PART D- Findings and Implications

Formative Implementation:
The project is still in the midst of being implemented.  Because I work with all teachers in my building as a technology coach, I do not have the ability to plan projects at will.  I opted to use this Scratch project for the WPP assignment because the plans for teaching kids computational thinking skills through interdisciplinary connectedness fit within the task of solving a problem.  The Scratch project, however, did not fit within the time parameters of the WPP assignment or the CEP 812 class.  I knew going into this assignment that some of the project would be left to complete after the conclusion of CEP 812.  

From my perspective on what we’ve taught and completed so far, the project did get implemented as planned.  I have been working with the math and social studies teachers and we have followed the schedule we created during the planning phases of the project.  The students had introduction lessons in Math for two weeks and began creating their Scratch animations in social studies during the third week.  They will continue to work two days per week (one is math and one in social studies) to build their projects based on the Civil War. 

We did make one minor change in the focus of the project.  The social studies teacher opted to offer 5 different choices for students to base their projects on.  Initially, he wanted to just have students apply their understanding of Pickett’s Charge to their Scratch project.  After our most recent planning meeting, he felt strongly about giving kids a choice so we opted to allow students to pick an event to re-create in Scratch.  Students were given the following choices:  Pickett’s Charge, The Gettysburg Address, Little Round Top, or an Interactive Civil War Map (Depicting battles, movements, industry, death tolls, etc.).  


Summative Evidence of Success:
The implementation of the project up to this point has been successful.  Obviously we do not have finished products to assess, but when looking back at the goals of the project (fostering interdisciplinary contentedness and computational thinking skills) I see signs of success.  Up to this point, at my school, the only interdisciplinary work teams have done has been focused on a novel.  Typically the Language Arts teachers read a text that relates to topics in social studies, and that is the extent of the interdisciplinary project.  I set out to foster a real, meaningful connection between content areas and I believe I was successful.  Not only did the teachers work together to plan the project and implementation schedule, but the students are accessing Scratch and learning the program in both Math and Social Studies.  In addition to working on their projects in both classes, I have observed students engaged in both math and social studies content in both classrooms.  Students are using content language from both subject areas whenever they work on their projects, and this is a success.  It has been pleasantly interesting to me, when observing students build their projects, to see them utilizing language and content knowledge from both subject areas as they discuss the mechanics and background of their projects. They are utilizing terms and concepts without being prompted and the process feels very organic.  

In addition to seeing students use their knowledge of Scratch, social studies, and its connection to real-world math, I see success when I observe students coaching each other.  Not only is it apparent that they are utilizing and applying content knowledge, but their interaction leads me to believe that they are engaged and motivated to use Scratch.  Students are proud to show one another their projects and they have also been eager to have each teacher track their progress and various “cool” things they figured out how to do.

One other indicator of success I have observed is the change in attitude and motivation of students who often struggle.  They are excited to come to class on Scratch days, which is not typical for many of them.  In addition to being excited for Scratch days, this particular group of students is putting out quality work.  This is not a shock that these students are completing quality work, instead it is validation that they are capable.  Not only is this evident to teachers, but to the students as well. Although not complete, their animations or games are clearly showing their understanding of social studies concepts and of the Scratch program itself.  


Different Approach:
I would definitely do this project again.  I do not feel as though I would need to make major changes to the project.  From the social studies and math perspectives, the students are coming with the prior knowledge, so I would not necessarily change those content-area parameters.  From the Scratch perspective, I may teach the concepts of Scratch differently.  Ideally, I would do this project in my own classroom and have the liberty to schedule time as I wish.  It has been tough to try to fit this project within two different teaching schedules.  If I were re-teaching the project in my own classroom, I would have taught the introduction of Scratch all at once, and on consecutive days.  The kids do recall functions, but for some, remembering what we did a whole week ago is taxing.  By teaching the introduction to Scratch on consecutive days, the kids would get the basics quicker and be able to begin building projects sooner.  If I were ever to do this type of interdisciplinary project again, using Scratch, I would suggest, to the teachers involved, that we try to schedule more concentrated time at the start.   


Lessons Learned:
I am a very methodical teacher, and like to present content in a way that allows skills to build upon each other.  Teaching Scratch has been a whole different ball-game for me.  Yes, many of the functions do build upon one another, but it is not linear.  When teaching Scratch it is important to identify code that produces basic actions.  Giving kids those basics is key.  Although it was difficult for me to come to terms with this reality, I did learn that a teacher cannot possibly teach all of Scratch in a limited time, so its important to identify those basic pieces of code or actions and figure out how to equip students with the skills they can then use to build upon.  Along the same lines, teachers must be aware that students cannot learn Scratch in a day, instead its a process.  


Future Scratch Projects:
I do not know if I will ever be presented with an opportunity to do this same project again, but I would certainly suggest using Scratch as a way to integrate technology into any classroom.  Virtually any content can be brought to life through Scratch.  I would also definitely promote Scratch as a tool for interdisciplinary projects in the future as well.  Oftentimes teachers want to attempt these types of cross-curricular projects but it is a challenge to meaningfully plan such projects.  Using Scratch as a vehicle for that interdisciplinary collaboration has worked extremely well, and I would definitely use this tool again to promote this type of learning.  Not only are the kids engaged in meaningful technology, but they are truly applying and using content from each discipline.  

My job and role within my school is ever changing.  Because the teachers involved in this project experienced Scratch from a co-teaching perspective, I believe they would have the confidence to teach it on their own in subsequent years.  With this in mind, I do not know if there would ever be another opportunity for me to duplicate the project exactly.  I would, however, recommend this type of project again.  Aside from tweaking some of the timing and logistics of the project, I do not necessarily feel like any aspect of it needed major changes.  If more teachers and students had greater exposure to Scratch at my school, I may alter the assignment parameters a bit.  If the students were skilled in Scratch, I would create a checklist or rubric of specific codes or actions students must include or be able to execute in their projects.