Co-Planning and Co-Teaching Thinking Critically with AAPS Quarterly

Our goal was to strengthen co-planning and co-teaching, but we discovered so much more! Each quarter, our AAPS teacher, Mrs. Valerie Taplin, introduces a critical thinking lesson to students in Grades K-5, covering topics like ThinkLaw lessons, computational thinking skills, and cross-curricular subjects. Mrs. Taplin collaborates with Educational Technologist (ET) Tricia Willis to strategically plan the digital skills to be integrated using the SAMR model. These layers of the lesson are then co-planned with classroom teachers to best suit whole group and center needs. The classroom teacher prepares their portion of the lesson for co-teaching. Professional development is seamlessly integrated as teachers practice new technology and innovative ways to utilize existing digital tools for these lessons.

In support of the WPES Book Club's annual event, the Quarter 4 AAPS LOS1 lessons embraced themes of innovation, technology, STEM job attributes, space exploration topics, and problem-solving skills. The school-wide chosen book, A Rover's Story, perfectly complemented the DoDEA curricular topics planned by Mrs. Taplin for Quarter 4. Established routines and behaviors of rotating in centers contributed to the success of these offerings. Here are some examples of the lessons and digital tools embedded in the co-planned and co-taught lessons.

Kindergarten and First Grade Center Rotations: Students applied their background knowledge of daily routines to understand coding loops and the importance of individual steps in a path for effective communication. The classroom teacher divided the whole group into two centers: one for the loop lesson and one for coding using Bee Bots. Co-teachers Mrs. Taplin and the classroom teacher led a center using Lumio and the Smartboard to help students rewrite the code for steps in a dance from the Code.org lesson, “Getting Loopy,” and the Macarena dance. Volunteer students recorded quick Google Vids to teach others about loops, providing examples and explaining their everyday use.  Meanwhile, the ET and paraprofessional teacher co-taught the Bee Bot lesson center. Students worked in pairs to communicate the path needed to

 code the Bee Bot to reach a goal from a card. One student planned the path using a whiteboard and expo marker, while the robot operator entered the code. Debugging the path if the code was incorrect was part of the communication process practiced. Volunteer students recorded Google Vids to document the Bee Bot details.

Second Grade Center Rotations: Second grade students rotated through three centers focusing on communication skills: Code.org’s “Space Hello World,” Bee Bots, and Code.org’s “Cup Stacking,” building on the lessons from kindergarten and first grade. The classroom teacher led the Bee Bot center with energetic spirit, guiding the robot from the start position to the goal. The ET facilitated the block coding lesson for space costumes/sprites and their behavior changes using student Chromebooks and Code.org software.  The AAPS teacher led the “Cup Stacking” center where students developed algorithms for partners to follow in constructing a specific cup stacking picture. Eager students volunteered to record Google Vids for these centers to capture the learning process.

Third Through Fifth Grade: Students engaged in a project analyzing character traits essential for successful colonization of Mars, the ocean, or space.  They collaborated with peers to discuss the significance of their chosen traits, emphasizing why they believed their selected trait was the most crucial for a team colonizing Mars. Additionally,  students considered the various jobs that would be necessary on Mars and identified the character traits required for those roles. Utilizing Google Vids, students creatively expressed their

 thoughts and analyses, enhancing their communication skills through technology. They participated in discussions about the prospect of traveling to Mars, justifying their positions.  Students articulated potential negative, positive, or interesting aspects of Mars travel, demonstrating a  strong understanding of the complexities involved in colonization projects and the importance of character traits in achieving mission success.