Inquiry Project

Sabrina Haines

Erin VanDemerkt

Part I. Driving Question

How do we determine what makes a great leader?

• This will require research on the kids part - kids may perceive different people as great leaders, and qualities always differ

• Leadership is always a “problem” to solve, as we can be affected by bad leaders - as child educators, we need to inspire them early to be great leaders.

• This is an extremely open-ended question, so the answers we can receive from our students is limitless, We need to push them to dig deep for traits within their leaders.

• Leadership skills are always a good thing to learn early in order for the students to evolve and develop them throughout their lives.

• Will this be relevant?

• Leaders are always relevant, and it’s what helps shape us, as people, and towns and countries. The students will eventually, if they haven’t already, have to be put into a leadership role; this could be voluntarily or forcibly it all just depends on the situation. Good and bad leaders can change the world.

Part II. Grabber

• Role-Play: Another teacher can come in to lead the class. We, as teachers, will step back and join the students as the other teacher begins a group leader lead activity. As the other teacher leads throughout the lesson, they students will need to look for and come up with one or more characteristics or what the teacher does that makes them a great leader.

• This activity will help the students identify first hand the characteristics of a great leader.

• Story:

• http://www.teamworkandleadership.com/2009/11/one-of-the-most-inspirational-teacherleadership-stories-ever-told.html

• A really unique story that can show what leadership is like in a different way, and starting in an elementary classroom. This shows what students can achieve, even when they are young. I find this very relatable and a very good story.

• Video: The Leader in me Video Preview: Elementary Students Teach the 7 Habits

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8tEkV_HVVI

• The video presents the seven habits of a good leader explained by younger students themselves. This is helpful because it presents the information from another student’s perspective, so not everything the students are learning is coming from an educator.

• Objectives: Identify the objectives explicitly taught or learned through discovery within this project design; identify the learning targets and the evidence of student mastery for each learning target within each objective. Be sure the project meets the criteria for standards-focused PBL.

• Determine the characteristics of a good leader and how to apply and develop them to their own leadership skills

• Learn how to cooperatively work in groups with other students

• Develop ideas to analyze and respond to ethical issues

• Identify and apply techniques or skills of a good leader into their lives or in the community

• 21st Century Skills:

• Critical thinking

• Creative thinking

• Communicating

• Collaborating

• Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness

• Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources

• Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’      conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes

• Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments

• Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity

• Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress

• Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources

• Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations

• Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation

• Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats

• Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning

• Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources

• Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources

• Promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information

• Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others

• Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community

• Resources needed:

• School-based Individuals: Teachers and elementary aged students

• Technology: laptops or iPads, Smartboard

• Community: Class

• Materials: Large piece of paper/poster board able to hang on the wall, markers, tape, laptops or iPads

Part III. Culminating Activity

• Students will make a presentation of choice (iMovie, Poster, Slideshow, Infographic) and they present it, whether in groups or as an individual, it’s up to the teachers. Have them make a google docs with their research so we can see who is typing and doing all the work if they are in groups.

• Groups decided by teachers

• Groups will be given time to think of characteristics of a good leader and make a list

• They will research what each of the words mean that they chose using the internet and write them down on a google doc

• They will then transfer the characteristics they researched into the presentation of their choice and explain why it is an important characteristic as well

• After the presentations are done we will create a master list of the characteristics a good leader possesses to hang it on the wall and remind students of these (we will put it up after the skit so the students don’t have a cheat sheet)

• We will ask the students to make a skit and perform it for us a couple days later to get a better understanding if they acquired the knowledge of what it takes to be a good leader and if it stuck with them or not

• Once everyone goes we will come back together as a class and I will take a class survey of how they feel their leadership skills are and have developed over the course of the last couple days

• We will ask them to incorporate these skills into their everyday lives and in the classroom to make it a better open leadership environment for all

Project Evaluation:

•  Rubric

• Assessment Plan: Define the products and artifacts for the project. Be sure to include a variety of assessments for learning that are closely tied to the content, learning skills and technology tools outcomes. The products and criteria must align with the objectives and outcomes for the project. Plan for assessments that provide student feedback as the project progresses and provide for a culminating appraisal of performance or product with an accompanying rubric that clearly assesses the learning targets. When building the culminating assessment, remember the acronym GRASPS (goal, role, audience, situation, products or performances, standards).

• The goal of this project is to teach students about leadership by giving them a role of freedom to put together presentations and skits to showcase what they have learned. Other classmates will be the audience, in which they watch a situation being played out by their peers in a performance. Or ‘skit’.

• The students will have to come up with a skit or teambuilding/leadership activity to express their knowledge of the leadership skills they had previously learned. This activity will take place a couple days after the culminating activity so we as teachers are able to assess our students if they had learned any new traits that make a good leader.

• I would ask the kids to fill out a sheet that I would provide for them asking them if they liked the activity and if they found it to be helpful. Then we would go over some traits of a leader and see how the students would rate themselves on a scale from 1-4. The students would hold up their fingers to show how confident they are in their abilities; 1 being they need help and 4 being they definitely exhibit this quality. We will use this chart to ask them how they feel about their leadership qualities.

How I Rank Myself In Qualities Of Being A Leader

Resources:

http://wvde.state.wv.us/insite/files/Leadership%20Lessons.pdf

https://k12.thoughtfullearning.com/FAQ/what-are-learning-skills