The teacher I worked with has implemented 4 unit organizers so far this year, including the one we made during the PD session. He implemented them with all his classes of 8th grade science students. He felt the students benefitted and he used it as part of his observation, which received good feedback since graphic organizers are one of the things administration is focused on. One of the biggest benefits to having the training seemed to be his growth is using the cue-do-review sequence during instruction to help students make connections as well as understanding and beginning to use the unit organizer as a routine in the classroom, instead of a one-off activity. With the help of the science coach the teacher was able to come to my room to observe the cue-do-review process and then take back some ideas to his classroom. We also discussed some ways to implement the unit organizer during various parts of the unit, instead of just as an introduction or just as an ending review of the material. The only other hurdle we faced was getting unit organizers made in time to get the copies sent, but copy limits were recently relaxed and upon request, even late request, copies were granted for graphic organizers.
