These last two weeks have been our home stretch. I let the students teach last week and the strategy seemed to work. Their science teacher last year had them teach each other in front of the class so it was easy to get them to do it for me (many had been wanting to do this for awhile). It allowed them to put their energy into talking to the class rather than each other and many did a pretty good job. I could tell during our recent review days that many had gotten many of the concepts they taught to the class.
The Pluto debate went pretty well, too. Luckily, I found a site that had middle school debate team resources and used many of their ideas to teach students how to support their reasons with facts. We did a few practice arguments on whether we should eat school lunch and wear uniforms. Many got into the debate including one of my newer students who seemed kinda quiet--he got up during the debate and spoke the best out of all the students in the class. He had a good tone, spoke slowly, and was pretty good at repeating key points. I hope to have more of my classes teach and debate during the next semester as the students seemed to like both and stay focused on what we were doing.
In getting ready for our end of semester tests we had a review day yesterday where we didn't play a points based game. Instead, I had gone to Walmart and purchased this spongy green sea anemone-like object. Each student who saw me with it wanted to hold it and play with it. Of course, each student had to answer a review question correctly. If the student got the correct answer, I would throw it to them and then ask another question. The anemone would then be tossed around the room to whoever got the question right. It made a huge difference in the review game participation and desire to do the work. I had students volunteering who before would just want to do nothing or sleep during a review game.
My roommate had a similar experience with his students where he combined a crazy object and flashcards. His students were not only involved but their retention increased--test scores jumped from the low 30s to the 70s (not an exaggeration). While this was one testing run and other factors could've been at play, it makes sense that a kinesthetic game would work better for our students than a mostly auditory game. While I don't know how each one of our students learns best, it seems that many prefer active/kinesthetic games and activities over listening. Most of school is aimed at either listening or seeing something (pictures, words, some math concepts); we don't have many "doing" classes or components. Some have suggested that this is why there is a strain of low performers--we aren't teaching to their heavily preferred learning style (I hope I got the argument correct as I don't have a strong education theory background). If you were to take a snapshot, though, of what my kids enjoy you'd see a love of drama, rhythmic beats (my room doubles as a percussion section and beatbox somedays), and a desire to be moving about constantly.
We had our Winter Arts Festival recently where the middle school and high school music programs performed along with the dance team. This was the 2nd year it was being put on and it was really well done. The bands have a very good director similar to the one I had in high school--high expectations and lots of discipline. The result was a really good sound from both the middle and high school bands. The middle school band wasn't at all like mine--the one I heard played songs with a discernible melody that didn't sound choppy or out of tune. The high school band had a great performance where they kept their own beat while the director walked off stage (planned, of course, it was a jazz tune). The choirs were small, but good. They have a fellow TFA teacher leading them and they did a solid job. It was just really cool to see a good deal of my students performing and they liked the attention they got at school as we mostly recognize football and basketball.
Our Christmas party was fantastic this past weekend; we made sure to decorate for the event. Our house has garland on the outside and over the area that separates our kitchen and family room. We have lights on the inside of the house near the windows as we don't have an outside plug. The party went well as many brought great cocktails, appetizers, and desserts. It was a really good way to start off the last week before break.
I'm looking forward to a restful two weeks where I can plan the 2nd semester. I should be getting some good books from using some of my professional development money. They cover a wide range of subjects from differentiation to earth science labs. The two week break will give me the perfect amount of time to get supply lists and lesson plans ready so that I can be completely prepared for when I return.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Things are back to normal with most of my classes (including 7th period). Class has been pretty good this week due to our new unit on space. It's held most of each class' attention and I get bombarded with questions everyday, which I find loads of fun. Part of science education is allowing and encouraging inquiry so I have no problem entertaining the questions the students have about space. Tomorrow we are debating Pluto's status as a planet and the debate fits quite well with a few of my nature of science objectives--formulating inferences from scientific data and understanding the process of peer review, et al. Any time we can get "making inferences" and "drawing conclusions" into our lesson plans the better as these are skills that need strengthening for the reading test in the spring.
More of my classes are buying into my class rewards system. Instead of rewarding efficiency and staying on task with minutes for preferred activity time on Fridays I reward the classes with class money (the minutes were replaced with points). The classes can choose to spend part of their money or save it each week. The money can buy a whole list of rewards such as making me learn a dance they know, dying my hair, shaving my head, dressing like a student, etc. Incentives don't always have to be something that costs money (like candy); instead, they can be crazy things only you would do. The whole point is that the class feels special because you are doing something for them. I am dying my hair red and blue this friday for my first period class but I am washing it out during my prep period as it's only for them. Unfortunately my 3rd and 7th period classes haven't bought into the system so I am not sure what I will do to either take a different route for classroom management or to get them invested in the system.
To explain more on 3rd period, the students are quite active and invade each other's personal space during class. This could be something like kicking the bottoms of desks, stretching their arms and putting their hands into each other's faces, etc. Luckily, I only have 7-10 students in the class so tomorrow I am going to create an area in the room where the disruptive students are spread out at least 8-10 ft from each other. This should cut down on students bothering each other or at least allow me to better target the ones that are starting the trouble. We'll see how this plan goes.
The semester is almost over teaching wise. We have a review on Thursday, test on Friday and then another week of teaching. After that, we have a week of 9 weeks test and then break. Luckily, I know my content well (space) for the last teaching week so it should be smooth in terms of planning and teaching.
More of my classes are buying into my class rewards system. Instead of rewarding efficiency and staying on task with minutes for preferred activity time on Fridays I reward the classes with class money (the minutes were replaced with points). The classes can choose to spend part of their money or save it each week. The money can buy a whole list of rewards such as making me learn a dance they know, dying my hair, shaving my head, dressing like a student, etc. Incentives don't always have to be something that costs money (like candy); instead, they can be crazy things only you would do. The whole point is that the class feels special because you are doing something for them. I am dying my hair red and blue this friday for my first period class but I am washing it out during my prep period as it's only for them. Unfortunately my 3rd and 7th period classes haven't bought into the system so I am not sure what I will do to either take a different route for classroom management or to get them invested in the system.
To explain more on 3rd period, the students are quite active and invade each other's personal space during class. This could be something like kicking the bottoms of desks, stretching their arms and putting their hands into each other's faces, etc. Luckily, I only have 7-10 students in the class so tomorrow I am going to create an area in the room where the disruptive students are spread out at least 8-10 ft from each other. This should cut down on students bothering each other or at least allow me to better target the ones that are starting the trouble. We'll see how this plan goes.
The semester is almost over teaching wise. We have a review on Thursday, test on Friday and then another week of teaching. After that, we have a week of 9 weeks test and then break. Luckily, I know my content well (space) for the last teaching week so it should be smooth in terms of planning and teaching.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Funny Story
Today went much better than yesterday. The 2nd half of my classes began work on making atomic models out of play dough and construction paper and the first half are ready to start the project tomorrow.
A funny thing happened during 7th period. Many of you know that it's one of my more difficult periods. I had just finished explaining what we would be doing when a new student entered. I welcomed him to the class, he sat down, and I got back to the introduction of the lesson. Then, all of a sudden, the students who are quite disruptive announced, "we want to learn today." They then moved to empty desks in the front of the room and sat attentively for most of the lesson. Sure, there was some joking and yelling out, but for the most part it was almost a perfect class. The class got much farther than my 1st, 3rd, or 4th period classes. I don't know if it was because we had a new student or because we were going to a do a project with play dough or what but for some reason the students had a motive to learn. I did have one of the students at tutoring and asked him about it and he said that part of it was that he liked my class. Who knows what tomorrow will bring but I hope I can keep this going in 7th period.
A funny thing happened during 7th period. Many of you know that it's one of my more difficult periods. I had just finished explaining what we would be doing when a new student entered. I welcomed him to the class, he sat down, and I got back to the introduction of the lesson. Then, all of a sudden, the students who are quite disruptive announced, "we want to learn today." They then moved to empty desks in the front of the room and sat attentively for most of the lesson. Sure, there was some joking and yelling out, but for the most part it was almost a perfect class. The class got much farther than my 1st, 3rd, or 4th period classes. I don't know if it was because we had a new student or because we were going to a do a project with play dough or what but for some reason the students had a motive to learn. I did have one of the students at tutoring and asked him about it and he said that part of it was that he liked my class. Who knows what tomorrow will bring but I hope I can keep this going in 7th period.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Post Thanksgiving Break Edition
Thanksgiving break was restful, but too short. I'm happy that I was able to see everyone from family to high school friends to college friends all in 3 days. My last week and a half before break ended a bit average. We were reviewing natural selection and the scientific method and I don't think I was on the top of my game teaching-wise. Part of it was going over material that we had (supposedly) learned once. The other part was probably not having a clear enough plan. I can tell that things did not go as well as I had hoped due to the data from the test scores; they were low on a test consisting of mainly multiple choice (I had many low level Bloom's objectives and I'll admit it made the grading easier on the plane).
Luckily, I found a great website that has a set of presentations and handouts from conferences put on by the Department of Education. While the presentations aren't recorded, the powerpoint used along with the handouts are there and they are a wealth of good information that is content specific. I found presentations on using writing, differentiation, and dealing with misconceptions in science! The information is all given by experienced teachers who back it up with research. One thing I'll be implementing by the start of 2nd semester is science journals. Students will do more writing in class and they'll have a portfolio of work that can be graded (and shown to parents). It will also help in keeping information organized so that the students can see what we are doing as a whole rather than disjunct parts.
These weeks up until Christmas should go much better as I have two units that I know I can teach during this time period: atoms and space. The atom unit is quite basic in that we have to cover the parts of an atom and how to find the number of electrons, protons, and neutrons in an atom. We also have to discuss how atomic theory is a scientific theory and conduct investigations about the history of science as it relates to atomic theory (scientists, discoveries, etc). The space unit deals with the shape of galaxies and how planets and other objects exert gravitational forces. I like the idea of ending with this unit as next semester we get to do earth science where we'll definitely talk about waves.
Tomorrow I have a lesson planned where we will create models of atoms out of construction paper and play dough. The play dough will be used to create the electrons, protons, and electrons on the atoms. Of course, the students will be calculating the number of each and planning their atom out instead of just playing with play dough. Today's students had a great deal of energy; I don't think they were ready to be back in school. The behavior was a bit crazy across all of my classes (even the relatively good ones). I don't see this as necessarily bad as it wasn't just one class plotting against me; instead, it was a mood across all of the classes and it should be better tomorrow. The behavior of my students will go in streaks with bad behavior never lasting more than 2 days.
I'm also excited to start a new book I just ordered called, "The World Without Us." Its author asks, "What would the world look like environmentally if humans weren't in it?" It appeared on Scientific American's recommended list for holiday gifts and it will touch on a great deal of the earth science we'll be dealing with 2nd semester. I also just found the topic interesting, and I may learn more about earth science this way than through a dry textbook. It'll also be helpful to have during AR Reading Time, which is the program the students do during homeroom. They read designated books on their reading level and then take tests on what they've read. It seems to be a much better use for homeroom than a study hall. In order to get students to do most behaviors in middle school (and other levels, too) it's important for the teacher to model the behavior. As a result, I too get to read during homeroom. It's actually quite nice as I am awake enough to read and not completely exhausted like at the end of the day. I have been reading the economist and scientific american, but by having a book my reading should appear more meaningful. Luckily, I do have students that like to read and many have asked me about what I'm reading (which is quite cool).
Luckily, I found a great website that has a set of presentations and handouts from conferences put on by the Department of Education. While the presentations aren't recorded, the powerpoint used along with the handouts are there and they are a wealth of good information that is content specific. I found presentations on using writing, differentiation, and dealing with misconceptions in science! The information is all given by experienced teachers who back it up with research. One thing I'll be implementing by the start of 2nd semester is science journals. Students will do more writing in class and they'll have a portfolio of work that can be graded (and shown to parents). It will also help in keeping information organized so that the students can see what we are doing as a whole rather than disjunct parts.
These weeks up until Christmas should go much better as I have two units that I know I can teach during this time period: atoms and space. The atom unit is quite basic in that we have to cover the parts of an atom and how to find the number of electrons, protons, and neutrons in an atom. We also have to discuss how atomic theory is a scientific theory and conduct investigations about the history of science as it relates to atomic theory (scientists, discoveries, etc). The space unit deals with the shape of galaxies and how planets and other objects exert gravitational forces. I like the idea of ending with this unit as next semester we get to do earth science where we'll definitely talk about waves.
Tomorrow I have a lesson planned where we will create models of atoms out of construction paper and play dough. The play dough will be used to create the electrons, protons, and electrons on the atoms. Of course, the students will be calculating the number of each and planning their atom out instead of just playing with play dough. Today's students had a great deal of energy; I don't think they were ready to be back in school. The behavior was a bit crazy across all of my classes (even the relatively good ones). I don't see this as necessarily bad as it wasn't just one class plotting against me; instead, it was a mood across all of the classes and it should be better tomorrow. The behavior of my students will go in streaks with bad behavior never lasting more than 2 days.
