20 Essential Questions

The Following is a list of 20 essential questions that could form the basis of problem-based learning experiences. Many of these questions came about from reflecting on lessons and units I have taught, witnessed or collaborated on in various elementary grade classes while others were inspired by topics covered in some of the method courses I took during my MAT studies. While many of these questions cover a multitude of learning standards, for the sake of brevity I have listed only the most relevant state goal after each question.

Physical Development & Health:

Why is proper nutrition vital for your growth and development?

ISBE State Goal 22.B.1: Encourage and support others in making positive health choices (e.g., eating practices, cleanliness, safety practices).

Why should we wash our hands?

ISBE State Goal 22.A.1b Identify methods of health promotion and illness prevention.

Fine Arts:

How does an one's environment influence his/her art work?

ISBE State Goal 27.A.2a: Identify and describe the relationship between the arts and various environments

How do artists express their ideas through art?

ISBE State Goal 25.B.2: Understand how elements and principles combine within an art form to express ideas.

Science:

Why is space travel important?

ISBE State Goal 13.B.1c: Describe contributions men and women have made to science and technology.

How do animals interact with their environment?

ISBE State Goal 12.B.1a: Describe and compare characteristics of living things in relationship to their environments.

How and why do insects change over time?

ISBE State Goal 12.A.2a: Describe simple life cycles of plants and animals and the similarities and differences in their offspring.

What are the purposes of the different parts of the plant?

ISBE State Goal 12.A.1a: Identify and describe the component parts of living things (e.g., birds have feathers; people have bones, blood, hair, skin) and their major functions.

Where do rocks come from?

ISBE State Goal 12.E.2a: Identify and explain natural cycles of the Earth’s land, water and atmospheric systems (e.g., rock cycle, water cycle, weather patterns).

How do adaptations ensure the survival of different species within ecosystems?

ISBE State Goal 12.B.2b Identify physical features of plants and animals that help them live in different environments (e.g., specialized teeth for eating certain foods, thorns for protection, insulation for cold temperature).

Social Science

Why is Thanksgiving celebrated?

ISBE State Goal 16.B.1b (US): Explain why individuals, groups, issues and events are celebrated with local, state or national holidays or days of recognition

How is your family similar to and different from a Native American family?

ISBE State Goal 16.D.2 (W): Describe the various roles of men, women and children in the family, at work, and in the community in various time periods and places (e.g., ancient Rome, Medieval Europe, ancient China, Sub-Saharan Africa).

How did the environment affect the way Native American tribes of the Southwest, Eastern Woodlands, and Arctic live?

ISBE State Goal 16.E.2a (W): Describe how people in hunting and gathering and early pastoral societies adapted to their respective environments.

Why are there different environments instead of just having things be uniform throughout the planet??

ISBE State Goal 17.A.2a: Compare the physical character- istics of places including soils, land forms, vegetation, wildlife, climate, natural hazards.

Mathematics

Are there different ways to solve a given problem?

ISBE State Goal 9.C.1: Draw logical conclusions and com- municate reasoning about simple geometric figures and patterns using concrete materials, diagrams and contemporary technology.

What are different ways to collect, display, and analyze data?

ISBE State Goal 10.A.1a: Organize and display data using pictures, tallies, tables, charts or bar graphs.

How do we measure the world around us?

ISBE State Goal A.1: Measure and compare quantities using appropriate units, instruments and methods.

English Language Arts:

What do you do when you come across a word you don't know?

ISBE State Goal 1.A.1b: Comprehend unfamiliar words using context clues and prior knowledge; verify meanings with resource materials.

How is information conveyed through different forms of writing?

ISBE State Goal 1.B.1a: Establish purposes for reading, make predictions, connect important ideas, and link text to previous experiences and knowledge.

How can you use the library and technology lab to help find resources?

ISBE State Goal 5.A.2b: Organize and integrate information from a variety of sources (e.g., books, interviews, library reference materials, web- sites, CD/ROMs).

Entry #2

I work with technology on a daily basis for my job as a technology paraprofessional. Troubleshooting other people’s problems is a daily occurrence and takes up a good portion of my day that is not spent working with students. I have a good working relationship with the technology instructor and she relies on me when technical issues arise even though I have no formal training in technology maintenance or repair. Sometimes there are problems that are outside our realm of expertise and we need to bring in a district-wide technician but we pride ourselves on being the school in the district that has the lowest incident of contacting the technicians and I happily take some of the credit for that.

