I made the video below as part of an online portfolio that can be shared with principles, department chairs, and other administration as I begin searching for a teaching position. Enjoy!
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
Job Insecurity
Well, its over. I'm finished with student teaching and catching up on several blog posts that I've been meaning to write. Keep checking back, there will be more coming.
I may have had somewhat of an epiphany. I think we all can think of teachers we have either worked with or had when we were students that are cynical and pessimistic about the average student's willingness to work hard. I've come up with at least one explanation for why this happens. As I look back, it is safe to say that teaching is a unique job in many ways. One way is that there are very few options for scapegoats when things go awry. There were times when students performed very poorly on tests or quizzes. As I thought about this problem, I realized there are only two explanations: either I didn't teach well, or the students didn't care and work hard. In this way, teaching brings out one's insecurities.
Is there a better way of doing this? Why didn't I think of that response in the moment? Are the students understanding what I am saying? Could I be explaining it differently that would make more sense? How are all the other teachers explaining it? Am I reaching all my students? Should I give more grace to these students or get tough on them?
Many times there is no way of knowing for sure. Many times, you go with your gut and hope for the best. Student teaching affords you a great asset - a gifted, experienced teacher to answer those questions, verify you are doing things correctly, and correct you where you aren't. I won't have that safety net next year.
When grades go down, its either me or them (or maybe a combination). Its incredibly uncomfortable to think its me, but it most likely is. There are things I could have been more clear about. There are topics I could have made more engaging. There are connections to the students' everyday lives I could have made. When students don't learn, that means you failed. No one likes to think they failed. No wonder there are teachers out there with negative views of students. Its a lot easier to think of your students as lazy, unmotivated, uninterested, and immature than it is to think of yourself as ineffective.
I may have had somewhat of an epiphany. I think we all can think of teachers we have either worked with or had when we were students that are cynical and pessimistic about the average student's willingness to work hard. I've come up with at least one explanation for why this happens. As I look back, it is safe to say that teaching is a unique job in many ways. One way is that there are very few options for scapegoats when things go awry. There were times when students performed very poorly on tests or quizzes. As I thought about this problem, I realized there are only two explanations: either I didn't teach well, or the students didn't care and work hard. In this way, teaching brings out one's insecurities.
Is there a better way of doing this? Why didn't I think of that response in the moment? Are the students understanding what I am saying? Could I be explaining it differently that would make more sense? How are all the other teachers explaining it? Am I reaching all my students? Should I give more grace to these students or get tough on them?
Many times there is no way of knowing for sure. Many times, you go with your gut and hope for the best. Student teaching affords you a great asset - a gifted, experienced teacher to answer those questions, verify you are doing things correctly, and correct you where you aren't. I won't have that safety net next year.
When grades go down, its either me or them (or maybe a combination). Its incredibly uncomfortable to think its me, but it most likely is. There are things I could have been more clear about. There are topics I could have made more engaging. There are connections to the students' everyday lives I could have made. When students don't learn, that means you failed. No one likes to think they failed. No wonder there are teachers out there with negative views of students. Its a lot easier to think of your students as lazy, unmotivated, uninterested, and immature than it is to think of yourself as ineffective.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
What's the Point?
Every now and then, and especially when you've been doing something for a while, its good to come back to the question, "Why are we doing this in the first place?" I have been mulling over this question recently when it comes to grading policies. I have two examples of the same problem:
1. Test Retakes. We allow students to retake their tests (if they get a D or F) to raise their grade on that test up to a 75%. In order to retake a test, students have to fill out a Google form, come in for help to go over what they missed, and then make time on a certain day to retake the test. However, we have begun to think about requiring students to complete and show us all their homework for the entire chapter before retaking the test. This would likely increase the students' work load if they want to retake a test (since their homework is daily, but only collected occasionally).
My concern with this is that, due to the increased required work, students will opt out of retaking tests, thus keeping their D or F grade. Megan pushed me to consider what the point of the retake is in the first place. Are we simply trying to give the students more points and higher grades? Or are we trying to get the students to learn the material? If the emphasis is on learning, then increasing the workload may be a good idea. The work is what causes the learning. If the emphasis is on points, then lets just let them retake it as much as they want to get more points. But why try the test again if you haven't learned any more of the concepts that you were missing in the first place?