I'm also excited to start a new book I just ordered called, "The World Without Us." Its author asks, "What would the world look like environmentally if humans weren't in it?" It appeared on Scientific American's recommended list for holiday gifts and it will touch on a great deal of the earth science we'll be dealing with 2nd semester. I also just found the topic interesting, and I may learn more about earth science this way than through a dry textbook. It'll also be helpful to have during AR Reading Time, which is the program the students do during homeroom. They read designated books on their reading level and then take tests on what they've read. It seems to be a much better use for homeroom than a study hall. In order to get students to do most behaviors in middle school (and other levels, too) it's important for the teacher to model the behavior. As a result, I too get to read during homeroom. It's actually quite nice as I am awake enough to read and not completely exhausted like at the end of the day. I have been reading the economist and scientific american, but by having a book my reading should appear more meaningful. Luckily, I do have students that like to read and many have asked me about what I'm reading (which is quite cool).
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
tutoring
Tutoring has been going really well. It's something that I look forward to each week especially today. The day went alright for most of my periods. We did an activity based around natural selection. We are revisiting the unit because the averages for the unit were quite low in each class compared to what they had done previously. This is partly due to the unit being rushed when the 9 weeks were drawing to a close.
I felt I could not move on due not just to certain objectives not being mastered but also because of how important the theory of evolution/natural selection is for many. These students will see the topic again in high school biology and it's mentioned quite frequently in the news (whether from the typical debate or in the recent case of staph infections). The infections are due to strains of bacteria (staph) that have evolved to the point where common antibacterial products cannot kill them. As a result, these more serious infections require more powerful antibiotics and many times hospital care. What had happened is that in a population of bacteria there were some that could be killed by antibacterial soap and others that could not be. Soap was used and killed the ones without any defense. The ones with the defense persisted and reproduced. As a result, we have staph bacteria resistant to common antibacterial products.
Back to the activity...it went well for most of the classes except 4th and 7th periods. Those periods may the day pretty stressful. Going to tutoring, though, made a lot of the stress go away as I had a small group that was quite attentive. We went over topics we had discussed recently and even went back to topics that had been missed in the past (one of the benefits of tracking objective performance on each test). I just like how I can come home tired and stressed from school, but after tutoring I am refreshed and energized.
As for the turnout, it's been pretty solid. In town, I have a small yet dedicated group each week. In the other town farther away, I get the equivalent of one of my classes or sometimes larger (20-25 students). While I love the turnout, it's a bit more difficult to give individual attention to each student. What I've started to do is to give a small quiz at the beginning and then go around from group to group aiding students with whichever answers are giving them problems. This makes targeting the weaknesses much easier.
I felt I could not move on due not just to certain objectives not being mastered but also because of how important the theory of evolution/natural selection is for many. These students will see the topic again in high school biology and it's mentioned quite frequently in the news (whether from the typical debate or in the recent case of staph infections). The infections are due to strains of bacteria (staph) that have evolved to the point where common antibacterial products cannot kill them. As a result, these more serious infections require more powerful antibiotics and many times hospital care. What had happened is that in a population of bacteria there were some that could be killed by antibacterial soap and others that could not be. Soap was used and killed the ones without any defense. The ones with the defense persisted and reproduced. As a result, we have staph bacteria resistant to common antibacterial products.
Back to the activity...it went well for most of the classes except 4th and 7th periods. Those periods may the day pretty stressful. Going to tutoring, though, made a lot of the stress go away as I had a small group that was quite attentive. We went over topics we had discussed recently and even went back to topics that had been missed in the past (one of the benefits of tracking objective performance on each test). I just like how I can come home tired and stressed from school, but after tutoring I am refreshed and energized.
As for the turnout, it's been pretty solid. In town, I have a small yet dedicated group each week. In the other town farther away, I get the equivalent of one of my classes or sometimes larger (20-25 students). While I love the turnout, it's a bit more difficult to give individual attention to each student. What I've started to do is to give a small quiz at the beginning and then go around from group to group aiding students with whichever answers are giving them problems. This makes targeting the weaknesses much easier.
Friday, November 2, 2007
A longer update
My last unit was a bit weird because it really didn't have that much of a theme to it unlike genetics or natural selection. It dealt mostly with microscopic organisms and classification. For the first part, I was at least able to talk about bacteria and protists--both unicellular organisms. Classification worked well in the 2nd part as we could organize the similarities and differences between the two types. Unfortunately, I didn't know my content as well for this one as I did for the units at the start of the year. Luckily, I was able to find some good articles and we were able to practice reading strategies and foldables (as mentioned in another post). I haven't graded the tests yet, but many students seemed to be quite confident for the test so I'm hoping for some solid grades.
We had a three day teaching week with yesterday and today taken up by staff development. The sessions yesterday were led by our consulting group and our sessions today were led by the principal and the math and literacy coaches. Yesterday was about assessing rigor in released test items and reaching struggling learners.
Assessing rigor turned out to be a useful session even though I thought it was going to be completely useless. We looked at how states have similar standards/objectives yet they test those standards on different levels of rigor (ie how complex of a thought process a student must use to solve the problem). In math, a question with a low level of rigor might ask a student to find a simple pattern (1, 2, 3, or 2, 4, 6) to solve the problem. A higher level of rigor would ask for a more complicated pattern (add 1, add 2, add 3) and have more steps in finding the right answer. In English, it would be the difference between identifying a device used and making inferences from a passage.
For some reason, rigor had not made much sense to me up until this point (especially with multiple choice questions). Something just "clicked" and I saw that the more steps required to get an answer the more rigorous the question. This fault might have been due to being trained mainly with Bloom's Taxonomy rather than Webb's Depth of Knowledge. While I could see the different levels with Bloom, the idea of "steps of thinking" were made clear with Webb.
The afternoon session on struggling learners interested me greatly, but it didn't tell me much that was new. It seems as though that if my training is not stressing "released test items" then it's emphasizing differentiated instruction. While the latter is a good thing, those that have presented workshops on the topic give the same vague and general advice. Usually we get discussions on different learning styles, advice to use all three modalities when teaching, and then advice to tier assignments and pair weak learners with strong learners. This is all good advice, but it's the same each time without regard for the nature of middle school and specific subjects. We get very little application and specific directions during our workshops. While I am not making excuses for middle school behavior, it can be difficult to implement some methods of differentiated teaching in the classroom. Paired learning can easily erupt into talking or not happen at all when the two hate each other. I have classes where no students are "strong learners." I'm not trying to insult them, but the way my schedule is set up is that almost all (except for 4 or 5 students) of my GT (gifted and talented) students are in one honors science class. The others are spread around my other classes. While I realize I'm on a tangent about the ineffectiveness of one strategy, it just frustrates me when we get advice from consultants that doesn't match our particular situation.
I think I was spoiled by TFA at Institute. It seemed that efficiency was their main concern--not how to take something that could be explained in 30 minutes and turn that into 3 hours. Almost every session was focused on giving us methods we could put to use immediately. Each presenter also made sure to discuss the problems we might run into and back up strategies to use. I remember our literacy coach holding subject specific sessions for literacy use in the classroom. The reasons for this are varied but come down to the nature of an education consultancy group and TFA. TFA knew it had only a small amount of time to get us the best information possible to make us better teachers; the organization had to be efficient if it wanted to achieve its mission of one day all children having the opportunity to receive an excellent education. The consultants on the other hand were either already paid or had to spend a certain amount of hours to justify their cost. A high cost might feel "worth it" if you are talked to for 3 hours versus thirty minutes. Also, our instructors at Institute were recent teachers with experience in the classrooms we were going to enter once we left. Our consultants are former or retired teachers who have been giving workshops for the past few years and not teaching students like the ones we have.
I don't mean for this post to hammer education consulting--I do get some good ideas and resources from our workshops. However, it just seems that there's lots of stuff to sit through in order to get the small amount of useful information.
While not completely related to teaching, we had trick or treating on Wednesday. While most people did not go out of their way to decorate their houses and stores didn't stock many costumes, I still had kids coming to my house dressed up. Of course there were my middle schoolers and high school students I knew that came without a costume. They just wanted the free candy. It was pretty fun and I was able to meet more members of the families of my students.
As a first year teacher, I am just consumed by this job (in a good way). It's what I think about each night and even on the weekends. My other fellow teachers can't stop talking about it either. Our conversations revolve almost entirely around what our students are doing in our classrooms. While this isn't a bad thing (I usually get enough sleep each night), we sometimes have to stop ourselves from discussing school. These bans seem to last only 10 minutes, but at least we are trying. It's a job that demands that we do an excellent job every day we are teaching. In school, you are there mostly for yourself. You get to decide how much you want to pay attention, to study, and to work. However, with teaching you go to school and each class period you have students staring at you expecting you to teach them.
We had a three day teaching week with yesterday and today taken up by staff development. The sessions yesterday were led by our consulting group and our sessions today were led by the principal and the math and literacy coaches. Yesterday was about assessing rigor in released test items and reaching struggling learners.
Assessing rigor turned out to be a useful session even though I thought it was going to be completely useless. We looked at how states have similar standards/objectives yet they test those standards on different levels of rigor (ie how complex of a thought process a student must use to solve the problem). In math, a question with a low level of rigor might ask a student to find a simple pattern (1, 2, 3, or 2, 4, 6) to solve the problem. A higher level of rigor would ask for a more complicated pattern (add 1, add 2, add 3) and have more steps in finding the right answer. In English, it would be the difference between identifying a device used and making inferences from a passage.
For some reason, rigor had not made much sense to me up until this point (especially with multiple choice questions). Something just "clicked" and I saw that the more steps required to get an answer the more rigorous the question. This fault might have been due to being trained mainly with Bloom's Taxonomy rather than Webb's Depth of Knowledge. While I could see the different levels with Bloom, the idea of "steps of thinking" were made clear with Webb.
The afternoon session on struggling learners interested me greatly, but it didn't tell me much that was new. It seems as though that if my training is not stressing "released test items" then it's emphasizing differentiated instruction. While the latter is a good thing, those that have presented workshops on the topic give the same vague and general advice. Usually we get discussions on different learning styles, advice to use all three modalities when teaching, and then advice to tier assignments and pair weak learners with strong learners. This is all good advice, but it's the same each time without regard for the nature of middle school and specific subjects. We get very little application and specific directions during our workshops. While I am not making excuses for middle school behavior, it can be difficult to implement some methods of differentiated teaching in the classroom. Paired learning can easily erupt into talking or not happen at all when the two hate each other. I have classes where no students are "strong learners." I'm not trying to insult them, but the way my schedule is set up is that almost all (except for 4 or 5 students) of my GT (gifted and talented) students are in one honors science class. The others are spread around my other classes. While I realize I'm on a tangent about the ineffectiveness of one strategy, it just frustrates me when we get advice from consultants that doesn't match our particular situation.
I think I was spoiled by TFA at Institute. It seemed that efficiency was their main concern--not how to take something that could be explained in 30 minutes and turn that into 3 hours. Almost every session was focused on giving us methods we could put to use immediately. Each presenter also made sure to discuss the problems we might run into and back up strategies to use. I remember our literacy coach holding subject specific sessions for literacy use in the classroom. The reasons for this are varied but come down to the nature of an education consultancy group and TFA. TFA knew it had only a small amount of time to get us the best information possible to make us better teachers; the organization had to be efficient if it wanted to achieve its mission of one day all children having the opportunity to receive an excellent education. The consultants on the other hand were either already paid or had to spend a certain amount of hours to justify their cost. A high cost might feel "worth it" if you are talked to for 3 hours versus thirty minutes. Also, our instructors at Institute were recent teachers with experience in the classrooms we were going to enter once we left. Our consultants are former or retired teachers who have been giving workshops for the past few years and not teaching students like the ones we have.
I don't mean for this post to hammer education consulting--I do get some good ideas and resources from our workshops. However, it just seems that there's lots of stuff to sit through in order to get the small amount of useful information.
While not completely related to teaching, we had trick or treating on Wednesday. While most people did not go out of their way to decorate their houses and stores didn't stock many costumes, I still had kids coming to my house dressed up. Of course there were my middle schoolers and high school students I knew that came without a costume. They just wanted the free candy. It was pretty fun and I was able to meet more members of the families of my students.
As a first year teacher, I am just consumed by this job (in a good way). It's what I think about each night and even on the weekends. My other fellow teachers can't stop talking about it either. Our conversations revolve almost entirely around what our students are doing in our classrooms. While this isn't a bad thing (I usually get enough sleep each night), we sometimes have to stop ourselves from discussing school. These bans seem to last only 10 minutes, but at least we are trying. It's a job that demands that we do an excellent job every day we are teaching. In school, you are there mostly for yourself. You get to decide how much you want to pay attention, to study, and to work. However, with teaching you go to school and each class period you have students staring at you expecting you to teach them.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
The internet is back
I know it's been a while since the last post. Our internet went out and now it's back. I'm sure I'll post a longer update with good stories in the next few days, but I just wanted to at least post to say all is going well right now.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Opposite Days
Yesterday and today were completely opposite days. On Monday, the students received their 9 weeks tests along with their grades. Many were not happy. I had As in almost all of the classes and Bs in each one. Students got a study guide a week ahead of the test and we reviewed before the test; however, some did not do that well. This caused many to want to discuss the past 9 weeks and my teaching. This turned into class meetings for each class as I realized by 4th period that we weren't going to get anything done in terms of learning. I had students put their desks in a circle and we discussed the past 9 weeks along with their grades. This seemed to go quite well and my 4th-7th period classes seemed to take the news better than 1st and 3rd. Of course, I did my own reflection and I realized that I need to give them more tools to study and to comprehend the information in class.
