wrapping is a specific stage where I get to create my own product to properly share my information. This stage has it's own step in Dr. Lamb's model but I believe Callison merges it with other elements in his stages of inquiry. As mentioned earlier, I plan on using this information to create a pamphlet encouraging middle school students to join the chess club. I feel this information is important because it is helping me to understand the game better and also helping my students to become less intimidated by older students with more experience. I want them to know it is safe to try something new, even if you don't now every rule.
I am focusing on information for middle school aged children but I believe that the pamphlet I have created will be most useful in the fifth grade, the youngest grade in our middle school building. The fifth grade comes in to school scared out of their wits about the "big kids". If I can encourage them to join chess club, I feel it will allow them to associate with these "big kids" in a safe environment. I have added images of my pamphlet below.
Wrapping is a specific stage where I get to create my own product to properly share my information. This stage has it's own step in Dr. Lamb's model but I believe Callison merges it with other elements in his stages of inquiry. As mentioned earlier, I plan on using this information to create a pamphlet encouraging middle school students to join the chess club. I feel this information is important because it is helping me to understand the game better and also helping my students to become less intimidated by older students with more experience. I want them to know it is safe to try something new, even if you don't now every rule.
I am focusing on information for middle school aged children but I believe that the pamphlet I have created will be most useful in the fifth grade, the youngest grade in our middle school building. The fifth grade comes in to school scared out of their wits about the "big kids". If I can encourage them to join chess club, I feel it will allow them to associate with these "big kids" in a safe environment. I have added images of my pamphlet below.
Weaving
The nest few elements of the 8 W's model, weaving, wrapping, and waving, seem to all merge with Callison's inference element of information inquiry. In the inference stage, I am trying to form a conclusion about all the gathered information and present it in an appropriate media form. . After reducing the amount of information through my guidelines, I chose to organize the information in categories. I basically outlined the information in my notes and listed what I thought to be most important. I plan on using this information to create a pamphlet for chess club that will explain the basics of the game. I found that most younger students are intimidated because they do not know how to completely play the game and fear they will embarrass themselves. I hope that this pamphlet will give those timid students the confidence boost they need to join the club.
I also spoke with the teacher I sponsor the chess club with at school. He is a veteran teacher and has been a chess club sponsor for over ten years. I asked him what he felt was important for students to know coming into the club. I also used his comments to select what information I would use in the pamphlet and what I disregarded.
The nest few elements of the 8 W's model, weaving, wrapping, and waving, seem to all merge with Callison's inference element of information inquiry. In the inference stage, I am trying to form a conclusion about all the gathered information and present it in an appropriate media form. . After reducing the amount of information through my guidelines, I chose to organize the information in categories. I basically outlined the information in my notes and listed what I thought to be most important. I plan on using this information to create a pamphlet for chess club that will explain the basics of the game. I found that most younger students are intimidated because they do not know how to completely play the game and fear they will embarrass themselves. I hope that this pamphlet will give those timid students the confidence boost they need to join the club.
I also spoke with the teacher I sponsor the chess club with at school. He is a veteran teacher and has been a chess club sponsor for over ten years. I asked him what he felt was important for students to know coming into the club. I also used his comments to select what information I would use in the pamphlet and what I disregarded.
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