Justification

of Unit Goals

Michelle Svenson September 22, 2013

Our unit goals were as follows: 1. To have students be familiar with where the cultures we studied are located 2. To improve the thoughts and feelings of students about foreign cultures 3. To get students to see the similarities between themselves and others around the world We wanted to get kids to think the following questions: In what ways would my life be different if I grew up in another part of the world? What do I have in common with children around the world? Why is it important to learn about other cultures? All of these essential questions deal with the first national curricular standard we use, dealing with the character of individual students. All of the standards we used are as follows:
1. By recognizing various cultural perspectives, learners become capable of understanding diverse perspectives, thereby acquiring the potential to foster positive relations and interactions with diverse people within our own nation and other nations. Learning Expectations Middle Grades (p. 94) NCSS 2. Understand that each culture has distinctive patterns of behavior that are usually practiced by most of the people who grow up in it. 3. Understand how people from different cultures develop different values and ways of interpreting experience. Iowa Core: Social Studies 6-8, Behavioral Standards

The first standard, from NCSS, was met by all of our learning goals. We gave students a basic introduction to other cultures and having them think deeply about how their culture compares to others. Examining the origin of our values and different cultural values (the third content standard) also aided in meeting the first standard. The second standard was met by simply introducing students to different cultures, but was developed by the third standard as wellby getting students to think about values around them they came to understand that most people value similar things. We also wanted to show students the location of all of the cultures on the map to solidify for them that these are real cultures, with real people involved. I feel that this deepened students desire to think critically. We chose these standards because (1) they all seemed relatedsee how flawlessly the third standard develops the first two? And (2) they seemed highly relevant to the kids lives. We wanted this unit to primarily open up doors for the students in order for them to get along well with different peoplefrom around the world as well as in their back yard! The essential questions were relevant and provocative. We wanted students to really feel the similarities and differences between their culture and other cultures,

so we chose to do a kids around the world style unit. This allowed them to relate more easily with people from different cultures by starting with a very familiar basethemselves! I feel that our objectives were definitely met by the end of the unit. (Though not really properly assessed!)

Explanation of Learning Activities

We had a variety of learning activities. Mine were mostly discussion based, but we also had demonstrations, plays, videos, post cards, venn diagrams, written exercises, worksheets, and reading exercises. These were so broad that we easily covered all of our unit goals. The demonstrations and plays allowed students to feel what it would be like to be from another culture. The books and videos were also immersive. The post cards and venn diagrams allowed students to compare their lives with others. All of these formed a base of understanding of foreign cultures. The worksheets were perhaps the best tools, when enabled students to think critically about themselves and others and how we are fundamentally the same. In the end, I believe it was the worksheets that got kids to think the most and developed positive feelings about foreign cultures. (Even more than discussion!) In my lessons, student interest was maintained through discussion and worksheets. The discussion format worked well because the kids were very attentive and also knew that I would call on them regardless of whether or not their hand was up. The worksheet I used worked well because it was based off of themselves! They were all interested in thinking more deeply about their personal values. In the future I would like to try something a little more visual and student-centered, like a project that meets all of our goals as well as has some real-world significance. I am not quite sure how to do that yet, though!

Analysis of Student Learning and Differentiation

We had three main assessments: the homework, which focused on retention from class and comparison between cultures; the map assessments; the affective assessments. With the homework, we met unit goal #4 but also #2, as positive feelings develop through familiarity. The map assessments were to measure unit goal #1 . The affective assessments measure unit goal #2. I believe the learning goals were met based on the evidence we received. We measured #3 primarily though the homework, but it also contributed to the scores in the affective assessment. We didnt have a unit differentiation plan. I had a lesson differentiation plan that worked fairly well; the students liked the different books. I wouldve been able to make it more effective if I had more time to allow them to chose and share.