One of those tools that I used today were vocabulary cue cards. They are a type of "foldables." Foldables are when you take pieces of paper and fold them or cut them in different ways to create study aids. Generally, foldables can have layers, flaps that open, and other crafty mechanisms that hide and reveal information. Middle schoolers are still at the age where something like this isn't seem as "dumb" or elementary. For this one, students folded a piece of paper into fourths and then read a small amount of text on unicellular organisms and protists. Students then selected sentences from the text that used the vocabulary words, created their own definition, and then created their own picture of what the word looks like. Each step goes on one of the flaps with the vocabulary word on the outside. The end result is a step-wise tool that students use to quiz themselves on various representations of the vocabulary words. Surprisingly, this worked quite well. Reading is not an 8th grade strength for my students especially with the technical vocabulary of science. However, because the amount of text was small and we were doing something with it, almost all had no problem. We had a tough time at first with the first foldable, but right after it, they were able to get the 2nd vocabulary word foldable with little help from me. The idea is for them to have these on them at all times during class so they can review them at the beginning when they finish their "do-now" (or bellringer) or when we have time left at the end of class. Using literacy and having them write also gets them used to "open-response" problems, which is our major weakness across all subjects.
This worked really well because of some good teaching advice that I had received but never fully realized until today: The students should be doing the work not the teacher. They should be tired at the end of the day; you should not be. This was actually true today as there was very little stress and the students were kept busy in class working on their foldables. I polled the classes and almost all of the students found this method better than writing down definitions off the overhead.
Not much else is going on except teaching each day. It feels good to be in a groove. It still feels weird to have a full time profession as a teacher. Of course it's completely different from college, but it's also different than internships/summer jobs I've had. Work can't stay at school--I have to worry about each and every student I teach. School is the top priority each day (as it should be).
Tutoring has been going well too with an amazing turn out. I tutor in one of the nearby towns that we took over last year and I must have had 15 or 20 of my students in the restaurant where I tutored. I had to circulate around to multiple tables and help only with very specific problems. The other teachers and I are looking into the nearby community center as a better place due to space and noise concerns as the place we used was quite small.
That's about all for now. This job never gets boring.
One of those tools that I used today were vocabulary cue cards. They are a type of "foldables." Foldables are when you take pieces of paper and fold them or cut them in different ways to create study aids. Generally, foldables can have layers, flaps that open, and other crafty mechanisms that hide and reveal information. Middle schoolers are still at the age where something like this isn't seem as "dumb" or elementary. For this one, students folded a piece of paper into fourths and then read a small amount of text on unicellular organisms and protists. Students then selected sentences from the text that used the vocabulary words, created their own definition, and then created their own picture of what the word looks like. Each step goes on one of the flaps with the vocabulary word on the outside. The end result is a step-wise tool that students use to quiz themselves on various representations of the vocabulary words. Surprisingly, this worked quite well. Reading is not an 8th grade strength for my students especially with the technical vocabulary of science. However, because the amount of text was small and we were doing something with it, almost all had no problem. We had a tough time at first with the first foldable, but right after it, they were able to get the 2nd vocabulary word foldable with little help from me. The idea is for them to have these on them at all times during class so they can review them at the beginning when they finish their "do-now" (or bellringer) or when we have time left at the end of class. Using literacy and having them write also gets them used to "open-response" problems, which is our major weakness across all subjects.
This worked really well because of some good teaching advice that I had received but never fully realized until today: The students should be doing the work not the teacher. They should be tired at the end of the day; you should not be. This was actually true today as there was very little stress and the students were kept busy in class working on their foldables. I polled the classes and almost all of the students found this method better than writing down definitions off the overhead.
Not much else is going on except teaching each day. It feels good to be in a groove. It still feels weird to have a full time profession as a teacher. Of course it's completely different from college, but it's also different than internships/summer jobs I've had. Work can't stay at school--I have to worry about each and every student I teach. School is the top priority each day (as it should be).
Tutoring has been going well too with an amazing turn out. I tutor in one of the nearby towns that we took over last year and I must have had 15 or 20 of my students in the restaurant where I tutored. I had to circulate around to multiple tables and help only with very specific problems. The other teachers and I are looking into the nearby community center as a better place due to space and noise concerns as the place we used was quite small.
That's about all for now. This job never gets boring.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Update
So the first nine weeks are drawing to a close? I didn't realize this until the staff started discussing the unit test schedule for each class. It doesn't even feel like I've completed 1/4 of the year, but looking back on my objectives that will be tested I can tell that I've taught a great deal of material. Some things are getting easier, but my last period class is still quite difficult. 3rd period has settled down, but that's mainly due to many of the students being suspended or in ISS (in school suspension).
Tutoring has been a huge success so far. I've had a solid group of students at each session and many are there because they really want the help. My new policy on buying food for them is that I only do it for the first 3 that get the mini-quiz right at the end of the session. The students usually come in a group of friends around the same time and then leave at the same time, too. Besides being able to help the students with the material, tutoring also helps with getting to know the students outside of school. Many were just impressed that I wanted to help them outside of school.
I've also been getting observed recently by the principal, our education consultant, our math and literacy coaches, and my mentor. While they haven't been in there all at once, I did have one day where there were 3-4 observers in the room at once. I was a bit nervous, but luckily everything was clicking during the lesson. It's a toss up most days if the lesson will succeed. While sometimes it's due to how I deliver it, some classes are more excited/interested than others. My first and third periods could love something and my 5th and 6th periods hate it.
The same goes with behavior. I've had students act completely rude and disrespectful one day and then the next act like the most well mannered student imaginable. I have to remind myself and each class that each day is a blank slate. It seems to help because grudges don't develop as the students know that I am not holding their previous day's behavior against them. As I discovered at the Quest program, many of these students have gone through or are going through difficult phases in their life. They bring this into the school each day along with the difficulties of going through puberty/growing up. The result is that each day is unpredictable.
On an unrelated note, the new car is working well. I love how it drives and the fact that it will accelerate without having to floor the accelerator (as I had to do on the Toyota). This makes passing and getting on the highway much easier (and safer).
This week shouldn't be too bad in terms of work. I am giving our unit test on Wednesday and part of Thursday. The days before will be spent reteaching one lesson that didn't go over well along with a review of the major concepts in the first unit (genetics and evolution). Friday may be spent with a movie introducing our next unit as the students will have tested most of the week along with Friday being Homecoming (the middle school gets to participate in the activities, too). While I know that I should have high expectations of my students, something tells me that the motivation to learn or start a new unit on Friday will be quite low.
Tutoring has been a huge success so far. I've had a solid group of students at each session and many are there because they really want the help. My new policy on buying food for them is that I only do it for the first 3 that get the mini-quiz right at the end of the session. The students usually come in a group of friends around the same time and then leave at the same time, too. Besides being able to help the students with the material, tutoring also helps with getting to know the students outside of school. Many were just impressed that I wanted to help them outside of school.
I've also been getting observed recently by the principal, our education consultant, our math and literacy coaches, and my mentor. While they haven't been in there all at once, I did have one day where there were 3-4 observers in the room at once. I was a bit nervous, but luckily everything was clicking during the lesson. It's a toss up most days if the lesson will succeed. While sometimes it's due to how I deliver it, some classes are more excited/interested than others. My first and third periods could love something and my 5th and 6th periods hate it.
The same goes with behavior. I've had students act completely rude and disrespectful one day and then the next act like the most well mannered student imaginable. I have to remind myself and each class that each day is a blank slate. It seems to help because grudges don't develop as the students know that I am not holding their previous day's behavior against them. As I discovered at the Quest program, many of these students have gone through or are going through difficult phases in their life. They bring this into the school each day along with the difficulties of going through puberty/growing up. The result is that each day is unpredictable.
On an unrelated note, the new car is working well. I love how it drives and the fact that it will accelerate without having to floor the accelerator (as I had to do on the Toyota). This makes passing and getting on the highway much easier (and safer).
This week shouldn't be too bad in terms of work. I am giving our unit test on Wednesday and part of Thursday. The days before will be spent reteaching one lesson that didn't go over well along with a review of the major concepts in the first unit (genetics and evolution). Friday may be spent with a movie introducing our next unit as the students will have tested most of the week along with Friday being Homecoming (the middle school gets to participate in the activities, too). While I know that I should have high expectations of my students, something tells me that the motivation to learn or start a new unit on Friday will be quite low.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
A good weekend
This weekend I attended a Quest Leadership training for some of my students and it was a good time. The program seeks to give emotional IQ skills to high schoolers and mature middle schoolers. Many students share very emotional stories that they've never told anyone else. They learn that everything they do is a choice and that they are ultimately responsible for their lives. I had 8 of my 8th graders at the training and there were about 7th graders as well. Although all of my saturday and most of my sunday was taken up by the program, it never felt like a waste of time. I've had my weekends taken up by other things that were less fruitful than this program. While I have a good amount of work tonight, along with having to be up in 10 hours, I don't feel guilty about it at all.
Friday, September 21, 2007
another week down
This week had its ups and downs. Monday and Tuesday were pretty fun as we were looking at the relationship of all vertebrates. The lesson was a transition from genetics to evolution/natural selection. Many of the kids were quite fascinated as they saw skeletons of vertebrates and could pick out how those skeletons were just like our skeletons (of course, we are vertebrates too--that was the whole point). The week was broken up by a diagnostic from the NWEA (northwest evaluation association). It measures science skills and is given in two parts. The first test's results tell you the level for the 2nd test. The students weren't too happy about the test and many thought it would count for a grade; however, I told them about 1000 times it wouldn't count for one. I did reward each test with either a tootsie roll or mint and this was well received by most.
The behavior of each class is starting to set in. My 3rd period is quite defiant at times and my 7th period thinks that it's the last class of the day so they don't have to do anything. All of the other periods are quite good and I have a good rapport with each class.
We also had parent teacher conferences and they went pretty well. I had many parents show up who wanted to speak with me. Many students are not doing well right now due to not studying/paying attention in class. Each parent seemed quite understanding of their child's grades and would make sure to get him/her to work harder. Most liked the idea of having a test each Friday due to the low grades--each student can easily pull his/her grade up to an acceptable level with half of a grading period left.
Not to end on a low point, but I have to get a new car. Last Saturday I was driving along 61 in my toyota when all of a sudden the car would not accelerate. I then hear a low rumbling sound which builds and then a "whoosh" along with something falling out of the car. A large smoke cloud appeared behind the car and I pulled over immediately and jumped out with only my cell phone. Two other drivers pulled over to help me out and helped me call the only towing/wrecking service we could find open on a Saturday. We looked at the car once it stopped smoking (mostly oil burning off) and discovered that the piston rod fell out of the engine. Replacing the engine would cost as much as a new car especially given that it would go into an older used car. Luckily, I've found a 04 Nissan Sentra in pretty good condition and on Monday I'll be trying to get a deal on it as its price it much above what it should be going for according to nadaguides.com. I liked driving the Nissan and found it to be a fun car. Its VIN check was perfect. It looks like it was owned for a while and then leased for a period of time.
Tomorrow I get to help out at a leadership training called Quest where many of my students will be taking part. Quest helps students develop leadership and empathy skills and it's worked quite well in the past. One of our school board members is strongly behind it and a few of the middle/high school teachers are helping out as volunteers. It should be fun and a good way to get invested in a few of my students.
The behavior of each class is starting to set in. My 3rd period is quite defiant at times and my 7th period thinks that it's the last class of the day so they don't have to do anything. All of the other periods are quite good and I have a good rapport with each class.
We also had parent teacher conferences and they went pretty well. I had many parents show up who wanted to speak with me. Many students are not doing well right now due to not studying/paying attention in class. Each parent seemed quite understanding of their child's grades and would make sure to get him/her to work harder. Most liked the idea of having a test each Friday due to the low grades--each student can easily pull his/her grade up to an acceptable level with half of a grading period left.
Not to end on a low point, but I have to get a new car. Last Saturday I was driving along 61 in my toyota when all of a sudden the car would not accelerate. I then hear a low rumbling sound which builds and then a "whoosh" along with something falling out of the car. A large smoke cloud appeared behind the car and I pulled over immediately and jumped out with only my cell phone. Two other drivers pulled over to help me out and helped me call the only towing/wrecking service we could find open on a Saturday. We looked at the car once it stopped smoking (mostly oil burning off) and discovered that the piston rod fell out of the engine. Replacing the engine would cost as much as a new car especially given that it would go into an older used car. Luckily, I've found a 04 Nissan Sentra in pretty good condition and on Monday I'll be trying to get a deal on it as its price it much above what it should be going for according to nadaguides.com. I liked driving the Nissan and found it to be a fun car. Its VIN check was perfect. It looks like it was owned for a while and then leased for a period of time.
Tomorrow I get to help out at a leadership training called Quest where many of my students will be taking part. Quest helps students develop leadership and empathy skills and it's worked quite well in the past. One of our school board members is strongly behind it and a few of the middle/high school teachers are helping out as volunteers. It should be fun and a good way to get invested in a few of my students.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Improvement
Things are still going well. Teaching is fun and stressful at the same time. It requires me to be "on" all day long. Once 3:15 hits it feels like I've just gotten off a rollercoaster.
We found another black widow the other day. My 6th period was outside doing the diet coke and mentos experiment. While going back in a few students called me over to the AC unit outside. The whole class was crowded around a sizeable spider web with a pretty large black widow in it along with her egg sack. We stayed at a far distance and watched it for a few minutes and then proceeded back in to the classroom.
