EAST END TEAM
Program Synthesis Journal
EE TEAM. Due June 18, 2006. Interim due May 7, 2006

EAST END TEAM

Program Synthesis Journal

EE TEAM. Due June 18, 2006. Interim due May 7, 2006

Team has made me a better teacher and helped me strive to be a better human being through an understanding of Senge and Costa..

Time, energy and commitment are headings that envelope one another. These categories represent countless hours integrating technology into my life. The spring semester is just a microcosm of what my commitment to the TEAM has been. I strove to incorporate my new knowledge into my curriculum; it has literally transformed my classroom into an art studio embedded with technology as its pedigoligical basis. I have become an advocate in my school community for the merging of art and technology and have tried to form collegial bonds which foster that merger. My TEAM site has become another manifestation of my devotion to this pursuit, and, hopefully, will be a living document whose life will exist beyond this program. From the start the original vision of our EEV collaboration has been to create a technological venue for the artists, writers, and musicians to anchor to and provide another communal space in which they may gather.

Some learning stories need to be discussed at this point. Perhaps, the biggest disappointment and most frustrating challenge this spring semester has been the denial of my grant proposal. My initiative proposed to incorporate web design and a virtual museum into the art curriculum of East Hampton High School. In particular, this proposal was written to attract the special education population and offer to those, intimidated by painting and drawing, an approachable and comfortable outlet for artistic expression. This grant was designed for students who gravitated towards technology and not the classical arts. It was student – centered, project based, collaborative in nature, and totally rejected. The only way this might have been changed is if my particular school system itself changes; and I do not see that happening in the foreseeable future.

On the other hand, those satisfying moments occurred when I received validation from the Director of Special Education and the educators in that department who saw the worthiness of my grant proposal. Validation also came from the artistic colleagues of mine and my EEV collaborators, Linda Fuller and Dawn Jonilas, who have provided us with such positive feedback and response to our site. Various creative types on the East End have expressed their desire to have their websites linked to our site..

I have learnt that the world can be defined by Senge’s five disciplines and possibly is. The mental model he created relates to many aspects of human relations and the systems that we occupy - marriage, friendships, the school, the classroom. At work I strove to build partnerships - a team, that is part of a well functioning system.  I see how my past work experiences fit into the shared vision aspect of Senge’ presented ideas. I have developed a mental model about system thinking and technology in education striving to employ both and work towards personal mastery on a daily basis. I see my weakness and strengths in terms of Costa’s Habits of the Mind and strive to overcome the former and develop the later.  As I teacher as always I thought to model  learning this now I do as I apply the shared vision idea with the concept of ownership and once again Costas’ Habits.

For me, the Habits of the Mind seem to be a very important, if not the most important, notion that I have come in contact with through TEAM. It is what we hope for our students to do and strive for. When real learning takes place these elements are present - present in any good students. They also provide an authentic alternative to standard assessment.

I believe I have addressed the relationship that Costa has on me personally through out this class. I could list each aspect/habit and how it relates to my efforts to develop as a human being.  In short, it is the embracing of  meta -cognition coupled with life long learning, a sense of humor and persistence as I strive towards precision cautiously taking risks while I struggle to abandon and manage my impulsivity I hope to become a happy more fulfilled human being and have a better understanding of how to help teach the students I come in contact with.

Learning Story- I tend to take on too much, spread too thin and get messy.  I am caviler in many ways. I see the Habits of the Mind clearly defining thought patterns and if I would check off from the list all that I address for, TEAM and other tasks, and I see areas that I neglect and/or constantly don’t address. It is these areas that I as a human need to work on to become – a better human being.

 As the days and months tick by it became more and more clear to me how “real’ Costa and  Senge are. Life seemed to reinforce their ideas.

 In the GLEF/Edutopia article “Remarkable Transformation” article

http://www.edutopia.org/php/article.php?id=Art_1017 regarding a NJ Schools’ attempt to educate itself and find the what we at TEAM have heard over and over again. It was enlightening for me to have each speaker, each article; each news show reinforced our learning. They found we as educators need to reach students in their own language, integrate tech in a real way… This drew me in and allowed understanding in regards to the next article, How To: Use Digital Storytelling in Your Classroom, By Jennifer New http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=Art_1418&issue=dec_05

As for the classroom, I have tried to have my students embark on the journey that I modeled with my presentations. I had them construct their own knowledge creating a digital story with Moviemaker and Power Points that will be used as reference and examples, of page design, as they embark on web designing. My studio art classes also decorated the pages of their sketchbook in the manner of the time period we were studying.  Using the web to find patterns and design to emblazon the pages for, Renaissance art for instance, gave special meaning to the project and to the class. More then just some notes on a page that might very well have never been looked at again, now these notes become part of an art work - a page in a textbook/sketchbook of their own design. As if they were web pages in preparation for actually developing a web-based art museum. We then did PowerPoint stories and that branch out to become actual web pages. 

