Standard 7: Assessment

The practitioner understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate the continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the learner.

September 26th- Thursday

Today in chemistry we passed back unit 1 exams. The students got to view their exams and the rubric to see how it was graded. A few students were upset when they got one point wrong and it brought them down to a level 1. I walked the students through how to read a rubric. I explained that “if you missed 1 question but it was a fundamental question that is why I could only give you a level 1 in that skill. Even if you got the advanced question right, it puzzles me that you couldn’t get the fundamental question correct. These topics will be in the unit 2 test and I want you to do well in that so you may spend some time viewing your exams outside of class and retake the sections you want to improve on.” My 1st and 2nd hour classes were the very upset with their grades and had the hardest time reading the rubric. Most likely because these students are very amped about their grades. However these students do not come in for extra help after school because they are very involved with their extra-curricular activities. A few parents have complained about the approach to grading, the standards based grading, is not making their students happy. So Ms. Brown had a few conferences during the week with these parents to straighten out what was communicated from student to parent. Ms. Brown and I talked about how the students blew out of proportion what happened in class, “I only missed 1 point and now I’m at a level 1.” The students had not clearly read the rubric they were give to see how to get a level 2, 3, or 4. 

After the exam, we administered a pre-assessment about the atomic structure. I had the students correct their own quizzes using the SMARTboard because I did not want to grade anything after grading all their exams and I wanted to know if anyone was currently at a level 4 so I could record it in the gradebook and give them an extension activity, rather than an activity that they already have mastered. I had about three students from each 1st and 2nd hour class that needed an extension activity. The rest of the students got a packet on isotopes and ions. These packets were POGIL activities, so inquiry based learning. The students had to challenge themselves to figure out the puzzles they were presented with. They also had to analyze data tables and make their own conclusions. Ms. Brown and I walked around the room if there were questions. But I was sure to set the expectation that I wanted them to challenge themselves. Most students got through the isotope packet and started the ion packet. What they did not finish in class they completed at home. Again they don’t receive points for any homework/assignments, only their test scores. So I just said, “these packets will be good for your notes to prepare you for the lesson tomorrow and your exam, be sure to complete it.”

Standard 2: Diverse Learners

The practitioner understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates instructional opportunities that are equitable and are adaptable to diverse learners.


September 25^th- Wednesday 
Today the classes were 30 minutes long. For today’s lesson we gave them a reading on The Mighty Atom, an excerpt from Bill Bryson's, A Short History of Nearly Everything. The reading was about 11 pages and most students completed it in class. The students were asked to take notes on 5 scientists: Dalton, Thomson, Rutherford, Bohr and Schrodinger. These names were written on the board. I told the students it would probably be easier if you took notes while reading the excerpt because you won’t have time to go back through the reading today. Some students were flustered because they weren’t able to focus and they felt timed. I had a few students request to take the article home and I said that there were not enough copies. I had one student ask about the vocabulary. Another student was not paying attention and was on his phone so I came over to Maurice and asked, “are you tweeting your notes?” He laughed and I asked, “what’s your hashtag?” He looked at his reading and made up a creative hashtag and we laughed about it. Then I said, “I’m flattered you would tweet your notes but I need to read them too so write them down please.” He nodded his head and put his phone away, I didn’t see it out the rest of the hour. Then 4th hour I had a student, Gage, who refused to do the reading because he thought it was lame and he claimed that he couldn’t read. I told him that it was a very interesting reading and I wouldn’t assign it if I didn’t think it was helpful. He said he couldn’t read, then I asked him how he was reading phone in class. He said it was easier to read his phone than the reading in front of him. I asked him to try to read the passage and I walked away. I saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere he was just looking around up at the ceiling. So I came back and asked how he was doing. He said he couldn’t read the passage, then he asked could I just read about these people on the internet using my phone? I said if he did that then he would be changing the source and how that would affect his notes. He said that it was too hard for him to focus on the passage in front of him and it would be easier to read off of his phone. So I made a deal with him that he could use his phone but I needed to see notes about each scientist before the period was over. He said okay and went to work. He had all of the notes I had asked him for by the end of the period and I could see him working during class. It didn’t look like he was on any social media. I couldn’t understand if he really needed a different source or he was just too tired to read the passage. In this case i comprimised with him because I had the option to keep arguing with him, allow him to do nothing and stare at the ceiling for the rest of the hour, or try to get him to take notes with such accomodations. I decided on the latter because he still was involvled during class time. 

