EDIM 508 Unit 3 Summary Posting Information Overload:

The Need for the Synthesizing Mind

Ive enjoyed reading your discussions this week. I hope that the readings have better opened your mind to
understanding the synthesizing mind and the technological tools and strategies that can be used to foster this
mind. Id like to highlight some thoughts from this weeks discussion.

Adrienne- Projects for synthesis are applicable to all subject areas they
can be used in math, social sciences, science, and language arts. I have found that
projects are easily used in a special education setting such as emotional support also. It
allows students to work at their own pace and to work at their own instructional level
towards synthesis of a topic.

Anthony- What if I could find online media or have the students find
sources such as this that pertain to the lesson instead of just the textbook and my
voice? I need to become better at having these students not feel so disconnected from the class and hopefully,
the behaviors will start to disappear and their knowledge will increase. All of my students have different
perspectives but it is hard to get them actively and willingly participate. If they had another source to pull from
in creating their own perspectives they might be more apt to participate in some manner. I liked your idea for
your math class. That sounds like an excellent idea to get those different perspectives!

Crystal- In my class I seek to provide frequent and varied opportunities for learning, practicing, and
assessing skills rather than through larger projects. For example, when teaching a new phonics skill, students
will have opportunities to learn and apply these concepts through color coding, building with letter tiles,
writing creatively, listening to video/ audio clips, playing a game on a tablet, and reading short
stories. Through these approaches and exercises students are exposed to the same
concept in many ways and are asked to apply the concept through written and reading
practice.

David- It is difficult for learners to be able to judge themselves and correct

their mistakes without a meaningful, well thought out rubric. Rubrics provide a perfect
opportunity to separate your judgements into categories that are easy to understand and
fit the criteria of the project. This will give the learners an understanding of what the
expectations are while allowing the teacher to separate the evaluation into categories
such as the examples you quoted from Gardner. I believe that projects are the best way
for students to show their true understanding.
 Elaine- I show them examples of what they are used to doing (the "wrong" way) and then show
them examples of how it should look. I use these same modeling techniques as I teach other writing concepts.
Since writing can be so subjective, I also always grade every writing assignment with a specific rubric in order
to assess whether or not their synthesis was successful.

Erin- I believe that we as teachers need to make sure we are clearly

defining what we expect from the students by the end of the lesson. This is
especially tricky in first grade because sometimes students are not able to
understand these expectations until after they are shown what to do. So, with that
knowledge in mind, I need to also remember to clearly model. The trick to
discipline and synthesizing, though, is that I dont just want students to parrot
what I say and do, I also want them to be able to think for themselves and be able
to master the material on their own. Therefore, after teaching the material, I need
to offer the students opportunities to use the material in a different way.

Gregory- I always tell my students that I am more concerned about

the process, then the product. I am more focused on a students' journey and problem solving skills then I am of
the outcome. I still always get the " What do I need to do to get an A" kind of student. Breaking these students
out of this mindset is a struggle.

Jenna- When today's students are unsure of anything, the first thing they do is Google the topic to
try to find an "easy" answer. The problem with this is that students will typically click on the first link that is
provided and only look at that one link. As we all know, information on the internet can be biased or skewed.
We have to teach our students how to read through multiple articles, or watch multiple videos and be able to
synthesize the information. Without this skill, students will forever be stuck in the habit of just searching for the
answer and hoping it pops up in one easy click.

Jenny- I believe every age and every student must be looked at differently because every student
thinks differently and synthesizes differently, but that doesn't make it wrong. I again, agree when you stated that
we cannot expect mastery of discipline but can teach multi-perspectivism and allow them to look at the material
differently.

Marshall- I have never been a fan of content-based rubrics as I believe they stifle creativity. I am
much more one to give prompts and general ideas of an assignment and ask students to produce something that
is near the peak of their standards for what they consider good work. I am very interested to learn more about
the value of synthesis and encouraging it in my classroom as we know it would certainly be at the top of
Bloom's taxonomy or intellectual activity by any other measure. The fact that it might mesh well with my
philosophy of teaching is a welcome realization.

Meghan- As an English teacher and a special education teacher, I need to follow standards as well
as IEP goals, but I wanted students to complete more than a standard term paper to demonstrate
understanding. Keeping the required paper as part of the board, I then allow the students to choose the manner
in which they want to demonstrate their synthesis. Like myself, I have seen much more willing students as well
as an increase in quality of work.

Melanie- All in all, assessing anything with subjectivity is challenging.

One must design clear, measurable, goals which students understand to evaluate
them. Although our students will not become effective synthesizers in our classes,
we can provide them the opportunities and assess their performances so that they
can develop these skills later in life as they are needed for their future.

Sara- It can be a painfully long process of trying to guide them to

discovering answers and not just telling them how to find them. We use a Google Doc template that the PBL
groups fill out and I give them requirements to follow. This way, I can evaluate their learning based on how
many sites they used (I say a minimum of 3-5), how long their answers are (1 paragraph per answer), and their
reasoning for believing that the site was credible (we have a conversation about the sites). Tasks are divided
among the group so that they all have something to work on, but they still have each other to ask questions and
give support.

Trisha- In my opinion, debates really show true mastery of a topic. The students are thrown
questions that they may not have prepared for and I love to see them work out a response with the knowledge
they attained through research, making connections and using learned vocabulary correctly. As you mentioned,
using a predetermined rubric to grade their responses and arguments is a way for me to give them an accurate
grade. Showing the students the rubric in advance is a necessary step as well, so they know what is expected of
them.