2. Every section (i.e. chapter), students are required to take all the concepts from that section and explain or show how they all connect together into one coherent "big picture." The students almost unanimously hate doing this, and quite frankly, I hate grading it. Its always terrible, and the students complain about the grades they get. It has turned into "point-grabbing," where students are just doing it to get it done and get the points. They don't see the purpose in it because they don't really understand how all the concepts of the section are interrelated. Their idea of a connection is that we talked about temperature on two different days, therefore, those two lessons are connected. We have been grading them with points, but now we are shifting to only making it worth 1 point - you either did it or you didn't, and then giving feedback on how they can deepen their understanding of the concepts.
I spent several minutes today trying to get them to see that this requires a shift in mindset. They have to shift their thinking (and so do I) from getting a certain grade to learning the material. If they learn the material, the grade will be good. In talking about this connection sheet, they said they aren't going to do it because now it isn't graded, which shows that they are thinking about the points rather than the learning. To quote Megan, "Its not about the points, its about the learning."
This is a difficult paradigm shift for both myself and my students. All we've ever known is points. Get as many points as possible to get the good grade to get the good GPA to get into the good college to get a good job. Nowhere in that line of thinking is growth.
I think the more we can get our young people to have growth as their goal, rather than reward, the better off we will all be. Growth often requires discomfort, hard work, and error, which is why we shy away from it.
1. Test Retakes. We allow students to retake their tests (if they get a D or F) to raise their grade on that test up to a 75%. In order to retake a test, students have to fill out a Google form, come in for help to go over what they missed, and then make time on a certain day to retake the test. However, we have begun to think about requiring students to complete and show us all their homework for the entire chapter before retaking the test. This would likely increase the students' work load if they want to retake a test (since their homework is daily, but only collected occasionally).
My concern with this is that, due to the increased required work, students will opt out of retaking tests, thus keeping their D or F grade. Megan pushed me to consider what the point of the retake is in the first place. Are we simply trying to give the students more points and higher grades? Or are we trying to get the students to learn the material? If the emphasis is on learning, then increasing the workload may be a good idea. The work is what causes the learning. If the emphasis is on points, then lets just let them retake it as much as they want to get more points. But why try the test again if you haven't learned any more of the concepts that you were missing in the first place?
2. Every section (i.e. chapter), students are required to take all the concepts from that section and explain or show how they all connect together into one coherent "big picture." The students almost unanimously hate doing this, and quite frankly, I hate grading it. Its always terrible, and the students complain about the grades they get. It has turned into "point-grabbing," where students are just doing it to get it done and get the points. They don't see the purpose in it because they don't really understand how all the concepts of the section are interrelated. Their idea of a connection is that we talked about temperature on two different days, therefore, those two lessons are connected. We have been grading them with points, but now we are shifting to only making it worth 1 point - you either did it or you didn't, and then giving feedback on how they can deepen their understanding of the concepts.
I spent several minutes today trying to get them to see that this requires a shift in mindset. They have to shift their thinking (and so do I) from getting a certain grade to learning the material. If they learn the material, the grade will be good. In talking about this connection sheet, they said they aren't going to do it because now it isn't graded, which shows that they are thinking about the points rather than the learning. To quote Megan, "Its not about the points, its about the learning."
This is a difficult paradigm shift for both myself and my students. All we've ever known is points. Get as many points as possible to get the good grade to get the good GPA to get into the good college to get a good job. Nowhere in that line of thinking is growth.
I think the more we can get our young people to have growth as their goal, rather than reward, the better off we will all be. Growth often requires discomfort, hard work, and error, which is why we shy away from it.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Parent v. Teacher
Parents and teachers share something in common: They both want what is best for the student. What do you do, though, when the parent and teacher completely disagree on what is best for the child?