As Kyle Peck pointed out. Individualized instruction can take place and is more suited to an atmosphere where the teacher is no longer solely operating as “the sage on the stage.” But rather the “sage on the side.” Using project based, student driven experiences that allowed knowledge to be constructed and meaningfully obtained in a personal exciting manner, affords the teacher the possibility of planning for each students (differentiated) needs.  Pulling side a student one at a time when need be education can be personalized and more effective.

Our EEV site seeks to be effective. “The Artists and Writers of the Hamptons” has generated excitement and Cross-T.E.A.M. & cultural/community connections. These were established and are being established, to assure the sites vast potential is not diminish with time. The site idea has generated enormous excitement, as we look to Team build within the Art Community, finding support for our efforts and planting seed for the future. My skills in technology have grown that rereading an old log stands as a testament for the distance TEAM has brought me as I struggle and persist towards Personal mastery.

 “Power Pointless” To Powerful- a learning story-

Moving From “Power Pointless” To Powerful -How To Create Powerful Educational PowerPoint’s…..http://Barry.haines.net

“Barry Haines shows the good the bad and the ugly. A how to of Powerpoints that research and experience backs up.” First we were asked to do a collaborative “partner-up,” and to introduce ourselves to the person next to us and discuss what we saw in the various examples of Powerpoints. Stating only the facts we viewed the Powerpoints objectively remaining totally positive and looking /describing only what we see. The Powerpoint begun with an essential question was visual stunning and had music that supported the visuals. This was to become a benchmark and theme. Less is more and nothing extraneous to take away from the message. The speaker adds to the data not simply reading the text. To summarize this “event” does not do it justice. We are shown educational power points that are less then educational and asked to compare and contrast them with wonderfully produced Powerpoints. Barry Haines analyzed the data and the steps needed to create powerful powerpoints that “teach.” He clearly listed the pitfalls to avoid, the dos and don’ts, and the steps that will bring us towards multimedia productions that not only adhere and apply the research and successfully impart information but engage.

My ideas (revelations) flowed as I took notes wildly. Regarding my lack of an adequate and efficient use of technology, I clearly saw the need to pay more then simple lip service to the usage of the medium. I mostly see technology relegated to meaningless busywork. In all but my photography classes, particularly in terms of PowerPoint, which I have never use, technology is used less effectively then it can and should be. I plan on creating Power Points this summer, the first being on cave art and then a showing a comparison between Greek Korus archaic sculpture and classical sculptures for instance in some an animated format…I am excited to begin.

This documents my beginning understanding of technology’s potential for being used on a high level in the class. I took it to heart. I have created approximately 20 odd Powerful PowerPoint’s with audio and several  QuickTime  movies imbedded, some I shot or created in imovie, that addresses our Digital, multitasking visual learner. Using Power Point has led to stronger drugs.  Cross platform, cross program work that   challenges my skill level.

Since then I have also gained a relaxed confidence in Dreamweaver, web design and move with fluidity from tool to tool and page to page in other programs as well. I feel assured that I can “construct my own knowledge and am aware of the potential resources that are at my disposal to clarify and enlighten. I have integrated technology into my life as a language.  My skills in Photoshop have increased. Where, two years ago, I saw no need for Powerpoints and viewed them as a ridiculous boring dead medium.  I now flock to its call. Communication was a cry heralded at NECC. I minimized its power when first I heard the word tossed around class and conferences. Just a word. But now…The image is spectacular. The possibilities are endless.  I interpreted, thru the various speakers and sites I have been exposed to over the past year at the NECC conference and elsewhere, that one major goal of team was the need to incorporate technology into our vision, the classroom and the students’ school experience. The speakers all shared a vision and mental model about where education should go, the nature of our student are and how to reach them.  This consistent vision resonated for me.

Since I arrived in TEAM, I have grown.  I recall the circle of awareness or knowledge that Plato spoke about. How within the sphere of our understanding lie only so many experiences and answers.  But wander outside the comfort zone expanding the circle and thus allowing for so many other possibilities. I had little interest in educational philosophy and technology when I began the class. “I did not know what I did not know until… I knew I did not know it...”

               My TEAM experiences have altered my mental model about teaching and set me about the job of mending fences and developing collaborations. It had also caused me to think and begin to work systemically. I have developed an appreciation of educational philosophies and an awareness of how these ideas can present possibilities and have applicability within my classroom.  A new personal vision/mental model have developed as an outcome of my TEAM exposure.  I can see that “I now know what I did not know- that I did not know,”- and this has opened up the potential for future growth and change. This is the most important thing that could have happen to me. I have constructed a use for what ever knowledge TEAM has given me and applied it almost immediately to my teaching and caused me to act as an advocate for kids, technology, and its use on a high level.

The nature of my class has changed dramatically. Where I found I might have bullied or lectured now I lead conversations and discoveries as the students reflect and take pride in all aspects oftheir project and work. True engagement in learning. (“Change is hard, Changing is Harder”) I found joy in the preparation for using tech in class activities since through this time well spent; my students seemed to become more involved.

