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.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
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.
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