I have come across a case like this in one of my classes. One student, we'll call him Charlie, is consistently on the verge of failing. He often is distracted by his phone, other students, or is content to simply sit and do nothing rather than work on the task at hand. He rarely comes prepared for class. He is a nice kid, and he is intelligent, too, but he just doesn't seem to care about how well he does in school, let alone chemistry. We think that he needs to show more effort and initiative, and that we can be more diligent about checking in with him, but that he is placed in the right class.
However, the parents disagree. They see that he is failing and have initiated a request to move Charlie down to KI (Key Ideas) Chemistry, a lower level class. This logic makes sense: Charlie is failing general chemistry, so let's move him into a class that goes at a slower pace with more supports so that he can keep up. The administration has really dragged their feet, though, since we believe that moving Charlie will not be beneficial for him, and therein lies the rub. The parents have become quite frustrated with this - and rightfully so. If I thought my kid needed to be moved to a different class, and the administration would not respond, I'd be very frustrated. Parents should have the say over their children's education, shouldn't they?
At the same time, teachers and their administrators should have strong input. They are, after all, the professional educators in the situation, and they see how the student interacts with the material on a daily basis. The teachers and administrators also have a deep understanding of the situation - they know exactly how the KI and general classes compare. In this case, KI would be worse for Charlie - he doesn't need more cognitive support at a slower pace - he needs to put in some work and apply himself. He would have the same problem in KI.
What do you do, then, when teachers and administration completely disagree on what is best for the student? Both parties want to do what is best for the Charlie, but they view the solution in polar opposites. This one has not yet been worked out. We are pushing for extra support (like daily check-ins) in the meantime to keep Charlie on pace. We'll have to wait and see what the outcome is.
I have come across a case like this in one of my classes. One student, we'll call him Charlie, is consistently on the verge of failing. He often is distracted by his phone, other students, or is content to simply sit and do nothing rather than work on the task at hand. He rarely comes prepared for class. He is a nice kid, and he is intelligent, too, but he just doesn't seem to care about how well he does in school, let alone chemistry. We think that he needs to show more effort and initiative, and that we can be more diligent about checking in with him, but that he is placed in the right class.
However, the parents disagree. They see that he is failing and have initiated a request to move Charlie down to KI (Key Ideas) Chemistry, a lower level class. This logic makes sense: Charlie is failing general chemistry, so let's move him into a class that goes at a slower pace with more supports so that he can keep up. The administration has really dragged their feet, though, since we believe that moving Charlie will not be beneficial for him, and therein lies the rub. The parents have become quite frustrated with this - and rightfully so. If I thought my kid needed to be moved to a different class, and the administration would not respond, I'd be very frustrated. Parents should have the say over their children's education, shouldn't they?
At the same time, teachers and their administrators should have strong input. They are, after all, the professional educators in the situation, and they see how the student interacts with the material on a daily basis. The teachers and administrators also have a deep understanding of the situation - they know exactly how the KI and general classes compare. In this case, KI would be worse for Charlie - he doesn't need more cognitive support at a slower pace - he needs to put in some work and apply himself. He would have the same problem in KI.
What do you do, then, when teachers and administration completely disagree on what is best for the student? Both parties want to do what is best for the Charlie, but they view the solution in polar opposites. This one has not yet been worked out. We are pushing for extra support (like daily check-ins) in the meantime to keep Charlie on pace. We'll have to wait and see what the outcome is.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Change, The Only Constant
Yesterday, York administered a practice ACT test to all students in the morning. After they were finished around noon, the students went home and the rest of the day was time for teachers to meet, collaborate, and get ahead or caught up on anything we need to. What I want to focus on is one of the meetings we attended. Administration split us up to meet with teachers we don't normally rub shoulders with. The meeting was meant to be a reflective and constructive discussion of how we can engage students more consistently and identify when they are engaged in the class and material. We used a few readings to launch the discussion, the first about the speed at which our society is changing and that we need to teach students how to learn and adapt to change more than to teach a certain set of facts or a rigid skill if they are going to be employable in a society that changes drastically from one decade to another - a fascinating point and topic, if you ask me.
Not everyone found it so fascinating. After reading it, a few teachers just dismissed it immediately, "I don't buy it." Another said, "This isn't a very balanced view, so I question its validity."