September 27^th- Friday 
Today in Chemistry  I started the day with saying we are going to have some fun and learn some exciting things. I had a student ask enthusiastically, “are we doing a lab???” I said, “not today, but we are doing an experiment and taking notes on the atomic structure of the atom. I was pleased that this student associated “fun and exciting” with labs because those are my favorite lessons to plan! The students were actually intrigued by this lesson, probably because of the anticipatory set yesterday and the day before. A Lot of their reading correlated with the power point and then at the end of the lesson we talked about isotopes and ions. During the lesson we discussed J.J. Thomson and the cathode ray tube. Ms. Brown was able to find a cathode ray tube so we could show the experiment to the class. This moment made everyone get out of their seats and was exciting. At first I explained the experiment using the powerpoint so the students understood what was happening then I showed them the actual cathode ray tube and they could see it for themselves. A Lot of students were excited and that helped with explaining the rest of the lesson.  During 4th hour, after the lesson, we have announcements and I had 3 students come up to talk to me and ask questions about the lesson. We showed a clip in class “The Space Between” and it seemed to blow a lot of the students minds. That was the idea though, it talked about the real-size of an atom and the components of an atom. One of the professors explained that it may look like I’m sitting in this chair but I’m actually hovering in it because the electrons of the chair and I are repelling each other. Gage asked me questions, “how could you be hovering in your seat due to electrons repelling themselves, but defy gravity?” Then he took an expo marker and started to draw on the board. “If I draw on this board, am I really drawing on this board? Shouldn’t the atoms be falling down?” I was so excited that he was so involved and enthusiastic. We broke his question down into one main question, the atom vs. gravity.  We talked about the forces holding the atom together and how it is indivisible. Then we talked about how gravity is a weak force compared to the strong force of the atom. That made him nod and he agreed. I was so happy that Gage had asked a question like that. It means that he was involved and now I know what captures his attention.  He is “one of the boys” in my 4th hour class that you observed Thursday. He sits in the back row and causes some trouble with his attitude toward learning. If the lesson isn’t engaging he’s not motivated to help himself. For example, Wednesday he gave me rough time with the reading.

Standard 3: Instructional Planning

The practitioner plans instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, the community, curriculum goals, and state curriculum models.

Monday - Sept. 16th: This was my first day teaching the class with my own lesson plan. We started class with an anticipatory set - physical vs. chemical change lab. The lab was set up with 9 stations and the students rotated with their lab partners. The students were instructed to hypothesis a physical or chemical change and then record their observations at each station. The lab lasted for the first 20 minutes of class and then we started our notes about physical vs. chemical change/properties. I demanded that the class get out their note packets that we started Friday and turn to the correct page, while we were waiting for all the students to get back to their seats after lab. During 1st and 2nd hour the students were on cue. During 3rd and 4th hour the students were not following the lesson as well. I had to make comments such as, “you should be writing this down on your note sheet,” “this is an important definition,” “be sure to write down the examples so it is easier to differentiate between physical and chemical change.” I only made these comments because some of the students in the front row were just watching me write the notes and not following along. This experience reiterated to me that I need to speak clearly of my expectations to the class. Another example was during the lab, I didn’t make it clear first hour that the students should be cleaning up after themselves at each station. I learned that lesson and adjusted my instructions appropriately during 2-4th hour. The students were very receptive and only once in awhile forgot to clear their station. After notetaking the students had about 10 minutes of class left so I assigned their homework and asked them to work on it during class. I learned that most students did not complete their homework from over the weekend and had much to do so I decided not to correct the homework until the following day, Tuesday. During 2-4th hour I demanded that the students complete the entire packet during the class period after note-taking. I learned this early in the day that some students claimed to have completed the entire packet, but only completed one worksheet because they had homework for another class. I made it so that the students needed to show me they completed their packet so that they could work on a different activity (homework for another class).