After revealing the test scores and having a goal to work toward, last week went pretty well. 3 classes made an 80% or better on the vocabulary retest (2 81%s and one 84%) and one other came close. One class is still a bit behind and the other passed on the firs test. Having a test as a looming deadline did help with classroom management. I could easily ask if the question or what a student was doing (in the case of off topic questions/misbehavior) would help get them closer to passing the test. This week I am doing the same with Friday as test day. The tests are short enough to be finished in half the period and I can now use the other half for super scientist friday. I realized that it's a steep uphill battle to get students to learn new material on a friday right after a test, so SSF is a good thing to have after the test. I need each class to a set a goal for this friday's test, which will happen tomorrow.
I was really happy with some of the test scores I saw from students who are considered "problem students" by many teachers. Many act well in my class and did extremely well on the tests. I was really happy to see them succeed on the test as these are students for whom many teachers have low expectations.
Along with the test scores, the week started off well. We did a fun activity demonstrating phenotype, genotype, and how alleles/genes are passed on based on probability. Students flipped coins (one for each parent) to determine traits for a smiley face/alien (it depended on the artist). The rest of the week will be spent focusing on going from phenotype to genotype and back, punnett squares, and a few more vocabulary terms.
We found another black widow the other day. My 6th period was outside doing the diet coke and mentos experiment. While going back in a few students called me over to the AC unit outside. The whole class was crowded around a sizeable spider web with a pretty large black widow in it along with her egg sack. We stayed at a far distance and watched it for a few minutes and then proceeded back in to the classroom.
After revealing the test scores and having a goal to work toward, last week went pretty well. 3 classes made an 80% or better on the vocabulary retest (2 81%s and one 84%) and one other came close. One class is still a bit behind and the other passed on the firs test. Having a test as a looming deadline did help with classroom management. I could easily ask if the question or what a student was doing (in the case of off topic questions/misbehavior) would help get them closer to passing the test. This week I am doing the same with Friday as test day. The tests are short enough to be finished in half the period and I can now use the other half for super scientist friday. I realized that it's a steep uphill battle to get students to learn new material on a friday right after a test, so SSF is a good thing to have after the test. I need each class to a set a goal for this friday's test, which will happen tomorrow.
I was really happy with some of the test scores I saw from students who are considered "problem students" by many teachers. Many act well in my class and did extremely well on the tests. I was really happy to see them succeed on the test as these are students for whom many teachers have low expectations.
Along with the test scores, the week started off well. We did a fun activity demonstrating phenotype, genotype, and how alleles/genes are passed on based on probability. Students flipped coins (one for each parent) to determine traits for a smiley face/alien (it depended on the artist). The rest of the week will be spent focusing on going from phenotype to genotype and back, punnett squares, and a few more vocabulary terms.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
A better day
Today went pretty well considering I had to deliver the bad news that most failed the vocabulary test. I gave a presentation showing how both my actions and the students' actions contributed to the bad grades. Most seemed interested and desired to do better. I made the point that I wanted each one to succeed and that success meant a class average of 80% or better. I told them that I would fail as a teacher if I were to accept their low performance on the past test. There was more to the speech, but right after it we got to work. I went through and explained some of the terms and most students in each class were taking notes. The room had never been that silent outside of taking a test. Each class also picked a class creed that the students will say each day. The creeds are in the first person and lay out the expectations I have for each student. Parts of them, for example, were, "I believe in myself and my ability to do my best. I am intelligent. I am capable of greatness."
This is not to say there weren't problems. My last period is still difficult due to having dismissal duty and many leaving 15 minutes early. It was also apparent today that only 2-3 students are causing the trouble in the class. I found this out by sending them out into the hall. Once this happened, those in class worked quietly without disrupting the class. I haven't figured out what I'll do for that period, but I've got part of the solution.
I decided tonight that I will also split the vocabulary test up into two sections--one for friday and the other for monday or tuesday. This will help with giving the students a smaller amount to study and to allow for greater comprehension instead of a shallow memorization of lots of terms. It will take the anxiety off the students as well as a smaller amount may be a more feasible amount. Of course the 2nd test will have a few terms from the first one as well. Tomorrow will involve a little more teaching and then a powerpoint jeoparday game (the board is set up just like the game show--it's really cool).
This is not to say there weren't problems. My last period is still difficult due to having dismissal duty and many leaving 15 minutes early. It was also apparent today that only 2-3 students are causing the trouble in the class. I found this out by sending them out into the hall. Once this happened, those in class worked quietly without disrupting the class. I haven't figured out what I'll do for that period, but I've got part of the solution.
I decided tonight that I will also split the vocabulary test up into two sections--one for friday and the other for monday or tuesday. This will help with giving the students a smaller amount to study and to allow for greater comprehension instead of a shallow memorization of lots of terms. It will take the anxiety off the students as well as a smaller amount may be a more feasible amount. Of course the 2nd test will have a few terms from the first one as well. Tomorrow will involve a little more teaching and then a powerpoint jeoparday game (the board is set up just like the game show--it's really cool).
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Data and Feedback
TFA places a heavy emphasis on data and that's a really good thing. I just graded our diagnostic tests along with the first vocabulary test. The results were not great; they show me that I have a lot of work to do. But it's good to have tests this early because I can get immediate feedback on my teaching and what my students are able to do and not able to do. The students will be tested each week (quiz or test) so that not only I can get quick feedback on my teaching but so the students can master a small amount of material at a time. The tests will have cumulative parts; I'll be able to teach the importance of remembering past material.
The vocab test performance was under my control and it showed me that I need to do something different this week in teaching. Group work where the students taught each other did not work well except in one class. The idea was for each student to learn 1-2 words on his or her own and then share those with examples to each member of the group. It might've been too soon to try this type of activity. Furthermore, the students in those classes were all on the same level; there were very few students that could teach the others as almost all struggled with the material. The reading scores should have indicated this to me along with the amount of misbehavior during the assignment. Misbehavior can be a signal that the students are frustrated with the assignment and they decide to do something off task.
Tomorrow, I'll reveal the grades to the students and we'll discuss what both the teacher and the students could've done better on the test (as the students did decide to waste a lot of time by talking while I was explaining things). Friday will be a retest over the same words but with a different test (as we are going over the answers). As much as TFA's "teacher impact model" where "teacher actions leads to student actions" is drilled into our heads at Institute, it didn't make sense until this set of tests. I chose the method of instruction; I chose how each class went; I chose the questions for the test. As much as the tests measure the students' performance, they also measure the teacher's actions that led the students to that performance.
The vocab test performance was under my control and it showed me that I need to do something different this week in teaching. Group work where the students taught each other did not work well except in one class. The idea was for each student to learn 1-2 words on his or her own and then share those with examples to each member of the group. It might've been too soon to try this type of activity. Furthermore, the students in those classes were all on the same level; there were very few students that could teach the others as almost all struggled with the material. The reading scores should have indicated this to me along with the amount of misbehavior during the assignment. Misbehavior can be a signal that the students are frustrated with the assignment and they decide to do something off task.
Tomorrow, I'll reveal the grades to the students and we'll discuss what both the teacher and the students could've done better on the test (as the students did decide to waste a lot of time by talking while I was explaining things). Friday will be a retest over the same words but with a different test (as we are going over the answers). As much as TFA's "teacher impact model" where "teacher actions leads to student actions" is drilled into our heads at Institute, it didn't make sense until this set of tests. I chose the method of instruction; I chose how each class went; I chose the questions for the test. As much as the tests measure the students' performance, they also measure the teacher's actions that led the students to that performance.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Week 2
Week 2 was good overall. My classes did indeed test me as everyone had predicted, but I was able to keep control in most of them. The most common issue was low level misbehavior such as talking when I was explaining something or when I paused in between giving instructions. Luckily, taking away Super Scientist Friday (SSF) time and being consistent in my consequences worked for most students.
One thing many of my students like to do is to ask questions. This is not a bad thing, in fact, it's great. However, it's not so great when you get 100 off topic or tangential questions that have interesting answers during class. One successful thing I've done to manage this behavior is that I created the "Question Bag." It's a gift bag in the back where students can ask any question and put it in the bag. I then answer the questions on Thursday night and share the answers on Friday. The questions range from personal questions such as "do you have kids?" to science questions such as "how do people get Down Syndrome?" It works well because the kids get to ask their questions and I get a good response for any question that is off topic that is asked in the middle of a lesson. Many were receptive to the idea and the bag was quite full during its first week of use. Plus, when I get a complicated or obscure science question, I can have time to research it instead of telling the student, "I don't know."
My 5th period is my tough period as the management strategies that I use in my other classes do not work during that class. Almost every time I spoke or tried to get something done, the students simply ignored what I said and started to talk. This happened a great deal on Friday when I was trying to do the demo and other fun stuff, so SSF got canceled (after a few warnings). We had a study hall in silent instead. They seemed genuinely surprised and shocked. During the silent work time, I had a few trusted students create a new seating chart and they came up with a pretty good seating arrangement. They knew who would talk and who could not sit near each other, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.
I also tried to go to the football game on Thursday, but lightning canceled the game. Luckily, the teachers and I were able to attend the high school game on Friday and it was a lot of fun. The band has a new director and although they were small they were pretty good (no half time show yet though). The high school team is quite good and easily won the game. I saw many of my students at the game and I think they were surprised to see me outside of the classroom. It's true, though, I felt the same way in high school and middle school. For some reason, you don't make the connection that teachers are "real people" and have lives outside of school. When you see them out, they look and act differently.
Having an LCD projector is a very useful tool during science class. I used one of the school's projectors on Friday and it seemed to work well. I can create Power Point presentations on the day's material and I don't have to worry about writing everything on the board or making 100s of copies. I can also find amazing pictures and short videos to show the entire class. I even have templates of game shows (like Jeopardy or Who Wants to be a Millionaire?) that I can use for review. While the school only has 2 that must be shared, I may use some of my mentoring grant money to buy one for the class to use almost daily. Basic ones can be found for only $300-$400 (as opposed to others that are more than a $1000).
I'm grading diagnostic tests right now and getting prepared for tomorrow. I realized that I have to work more on student investment. The idea is a TFA idea, but it's basically getting students to care about your class and their education. I have some ideas that should work, but I'll update on those once I try them out this week.
One thing many of my students like to do is to ask questions. This is not a bad thing, in fact, it's great. However, it's not so great when you get 100 off topic or tangential questions that have interesting answers during class. One successful thing I've done to manage this behavior is that I created the "Question Bag." It's a gift bag in the back where students can ask any question and put it in the bag. I then answer the questions on Thursday night and share the answers on Friday. The questions range from personal questions such as "do you have kids?" to science questions such as "how do people get Down Syndrome?" It works well because the kids get to ask their questions and I get a good response for any question that is off topic that is asked in the middle of a lesson. Many were receptive to the idea and the bag was quite full during its first week of use. Plus, when I get a complicated or obscure science question, I can have time to research it instead of telling the student, "I don't know."
My 5th period is my tough period as the management strategies that I use in my other classes do not work during that class. Almost every time I spoke or tried to get something done, the students simply ignored what I said and started to talk. This happened a great deal on Friday when I was trying to do the demo and other fun stuff, so SSF got canceled (after a few warnings). We had a study hall in silent instead. They seemed genuinely surprised and shocked. During the silent work time, I had a few trusted students create a new seating chart and they came up with a pretty good seating arrangement. They knew who would talk and who could not sit near each other, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.
I also tried to go to the football game on Thursday, but lightning canceled the game. Luckily, the teachers and I were able to attend the high school game on Friday and it was a lot of fun. The band has a new director and although they were small they were pretty good (no half time show yet though). The high school team is quite good and easily won the game. I saw many of my students at the game and I think they were surprised to see me outside of the classroom. It's true, though, I felt the same way in high school and middle school. For some reason, you don't make the connection that teachers are "real people" and have lives outside of school. When you see them out, they look and act differently.
Having an LCD projector is a very useful tool during science class. I used one of the school's projectors on Friday and it seemed to work well. I can create Power Point presentations on the day's material and I don't have to worry about writing everything on the board or making 100s of copies. I can also find amazing pictures and short videos to show the entire class. I even have templates of game shows (like Jeopardy or Who Wants to be a Millionaire?) that I can use for review. While the school only has 2 that must be shared, I may use some of my mentoring grant money to buy one for the class to use almost daily. Basic ones can be found for only $300-$400 (as opposed to others that are more than a $1000).
I'm grading diagnostic tests right now and getting prepared for tomorrow. I realized that I have to work more on student investment. The idea is a TFA idea, but it's basically getting students to care about your class and their education. I have some ideas that should work, but I'll update on those once I try them out this week.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Week 2
Hard work feels good when it's rewarding. My day was longer due to a staff meeting and a "Meet the Parents" night. Somehow, though, I'm not that tired. I felt pretty comfortable today as I started to actually teach content instead of just rules and procedures. Of course I had rough spots and changed how I did things throughout the day. Arkansas has some well written science objectives--they are detailed and precise. It's quite easy to turn many of them into test questions with very little work. Many times students are asked to identify and explain terms, explain a concept, or detail a process.
I did have a few bumps, though, with students remembering to do their "do-now" (or bellringer activity) along with remembering to raise a hand to ask questions. While these seem like small things, if I don't address them then they'll lead to larger problems. It's good to "sweat the small stuff" when it comes to classroom discipline.
7th period (last period) was quite chatty, as well. 3/4 of the class gets to leave 15 minutes early due to living so far away and the 1/4 that is left is not too motivated to work after the others leave. I also get dismissal duty on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so I don't even get to stay with the students for the last 15 minutes on those days. One student complained today during 7th that I, "work us to the last minute of each day." I'm still trying to figure out how to keep my last period class on track with what the other classes are learning during their full period classes.