This is a perfect example of what is called "confirmation bias," when we tend to trust something that confirms what we already hold to be true and distrust anything that doesn't align with our preconceived ideas.
The conversation quickly devolved into a few of the teachers complaining about how the students don't take ownership of their learning, how they are inattentive and lazy, how parents don't cooperate with teachers, and several other macro level problems with education and society. Meanwhile, the other half of the teachers sat quietly for the most part. I became frustrated because all I saw was this "woe is me" victim mindset when we could have been talking about what we can do to be better teachers. I tried to redirect the conversation with a question back to the reading, but it went nowhere. The entire time, I was balancing two things in my head as I thought about whether I should speak up more: 1) Everything I say will be disregarded because I'm the student teacher in the room and 2) I have nothing to lose - I'm done in two weeks.
At the end, Jill (the other chem teacher in our group and expert on all things Google) spoke up with a great phrase: the only thing constant is change. I think it fell on deaf ears, but it was her last ditch effort to bring reality to the forefront.
The three of us walked away with one question: How can you get someone who is convinced they are doing everything right to become open to the idea of changing what they have been doing for years?
Not everyone found it so fascinating. After reading it, a few teachers just dismissed it immediately, "I don't buy it." Another said, "This isn't a very balanced view, so I question its validity."
This is a perfect example of what is called "confirmation bias," when we tend to trust something that confirms what we already hold to be true and distrust anything that doesn't align with our preconceived ideas.
The conversation quickly devolved into a few of the teachers complaining about how the students don't take ownership of their learning, how they are inattentive and lazy, how parents don't cooperate with teachers, and several other macro level problems with education and society. Meanwhile, the other half of the teachers sat quietly for the most part. I became frustrated because all I saw was this "woe is me" victim mindset when we could have been talking about what we can do to be better teachers. I tried to redirect the conversation with a question back to the reading, but it went nowhere. The entire time, I was balancing two things in my head as I thought about whether I should speak up more: 1) Everything I say will be disregarded because I'm the student teacher in the room and 2) I have nothing to lose - I'm done in two weeks.
At the end, Jill (the other chem teacher in our group and expert on all things Google) spoke up with a great phrase: the only thing constant is change. I think it fell on deaf ears, but it was her last ditch effort to bring reality to the forefront.
The three of us walked away with one question: How can you get someone who is convinced they are doing everything right to become open to the idea of changing what they have been doing for years?
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Creating Controversy
We have recently begun our weather unit, which is different from a typical weather unit in science. The curriculum uses a main theme to tie several concepts together. In the weather unit, things like phase changes and the behavior of gases are related to weather, so the other day, we talked about proportions using rain gauges. This is the introductory question:
One class in particular really got into the discussion of this question. It was a little controversial - why do we measure rain in inches, rather than in cups, milliliters, or fluid ounces? Some students took a stand that the bucket would be the best because it would catch the most water. Other students were convinced that the beaker is the best because the sides are straight up and down. Does the size of the rain gauge really matter? After they started going back and forth a bit, they all got really confused and were puzzled by the question. I "made it rain" with a watering can into a beaker and a test tube, showing that they both collect the same height of water, even though one is much larger, because height is proportional to volume.
I was impressed with how much this little bit of controversy or confusion got the students engaged in the class. Some students were literally waving their hands, saying "Pick me!" because they wanted to participate in the discussion. I usually struggle to get more than a few students talking at the beginning of class. Note to self: if they aren't talking, introduce a little controversy.
One class in particular really got into the discussion of this question. It was a little controversial - why do we measure rain in inches, rather than in cups, milliliters, or fluid ounces? Some students took a stand that the bucket would be the best because it would catch the most water. Other students were convinced that the beaker is the best because the sides are straight up and down. Does the size of the rain gauge really matter? After they started going back and forth a bit, they all got really confused and were puzzled by the question. I "made it rain" with a watering can into a beaker and a test tube, showing that they both collect the same height of water, even though one is much larger, because height is proportional to volume.