Tuesday - Sept. 17th: In chemistry today we completed a boiling ice lab. The students had a fun time with it because they were out of their seats again and socializing in their lab groups. The task was to collect 2-3 ice cubes in a beaker, record initial temp, place on a hot plate and stir the thermometer continuously. Taking readings every minute, recording melting and boiling points, and then recording for another 5 minutes after boiling temp. Once students were done with their lab 1-2 hour went to their seats to complete their lab. However in 3rd hour the students just started to socialize so I made it required that they complete their lab and said that I wanted it completed in class today, to keep them on task. This made it easier for the students in 4th hour to know my expectations upfront at the beginning of class and they responded well to it. So I’ve been trying to adjust my expectations from 2nd to 3rd hour.  During FoS today the students took their plate tectonics retake exam and then we started the wattsville activity. The students had to look up vocabulary terms such as: Earthquake, Epicenter, Richter scale, Modified Mercalli Scale, Intensity, Isoseismal, etc.  The students were provided with a Modified Mercalli Scale, a map of Wattsville, and a script that had 24 callers describe the effects they felt and where they felt them. Then the students had to rate each callers’ description using the Mercalli Scale and write the intensity level on the map. This activity was an individual activity for the students because they had too much social time with the map activity. The students whined when we said individual work, but I think it was interesting to learn how the students did on their own. Some were very productive, some distracted other people from their work and others were not able to focus. For example, Paul could not focus on his activity at all during the day. I think he had a hard time with understanding the assignment so I worked with him for 5 minutes and then I went to the next person. I learned that Kyle has trouble with understanding instructions, he didn’t get all of the details I said. I expected this activity to be done by the end of class but the students weren’t close. I decided they would have time tomorrow to complete their activity in class. 

Wednesday - Sept. 18th: Today we discussed the boiling ice lab. I showed them a bar graph (student population’s favorite color) and asked what it was measuring. The students responded it was a poll. I explained how bar graphs are used to compare population interest. Then I asked why should we use a line graph? The students responded, “so we can see the change over time.” Then I showed them a line graph that had no axis labels, “what is this graph measuring?” The students couldn’t answer. I said, “I don’t know, I have numbers but they have no significance because I don’t know what it’s measuring.” Then I asked, “how could this graph be better?” The students responded with axis labels. Then I showed them another graph this one with axis labels, units, however the graph was on a small scale. I asked the students what was in parenthesis next to the axis labels, they responded with units and we talked about temperature, “You asked me yesterday which degrees celsius or fahrenheit you should measure in. Don’t you think the person who reads your graph is going to ask the same question?” The students all nodded their head. Then we discussed how it was hard to read the scale for the people in the back of the room. “How could we make this line graph more visually appealing?” The response was, “adjust the scale.” I had 1 or 2 students show me how they would adjust the scale. Then I showed them an appropriate line graph complete with a title. I asked the students to make sure their graphs resembled this graph and they made notes. Then we discussed possible error during their lab. I personally found this topic boring so I tried to make it interesting/exciting by walking around the room with my examples and provide them with some energy. I wanted to experiment and see if the students responded better when I was moving around or if I was at the front of the room taking notes on the SMARTboard. I think they responded better when I was moving around because they weren’t expecting it. Then we jumped into discussing states of matter: solids, liquids, gases and I handed out note packets. We took notes as a class on the smart board and I provided them with an analogy for each state of matter, that applied to them as a student. As a solid, “you are in your desk, not free moving, you’re not walking to get a kleenex or go to the bathroom, but maybe you are using your calculator like Shelton, or you drink a glass of water like Avery, or you comb your hair like Trey.” The students responded to my observations and giggled a bit, but the students that I mentioned lit up a bit. Then I explained, as a liquid picture yourself going to the cafeteria or your next class, you are free moving, however you can only move as fast as the person in front of you. You are confined to the hallway and you can’t just bump pass someone in front of you. You are a mannered particle. You’re better than that.” The students laughed at that analogy and they all nodded their heads in understanding so they continued to stay focused. Then I explained, “as a gas particle you are leaving school, you are no longer contained and you go to the parking lot and you disperse. You drive your car home, everyone goes their own separate ways.”

