Jenny+Nabb

TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION FOR MEANINGFUL CLASSROOM USE
** A Standards-Based Approach ** = Unit Plan Jenny, This sounds like a true problem-based set of lessons. The students will learn a lot, find it interesting and actually contribute to their community. I'm impressed. Cathy =

Jenny, I think this is a great unit. Are there schools around you that offer 'Turf Management' degrees. I know Penn State & Clemson do.

We just just started an Ag. program at my school in South Carolina & the teacher is offering a free landscape redesign plan to a faculty member based on an application process. Sounds like a very cool idea. I can't believe Iowa does not have core standards for an Ag program at the high school level. I was born in the Quad Cities, Bettendorf, but haven't lived there since 1971. Ray.

|| Related Lessons: Graphic Materials and Techniques, Principles of Design, The Outdoor Room || ** Content Standards: ** (There is not a set of required standards for agriculture in my state. Iowa is working towards a core curriculum but it is not yet required. I have identified the areas of the [|Iowa Core Curriculum] that this unit meets.)
 * Unit Title:
 * The Maquoketa Beautification Challenge **
 * Grade: 10-12 || Subject: Landscape Design Is this the name of your class? ( I didn't mean to change the color of your work!) ||
 * GOALS ||

Technology Literacy  Employability Skills  **1** **Creativity and innovation ** 3 Research and information fluency ** ||  5 Digital citizenship **6 Technology operations and concepts** ||   Restoring Maquoketa’s Outdoor Spaces is a problem-based lesson that is part of a larger unit called the Maquoketa Beautification Challenge. This lesson presents the problem to the students and has them learn content as they follow the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy’s “ [|PBL Teaching and Learning Template] .” The problem based learning activity is the foundation for the other lessons within the unit. Students meet during an 80 minute block every other day. The unit will last approximately 3 weeks. The instructor will need to be flexible with the suggested dates to meet the needs of the students. This unit will provide students with an authentic medium for learning the content material while building their skills with technology and collaboration. Other lessons in the unit will relate to online collaboration and digital storytelling.
 * Demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
 * Use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.
 * Apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
 * Demonstrate critical thinking skills using appropriate tools and resources to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems and make informed decisions.
 * Communicate and work productively with others, incorporating different perspectives and cross cultural understanding, to increase innovation and the quality of work.
 * Demonstrate leadership skills, integrity, ethical behavior, and social responsibility while collaborating to achieve common goals. 
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">ISTE NETS-S **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">2 Communication and collaboration
 * 4Critical thinking, problem-solving, & decision-making**
 * Unit Description **
 * |||||||| <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; text-align: center;">ACTION ||
 * || **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Date ** || **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Schedule of lessons ** |||| **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Materials & Resources needed ** ||
 * || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">

Day 1

Several class periods 1-5

Day 3

Day 5

Days 6-8

Day 9-10

Day 11 || **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Restoring Maquoketa’s Outdoor Spaces ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> Before Class Preparation Prepare a document describing the intent of the city council to improve the outdoor areas of the community. Create a grading rubric to be provided to students early in the PBL. Investigate the potential of [|Rubistar] for the rubric creation. Create a reference document for students to explain the steps of [|PBL Teaching and Learning Template]. This process will need to be explained to student prior to the unit.

Step 1: Meet the Problem

“How can we beautify the public, outdoor areas of Maquoketa?” Many of the outdoor, public areas within the city of Maquoketa have become quite run down. The city council is requesting direction on how to improve these areas so that the residents of Maquoketa can utilize them to their fullest. Beautifying these areas will aid in tourism and attract people as they consider relocating. Your design team will conduct the necessary work to create a proposal for presentation at the council meeting. The most attractive, creative, and affordable project proposals will be awarded the funds to install the design.

Students will be provided with time to reflect on those outdoor spaces that they would like to see landscaped in Maquoketa. They will create an individual list to share with the class. This list will be the first entry in their journal. A journal entry will be created at the conclusion of each work period with open ended prompts provided.

Step 2: Know/Need to Know Students will brainstorm a list of outdoor public areas that they would like to create a landscape design proposal for. Once the class list has been generated, students will identify the project they would like to work on. Groups will be created according to interest with 3-4 students each. After the groups have been established, they will create lists to identify what they know, what they need to know, and what they need to do. These lists will guide students in the action to be taken.

Step 3: Define the Problem Statement Students work in their teams to further define the problem. They will list the task and the steps to take for completion. Possible steps include: site analysis, soil testing, sketches of possibilities for the site, plant selection, hardscape material identification, design selection, quantity of material needed, budget, final design drawings, and presentation of project.