I did have a few bumps, though, with students remembering to do their "do-now" (or bellringer activity) along with remembering to raise a hand to ask questions. While these seem like small things, if I don't address them then they'll lead to larger problems. It's good to "sweat the small stuff" when it comes to classroom discipline.
7th period (last period) was quite chatty, as well. 3/4 of the class gets to leave 15 minutes early due to living so far away and the 1/4 that is left is not too motivated to work after the others leave. I also get dismissal duty on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so I don't even get to stay with the students for the last 15 minutes on those days. One student complained today during 7th that I, "work us to the last minute of each day." I'm still trying to figure out how to keep my last period class on track with what the other classes are learning during their full period classes.
Friday, August 24, 2007
First Week
The first week went really well. Earlier in the week I was a bit stressed, but the last few days have been pretty good. Most of the week was spent on rules and procedures (complete with students acting them out and even creating raps out of them). I was quite proactive in my rules, consequences, and management system and it paid off during the first week. Most will say that I was in my "honeymoon period," but I could tell many of the students were testing me in the last few days and I was able to effectively hand out consequences. I just need to keep these up next week. The week ended with a lesson on the scientific method (making predictions with money being lit on fire with various solution strengths of water/alcohol mixtures) along with a short NOVA video on epigenetics (our first unit is genetics).
Epigenetics is a subfield of genetics that I had never heard of until I saw the video. Essentially, we have another genetic structure that controls which of our genes is turned off or on. This structure can be influenced by the environment such as which foods the mother and father ate and agents in the environment during times such as pregnancy and puberty. The video spent a great deal of time discussing how identical twins can live different lives (such as one developing one type of genetic disease whereas the other does not). It showed how young twins had a similar genetic structure while older identical twins had substantially fewer genes in common. It was quite interesting to see the large effect of the environment on a person's genetic structure.
Tomorrow is another wonderful professional saturday in Helena. I get to drive 2 hours for more training. Lucky me. I am lucky that next week is planned, so I just have to get some papers ready to be copied.
Epigenetics is a subfield of genetics that I had never heard of until I saw the video. Essentially, we have another genetic structure that controls which of our genes is turned off or on. This structure can be influenced by the environment such as which foods the mother and father ate and agents in the environment during times such as pregnancy and puberty. The video spent a great deal of time discussing how identical twins can live different lives (such as one developing one type of genetic disease whereas the other does not). It showed how young twins had a similar genetic structure while older identical twins had substantially fewer genes in common. It was quite interesting to see the large effect of the environment on a person's genetic structure.
Tomorrow is another wonderful professional saturday in Helena. I get to drive 2 hours for more training. Lucky me. I am lucky that next week is planned, so I just have to get some papers ready to be copied.
Monday, August 20, 2007
First Day
I love this job. It was a great first day. I have a very good group of students. I was up at the Institute wake up time of 5:55 am and somehow I was wide awake. I was able to get to school early and make some last minute preparations for homeroom and the rest of the day. I put the agenda on the board, straightened my stacks of papers, and then went down to the cafeteria to meet my homeroom class. Once the class lined up we returned to the room where I introduced myself and shook each student's hand (a practice I saw on one of our TFA videos and something my roommate does as well). It helps the students make a transition and leave anything bad behind in their last class. Part of my training emphasized "creating a welcoming environment" and this is the start. I did it with each class and most students responded positively (the others were simply quite surprised). It's something I'll do each day.
Homeroom was interesting due to the bell schedule We didn't follow it; instead the office dismissed us. Homeroom went longer than expected and I'm glad I had back up activities to do. We first played the name game where students said their name and something they liked. We went around the circle and each student had to repeat all of the names before his or her name. This seemed to go over well and it allowed the students to burn off some energy by being out of their seats.
Each class period was pretty much the same. I had students fill out a survey about themselves and then we discussed my rules, positive and negative consequences, the Super Scientist Friday system and the Super Scientist Money system. The last two are the behavior management systems I'm using that address the students as a class and the student as an individual. In the first, each class is given 15 minutes at the beginning of the week. This 15 is the class' to lose or add minutes. If the class is efficient for each part of the period, then they gain minutes proportional to the time gain. If the class is inefficient, then they lose seconds. This helps with minor disruptions like talking to neighbors, rustling papers, or anything else that makes a teacher stop a lesson or set of instructions for a task. The difference between rewarding with minutes and penalizing with seconds is there because positive incentives work better than disincentives, and therefore I'd much rather put the focus on the students working to gain efficiency and save time.
The money system is your basic token economy where students earn money based on their academic and classroom behavior each day. This money is then used in the store for school supplies, homework/bathroom passes, and other reasonable suggestions by the students. I made it clear that I don't hand out pencils or other materials. If those are needed, they may be bought at a premium price (due to buying them when the store is not open). Students will keep an account and so will a class treasurer so that I do not have to take on extra work.
While it was the first day, I made sure that some academic learning took place. I did a demonstration called "sewer lice." I told this story about my friend who graduated with me and went to New York to help with the sewer lice problem. He goes down into the sewers with protective gear and a net and scoops out sewer lice so they don't clog the sewers. You see, they are these small brown creatures that cause lots of problems in pipes. My friend gets paid $100,000 a year for this job. He recently sent me some because he knew I was teaching science. I bring out this glass container filled with these brown things and some greenish liquid. I ask the students to make observations and to answer whether or not the things inside (the sewer lice) are living. The students came up with some interesting on both sides. Some said that because of the air bubbles around the "lice," their movement, and my description of them as organisms, they were living. Others said that because they were shriveled and not in their environment that they were not living. After these answers I praised them for thinking like scientists as many make these types of comparisons and observations each day. I went on to explain about using reason and the five senses and one of those senses being taste. At this point, I reached in to the jar and pulled one out and ate it. Luckily, it was a raisin in mountain dew. Of course, most of the students thought it was the grossest thing ever. I then made my final point about science. You cannot just accept what you read, hear, or see at face value. As a scientist, you have to gather data, you have to observe, you have to inquire, and you have to seek the truth. I hadn't let them get too close to the demo as they would've smelled the mountain dew (and I let them know this). Almost all had a big smile on their faces and seemed to understand my point. It'll be something memorable I'll return to each time we discuss the purpose of science.
I said at the beginning that I had great students today and it's true. I know, though, that the first few days are the "honeymoon" period. The students will soon be testing my rules and consequences to see if I'm actually serious about what I said. Middle schoolers are quite good at catching insincerity, inconsistency, and when your promises fall short of your actions. The rest of the week will be focused on getting the procedures and rules learned well along with focusing on team building skills, which we'll build upon during the rest of the year.
Homeroom was interesting due to the bell schedule We didn't follow it; instead the office dismissed us. Homeroom went longer than expected and I'm glad I had back up activities to do. We first played the name game where students said their name and something they liked. We went around the circle and each student had to repeat all of the names before his or her name. This seemed to go over well and it allowed the students to burn off some energy by being out of their seats.
Each class period was pretty much the same. I had students fill out a survey about themselves and then we discussed my rules, positive and negative consequences, the Super Scientist Friday system and the Super Scientist Money system. The last two are the behavior management systems I'm using that address the students as a class and the student as an individual. In the first, each class is given 15 minutes at the beginning of the week. This 15 is the class' to lose or add minutes. If the class is efficient for each part of the period, then they gain minutes proportional to the time gain. If the class is inefficient, then they lose seconds. This helps with minor disruptions like talking to neighbors, rustling papers, or anything else that makes a teacher stop a lesson or set of instructions for a task. The difference between rewarding with minutes and penalizing with seconds is there because positive incentives work better than disincentives, and therefore I'd much rather put the focus on the students working to gain efficiency and save time.
The money system is your basic token economy where students earn money based on their academic and classroom behavior each day. This money is then used in the store for school supplies, homework/bathroom passes, and other reasonable suggestions by the students. I made it clear that I don't hand out pencils or other materials. If those are needed, they may be bought at a premium price (due to buying them when the store is not open). Students will keep an account and so will a class treasurer so that I do not have to take on extra work.
While it was the first day, I made sure that some academic learning took place. I did a demonstration called "sewer lice." I told this story about my friend who graduated with me and went to New York to help with the sewer lice problem. He goes down into the sewers with protective gear and a net and scoops out sewer lice so they don't clog the sewers. You see, they are these small brown creatures that cause lots of problems in pipes. My friend gets paid $100,000 a year for this job. He recently sent me some because he knew I was teaching science. I bring out this glass container filled with these brown things and some greenish liquid. I ask the students to make observations and to answer whether or not the things inside (the sewer lice) are living. The students came up with some interesting on both sides. Some said that because of the air bubbles around the "lice," their movement, and my description of them as organisms, they were living. Others said that because they were shriveled and not in their environment that they were not living. After these answers I praised them for thinking like scientists as many make these types of comparisons and observations each day. I went on to explain about using reason and the five senses and one of those senses being taste. At this point, I reached in to the jar and pulled one out and ate it. Luckily, it was a raisin in mountain dew. Of course, most of the students thought it was the grossest thing ever. I then made my final point about science. You cannot just accept what you read, hear, or see at face value. As a scientist, you have to gather data, you have to observe, you have to inquire, and you have to seek the truth. I hadn't let them get too close to the demo as they would've smelled the mountain dew (and I let them know this). Almost all had a big smile on their faces and seemed to understand my point. It'll be something memorable I'll return to each time we discuss the purpose of science.
I said at the beginning that I had great students today and it's true. I know, though, that the first few days are the "honeymoon" period. The students will soon be testing my rules and consequences to see if I'm actually serious about what I said. Middle schoolers are quite good at catching insincerity, inconsistency, and when your promises fall short of your actions. The rest of the week will be focused on getting the procedures and rules learned well along with focusing on team building skills, which we'll build upon during the rest of the year.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Inquiry Based Learning and a Little Help Needed
If any of you come across science topics in magazines like Newsweek or Time or any newspaper, please send them down (especially if they have diagrams or graphs or pictures to go with them). Editorials on science topics are quite good, too. I'm sure I can find much of these online, but things are going to get busy soon (I'll still look). While I'll make copies, it will still be cool to have the authentic materials to show how "science literacy" is pretty important in an adult's life. You don't have to actively search out the materials, but just keep it in mind that they'd be good classroom resources (thanks!).
I attended a really cool workshop yesterday. The presenter had my attention for the entire day (8am-3pm). Ms. C based the workshop around "inquiry based learning." This type of learning is essential for science classes (in my opinion) and can be used in any classroom. To appease those in favor of the standardized tests, it is objective and standard driven and can help immensely on open-response questions (such as those seen on the New York Regents Tests). George Lucas' education foundation supports this type of learning and you can find schools focusing on it completely for any age level.
The main premise of "inquiry based learning" is to allow students to discover scientific concepts through challenging and authentic experiences. To make this more clear, students experience something like friction, genetics, air pressure, etc. before the teacher explains the concept or the student reads about it in the book. Students are asked to do activities with just the materials and instructions (with limited help from the teacher). This raises the bar for the student to rely upon his or her self and work cooperatively with his or her neighbors. They are asked to solve problems, create their own questions, and to take learning into their own hands. During and after the activity, students are asked questions that connect their experience to the learning objectives (and this is helped by the teacher's explanation, too).
Here are some more examples: Students put together a "bot-head" through picking cards with capital letters, lowercase letters, and mutations (these stand for dominant, recessive, and mutated traits). Students then roll dice or flip coins to determine which traits the bot gets (this hits the idea of probability and inheritance). Once students have a "bot-head" they mate their "bot-head" with another and repeat the process outlined above to get a baby, which has some of the traits of both parents. This activity might be more of an application of a previous lesson, but it allows the teacher to make probability memorable (especially for the kinesthetic learners) along with showing how traits are inherited and how different children can have the same and different traits. This experience then sticks with the student for a much longer time than a boring lecture or chapter reading and the result is solid knowledge for standardized tests and real life. Other examples are carrying out cool experiments like alka-seltzer in film canisters (with a bit of water), research projects into topics that interest the students as long as they are withing the curriculum such as genetic disorders.
I'm totally excited about making many of my lessons inquiry-based. It might be as simple as introducing a small activity as the "bell-ringer," and using that as an example for my introduction to new material, or as extensive as students carrying out experiments for a science question that interests them. It's a method of learning and teaching that allows me to hit the Nature of Science strand each day and to give my students an authentic learning experience. If this is successful, then students will also see science as having relevance in their lives as they apply the results of what they experience to not only their learning but everyday problems (nothing beats having a class excited about learning). An understanding of air pressure can help a person understand the weather along with "un-popping" his or her ears when under water or in a plane. But that explanation will have to come later.
I attended a really cool workshop yesterday. The presenter had my attention for the entire day (8am-3pm). Ms. C based the workshop around "inquiry based learning." This type of learning is essential for science classes (in my opinion) and can be used in any classroom. To appease those in favor of the standardized tests, it is objective and standard driven and can help immensely on open-response questions (such as those seen on the New York Regents Tests). George Lucas' education foundation supports this type of learning and you can find schools focusing on it completely for any age level.
