Day 1
01 Welcome 02 Model Lesson 03 Pause 04 Reflection 05 Equity 06 Wrap Up
Day 2
07 Welcome 08 Summary of Curriculum Investigation 09 Pause 10 Unit Planning 11 Wrap Up

Session 4: Model Lesson Reflection

15 minutes

discussion-based

Purpose

This session highlights choices and teaching strategies used in the model lesson, as well as share strategies that support effect group dynamics. The goal is for participants to reflect on teaching strategies related to supporting students working in groups and helping students develop the skills necessary to solve large problems. In addition, participants should walk away with at least three strategies that they will use in their classroom to support a culture of inclusion in group work.

Objectives

  • Participants begin thinking about how to develop a plan for supporting students during group projects
  • Participants understand how iteration and decomposition can be used to help students work through the problem solving process for large problems
  • Participants are able to articulate at least three strategies that they will use in their classroom to support a culture of inclusion when students are working in groups

Supplies & Prep

Workshop Modality:

  • Whole Group
  • Breakout Rooms

Facilitator Supplies:

Teacher Supplies:

  • Computer with webcam
  • Video conferencing software

Agenda

Iteration and Decomposition (2 minutes)

Teacher Choices (2 minutes)

Planning Ahead (11 minutes)

Facilitation Guide

Iteration and Decomposition (2 minutes)

(1 minute) Context Setting

Remarks

Please note the model lesson was shortened to 30 minutes for our purposes with this virtual workshop. If this felt rushed to you,it was - the lesson plan suggests 75 minutes for the lesson.

In Unit 4, there is a strong emphasis placed on the problem solving process. We saw this in the model lesson from Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, students will engage in an iterative team project. Throughout the unit, students will need to decompose larger problems into smaller components. They will engage in iteration and decomposition many times throughout the unit.

  • Iteration - continuous improvement in order to modify and enhance creative projects
  • Decomposition - break large problems into smaller components in order to begin taking small steps towards the larger goal

This is the first introduction to decomposition and iteration, but participants will return to this idea later in the workshop during the curriculum investigation. The goal here is for participants to understand what these words mean and how these processes can help students as they engage in the problem solving process.

(1 minute) Share Out

Participants call out responses to the prompt.

  • Prompt: Where did you see both iteration and decomposition embedded in Lesson 3?

Teacher Choices (2 minutes)

(2 minutes) Highlight Choices

The facilitator explains the choices that were made along with the reason for the choice.

Facilitator Tip

The goal is to highlight the importance of pre-planning grouping for a lesson. There are many ways to form groups. Due to time constraints, the how and why of using specific group types is beyond the scope of this workshop.

Grouping: Learners were separated into groups prior to this lesson. There are many ways to divide students into groups (homogeneous, heterogeneous, random, student selected, etc.). The grouping choice depends largely on the activity and the students in the room. However, in all situations, it is important for the teacher to both consider how students will be grouped and how this grouping set up will be communicated to students. This planning should be done before the lesson is implemented.

  • Individual Brainstorming: Learners were asked to brainstorm individually before brainstorming with their group. This sets the foundation for inclusion within the group. This choice was written into the lesson plan and not made by the facilitator. Teachers can support inclusion with other group work activities by adding individual brainstorming, even if it is not written into the lesson.

Planning Ahead (11 minutes)

Remarks

In the model lesson, the teacher needed to plan and consider supporting effective group dynamics to help create an inclusive classroom environment.

Just like in any classroom, it is not possible to predict how groups will interact with each other. The key is to not solve the problem for the group, but instead guide them towards effective teamwork. Let’s brainstorm ways we might support effective group dynamics.

Facilitator Tip

The goal is for participants to recognize that active learning goes beyond simply participating in an activity. Some signs of active learning for students may include:

  • Knowing the learning goals and actively working to achieve those goals
  • Comfortably making mistakes and knowing how to use those mistakes and failures to improve their work
  • Practicing meta-cognitive skills - students are able to think about their thinking
  • Knowing how to find and use resources to support their learning goals
  • Collaborating and communicating effectively with their peers
  • Giving and receiving feedback

(7 minutes) Breakout rooms: Supporting effective group dynamics

Participants go into breakout rooms in groups of 3 - 4 and respond to the following prompts.

Prompts:

  • What is at least one strategy per approach that supports students working effectively during group work?
  • How might the strategy be adapted to meet the needs of students and help them feel included in your CS classroom?

Approaches for Effective Group Work:

  • Solution Oriented: Group members developing solutions that incorporate ideas from multiple perspectives.
  • Resolve Conflict: Group members mediating their own group conflict.
  • Contribution: Group members, whatever their prior knowledge, have opportunities to contribute to the success of the group
  • Strengths: Group members identifying and utilizing other group members’ strengths

(1 minute) Participants individually brainstorm at least one strategy per topic and add the strategy to the breakout room slide.

(6 minutes) Participants share and discuss the strategies they individually brainstormed and agree on one strategy per approach to add the breakout room slide. Then, participants identify a way to adapt each strategy to meet various students' needs and add the modified strategies to the breakout room slide. Lastly, participants identify one strategy they want to implement in their classrooms by adding a star emoji next to the strategy.

Transition to Breakout Rooms: Refer to designated slides for participants to type on.

Producer Instructions: Send participants to breakout rooms for seven minutes.

Circulate Breakout Rooms:

  • View the progress made on designated slides
  • Support participants in completing the activity

Remarks

Students don’t always walk into our classrooms with the skills they need in order to be an active learner and effective group member. This can be especially true during team projects and can vary from class to class. As we move through the workshop we will continue to reflect on the role we would like students to play in our classrooms. As we do this, we need to also think about what we, as educators, need to do in order to establish an inclusive learning environment that supports students developing into an active learner and effective group member.

(4 minutes) Reflection: Role of the student

(4 minutes) For each prompt, invite a participant to share their response.

Prompts:

  • What skills does a student need to be an active learner?
  • What skills does a student need to be an effective group member?
  • What skills does a teacher need to support effective group work?