CEP 812: Wicked Problem Project

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To view the text of my problem and solution as presented in the above video, please click here.

The Problem

As a first grade teacher, I am constantly trying to get in contact with parents. Although we do meet twice a year for conferences and I am always available to set up meetings with parents, it is difficult to share student work regularly.  I send home weekly folders filled with student work, but many times, it is still in the same place in the child’s backpack on the following Monday. Papers have been crumpled, lost, or neglected completely. According to research, “when a child's teacher and parents make a mutual commitment to the best interests of the child, he feels supported on all fronts. With at least two adults as caring guides, he feels that he is competent to learn, but more importantly, he feels supported as a person” (Parent Teacher Communication and How It Benefits the Child). As student work is sent home in Friday folders, I often wonder how much of the work is viewed by parents. In addition, even if a parent takes the time to look through the work, how often do they sit down with their child to provide feedback? I am a firm believer that parent-teacher-student communication plays a major role in student achievement and learning. “It is important to understand that when parents and teachers communicate, it provides an opportunity for the child to reach their maximum potential both in the classroom and outside of the classroom. This is because of the fact that when regular communication is engaged in, a relationship will form. This relationship will assist the child in realizing that they have a solid support system that is working together for their benefit. Children who know that their parent and their teacher communicate often have been found to perform better academically” (Shiflett). I had been searching for a tool that would support the TPACK framework, promote parent-teacher-student communication, and increase student learning, achievement, and confidence.

A Solution

As a solution to my problem, I have linked a classroom wiki to our class website through Wikispaces. Wikispaces is geared toward educational uses and is a free site that parents can access at any time of the day. Parents must sign and return a permission form allowing their child’s work to be posted online. Many of the student assignments will be web based, including Glogster, Voicethread, Stapleless Books, Storybird, and Photostory 3. Instead of parents having to track down information all over the web, I have included a table so that all links will be stored in one central location. To ensure student confidentiality, each child will be assigned a random number once a permission form is turned in. Only parents will know their own child’s number and although all work can be accessed because it is a wiki, parents will not know whose work is whose. Parents will access student work and post a comment to the discussion forum. They will list the student number followed by a positive and/or constructive comment, which the students will then view and respond to. I also will be commenting to each child’s work to promote parent-teacher-student communication. I am aware that not all of my parents have access to a computer and the internet, so I gave suggestions as to how they could still take part in the communication process. One option would be to visit a local library. Another is to visit the classroom before or after school, during lunch, or special area times. It is important that parents realize the importance of the wiki, their role in the communication process, and how all parents can access the site. At the beginning of the school year, the students will take part in a survey which will help me to determine whether or not parents would appreciate a classroom wiki, if they would visit the site, and how accessible the technology is to them. If parents are not interested, I will inquire as to why they may not want to contribute. Is it because they are too busy? Do they not have internet access? This survey will help me to determine which route to take with my project, and how to find ways for all parents to be enthusiastic about the technology.

There are specific ways in which I will measure the success of this solution. My goal is to have 80% of parents view and comment on student work at least once a month beginning in January. I realize that it may take time to encourage all parents to use this new tool, and I want to give all parents the chance to contribute, even if they do not immediately join the wiki discussion. I also hope that parent-teacher-student communication will take place mainly through this tool rather than emails. Finally, it is my goal that all students participating in the wiki project will show a change in self-confidence and achievement by the end of the school year. This will be measured through parent and student attitude surveys given throughout the school year. I also anticipate that not all students will be given permission to post to the wiki. These students will take the same surveys and I will be able to effectively measure whether or not parent and teacher support play a role in student attitude, achievement, and overall presentation of projects. One summative assessment that I will be using will be accessing the wiki to view student postings. Was the student able to upload their work successfully, read comments from family and friends, and respond through the site? I will be creating a rubric to determine whether or not students completed these tasks for each project. I will also be conducting observations on the final work of my students. Do the students who have posted their work online receive a score of 80% or higher? How do the students who do not have parental support score? Were these students as motivated as others to complete their work? The focus of my project is the effect of positive parent-teacher-student communication, so it is necessary to measure the attitudes and success of students to fully understand whether or not my goals were met. I have also taken into account the importance of the TPACK framework to aid in the creation of my wiki. It is crucial that in order to have an effective project, technology, content, and pedagogical knowledge are equally present.

What is the TP knowledge for the solution?

Although a specific teaching strategy is not being used with this tool, parent-student-teacher communication acts as a separate strategy. It is crucial that students feel their work and learning is important, and through strong communication between his teacher and parents, it is my goal that the student will excel in his learning due to the support of others. I have chosen to use Wikispaces to allow the parents of my students to view and comment on their child’s work. Using a classroom wiki as a communication tool will allow all parents the opportunity to get in contact with me at any time of day. All families many not have access to a computer, but all do have the option of using a public computer at a local library. Parents may visit our classroom before or after school, or at lunch or special area times as well. It may be a bit more difficult for these families to access the website but it is entirely possible.

What is the TC knowledge for the solution?

This technology allows for the content of my problem to be more intellectually accessible. From a representation standpoint, this classroom wiki will promote parent-teacher-communication in all areas of education. It allows for easy access in a clean and well organized format. While parents are still encouraged to come to school, send an email, or call, I would argue that keeping all information in one central location will be the most logical step. The content for my Wicked Project is not directly tied to state standards, but rather, promotes student success in the classroom. After researching the importance of parent-teacher-student communication, I now more than ever believe that student achievement has a strong tie to parental involvement and communication. Students must understand that their work is valued and that they have support available at school and in the classroom. Furthermore, if a student understands that his teacher and parents are working together to promote his success, that student is bound to feel more motivated and supported as a learner. Using this technology gives parents a new way to communicate with the teacher and student. In previous years, the parents of my students have had the option to either email or call me. Once I have given a tutorial on how to navigate through the website, the parents should be comfortable using this as a form of communication. I am confident that any parent willing to use this technology will not only become more involved in their child’s learning, but also provide a sense of support for the student. Using this technology will promote the knowledge of content across the curriculum. Projects will be posted for all subject areas and through parent-teacher-student communication, I expect higher student achievement and a positive attitude regarding projects and their relation to the world.

What is the PC knowledge for the solution?

The pedagogical choices that I have made will make the content more intellectually accessible as well. If the parents give permission for their child to post their work on the website, the students will begin to choose which pieces they would like to publish. This way, the students are more invested in their work because they will be able to share their work with family as well as their teacher. I have also created a blog section of the website where students can write to other classmates with questions and comments. Of course, these comments will need to be closely moderated and strictly related to education.  The students will be able to communicate with classmates from home or with their teacher if they have a question about an assignment. The students will be addressing standards across the board depending on each assignment, as well as advancing their technology skills through communication on the website. In addition, all learning will become more interactive and meaningful when posted to the classroom website. I am curious as to whether or not the students with parental support of the technology will advance in their learning skills, and I also am eager to view participation among the parents, teachers, and students.

I am very much looking forward to implementing this project in the fall. By balancing the need for parent-teacher-communication with the TPACK framework, I am confident that those participating in the classroom wiki will benefit greatly. Through formative and summative assessments, I will be able to accurately determine whether or not my goals were met, and how this communication piece effects student achievement. I appreciate the opportunity to construct a classroom tool that has been dissected and commented on by peers and my instructor. Through these revisions, I am certain that this project will be beneficial for me as an educator, the parents, and most importantly, my students. 

To view a PDF of my work cited page, please click here.  Please click on Part A, Part B, Part C, or Part D to view posted revisions based on colleague and instructor comments.