The main premise of "inquiry based learning" is to allow students to discover scientific concepts through challenging and authentic experiences. To make this more clear, students experience something like friction, genetics, air pressure, etc. before the teacher explains the concept or the student reads about it in the book. Students are asked to do activities with just the materials and instructions (with limited help from the teacher). This raises the bar for the student to rely upon his or her self and work cooperatively with his or her neighbors. They are asked to solve problems, create their own questions, and to take learning into their own hands. During and after the activity, students are asked questions that connect their experience to the learning objectives (and this is helped by the teacher's explanation, too).
Here are some more examples: Students put together a "bot-head" through picking cards with capital letters, lowercase letters, and mutations (these stand for dominant, recessive, and mutated traits). Students then roll dice or flip coins to determine which traits the bot gets (this hits the idea of probability and inheritance). Once students have a "bot-head" they mate their "bot-head" with another and repeat the process outlined above to get a baby, which has some of the traits of both parents. This activity might be more of an application of a previous lesson, but it allows the teacher to make probability memorable (especially for the kinesthetic learners) along with showing how traits are inherited and how different children can have the same and different traits. This experience then sticks with the student for a much longer time than a boring lecture or chapter reading and the result is solid knowledge for standardized tests and real life. Other examples are carrying out cool experiments like alka-seltzer in film canisters (with a bit of water), research projects into topics that interest the students as long as they are withing the curriculum such as genetic disorders.
I'm totally excited about making many of my lessons inquiry-based. It might be as simple as introducing a small activity as the "bell-ringer," and using that as an example for my introduction to new material, or as extensive as students carrying out experiments for a science question that interests them. It's a method of learning and teaching that allows me to hit the Nature of Science strand each day and to give my students an authentic learning experience. If this is successful, then students will also see science as having relevance in their lives as they apply the results of what they experience to not only their learning but everyday problems (nothing beats having a class excited about learning). An understanding of air pressure can help a person understand the weather along with "un-popping" his or her ears when under water or in a plane. But that explanation will have to come later.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Spiders, Snakes, and Gators
The Delta has quite a large variety of exotic critters. I took apart an entertainment center to move to my house and, while putting pieces of it in my trunk, there was a large hairy spider crawling on the pieces! This wasn't your normal sized house spider. No, the diameter of its belly (?) was about 2 inches and you could see all of the hairs on it. Luckily, the windshield scraper came in handy.
Today I was at the high school for an all day science workshop and one of the coaches came by to get the science teachers. He had seen a black widow spider in the field house. Three of us go out with a glass jar to the door to the field house. Sure enough, there was a small black spider near the edge of the door and the frame. One of the science teachers was then able to put the jar over the spider and the coach used a paint scraper to tap her into the jar. Once in, we saw the red hourglass on her belly. I refer to it as female because only female black widows have the hourglass on the bottom.
Earlier in the day, we were discussing the teaching of the concept of population and it came up that there were alligators in southeast Arkansas. This makes sense given our proximity to the Mississippi river. Supposedly there is an area in the lake that I live on where there are a few gators living.
On Friday, just in passing, we were told that snakes were common around and in our school buildings. They've found small rattlesnakes over at the high school and supposedly one teacher entered a room to find one sunning itself in front of the window.
I don't mean to scare y'all with any of these stories. It's just that I don't have much else to write about right now. My inservice days having been going well, but if I reported on those, then you might get a bit bored. Reptiles and spiders are much more exciting.
Today I was at the high school for an all day science workshop and one of the coaches came by to get the science teachers. He had seen a black widow spider in the field house. Three of us go out with a glass jar to the door to the field house. Sure enough, there was a small black spider near the edge of the door and the frame. One of the science teachers was then able to put the jar over the spider and the coach used a paint scraper to tap her into the jar. Once in, we saw the red hourglass on her belly. I refer to it as female because only female black widows have the hourglass on the bottom.
Earlier in the day, we were discussing the teaching of the concept of population and it came up that there were alligators in southeast Arkansas. This makes sense given our proximity to the Mississippi river. Supposedly there is an area in the lake that I live on where there are a few gators living.
On Friday, just in passing, we were told that snakes were common around and in our school buildings. They've found small rattlesnakes over at the high school and supposedly one teacher entered a room to find one sunning itself in front of the window.
I don't mean to scare y'all with any of these stories. It's just that I don't have much else to write about right now. My inservice days having been going well, but if I reported on those, then you might get a bit bored. Reptiles and spiders are much more exciting.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Pictures
The House:
The living room and the front door:
Into the Kitchen:
Behind each door are bunches of shelves. We won't run out of storage space.
Down the hallway leading to the rooms and bathrooms:
My bedroom (notice the made bed):
My bathroom:
Lucas' bathroom and Laundry Room:
Coolest Part (of the bathroom): Walk-in Closet
I'll have some pictures of the outside of the house once I find a digital camera. Not much else to update. I've been cleaning and arranging my classroom along with preparing my scientific method and life sciences units. I'll have more to talk about once inservice starts on Thursday.
The living room and the front door:
Into the Kitchen:
Behind each door are bunches of shelves. We won't run out of storage space.
Down the hallway leading to the rooms and bathrooms:
My bedroom (notice the made bed):
My bathroom:
Lucas' bathroom and Laundry Room:
Coolest Part (of the bathroom): Walk-in Closet
I'll have some pictures of the outside of the house once I find a digital camera. Not much else to update. I've been cleaning and arranging my classroom along with preparing my scientific method and life sciences units. I'll have more to talk about once inservice starts on Thursday.
Friday, August 3, 2007
What I've been doing
The house is now furnished--we just got our couches on Wednesday. They are very soft and comfortable and we aren't sure whether they are black or midnight navy. They have this crushed fabric (not sure of the technical term), so they have dark and light patches. In some lights, they look black and in others they look like a very dark blue. Either way, they work really well in our living room. Once I find a digital camera, I'll be able to provide a better idea of what it all looks like. I've actually been cooking for myself, too, and not just toast and cereal. Recently, I've made some pork chops with a sauce comprised of jack daniel's bbq sauce, dijon mustard, garlic powder, and brown sugar. It's really nice to pick what I want to eat at each meal instead of whatever is on Aramark or AVI's menu.
Planning for school has taken up most of my days. I've read a few good books on teaching and the stuff TFA has us doing is quite helpful. Essentially, it's alot of backwards planning. We first take our standards and make them easier to understand. Luckily, the science standards are quite thorough and explicit. We then figure out the assessment for each standard--ie how each student will show us that he or she mastered that objective. At the same time, we create a "big goal" for the students, which has a qualitative and quantitative component. The quantitative component is a statement of the measurable achievement we will accomplish at the end of the year. For example, moving all students an average of 1.5 to 2 grade levels in reading or all students mastering 80% or more of the objectives. This goal is usually assessed through a standardized test or other assessment that measures the students' mastery of objectives.
As a blessing and a curse, I don't have a standardized test to prep my students for at the end of the year (8th grade science is not yet tested in Arkansas--last year was a pilot year for 7th grade science testing, though). This means that I get to create my own final assessment; however, the test may not have as much meaning for my students due to the fact that it won't decide if they go on to the next grade level. Of course, I still have to come up with ways to motivate them to take the test seriously. My plans right now are to use questions from the NY Regents tests that are aligned to my standards. NY Regents tests are quite rigorous and unique in that in addition to multiple choice questions students are asked free response questions. My only modification will be to add a few lines under each multiple choice question to ask for an explanation/justification for each answer. I don't believe that circling 1 out of 4 choices on a question shows mastery of the material; I want to see the thought process behind the answer choice as that will show how the student arrived at the answer. It will also drive home the point that all answers (especially in science) need to be justified with reasons. All of my tests leading up to the final one will have this component as this will be an expectation I will have throughout the year.
The qualitative part of the big goal is the more fun part--we get to say what the students will actually get out of "8th grade science." Part of putting this together was creating "essential understandings" for our subject matter. "Essential understandings" are the key points/questions a subject asks in order to carry out its method of inquiry. To put it a better way, "what are the questions that this field asks?" and "what is the whole point of this field?" Not to brag, but for once the philosophy major had a direct application to my work. The idea behind this part of the big goal is that if we get our students to understand the "essential understandings," then they'll have an easier time understanding the reason behind why we are learning the subject matter of "8th grade science" or any other subject. Some of mine are:
The rest of my preparation has been the preparation of a diagnostic test to give at the beginning of the school year. For some subjects it's easier to give a diagnostic test than others (such as cumulative ones like calculus or Spanish). For 8th grade science, where the students get a quick survey of life, physical, and earth sciences, my diagnostic is focused more on skills than knowledge that the students bring. The test focuses on number skills like probability and fractions (we get to do Punnett squares in our life sciences section), measurement, and reading graphs. The test also focuses on basic understandings of science and inferences--students are asked to supply definitions for "hypothesis" and "laws" (among other terms) and to read a scientific passage and draw certain inferences. I know it sounds like the students are tested a great deal under any given TFA teacher, but at least there's a reason. I have to know where my students are when they enter my classroom and where they are when they leave. In order to get feedback on what they are learning and what I'm teaching, then I have to have some method to determine this. I can't read minds. Furthermore, each test or "assessment" doesn't have to be a 50 question MC test. As long as the assessment is objective driven, I have many ways of assessment available (such as short essay responses, lab reports, etc.). I'm sure I can go on at length for more of what I've done, but I'll stop here. I don't feel too scared about the first year due to much of this prep work.
Planning for school has taken up most of my days. I've read a few good books on teaching and the stuff TFA has us doing is quite helpful. Essentially, it's alot of backwards planning. We first take our standards and make them easier to understand. Luckily, the science standards are quite thorough and explicit. We then figure out the assessment for each standard--ie how each student will show us that he or she mastered that objective. At the same time, we create a "big goal" for the students, which has a qualitative and quantitative component. The quantitative component is a statement of the measurable achievement we will accomplish at the end of the year. For example, moving all students an average of 1.5 to 2 grade levels in reading or all students mastering 80% or more of the objectives. This goal is usually assessed through a standardized test or other assessment that measures the students' mastery of objectives.
As a blessing and a curse, I don't have a standardized test to prep my students for at the end of the year (8th grade science is not yet tested in Arkansas--last year was a pilot year for 7th grade science testing, though). This means that I get to create my own final assessment; however, the test may not have as much meaning for my students due to the fact that it won't decide if they go on to the next grade level. Of course, I still have to come up with ways to motivate them to take the test seriously. My plans right now are to use questions from the NY Regents tests that are aligned to my standards. NY Regents tests are quite rigorous and unique in that in addition to multiple choice questions students are asked free response questions. My only modification will be to add a few lines under each multiple choice question to ask for an explanation/justification for each answer. I don't believe that circling 1 out of 4 choices on a question shows mastery of the material; I want to see the thought process behind the answer choice as that will show how the student arrived at the answer. It will also drive home the point that all answers (especially in science) need to be justified with reasons. All of my tests leading up to the final one will have this component as this will be an expectation I will have throughout the year.
The qualitative part of the big goal is the more fun part--we get to say what the students will actually get out of "8th grade science." Part of putting this together was creating "essential understandings" for our subject matter. "Essential understandings" are the key points/questions a subject asks in order to carry out its method of inquiry. To put it a better way, "what are the questions that this field asks?" and "what is the whole point of this field?" Not to brag, but for once the philosophy major had a direct application to my work. The idea behind this part of the big goal is that if we get our students to understand the "essential understandings," then they'll have an easier time understanding the reason behind why we are learning the subject matter of "8th grade science" or any other subject. Some of mine are:
- Science gives us a way to support what we believe with good evidence. If other good evidence comes along that goes against what we believe, we have to change our minds.
- Structure determines function (what something is made of determines how it works)
- How can I understand the world through my 5 senses and my brain?
- What is the pattern that is developing?
- Given these results, what is going to happen next?
The rest of my preparation has been the preparation of a diagnostic test to give at the beginning of the school year. For some subjects it's easier to give a diagnostic test than others (such as cumulative ones like calculus or Spanish). For 8th grade science, where the students get a quick survey of life, physical, and earth sciences, my diagnostic is focused more on skills than knowledge that the students bring. The test focuses on number skills like probability and fractions (we get to do Punnett squares in our life sciences section), measurement, and reading graphs. The test also focuses on basic understandings of science and inferences--students are asked to supply definitions for "hypothesis" and "laws" (among other terms) and to read a scientific passage and draw certain inferences. I know it sounds like the students are tested a great deal under any given TFA teacher, but at least there's a reason. I have to know where my students are when they enter my classroom and where they are when they leave. In order to get feedback on what they are learning and what I'm teaching, then I have to have some method to determine this. I can't read minds. Furthermore, each test or "assessment" doesn't have to be a 50 question MC test. As long as the assessment is objective driven, I have many ways of assessment available (such as short essay responses, lab reports, etc.). I'm sure I can go on at length for more of what I've done, but I'll stop here. I don't feel too scared about the first year due to much of this prep work.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Moving In
Moving in has been a good deal of fun. I've got nice neighbors on both sides (one has already invited me over for beef soup). We've slowly furnished the house with purchasing mattresses/frames, a dresser, and a desk. The kitchen table, couches, and tables are coming soon along with a free entertainment center (provided we dismantle it and transport it to our house). If you ever feel the urge to visit southern Arkansas, then there will be a place for you to stay. The town is quite nice to new teachers--many are really excited about us. Everyone's eyes light up when I or others tell them that we are here to teach (it's a pretty cool feeling).
Monday, July 23, 2007
We found a house!