Like I said, I have no formal training in any hardware or software repair or installation, but since a young age I have always had an interest in such topics and have always enjoyed exploring and trying to fix technological problems on my own. This interest -- and the skills that have evolved from it -- has come in handy in numerous non-technology related work environments (such as repairing VCRs and CD players at a movie & movie shop, fixing blenders at a smoothie place, and doing things like setting up a cash register at a large bookstore where no cash register had any business being set up) and has been very useful in my personal life as well.

A good part of this is due to my enjoyment of facing a challenge and (hopefully) finding a solution myself. Another part of this is that I enjoy saving money and would rather not pay an exorbitant fee to have someone else do something I can figure out for myself. I also like finding good deals on things so when I saw this modem/wireless gateway (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?nm_mc=AFC-TechBargains&cm_mmc=AFC-TechBargains-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA&Item=N82E16833122343) being sold for $30 (refurbished – but still, it retails for over $100); I thought it might be time for an upgrade.

This new gateway could solve a minor problem for me as I was still using the original gateway that AT&T (née SBC) had given me seven or eight years ago which wasn’t really cutting it in my increasingly wireless home. I did some research on it and the reviews were mostly positive but there were quite a few negative ones as well. A closer look at the negative ones (such as these http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=33-122-314&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&SelectedRating=1 or even this one http://www.amazon.com/review/R1UYXYCJ1XCXL6/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm) made me think that the users leaving negative reviews simply just did not have the know-how to properly set up the gateway. I, on the other hand, most assuredly did so I went ahead and purchased one.

Once the gateway arrived I unplugged my old one and setup my new one. The installation software that arrived with it was PC-only (naturally) which did me no good but I was able to open a digital copy of the manual that was on it which got me started in the right direction. I logged into the router manager and thought I might have success setting things up using the “Smart Wizard” installation option. The Smart Wizard took a few minutes but it looked like it had succeeded… and then the DSL connection light started blinking red meaning I had no connection.

No problem, I thought, I was smart enough to write down the pertinent information from my internet connection before I started this, so I’ll just manually set up the router. I entered in my account information and my IP and DNS addressed, pressed “apply,” and was pleased as punch when the DSL light turned green. I tinkered with the wireless settings and everything was working exactly as it should. I later went to bed feeling somewhat triumphant.

The next day, I opened my notebook computer, clicked on my browser of choice, and was greeted with a message saying “You Are Not Connected to the Internet.” I looked over at the gateway and sure enough, the red “no DSL connection” light was mocking me with each and every blink.

The next few days are a bit of blur. I know a good deal of my time was spent working on trying to regain that connection. My old gateway still worked so I knew my problem had nothing to do with my DSL provider or phone lines. I reset the gateway numerous times, sometimes running the Smart Wizard and other times reentering my information. I performed numerous searches on the subject and combed forums such as dslreports.com and found many others having the same issue but very few solutions (none of which worked for me). Netgear’s forum was even less help as the only one really answering questions was a moderator that was not officially associated with the company and offered little support (a good example here: http://forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?t=46624). I even broke down and contacted Netgear and AT&T support – the former was no help at all while the latter would only confirm that my manual settings were correct but could do no more as they do not officially support Netgear and would have to charge me for anymore help. Time and time again I was greeted with the blinking red light.

I wasn’t about to go that route so I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I couldn’t make it work. The thought that the gateway might be defective crossed my mind but in my heart I knew it was my fault that it wouldn’t work. I swallowed my pride and decided that I would send back the router and try my luck with another brand (preferably one that was supported by AT&T). I unplugged the gateway and went to bed.

The next day I decided to give it one more try. Like I had done so many times before, I reset the gateway, logged into the manager, manually entered my information and hit apply knowing full well that I would be greeted with the blinking red light. To my surprise, the DSL connection light went green. I was skeptical at first as this had happened before but days and then weeks passed and the light has remained green and everything has worked perfectly.