I was impressed with how much this little bit of controversy or confusion got the students engaged in the class. Some students were literally waving their hands, saying "Pick me!" because they wanted to participate in the discussion. I usually struggle to get more than a few students talking at the beginning of class. Note to self: if they aren't talking, introduce a little controversy.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Staying on Track
York, along with most other larger high schools, places students into one of three tracks. These tracks represent three different ability level groups that the students are placed in when they enter high school. At York, they are called Honors, General, and KI (Key Ideas) in the science department. In theory, tracking is a great way to meet the needs of the students - higher performing students can be grouped together and given more challenging material to push them while lower performing students can be grouped together and given the support they need as a whole class. Practice, though, doesn't always equal theory. There is a ton of research done and being done on tracking and its negative effects (Janmaat,
2011; Welner
& Oakes, 1996; Conger, 2005; Trent, 1997). It results in the two groups drifting further and further apart, and usually not because the honors students are achieving so much, but rather because the lower level classes get further and further behind. Now, this doesn't mean we need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Let's consider the alternative: is a class of 1/3 honors level kids that are bored, 1/3 of general kids that are challenged, and 1/3 KI kids that are overwhelmed any better?
All this is background to what I have seen recently in two different students, X, and Y.
X has been struggling for some time in my general level class. She is in my lowest performing section of general chemistry. I have seen how her peers in that class add to her obstacles rather than helping her overcome them. Her peers in that class are not helpful, because they also often don't know what they're doing and contribute to the distractions. X recently moved from my class to KI, since she just couldn't keep up. I think she certainly could have kept up. She could have put in some extra time with Megan or I and got back on track (no pun intended). As Megan and I talked about her move, though, we came to agree that moving to KI isn't really going to support her any more. The material moves slower, but KI classes are often full of even more distractions, less challenging material, and lower expectations. I think X moved from a bad environment to a worse one, and now she is stuck there for the year and likely will stay as a "KI kid" in the years to come.
Y is a struggling student in my highest performing general chemistry class. She came up as we were talking about X. She's a great example of someone who is benefiting from her peers. Because she just happened to be placed in a section of chemistry with a lot of other hard working, motivated, and intelligent students, she reaps the benefit of that positive environment. Had she landed in one of my other sections, I think she would be struggling even more. Her lab group partners help her understand the material and the atmosphere in the classroom helps to keep her engaged and pushing herself. She is certainly still struggling, but she is better off just because of the people she happens to sit with.
There are a ton of factors in each student's development and education that are just "the luck of the draw." Sometimes, I begin to take this truth too far, though. Just because there are random forces acting on us, that doesn't mean we are just getting tossed to and fro in the waves of a great ocean. We can swim, too, you know, and we have a responsibility to do so.
All this is background to what I have seen recently in two different students, X, and Y.
X has been struggling for some time in my general level class. She is in my lowest performing section of general chemistry. I have seen how her peers in that class add to her obstacles rather than helping her overcome them. Her peers in that class are not helpful, because they also often don't know what they're doing and contribute to the distractions. X recently moved from my class to KI, since she just couldn't keep up. I think she certainly could have kept up. She could have put in some extra time with Megan or I and got back on track (no pun intended). As Megan and I talked about her move, though, we came to agree that moving to KI isn't really going to support her any more. The material moves slower, but KI classes are often full of even more distractions, less challenging material, and lower expectations. I think X moved from a bad environment to a worse one, and now she is stuck there for the year and likely will stay as a "KI kid" in the years to come.
Y is a struggling student in my highest performing general chemistry class. She came up as we were talking about X. She's a great example of someone who is benefiting from her peers. Because she just happened to be placed in a section of chemistry with a lot of other hard working, motivated, and intelligent students, she reaps the benefit of that positive environment. Had she landed in one of my other sections, I think she would be struggling even more. Her lab group partners help her understand the material and the atmosphere in the classroom helps to keep her engaged and pushing herself. She is certainly still struggling, but she is better off just because of the people she happens to sit with.