Thursday - Sept. 19th: For FoS I wanted to discuss the Wattsville activity but since the students didn’t complete all of it I wanted to test their understanding of the Modified Mercalli Scale. Each student had their own Mercalli Scale and I provided the students with images from the Japan earthquake/tsunami on the SMARTboard. As a class we decided what the intensity level was. When a student shouted out an intensity level they had to justify their reasoning. I felt this drove student participation and this class is very unmotivated however they are social butterflies. So this activity was a fun way to channel their social energy. After this presentation the students completed a seismogram activity where they had to identify the P and S waves and calculate the magnitude of the earthquake. The instructions were pretty explanatory and the students that finished first were very helpful when I asked for them to assist a fellow student that had a question, while I was helping other students. Today I passed back their plate tectonics retake quiz, some students did much better and some didn’t improve at all. If a student did not improve I instructed them to study their notes when they were done with the class period. Travis said he didn’t have his notes and I provided him with a copy, I didn’t want to provide him with an excuse to fail. He was very responsive and studied the notes I gave him. 

Friday - Sept. 20th: Today in FoS, I planned to have a presentation for the students to learn and be involved. We took notes on Earthquakes, I provided them with a fill-in-the-blank note sheet. The students followed along during the presentation and were highly involved. I would ask the class questions and if they answered I would refer to their answers throughout the lesson. So for example, I asked what the epicenter was since we defined it on our notesheet about earthquakes. Then I had travis say it was under the surface and I had Issac say it was on the center of the earth. I asked Travis to explain further what he was trying to say. He said it’s the most intense spot and it is from under the earth. I explained his answer to the class and said that Isaac is correct the Epicenter is on the surface of the earth, however underneath the epicenter, in the earth we call that the focus. Then I provided them with a picture so the class could see the correct understanding. Throughout the lesson we referred to the focus and the epicenter occasionally but when it was discussed I would say, “As Travis explained the focus is located…” and “As Isaac explained, the epicenter is located here and it…” When I would do this their face would light up and they would smile. I could only see this but I was happy that my words had a positive effect on them and it reinforced others to participate. I had DeVanna asking curious questions, I had Reese and Donald trying to make analogies for their understanding. Even if everyone wasn’t involved I still felt that their energy was palpable through the class. We even got to show a few clips in class, a tsunami in thailand and liquefaction in Christchurch. The students found these clips really appealing and intriguing, they started asking further questions. Today was a good day with these students I feel like I know what motivates some of them and I’m still trying to figure out how to differentiate for the other students. This week has been a blast and I’m going to do some more experimenting. 
x

Standard 4: Instructional Strategies

Instructional Strategies: The practitioner understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage students' development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.

"How are you selecting students to answer or volunteer in class? Do you use some sort of method (e.g., alphabetical; based on PBIS points; start with quiet students)?"

Monday: During the 4th hour I called on a student, Dane, multiple times because he kept answering my questions but not loud enough for the class to hear. So I asked Dane to repeat what he said and he got upset and defensive that I had called on him. He said that he didn’t say anything. Then I replied, “ you have the correct answer just say it louder so the class can hear.” He refused to say anything. During the lesson I asked specific questions and learned that I should ask broader questions so more students are encouraged to answer them. 

