Wicked Problem Project Part A

The Problem:

My wicked problem within my French class is teaching grammar.  Grammar tends to be one of the hardest concepts for students to understand because it tends to be very different then in English.  Also, teaching grammar can be very difficult and many teachers just find themselves placing the rules on the board and telling the students how to do it.  This way of teaching grammar is very one sided and is usually very boring so I hope to find a way to change this up.

In order to solve this problem I want to try and not only make learning grammar more interactive but also create more time in class to actually practice using the grammar.  Many students learn the rules and think oh I got this, this is easy then when it comes to using it they freeze up.  I have lots of ideas on things I want to try to make learning the grammar more interactive but for the purposes of this project I'll just focus on a few.  Firstly, I've always been very interested in the idea of a flipped classroom where the majority of the lectures and learning take place outside of the classroom while class time is dedicated to practice. Many of my students last year said they struggled at home with their homework because there was no one there to help them through it.  My hope is that by turning homework into classwork my students will have a better chance of mastering the lesson.  Another piece of technology I'd like to experiment with is Poll Everywhere and turn their phones into tools for learning.  Poll Everywhere allows you to place a multiple choice question in a PowerPoint, Prezi, etc. and your students will then text their answer to Poll Everywhere and the results will be displayed on the board.  This is a great way to see if your students are understanding the material as you go along and make adjustments if they are not. 

The Plan:

During this course I hope to start making a few podcasts that I can use while teaching select grammar topics my students tend to struggle with.  I know that creating a flipped classroom is a lot of work so I'd like to start with some of the more tricky concepts on gradually add on more as time goes by.  My ultimate goal for my students is that they get as much time as they need in class to feel confident with each topic and hopefully by learning the material at home where they can rewatch it as much as they need and simply reviewing in class they will have that opportunity.  I would also like to play around with Poll Everywhere during this course and research other types of technology that can help solve my wickedly boring grammar problem. 

The Resources:

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2009, May). Too Cool for School? No Way! Learning & Leading with Technology, (36)7. 14-18.

Harris, J., & Hofer, M. (2009). Grounded tech integration. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(2), 22 -25. Retrieved from http://find.galegroup.com.proxy2.cl.msu.edu/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=AONE&docId=A209406804&source=gale&srcprod=AONE&userGroupName=msu_main&version=1.0