There are a ton of factors in each student's development and education that are just "the luck of the draw." Sometimes, I begin to take this truth too far, though. Just because there are random forces acting on us, that doesn't mean we are just getting tossed to and fro in the waves of a great ocean. We can swim, too, you know, and we have a responsibility to do so.
Monday, October 13, 2014
I'm Not Your Friend, Pal
So I was grading some lab reports last week when I came across one that sounded familiar. In the lab reports, the students were supposed to mention possible sources for error in their lab - reasons for not getting 100% perfect results. One student mentioned that the hot plate they were using could have broken and blown a circuit. Okay...I guess that's possible, but didn't really happen and it certainly didn't affect her results. I made a comment on it and moved on.
Several reports later, in a different class, I came across another person suggesting the hot plate could have blown a circuit. That's funny. I was curious, so I flipped back to the previous one to take a second look. Throughout the whole document, they make the same mistakes (and I make the same comments) and have the same results, despite being in different classes. They are nearly word-for-word identical, aside from a few word changes here and there. I set them aside for later.
I showed them to Megan and she confirmed that this had to be confronted. When passing back the reports at the beginning of the period, I keep the copycat's. She asks me where hers is, and I just tell her that she'll have to talk to me after class. Class ends and she comes up to the front. I stand there awkwardly silent until everyone leaves the room. I want to build the tension. I want her to hate this experience without being mean. I give her an opportunity to spill her guts: "Is there anything you want to tell me about your lab report?" She plays dumb. "Did you work on it with anyone else?" She admits that her and a friend (the other copycat) were texting while they worked. I explain that the two reports are too similar for me to even know who wrote what. They are too similar for someone to get through a text. I can't tell if its her thoughts or her friends, so I can't grade it the way it is. She offers to redo it, which I tell her is a good idea. By the end of the conversation, she seems to be on the verge of tears. Its difficult to intentionally make a girl cry, but I remind myself that she brought it on herself and that I don't want her to feel as if she gets off easy.
Now I go to the other classroom for the next period, where the other copycat is. She walks into class and immediately begins answering texts on her phone and starts to look a bit uneasy. I do the same thing - pass back all but hers and catch her after class. "Is there anything you want to tell me about your lab report?" She plays dumb, too, but has a little more attitude. "Did you work on it with anyone one else?" "Well, [the first copycat] came over to my house and we worked on it together." Huh. I think what she means is, "I asked my friend to let me copy and paste her lab report," but I didn't push her on the misaligned stories. Maybe I should have. I gave her a similar spiel and she also offered to redo it. I graded them both and gave them half the points they earned.
This episode brought on a conversation with Megan and other teachers about the teacher-student relationship. We're not here to be their friends. There needs to always be a level of distance between teacher and student. I certainly want to be friendly. I made sure to say hi to each copycat the next day. I want to be approachable and inviting to create a classroom culture of cooperation and free exploration, but there are times when I need to bring the hammer down, such as when students cheat. Students need to know that my friendliness does not mean there are low expectations.
Several reports later, in a different class, I came across another person suggesting the hot plate could have blown a circuit. That's funny. I was curious, so I flipped back to the previous one to take a second look. Throughout the whole document, they make the same mistakes (and I make the same comments) and have the same results, despite being in different classes. They are nearly word-for-word identical, aside from a few word changes here and there. I set them aside for later.
I showed them to Megan and she confirmed that this had to be confronted. When passing back the reports at the beginning of the period, I keep the copycat's. She asks me where hers is, and I just tell her that she'll have to talk to me after class. Class ends and she comes up to the front. I stand there awkwardly silent until everyone leaves the room. I want to build the tension. I want her to hate this experience without being mean. I give her an opportunity to spill her guts: "Is there anything you want to tell me about your lab report?" She plays dumb. "Did you work on it with anyone else?" She admits that her and a friend (the other copycat) were texting while they worked. I explain that the two reports are too similar for me to even know who wrote what. They are too similar for someone to get through a text. I can't tell if its her thoughts or her friends, so I can't grade it the way it is. She offers to redo it, which I tell her is a good idea. By the end of the conversation, she seems to be on the verge of tears. Its difficult to intentionally make a girl cry, but I remind myself that she brought it on herself and that I don't want her to feel as if she gets off easy.