When I began TEAM I focused on trying to understand how I might use anything in my classroom and how to apply Peter Senge’s “Schools that Learn,” to my teaching and life - professionally and personally.  A soon found that System Thinking transcends the classroom and the theoretical. I was actually a system thinker without knowing it and began to see things in terms of the Five Disciplines. I had seen systems operating around me in all places and subcultures. The work place, my family, the art world, the LIE and even in surfing. Traffic, the road and its negotiations, and the negotiations involved in Surfing, both seemed to be metaphors for human relations, the world and the cosmos. An equation I believe Dr. Michael Byrne alludes to, with his “the traffic game/system.” The fabric of these operas, the social fabrics and otherwise, all have interconnecting tissue, player sand detritus that are exerting influences upon each other - a web. As I sought to understand the universe – my Universe the systematic nature and quality of things became more and more apparent to me. I sought to understand it better. I sought to understand understanding - Thinking.  When I came upon, or rather was led to Costa, through the “Habits of the Mind,” I found it had a unique appeal. I needed to see how thinking could be organized - my own. How it was possible to continue to grow and evolve. How educational philosophers had given organization to the thought processes and added clarity to my own vision. How, on a spiritual level one can try to obtain clarity of vision and work towards clarity of thought as an important life long goal - an art form. By knowing what exactly it was to strive for and understands to be a more complete human being, could help ones own journey through life and aid the journey of others, helping others reach a similar goal. To again quote, Donald Rumsfeld, heaven forbid, “I didn’t know what I didn’t know till I knew I didn’t know it”…or something like that.

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Questionnaire

Synthesis

outcomes

Process

We suggest you begin with an argumentative opening (take a stand on your growth), develop your analysis of your growth and end with a solid, persuasive conclusion. Balance/emphasis is a part of the construction and presentation of your argument.

Here are some items to include in your document.

You decide where they belong given the stance your take.

* T.E.A.M. was presented as an opportunity to grow, to develop and practice leadership, and to build your own learning systems within the context of other systems (see Senge et al). Key issues included constructivist elements and envisioning futures for yourself, your classroom, your school, and education in general. Be sure to develop these areas in your overall argument.
* Tell about your growth as related to Costa’s and Bellick’s Intellectual Behaviors as presented in Schools That Learn and the downloaded PDF.
* Relate Senge’s five disciplines to your learning and growth in T.E.A.M.
* In addition to reading Senge et al, tell about other readings (e.g., books, journal articles, web site materials) that impacted on your growth in important ways during T.E.A.M.
* Tell your best learning story using Edutopia and the GLEF materials. Name a specific video or specific area or article and tell about its relevance to you.
* How far have you come in your learning journey in T.E.A.M.? You might want to answer some of the following in this item: Is there anything remarkable about your growth from September 2004 to now? How has your growth coincided with your stated desires to grow? Are you “in control” of your learning? Are you prepared to be (or perhaps are) a lifelong learner?
* Your EEV collaborations were vehicles to build powerful small learning communities stretching out into the world. Potentially they linked your day-to-day, T.E.A.M., and what you most value. Be sure to address the place of your collaborations in your argument.
* Tell about your expertise with technologies and your capacity to learn any technology tool you wish to learn. Cite your portfolios for evidence of your accomplishments.
* Tell how your work in T.E.A.M. is grounded in constructivist theory.
* “Hunting and gathering” are part of the larger picture of developing the skills to seek information and resources from diverse perspectives, to access, sort, organize, use, synthesize, apply, and critically evaluate what you find. Tell about your growth in these areas through your two years in T.E.A.M.
* Tell us a bit about emerging tools and their possible impacts on teaching and learning (wikis, Del.icio.us Bookmarks, blogs, etc.).
* How might social networks of information, such as del.icio.us bookmarks, impact you and your access to information, resources, and people in your future?
* Tell about your future goals. Tell if T.E.A.M. has contributed to your current vision of the future and if so, tell how. What readings will you next do to move into your future? What people will you contact and/or continue to contact? Describe where you would like to be professionally in five years.
* How has the T.E.A.M. experience contributed to your professional development and how has it modified your plans and goals for your future? How have you changed (“Change is hard, Changing is Harder”)?

Here are some trigger words you may find helpful. Use them if they apply and seem important in your argument:

* Use of constructivist elements
* Critical thinking
* Reflective practice
* Values in learning
* Team building
* Cross-T.E.A.M. & cultural/community connections
* Technology applications in real settings
* Significant people and ideas
* Engagement in learning
* Visioning and envisioning
* Technology tool learning
* Collaborations
* Professional growth/scholarship
* Online activities
* Personal & professional change
* Leading and leadership

Epilogue (Optional)

Is there anything else you would like to share with us about yourself and T.E.A.M.? (This can be an epilogue structurally and would be in addition to page limit set above.)

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