Step 4: Gather Information Students will create a plan for gathering the needed information. This will include research on the internet, site visits, and citizen interviews. Much of this work will need to be done outside of class time. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">What will you do about students without Internet or ones who do not participate <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">? Do all of your students have equal access to the internet at home? During a study hall at school? Before school int eh library? When will your students be able to accomplish this if they do not? Technology: Internet, spreadsheet for compiling data, flip video and digital camera for interview and site collection.

Step 5: Share Information A lesson on social networking will be inserted here. Students will utilize a team wiki to share the information they have found. This will be especially important for creating a plant list. Students will need to research the types of plants that they would like to use in the design. Each plant included on the wiki must be appropriate for our hardiness zone. Students should include the following information for each plant: height, diameter, description, and unique qualities. This will aid in the creation of the design. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">A local landscaper or master gardener might volunteer to work with the students here. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">

Step 6: Generate Possible Solutions Students will use the information that they have learned to create design proposals. Each group will generate 3-4 varied proposals. Ideally the teams will work together to construct these initial designs but they can determine how to handle this. The proposals should include plan view sketches that can be scanned and uploaded to the wiki.

Step 7: Determine Best Fit Solution The teams will create a decision making matrix to identify the design they would like to present to the city council. The team will evaluate each design based off of criteria they discovered through their research. The teams will then finalize the design drawings, budget, and other support materials.

Step 8: Present the Solution Each team will prepare a 4-8 minute presentation for the council. Every member of the group will participate in the presentation. Teams can determine the format that they want their final presentation to take. Teams will also be creating a digital story in the form of a public service announcement about the project they are proposing. Actual members of the city council, community, and business professionals will be invited to evaluate the presentations.

Step 9: Debrief the Problem These stakeholders will assist the teacher in recognizing the accomplishments of the teams. Students will reflect on the content material that they have learned. This will first be done independently by completing a reflection document that I will provide them. They will be keeping a journal throughout the experience so that reflection is an ongoing process. The journal can be reviewed by the student in order to complete the final reflection form. |||| <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">

City Council Document

Rubric

PBL Teaching and Learning Steps

The teacher should have several areas in mind to guide students if needed.

Teams will use Microsoft Word to create lists of what they know, what they need to know, and what they need to do.

Microsoft Word

Soil Test Kits Internet Excel Flip video Digital Camera

Internet Wiki Sites

Landscape Design Tools (drawing boards, triangles, scales, etc…)

Decision Matrix Template Drawing Tools Excel

PowerPoint Publisher Flip Videos Models Internet

Reflection Document Journal Entries || <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: left;">**Technology:** Technology will play an integral role in this lesson and unit as a whole. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2010) recognize the potential technology has to promote engagement, self-directed learning, and creativity. As I developed this unit, I kept these three areas in mind in an effort to enhance them in my students. For this lesson, technology is used to collect and analyze data and to create products for the presentation. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Much of the customization in this lesson comes through allowing the students a great deal of choice throughout the PBL. Students are given choice in: identifying the area they would like to create a proposal for, how and what types of research should be conducted, and the format the final presentation will take. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Formative assessment will be critical to this unit. Much of this will be done through informal observations and discussions. This will allow the instructor to identify support that an individual or group may need. The journal entries will allow the instructor great insights into what students are learning. The final grade for the lesson will be based primarily off of the project rubric presented to students early in the lesson. Short quizzes will be developed to assess student comprehension of the material as recommended by Peggy Ertmer (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: center;">
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; text-align: center;">MONITOR ||  ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Customization: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Assessment(s): **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> ||  ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; text-align: center;"> ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; text-align: center;"> ||
 * || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> ||

|| <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> || <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">





References <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. IMSA's PBLNetwork. (n.d.). IMSA's PBLNetwork. Retrieved December 3, 2009, from [] Iowa Core Curriculum - Home. (n.d.). Iowa Core Curriculum - Home. Retrieved December 3, 2009, from http://www.corecurriculum.iowa.gov/ Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009a). Program eleven. Spotlight on Technology: Social Networking and Online Collaboration, Part 1[Motion picture]. //Integrating technology across the content areas//. Baltimore: Author. Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009b). Program nine. Spotlight on Technology: Problem-Based Learning, Part 2[Motion picture]. //Integrating technology across the content areas//. Baltimore: Author. Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009c). Program ten. Spotlight on Technology: Social Networking and Online Collaboration, Part 1[Motion picture]. //Integrating technology across the content areas//. Baltimore: Author. RubiStar Home. (n.d.). RubiStar Home. Retrieved December 3, 2009, from [] Wikis in Plain English - Common Craft - Our Product is Explanation. (n.d.). Common Craft - Our Product is Explanation. Retrieved December 11, 2009, from http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english YouTube - Google Docs in Plain English. (n.d.). //YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.//. Retrieved December 11, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqUE6IHTEA