Lucas and I held out until the end of the week to decide on a house and the wait was worth it. My house is a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom house with a porch, kitchen, eating area, and a living room. It's also purple. No kidding, you read that correctly. It's not an ugly shade of purple, but closer to a grape or wine purple. Inside, the carpet is bluish gray with the kitchen and hallways to the bedrooms having tiled floors. The house is 50 years old, but it was updated last year with new everything pretty much (including all of the appliances). It looks amazing on the inside. The kitchen has 1,000,000 cabinets with removable shelving and the bathrooms have huge mirrors, stone countertops (not sure of the type), and one has a walk-in closet. The house is not on the lake--it's only one street over from it. I should have pictures up in the week so you don't have to rely upon my words.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The Delta
I'm finally in the Delta. When we arrived in MS we got a bus tour of the Delta by one of the professors at Delta State. We went to Dockery Farms where many of the Delta Blues artists got their start before heading up to Chicago or Memphis. We also saw Fanny Lou Hamer's town and resting place along with Mound Bayou. We then finished with visiting the site where the levee's broke (greatest natural disaster in America before Katrina). When I get a little more time, I'll add some pictures and elaborate on what I learned at each location (the Delta has a ton of history about the blues and civil rights).
The best part, though, about orientation was the trip to Po' Monkey's Lounge (yes, that's how it's spelled and pronounced). It doesn't look like much from the outside (http://www.mississippideltabluesinfo.com/images/Po_Monkey_s.JPG), but it's a true jook joint--term for a southern establishment featuring blues music, alcohol, and dancing. It's one of the last original ones in the south (do a search on wikipedia or google for "jook joint" for more information). They had an authentic blues band there that night and it was tons of fun. The music and everything was amazing.
Yesterday I met the Superintendent, her AS, and the principals at each school. They surprised us by bringing in pizza and cheesecake in the middle of our meeting, and they all seemed really happy to have TFA teachers at their schools. I am now teaching 8th grade science--I had thought I was 7th all summer. My room is pretty nice as is the whole school. I've got a white board instead of chalk board, which I'm pretty happy about as I can't stand writing with chalk. I lucked out too with science books as 8th grade is getting new books this year. I get to go into my room tomorrow and take a longer look at everything in it and to begin setting it up. In other news, I passed my Praxis 2 in Biology Content Knowledge!
I've been looking for houses in the past two days and the search has been pretty good. We've got one near the lake that we may take, but we are looking at a bunch tomorrow and I should have a decision by then. Right now my time is taken up by either house hunting, going to Delta potlucks (tfa 2nd years host them), or unpacking my standards. I take the standards set down by the state of Arkansas and figure out how to teach them--what previous knowledge do students need, what skills do they need to learn, how does this standard fit in with others? It's invigorating. I'd probably find it more exciting had I learned that I was 8th grade before doing alot of the 7th grade standards. I won't complain too much. I'm sure I'll have to adapt to much more in the next two years.
I will repost soon with more details as I've given a general story for most parts of my time here.
The best part, though, about orientation was the trip to Po' Monkey's Lounge (yes, that's how it's spelled and pronounced). It doesn't look like much from the outside (http://www.mississippideltabluesinfo.com/images/Po_Monkey_s.JPG), but it's a true jook joint--term for a southern establishment featuring blues music, alcohol, and dancing. It's one of the last original ones in the south (do a search on wikipedia or google for "jook joint" for more information). They had an authentic blues band there that night and it was tons of fun. The music and everything was amazing.
Yesterday I met the Superintendent, her AS, and the principals at each school. They surprised us by bringing in pizza and cheesecake in the middle of our meeting, and they all seemed really happy to have TFA teachers at their schools. I am now teaching 8th grade science--I had thought I was 7th all summer. My room is pretty nice as is the whole school. I've got a white board instead of chalk board, which I'm pretty happy about as I can't stand writing with chalk. I lucked out too with science books as 8th grade is getting new books this year. I get to go into my room tomorrow and take a longer look at everything in it and to begin setting it up. In other news, I passed my Praxis 2 in Biology Content Knowledge!
I've been looking for houses in the past two days and the search has been pretty good. We've got one near the lake that we may take, but we are looking at a bunch tomorrow and I should have a decision by then. Right now my time is taken up by either house hunting, going to Delta potlucks (tfa 2nd years host them), or unpacking my standards. I take the standards set down by the state of Arkansas and figure out how to teach them--what previous knowledge do students need, what skills do they need to learn, how does this standard fit in with others? It's invigorating. I'd probably find it more exciting had I learned that I was 8th grade before doing alot of the 7th grade standards. I won't complain too much. I'm sure I'll have to adapt to much more in the next two years.
I will repost soon with more details as I've given a general story for most parts of my time here.
Friday, July 13, 2007
We're Done
Summer school teaching ended today and Institute ended yesterday with the closing ceremonies. It was a really fun last day. We had "explo day" where students came around to their rooms with their parents and participated in activities that showcased what we accomplished this summer. The 7th grade science teachers did many of our cool experiments and attracted a crowd near the end of the day. Both the closing ceremonies and our all school meeting had slideshows that showcased the last 5 weeks. I really cannot believe it's been that long.
I'm almost all packed up--I'll probably load the car tonight. Tomorrow at 8 AM I'll be heading to the Delta.
Training was pretty intense, but rewarding and worth it. I feel prepared for at least the first day. I definitely have a bunch of books I'll be reading before the year starts, though. This really was the first time I was challenged to this extent (sophomore year with MT comes in at a distant second). I feel now that I am used to getting up a 5:30am and working even after I get back at 4:30pm. I know that the Delta will present a new and even higher challenge. I know this sounds corny, but my job as a corps member isn't to save the world. It's simply to be the most effective teacher for every student that comes into my classroom.
I'm almost all packed up--I'll probably load the car tonight. Tomorrow at 8 AM I'll be heading to the Delta.
Training was pretty intense, but rewarding and worth it. I feel prepared for at least the first day. I definitely have a bunch of books I'll be reading before the year starts, though. This really was the first time I was challenged to this extent (sophomore year with MT comes in at a distant second). I feel now that I am used to getting up a 5:30am and working even after I get back at 4:30pm. I know that the Delta will present a new and even higher challenge. I know this sounds corny, but my job as a corps member isn't to save the world. It's simply to be the most effective teacher for every student that comes into my classroom.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
TFA is its own country. We run on TFAST (Teach for America Standard Time); we choose our own holidays (work on July 4 and take off an afternoon as a surprise); we have our own laws (rules); we have our own core beliefs; we have our own language.
Imagine I said the following to you:
Each day I go to a CS session and sometimes an LS session. I meet with CMA each day to go over the TAL rubric. I'm receiving many BPs and some Ns, luckily no PNs. I need to work on my I and E sections of the TAL rubric. I've also had to collect and enter ISAT data this week. Each week we have DCA where we talk about social issues. Although RFoC is Aramark's brand, it's where I eat each day. I must make sure to attend my ILTs each week and to attend LPCs and CS differentiated sessions. After all, I am a CM and not a CMA, SD, or SOM. However, those positions are quite important at my school. At school, I have my collaborative teaching in the morning and LT in the afternoon, and when not in session, PD time. I sometimes use that time to meet with my FA.
Most of these terms are used regularly (I think it has to do with their obsession with efficiency), but here is what it all means (we also try to prevent each other from using these abbreviations when we go out on the weekends):
CS: Curriculum specialist
LS: Literacy specialist
CMA: Corps Member Advisor
TAL: Teaching as Leadership
ISAT: Institute Student Achievement Tracker (best guess on this one)
DCA: Diversity, Community, and Achievement
RFoC: Real Food on Campus
CM: Corps Member
SD: School Director
SOM: School Operations Manager
FA: Faculty Advisor
PD: Professional Development
LT: Lead Teach
ILT: Institute Learning Team
BP: Basic Proficiency
N: Novice
PN: Pre-novice
I: Investment section of the rubric
E: Execution section of the rubric
Imagine I said the following to you:
Each day I go to a CS session and sometimes an LS session. I meet with CMA each day to go over the TAL rubric. I'm receiving many BPs and some Ns, luckily no PNs. I need to work on my I and E sections of the TAL rubric. I've also had to collect and enter ISAT data this week. Each week we have DCA where we talk about social issues. Although RFoC is Aramark's brand, it's where I eat each day. I must make sure to attend my ILTs each week and to attend LPCs and CS differentiated sessions. After all, I am a CM and not a CMA, SD, or SOM. However, those positions are quite important at my school. At school, I have my collaborative teaching in the morning and LT in the afternoon, and when not in session, PD time. I sometimes use that time to meet with my FA.
Most of these terms are used regularly (I think it has to do with their obsession with efficiency), but here is what it all means (we also try to prevent each other from using these abbreviations when we go out on the weekends):
CS: Curriculum specialist
LS: Literacy specialist
CMA: Corps Member Advisor
TAL: Teaching as Leadership
ISAT: Institute Student Achievement Tracker (best guess on this one)
DCA: Diversity, Community, and Achievement
RFoC: Real Food on Campus
CM: Corps Member
SD: School Director
SOM: School Operations Manager
FA: Faculty Advisor
PD: Professional Development
LT: Lead Teach
ILT: Institute Learning Team
BP: Basic Proficiency
N: Novice
PN: Pre-novice
I: Investment section of the rubric
E: Execution section of the rubric
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Overdue update
This week was, by far, the easiest week yet of Institute. I've had 3 students come consistently to class and most of the classes went really well. We had a review day on tuesday and I used a variety of ways to introduce material such as short videos, drawing, and pictures--the students really enjoyed them. July 4 was not too eventful as we still had to attend curriculum sessions in the morning. We did get to sleep in an extra hour. I never thought that I'd be happy to get up at 7 in the summer. The rest of the day was spent hanging out, sleeping, and a movie. No one could really party because of having to teach class on Thursday. The rest of the week was uneventful--no food fights or power outages to report. Next Saturday I leave for the Delta, which means a 10 hour car ride. Luckily, I've got a friend riding with me so the trip won't be too bad. I'm sure I'll have more once I arrive in the Delta.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Session 2
Out of 8 students, 4 returned. I gained another that came in from the other summer school session at the school for a total of 5. It didn't help that many of our kids walk to school and that it was raining today. We might get a few tomorrow as many of us called our kids/families to see where they were, but many are taking this time to go on vacation. This happened last year at Summerbridge--it's the only time many parents can take off for vacation, so everything else comes second.
The day still ran smoothly and class went quite well. My pacing is improving and I did not feel rushed for any part of class as I've had in the past. I was able to get through the lecture, take questions, have guided practice, have independent practice, and have time to show the students how to light money on fire. No, I didn't break any federal laws. I put a $5 dollar bill in a 50/50 alcohol/water solution held it up with tongs and then lit it on fire. The rubbing alcohol burnt off first and then the remaining water in the bill doused the fire out. The fire never reached the bill, so no material actually burned (ie no worrying about the fire alarm going off). The students were quite impressed and we worked a bit of science in by predicting what would happen and why and then once it happened coming up with an explanation. While this wasn't aligned with any objective we taught, it functioned more as an reward for coming to class and staying on task during class as it was at the end. Tomorrow I may show how to put a flame near a balloon and not pop the balloon (put water in it and then blow it up). I'll probably have non fire experiments in the future, but these are working quite well to keep the students' attention/motivation.
Luckily, all of the teachers in my collaborative planned out our objectives so that we'd be ahead in teaching. This allows me to take tomorrow to go over the midterms with each student individually and discuss his or her weak areas and how to improve them. I can also give mini-lessons on the areas that all of the class missed. This will be followed up by more comprehensive review quizzes every 2 days probably (the kids breeze through most questions so time won't be much of an issue, especially if the quizzes only cover a few objectives at a time).
We found another kenyon alum working for TFA here at Institute. I think there are plans for the kc corps members to hang out with him or go out to dinner this weekend.
The day still ran smoothly and class went quite well. My pacing is improving and I did not feel rushed for any part of class as I've had in the past. I was able to get through the lecture, take questions, have guided practice, have independent practice, and have time to show the students how to light money on fire. No, I didn't break any federal laws. I put a $5 dollar bill in a 50/50 alcohol/water solution held it up with tongs and then lit it on fire. The rubbing alcohol burnt off first and then the remaining water in the bill doused the fire out. The fire never reached the bill, so no material actually burned (ie no worrying about the fire alarm going off). The students were quite impressed and we worked a bit of science in by predicting what would happen and why and then once it happened coming up with an explanation. While this wasn't aligned with any objective we taught, it functioned more as an reward for coming to class and staying on task during class as it was at the end. Tomorrow I may show how to put a flame near a balloon and not pop the balloon (put water in it and then blow it up). I'll probably have non fire experiments in the future, but these are working quite well to keep the students' attention/motivation.
Luckily, all of the teachers in my collaborative planned out our objectives so that we'd be ahead in teaching. This allows me to take tomorrow to go over the midterms with each student individually and discuss his or her weak areas and how to improve them. I can also give mini-lessons on the areas that all of the class missed. This will be followed up by more comprehensive review quizzes every 2 days probably (the kids breeze through most questions so time won't be much of an issue, especially if the quizzes only cover a few objectives at a time).
We found another kenyon alum working for TFA here at Institute. I think there are plans for the kc corps members to hang out with him or go out to dinner this weekend.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
End of Session 1
Things are getting much better and much easier. I think part of this is due to getting the lessons and skills necessary to be effective in the classroom. For example, we just learned various strategies for English Language Learners (ELL). I learned how there were different levels of comprehension that affect student performance in the classroom--ie just because a student can converse with his friends in a conversation doesn't mean that he will be able to understand the abstract content specific terms the teacher uses in class. We learned more strategies and I find myself almost always implement some new skill or method each day as I get my education class before teaching 5th period.