Tuesday: I found myself demanding interaction throughout the lesson. I asked the students to participate and answer questions. Most of my questions were specific but the answers were in their note packets, I didn’t think it was too much to ask the students to follow along with the lesson. So I asked the class, “I need all of you to pull out your note packets that you received yesterday. This lesson needs you to follow along and I want you to have these notes for your homework tonight.” The class responded immediately and got out their notes. Some students weren’t focused on the lesson and would talk while I was explaining the lesson. In order to confront those students I would ask them questions that were specific but would be easy enough to answer if they were following along with the notes. I picked on Losiel because he was having a side conversation and using his phone to text others. Ms. Brown says she has a rule about “no cellphones” but she never enforces it so it makes me feel like the bad guy if I call people out for having their cell phones present. Instead I’ve found myself asking students individually to put their cell phones away when they should be working on something else.

Wednesday: Most of the students in 4th hour had all of their worksheet completed. So I asked a few students, Terry and Tashay, if they would be comfortable giving their answers to the class. Terry said sure. When I called on him in class he was a little shocked because he wasn’t following along and didn’t know where we were then he was able to give me the correct answer. However he wasn’t capable of explaining it, so we went over it as a class. Tashay had asked a question on his worksheet about rounding sig. figs. When we walked through it together he got the answer and understood why. So I asked him if it would be okay for me to call on him during class for the answer, he said sure. When I asked him for his answer in front of the class he owned it. I just let Tashay give me the answer then I explained they “why” to the class. Today I experimented with different types of checks for understanding. I started asking the class to raise their hands all at once and give me a thumbs up if you’re good or a thumbs down if you’re not good. I started checking in with the class frequently because I noticed lots of students are on different levels. I found that it helps to explain concepts/answers in detail. However some students already understand the logic behind a concept/answer and they get bored when I slow the class down to explain the concept further/repeatedly for those students who are confused. I still need to work on asking different questions. Since I was on a time schedule today I could have asked my questions faster and demanded answers faster, instead of asking in depth questions as to “how did you get that answer?” Today I approached Dane in my 3rd hour and apologized to him for picking on him during class, I explained, “I didn’t mean to pick on you, I just thought I heard you saying the correct answers and I wanted you to tell the class because it is one thing to hear it from me, but another thing to hear it from you.” He said, “you didn’t tease me, I was saying the answer I just was surprised you asked me and I felt uncomfortable sharing my answer so I lied.” I replied, “That’s okay, but you deserve to get credit for your answers and I admire your knowledge I just want to build your confidence and have you share it with the class. Next time don’t be afraid to speak up.” He said, “all-right.” 

Thursday:  After confronting 3rd hour yesterday about their note sheets they were prepared for today’s lesson. I’m glad I spoke up during 3rd hour because it resonated with the students. Same with 4th hour, ever since my efforts with Dane the students learned that I expect them to participate. During the Percent Error lesson I explained the importance/value of percent error. I asked one student to stand in front of the class and have the class guess their height. Then I threw out a measurement 10 inches off.  My guess had a percent error about 30%. Where as, if I estimated the distance of my house (90 miles away), 10 feet off, not a big deal, there is an acceptable percent error. Percent error seemed to click for the students. During the lesson I asked the students to read the equation from their notes while I wrote it on the board. I wrote the equation without the absolute value brackets on purpose and I asked the class “what is my equation missing, look at the numerator.” Some classes knew they were called absolute value brackets, some did not, however they still replied with brackets. As a class we clarified absolute value as the absolute measurement from zero. Some class got through all 3 practice problems (3rd and 4th.)

