101. The Transformative Power of AI

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Folks, let’s face it. Our classrooms are going to look a little different this year. AI, specifically ChatGPT, is going to change the way we design learning experiences and assess student mastery. I’ll be honest, when I first explored the ChatGPT platform I was terrified. As I have dug deeper into the technology and its capabilities, I realized that while it does pose significant challenges — it also presents us with some pretty amazing opportunities. In this series, we will explore what AI is capable of, its implications in the classroom, and how it can benefit both teachers and students. Let’s start by examining where we have been, where we are currently, and looking forward to where we are going. Whether this is a trip you wanted to go on or not, the AI train has left the station and it is time for all of us to jump on board. From Card Catalogs to Artificial Intelligence I belong to the micro-generation called Xennial. Xennials are considered to be a “bridge” between Generation X a...
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#24. Let's Focus on Flexing Out

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One of the most common questions that I am asked about blended learning is, "What are flex days are how do you use them?"


Flex days are a defining feature of blended learning at my school.  A flex day is a period in which the student has an assignment to be completed, but they can work on it at home or elsewhere in the building.

I use flex days to provide the students the opportunity to develop their executive functioning skills, provide them with flexibility within their school day, and increase student agency.  It also provides me with time to provide individualized support to students. I am always in the classroom and available to my students during this time.

Flex day assignments are designed to build on previously acquired knowledge, are self-paced and provide the students choice about when, where and how they will complete the assignment.

I use the following assignment as a flex day assignment in AP Psychology when we learn about Erik Erikson's theory of Psychosocial development.  The Instagram page, "Humans of New York" inspired this assignment.  There are three components to this assignment: a series of interviews, a photo assignment, and a written analysis.


1. Interview Portion: Each student is required to interview 2 people from varying age groups.  They ask them a series of questions including;
-What is your biggest accomplishment?
-Who is the most influential person in your life?
-What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were younger?

2. Photo Portion:  The students create a "Humans of Cary-Grove" post using an Instagram template.  The post includes a meaningful, interesting or revealing quote from the interview and a picture of the subject. 

3. Written Portion: This is how the students demonstrate their understanding of the stages of Psychosocial Development.  For each subject interviewed, the student must identify which stage of Erikson's theory applies to the subject and determine if the subject demonstrates the characteristics of this stage.  They must provide evidence from the interview to support their answer.  

Why I love this assignment for a flex day is that the students can interview subjects within and outside of the school building.  This provides them with a more diverse view of human development than if they just conducted their interviews at school. By allowing the students control over aspects of their learning, they are developing executive functioning skills necessary to become independent learners.

Questions? Comments?  Please let me know.  I'd love to hear from you!

Resources
I'd like to thank Nikki Gardner (Sky View High School, UT) for providing me the inspiration behind this assignment.  It was based on her project, "Humans of Logan Park."
I pulled some of my interview questions from the "Legacy Project."  You can find additional questions here: https://legacyproject.org/guides/lifeintquestions.pdf



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