Friday was an interesting day at school as well. It was the last day for many of the students--many received their report cards, TAKS scores, and the notice of whether they would be promoted to 8th or had to stay for an extra two weeks to get the promotion. Being the last day of school, the middle schoolers definitely had some things planned--such as a food fight. Yep, we got a message over the loud speaker listing off each male teacher's name and then asking for all TFA teachers to go to the cafeteria. But, by the time we arrived it was over.
I also gave my students their midterm assessment on Friday, too. We are mandated to give them and I found my results quite useful and meaningful. Each student was tested on the objectives we had taught until this point and they were asking 3 questions for each objective. Many of the students had similar grades (such as missing only a few questions). However, it was obvious that many students were missing the same questions in similar ways. There was no cheating as almost each student was at his or her own table and I was watching all 8 take the test. What this meant was that the fault was on my end (which follows TFA's belief of "teacher's actions lead to students' actions). When I saw this I realized how little we learn from percentages on tests. Imagine two students get an 75% on a test. Most would assume that they performed the same on the test. However, if the test had an even distribution of questions around the subject material, then the performances could be different. Maybe the first student missed the "tough questions" on each section but got 75% of each section right and the second student aced the first two sections yet only managed 50% on the last two. This indicates two different students who have performed differently in class and two different strategies to help them improve their future test scores.
I've been somewhat skeptical of the idea of a "standardized education," but it's helpful to have a starting point and a method for knowing what was successfully taught to the students. Furthermore, we know that students will (or are supposed to) have a core body of knowledge. This ensures that all students are getting an equal education because if 100% of what was taught was left up to the teacher then some students wouldn't get the same education as their peers. Imagine a class learning mostly about biology and physics but little about chemistry. Or a class only learning about world war 1 and world war 2 and not learning about vietnam or korea. Sure, standard based education isn't perfect and many hate "teaching to the test." It seems as though many would want to teach for education's/knowledge's sake (and I would 100% agree with that). There is the possibility of a balance between the two where if you take care of the education/knowledge part then the testing should take care of itself (an approach used by a great spanish teacher in high school).
The hurdles, in my limited experience, seem to stem from the tests themselves. The fact is, many teachers "teach to the test" willingly. The tests they "teach to" are final exams, papers, quizzes, projects, and presentations. Almost every standardized test is a test full of multiple choice questions. MC questions are good for testing basic knowledge facts of a subject, but they don't do much in showing upper levels of Bloom's Taxonomy such analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Of course change would take lots of time and money, but it would be great if our state based assessments were papers, presentations, debates, essay based tests (yes, even in science), lab reports and any other method that tests a realistic use of education. In college and after, we have to argue for points, communicate our ideas in writing and speaking, solve problems, and carry out procedures or calculations methodically. When was the last time a lawyer, doctor, accountant, architect, etc went to work and filled in one of four bubbles with a number 2 pencil for his or her salary?
Tomorrow I'll find out which students return and which new students I get for my classes. No one is quite sure what will happen, so it'll be interesting.
Friday was an interesting day at school as well. It was the last day for many of the students--many received their report cards, TAKS scores, and the notice of whether they would be promoted to 8th or had to stay for an extra two weeks to get the promotion. Being the last day of school, the middle schoolers definitely had some things planned--such as a food fight. Yep, we got a message over the loud speaker listing off each male teacher's name and then asking for all TFA teachers to go to the cafeteria. But, by the time we arrived it was over.
I also gave my students their midterm assessment on Friday, too. We are mandated to give them and I found my results quite useful and meaningful. Each student was tested on the objectives we had taught until this point and they were asking 3 questions for each objective. Many of the students had similar grades (such as missing only a few questions). However, it was obvious that many students were missing the same questions in similar ways. There was no cheating as almost each student was at his or her own table and I was watching all 8 take the test. What this meant was that the fault was on my end (which follows TFA's belief of "teacher's actions lead to students' actions). When I saw this I realized how little we learn from percentages on tests. Imagine two students get an 75% on a test. Most would assume that they performed the same on the test. However, if the test had an even distribution of questions around the subject material, then the performances could be different. Maybe the first student missed the "tough questions" on each section but got 75% of each section right and the second student aced the first two sections yet only managed 50% on the last two. This indicates two different students who have performed differently in class and two different strategies to help them improve their future test scores.
I've been somewhat skeptical of the idea of a "standardized education," but it's helpful to have a starting point and a method for knowing what was successfully taught to the students. Furthermore, we know that students will (or are supposed to) have a core body of knowledge. This ensures that all students are getting an equal education because if 100% of what was taught was left up to the teacher then some students wouldn't get the same education as their peers. Imagine a class learning mostly about biology and physics but little about chemistry. Or a class only learning about world war 1 and world war 2 and not learning about vietnam or korea. Sure, standard based education isn't perfect and many hate "teaching to the test." It seems as though many would want to teach for education's/knowledge's sake (and I would 100% agree with that). There is the possibility of a balance between the two where if you take care of the education/knowledge part then the testing should take care of itself (an approach used by a great spanish teacher in high school).
The hurdles, in my limited experience, seem to stem from the tests themselves. The fact is, many teachers "teach to the test" willingly. The tests they "teach to" are final exams, papers, quizzes, projects, and presentations. Almost every standardized test is a test full of multiple choice questions. MC questions are good for testing basic knowledge facts of a subject, but they don't do much in showing upper levels of Bloom's Taxonomy such analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Of course change would take lots of time and money, but it would be great if our state based assessments were papers, presentations, debates, essay based tests (yes, even in science), lab reports and any other method that tests a realistic use of education. In college and after, we have to argue for points, communicate our ideas in writing and speaking, solve problems, and carry out procedures or calculations methodically. When was the last time a lawyer, doctor, accountant, architect, etc went to work and filled in one of four bubbles with a number 2 pencil for his or her salary?
Tomorrow I'll find out which students return and which new students I get for my classes. No one is quite sure what will happen, so it'll be interesting.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Lights Out
Today was going well until about 11:30 when we received an announcement that a streetlight needed repaired. As a result, the electricity at the school would have to be turned off for 6 hours. Students were allowed to call home on their cell phones and instead of teaching we managed the students and stood guard at the doors in case any decided to bolt without their parents. One student did try to leave and he almost succeeded as he was quite quiet and unnoticed until the door opened. He seemed a bit confused and didn't mind that he had to wait until someone came to get him.
I got to teach my lesson in the morning and it was a lot of fun; I taught about simple machines. We had an axle/wheel, lever, pulley, inclined plane, etc. in class. The kids seemed like they were having a lot of fun with using the machines.
We are in an interesting situation here at summer school. The school has a first and second session where the second session is optional for students who have good attendance and/or passing TAKS scores from their summer retake. Come monday, I will have some of my old students, but I will receive new ones. This might not sound like much of a problem as it's really good if a student doesn't have to come to summer school any more, BUT, TFA is collecting ISAT data. This was the test the students take at the beginning of getting a TFA teacher and at the end (two weeks into the 2nd session). If they meet their "growth goals," then it says that the TFA teacher was effective in teaching the students for those 4 weeks (14 actual school days). From the standpoint of many TFA teachers we also want the students to come back so that we can teach them more so that they'll be more prepared for school in the fall.
As a result of this attendance problem, we have to take steps to keep the students invested in our class so that they'll come back when it's optional and not mandatory. One route I and other teachers are taking is making the next two weeks personal for the students. We are bringing in resources and setting aside time for questions about life after high school--the meaning of a college degree, the possibilities in a profession, etc. This part of life is quite vague for many of our students as many are not brought up with these expectations. I will also be bringing in a Houston Kenyon alum as a speaker (and possibly quite a few more once I get the alumni website password in the next few days). I'll also write positive notes home and make sure to offer personalized help for each student's weak areas in what we are learning.
As a science teacher, my job is a little easier in making class interesting through cool experiments/demonstrations. A few days ago we were shown some amazing experiments that even college grads found fascinating such as lighting money on fire, crushing a can just by putting it in water, blowing the top off a film canister, etc. We plan to begin doing a cool experiment each day starting friday and of course following it up with a mini-lesson on the science behind it (5 minute explanation). This is all quite useful for the next two years because some of the same strategies will be used to keep the students invested in their work at school. The idea is that the teacher makes the classroom culture great and makes education meaningful to the students. Thus, the students see the value in school and the work they do each day.
I got to teach my lesson in the morning and it was a lot of fun; I taught about simple machines. We had an axle/wheel, lever, pulley, inclined plane, etc. in class. The kids seemed like they were having a lot of fun with using the machines.
We are in an interesting situation here at summer school. The school has a first and second session where the second session is optional for students who have good attendance and/or passing TAKS scores from their summer retake. Come monday, I will have some of my old students, but I will receive new ones. This might not sound like much of a problem as it's really good if a student doesn't have to come to summer school any more, BUT, TFA is collecting ISAT data. This was the test the students take at the beginning of getting a TFA teacher and at the end (two weeks into the 2nd session). If they meet their "growth goals," then it says that the TFA teacher was effective in teaching the students for those 4 weeks (14 actual school days). From the standpoint of many TFA teachers we also want the students to come back so that we can teach them more so that they'll be more prepared for school in the fall.
As a result of this attendance problem, we have to take steps to keep the students invested in our class so that they'll come back when it's optional and not mandatory. One route I and other teachers are taking is making the next two weeks personal for the students. We are bringing in resources and setting aside time for questions about life after high school--the meaning of a college degree, the possibilities in a profession, etc. This part of life is quite vague for many of our students as many are not brought up with these expectations. I will also be bringing in a Houston Kenyon alum as a speaker (and possibly quite a few more once I get the alumni website password in the next few days). I'll also write positive notes home and make sure to offer personalized help for each student's weak areas in what we are learning.
As a science teacher, my job is a little easier in making class interesting through cool experiments/demonstrations. A few days ago we were shown some amazing experiments that even college grads found fascinating such as lighting money on fire, crushing a can just by putting it in water, blowing the top off a film canister, etc. We plan to begin doing a cool experiment each day starting friday and of course following it up with a mini-lesson on the science behind it (5 minute explanation). This is all quite useful for the next two years because some of the same strategies will be used to keep the students invested in their work at school. The idea is that the teacher makes the classroom culture great and makes education meaningful to the students. Thus, the students see the value in school and the work they do each day.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Mostly Good
Today was a pretty fun day for the most part. I taught a lesson on motion and it went really well during first period; however, it didn't go over as well during 5th. It just felt like I couldn't make a good sentence or go in a good order. Luckily, I had a small amount of content to deliver so I was able to reteach the concepts that were a bit confusing at first. Over the next few days I'll also be able to revisit the lesson during the first few minutes of each class to make sure the students understood it.
The better part of the day was the students' behavior during 5th period. This is the last period of the day and thus the students are usually quite fidgety and talkative. Today, each one received his or her job in class and seemed to take to it well. Homework collection, attendance, board preparation, paper return, etc. were all carried out by the students and it made everything much more efficient. It also improved the in class participation of one student who had been giving me some attitude in the past few days. The student no longer had a sour look on her face through class and participated 3 times (which is 3x more than usual).
My Faculty Adviser came through for our collaborative group in a big way, as well. We are doing simple machines tomorrow and Thursday and no one brought his or her incline plane, wedge, screw, or wheel and axle (among others) to Institute. Our FA found the school's incline plane, force and motion kit, and many other cool simple machines for us. It looked like Christmas in the room as we now have some really cool stuff to use for demonstrations tomorrow and Thursday.
The best part of the day, though, was the end. After school ends we usually have another hour at school for various workshops, lessons, or lesson planning clinics. Today we were told we were going to have a session on "work life balance." Most thought we were going to get another Power Point presentation on how we should work to find "me time" while being quite busy. Instead, we boarded the bus and went home one hour early. We were then met by a carnival type setup put on by TFA at Moody Towers: food, massages, DDR, karaoke, a bounce house, and many other fun things to do. It was a really nice gesture as tomorrow marks our half-way point through Institute.
The better part of the day was the students' behavior during 5th period. This is the last period of the day and thus the students are usually quite fidgety and talkative. Today, each one received his or her job in class and seemed to take to it well. Homework collection, attendance, board preparation, paper return, etc. were all carried out by the students and it made everything much more efficient. It also improved the in class participation of one student who had been giving me some attitude in the past few days. The student no longer had a sour look on her face through class and participated 3 times (which is 3x more than usual).
My Faculty Adviser came through for our collaborative group in a big way, as well. We are doing simple machines tomorrow and Thursday and no one brought his or her incline plane, wedge, screw, or wheel and axle (among others) to Institute. Our FA found the school's incline plane, force and motion kit, and many other cool simple machines for us. It looked like Christmas in the room as we now have some really cool stuff to use for demonstrations tomorrow and Thursday.
The best part of the day, though, was the end. After school ends we usually have another hour at school for various workshops, lessons, or lesson planning clinics. Today we were told we were going to have a session on "work life balance." Most thought we were going to get another Power Point presentation on how we should work to find "me time" while being quite busy. Instead, we boarded the bus and went home one hour early. We were then met by a carnival type setup put on by TFA at Moody Towers: food, massages, DDR, karaoke, a bounce house, and many other fun things to do. It was a really nice gesture as tomorrow marks our half-way point through Institute.
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