 Learning Goal 1: Students will be able to locate the five cultures we study on a map. Pre Post Lulu Deepika Bodhi Jada Chase SriRam Yenet

1 4

0 4

1 0

0.5 5

0 5

1 4

-- 5

The average result was about 3.9 out of 5, which I felt was fairly good. Most students learned where the cultures were located. Bodhi, who came in late every day and missed a fair number of our lessons, couldnt locate any of them. To even this out we couldve done the map review not only at the beginning; sometimes we couldve done it at the end. Learning Goal 2: Students will be more capable of understanding diverse perspectives and feel more positive about people who are different and are from different cultures. Average

Pre-Assessment 48.75 / 65

Post Assessment 56.40 / 65

These scores were calculated using an anonymous affective assessment. We had 13 questions, and five options for each question (strongly disagree, somewhat agree, neutral, agree, strongly agree). The questions were formed to judge the students level of interest and acceptance of different cultures and different people. The total number of points a student could receive would be 65. On the pre-assessment, there was an average of 48.75 points (75%). This means that before the unit, students felt 75% good about different cultures. In the post test, there was an average of 56.40 (86.77%). This means that, given our questions were properly interpreted, there was over a 10% increase in positive feelings about foreign cultures among our students. Learning Goal 3: Similarities and Differences (From the Japan unit: Students will be

familiar with the average Japanese students routine, including what they do for fun; Know a few basic values and customs associated with the Japanese culture and how they present themselves in the routine; List several ways in which the Japanese are similar and different to us.) Lucianna Chase Yenet Sri Ram Score 5/5 5/5 4/5 3/5 I feel good about these scores. The average was 4.25, which means that most students remembered some values, leisure activities, and routines from the Japanese culture. Those who scored full points also demonstrated thoughtful insights and comparisons with their own culture! Other Unit Learning Goals Those were the three big learning goals for the unit. We also wanted students to be able to recognize similarities between their culture and other cultures, which was effectively shown with the venn diagram exercises and also open ended discussion. Turning Unit Assessments into a Final Grade Because you cant grade individual students on affective assessments, it would be ineffective to give each student a grade based solely on our unit assessments. (It would just be their map score!) With what weve got, I would have to look at their scores on all the homework from the unit (all the post cards and venn diagrams), then average it with their map assessment grades to properly give each student a grade. In the future, I will use something like an essay in order to measure students affective feelings in a way that can be graded This is a tough issue, though. Most schools dont bother thinking about character of the students. How can you give a grade based on character? Is that ethical to do? I dont have the homework scores from my team mates, so the best I can do would be grading those students who completed both the map assessment as well as the homework for the japan unit. This will give you an idea of what the unit scores would be like. Lucianna Chase Yenet Sri Ram Score 90% 100% 90% 70% The rest of the students would receive an incomplete. This is abysmalwe shouldve established a homework policy to make sure that students completed their homework!

Self Evaluation
The unit had a lot of problems. I actually had a hard time with this unit reflection because I was asked to justify my unitwhich I feel has a lot of flaws! For one, the goals were not clear enough in the original unit plan, and there are extra things involved in the essential questions and understandings! I also feel like the map assessment doesnt measure anything important! I would do away with that goal entirely in the future. I feel like our unit assessments were pretty poor. The survey had flaws, though it did show an increase in positive thinking! Its not tailored to individual students, however, so we cant grade based on it. In the future I would do away with the post cardsthey only measured class retention. I would begin the venn diagram assignment in class so students knew what was to be expected of them. Another major flaw with the unit was that there wasnt enough time to go very deep. We looked at too many culturesthree cultures (out of six lessons) wouldve been the ideal number, because we couldve spent one day on the culture, and one day on the wholeness of that culture, comparing and contrasting, and thinking critically. So, the first thing I need to do as a teacher is properly plan out units and lessons! Spend time thinking: do all of these things relate tightly? Are these assessments affective at measuring deep thinking? If I cant do this, I shouldnt even be a teacher! The second thing I need to be able to know each individual student so that I can properly involve all of the students in the lessons. It was a tricky environment for my first time teaching because I didnt know the kids, and a lot of them were absent many of the days! I need to learn more about the students when I have my own classroom so that I can find what interests them and how to pull them into the group individually. Or perhaps I need to learn more about projects that hold some sort of importance: perhaps we will share with the group what we create or make them have some sort of real-life significance. I am really into this after reading Ron Bergers book on project based learning.