Reflecting on this problem in light of the recent research I have done on George Polya’s heuristics, I was reminded of his Four Principles: understand the problem, devise a plan, carry out the plan, and review what has happened. I certainly did this numerous times throughout my ordeal. Polya’s heuristics come into play with his second principle, devising a plan, in that one needs to have the appropriate strategy in order to tackle a problem. His third strategy, carry out the plan, is also relevant to my experience in that one may need to revise or modify a plan or scrap it altogether if nothing is working – which I certainly did on more than one occasion.

For more on Polya’s problem solving principals: http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/lieber/courses/materials/Polya_Father_of_ProblemSolving.pdf

Entry #1

As a technology paraprofessional (a fancy word for an aide) at an elementary school, I see my fair share of problems – many of which involve technology and its implementation while others deal more with the day-to-day dramas and politics that are inherent in any sort of organization.

One problem, which falls under the later group, is that I often feel treated like a second-class citizen by certain members of our staff and administration. While I am man enough to admit that this feeling may be due in part to a rather large chip on my shoulder thanks to what I perceive to be the hand that life has dealt me as well as certain decision I have made in the past that have led me to this situation, the fact still remains that I feel largely overqualified for the job I currently have and underappreciated in the work I do.

This all may seem like fairly petty ramblings thus far to you, the readers of this entry, but it does come in to play with a larger problem currently faced at the school I work at and deals with the first sort of issue that I mentioned: technology and its implementation. One recent and on-going example stands out…

This past summer, thanks in large part to a generous gift from the PTA, the school that I work at received SMART Board interactive whiteboards for all grade level classrooms and the majority of specials classrooms as well (the lone classroom not getting one was the Art room, which had just received an LCD projector a few months prior and I believe declined the offer for a SMART board). While the installation of the SMART boards went relatively smoothly over the course of the summer, the training and technical support that followed has been, in my opinion, less than stellar and not without some serious headaches for those using and, in my case, troubleshooting the issues that have arisen.

The issues have varied and been widespread: some pertain to hardware problems; some are related to the SMART software, while others seem to be due to particular teachers’ laptops and accounts. While not affecting everyone, there have been enough issues to make me question the way in which this initiative has been implemented and followed through.

Hindsight being 20-20, I can come up with an abundance of ways that some of these issues could have been prevented, or at the least, alleviated. First and foremost, going back to the more personal type of problem I spoke of at the beginning of this entry, I wish I were more involved with the training that was offered to the teachers and staff. Granted, as it turned out, the training that was offered was fairly minimal, but still my training was all done in a trial by fire sort of way even though our district’s technology website claims that “Technology Paraprofessionals receive on-the-job training in troubleshooting” and should be “well-versed in the specific problems and solutions to common problems in their building.” (http://www.wilmette39.org/techmedia/features/featuresupport.html).

A more collaborative approach would have been much more beneficial and I believe this to be true for all teacher’s aides and paraprofessionals. Having done a good deal of research on interactive white boards for my Master’s degree, I believe I could have offered much insight into their implementation at our school.

Yet no one asked.

Should I have been more assertive and contacted the higher-ups that were making these decisions? Perhaps, but again there is the whole second-class citizen complex that I deal with.

Looking at the clock, I see that my midnight deadline is fast approaching and I have yet to really tackle the meat of the blog entry’s prompt. So in the interest of cutting to the chase, I suppose a district-wide initiative would have to be instituted in order to look at the attitudes of and towards paraprofessional. Surveys would be done, data would be collected, taskforces would be formed, and the support staff union would get involved. Eventually a conclusion would be announce, small alterations would be made in job descriptions, and the issue would fade away or the cycle would repeat itself. In all honesty, I do not expect this to happen, nor do I think much good would come of it if it did.

Such is the life of a paraprofessional.

Further reading:

The Invisible Elves of the Inclusive School: http://www.eric.ed.gov:80/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/15/aa/17.pdf

The Paraprofessional Perspective: http://www.eric.ed.gov:80/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/27/ff/6f.pdf

The experiences of teacher aides who support students with disabilities and learning difficulties: A phenomenological study: http://eprints.qut.edu.au/25910/1/Patricia_Bourke_Thesis.pdf

Building Effective Inclusive Classrooms Through Supporting The Professional Learning Of Special Needs Teacher Assistants: http://www.ala.asn.au/conf/2003/broadbent.pdf

Teacher's aides filling growing gap: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2004-07-13-teachers-aides_x.htm