Friday: As a class we defined matter as “anything that has mass and takes up space (volume).” Then we broke up matter into two different categories. During 1st hour the class knew everything about matter. 2nd hour knew almost everything. Both hours had great questions, however I found myself answering their questions instead of staying directed with the lesson. In order to adjust my lesson I didn’t ask the class as many questions during 3rd and 4th, instead I wrote the notes on the board and then I would provide a few examples. I didn’t leave the lesson open to discussion until we got to the practice problems. As a class we read the description of 10 different substances and classified them as different types of matter. After the practice problems I had the classes start on their homework problems. Lots of students took advantage of the time given to them. I enjoyed today’s lesson because no matter what I had people sitting on the edge of their seat. I don’t know if it was because the previous lessons were boring and in this lesson you could start to discuss elements. The class was great and there was a great energy. I liked asking the class questions about classification and I was proud when I heard their reasons for justifying their answers.

On a first name basis...

I just finished my second week at Washington High school and it feels so rewarding to know all 160 students' names. Yes, there are a few that I am still hesitant about, but I am confident that I know 99.5% of the students by their first name. This week has been amazing. I have found a comfort level with my students and have started to relax. My anxiety has started to fade and I am starting to smile. It is amazing how well the students respond to a smiling face. I have seen a drastic difference in a students attention and an increase in engagement when I smile. As I've gotten to know these students better I've noticed that certain classes know each other really well where some only know a few students in their course. This observation has made me want to put an extra effort to get to know the students but also encourage them to do group activities and get to know each other. Because I have felt the class dynamic sway the class attitude. My first and second hour courses are very social with each other and know each other well and they keep a positive attitude in class. These two classes are the most productive. Whereas, the third and fourth hour are anti-social with each other and have a bitter attitude in class. My goal is to find a way to make the students bond and test my theory, if the students will have a better attitude in the classroom if they know one another better. My first activity was "Epic Rock Paper Scissors," and the students loved it! Each student had to find a partner, challenge them at rock-paper-scissors, and then the winner had to challenge another winner and the loser had to become the winner's cheerleader. So by the end of the game there were two students that were challenging each other and had half of the class cheering them on. The winners, Jesse and Terry, walked out of the classroom feeling like champions. This week has been a great experience and I'm currently looking for my next activity!

Initiation for new teachers...

During my first week at Washington High School, the school hosts a fall sports assembly. The new teachers made an obstacle course for the students to complete and then they all have to dance like crazy. It was a pretty cool way to get the students involved and excited for the first football game! My cooperating teacher signed me up for dancing in front of the whole school... This was a great way to finish off my first week at Washington High School. I even got recognized for my talented moves by some of the first years later in class.

V-DAY!

Aug. 27th- Tuesday - First Day of School 
Today we had an early dismissal. Five classes of students, the biggest class in the chemistry department had 34 students. The freshman students were lost but there faces were priceless. I had one female student approach me with a disgusted look on her face, “excuse me, but they signed me up for weightlifting, I didn’t sign up for that.” My response was, “maybe you should try it, weightlifting is actually really fun, you may find you like it.” Then my co-operating teacher came over to talk to us and supported my statement by encouraging the student to try out her weightlifting class. I also had to take a student to the main office to get an ID card and I learned he was dual enrolled because he was homeschool until today. I felt anxious for him. All of the students were nice the first day and my co-operating teacher said, “the students are all well behaved because they’re too scared at the moment. They won’t test the waters until next week.” So this week we started discussing classroom management- which she would discuss with the class tomorrow. During the chemistry class periods we stood up and filed around the desks in a circular formation and shared our name and something we did today or during the summer that involved chemistry or science. The students had a fun time with it and the game ended up taking the whole 30 minutes that we were allowed for each period. In earth science we gave the students a different rock/mineral and had the students describe the rock with 3 adjectives and include one fact that the student had in common with the rock. Another thing that I learned today was that the students involved in student senate do not have a 7th period because that is when student senate meets. Therefore most students involved in student senate enroll in an early bird course which begins at 7:15am. My teacher said, “our biggest challenge is going to be having full attendance in the early bird course.” Following school hours we had our first student teaching seminar and it felt relieving to know that my fellow colleagues shared the same anxieties. I felt very supported by my fellow student teachers and the professors so I will be looking forward to the next seminar.