Now I go to the other classroom for the next period, where the other copycat is. She walks into class and immediately begins answering texts on her phone and starts to look a bit uneasy. I do the same thing - pass back all but hers and catch her after class. "Is there anything you want to tell me about your lab report?" She plays dumb, too, but has a little more attitude. "Did you work on it with anyone one else?" "Well, [the first copycat] came over to my house and we worked on it together." Huh. I think what she means is, "I asked my friend to let me copy and paste her lab report," but I didn't push her on the misaligned stories. Maybe I should have. I gave her a similar spiel and she also offered to redo it. I graded them both and gave them half the points they earned.
This episode brought on a conversation with Megan and other teachers about the teacher-student relationship. We're not here to be their friends. There needs to always be a level of distance between teacher and student. I certainly want to be friendly. I made sure to say hi to each copycat the next day. I want to be approachable and inviting to create a classroom culture of cooperation and free exploration, but there are times when I need to bring the hammer down, such as when students cheat. Students need to know that my friendliness does not mean there are low expectations.
Saturday, September 20, 2014
Rubber > Metal
According to Wikipedia, John Dunlop was the first to use rubber on wheels in the 1880s. He decided to use rubber on his son's bicycle tires because he was getting severe headaches from the rough ride that his metal wheels were giving him over bumpy roads. Genius.
Dunlop, and several inventors after him, recognized that flexibility makes all the difference. I have been discovering that the same is true in teaching. The other day, we were supposed to show a video as part of the introduction to the activity. I had forgotten to check the video to make sure it was still accessible (it had last been used the previous year) for all the teachers until Megan asked me about it roughly 15 minutes before class. We had to scramble to find it in the computer among the scores of files, upload it to Google Drive so every teacher could use it at the same time, and make sure the sound for the video would connect through the hookups in the classroom. Hooking up the audio sounded complicated, so I just aborted that idea and narrated the video myself as it showed silently. Other teachers had portable speakers to use with the computer, making it much simpler. A few knew how to hook up the audio in the classroom quickly and it worked for them.
One teacher, however, was determined to use the audio in the classroom, but had never hooked it up before. She struggled each period to get the audio going, and I don't think she ever did get it to work. She became very frustrated and it clearly ruined her entire day, adding much stress that didn't need to be there.
I cite this as just one example of the many times I have seen and experienced the benefits of flexibility. The road is full of potholes - media doesn't work right, students come in late, the copier breaks down, a fire drill absorbs 10 minutes of a period you needed, or students need more time to understand something you thought would be quick and easy. I've noticed a pattern: the teachers that excel have an ability to roll with the punches and improvise on the fly to make the best of every situation.
Dunlop, and several inventors after him, recognized that flexibility makes all the difference. I have been discovering that the same is true in teaching. The other day, we were supposed to show a video as part of the introduction to the activity. I had forgotten to check the video to make sure it was still accessible (it had last been used the previous year) for all the teachers until Megan asked me about it roughly 15 minutes before class. We had to scramble to find it in the computer among the scores of files, upload it to Google Drive so every teacher could use it at the same time, and make sure the sound for the video would connect through the hookups in the classroom. Hooking up the audio sounded complicated, so I just aborted that idea and narrated the video myself as it showed silently. Other teachers had portable speakers to use with the computer, making it much simpler. A few knew how to hook up the audio in the classroom quickly and it worked for them.
One teacher, however, was determined to use the audio in the classroom, but had never hooked it up before. She struggled each period to get the audio going, and I don't think she ever did get it to work. She became very frustrated and it clearly ruined her entire day, adding much stress that didn't need to be there.
I cite this as just one example of the many times I have seen and experienced the benefits of flexibility. The road is full of potholes - media doesn't work right, students come in late, the copier breaks down, a fire drill absorbs 10 minutes of a period you needed, or students need more time to understand something you thought would be quick and easy. I've noticed a pattern: the teachers that excel have an ability to roll with the punches and improvise on the fly to make the best of every situation.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Running the Show
My last post was 15 days ago. Wow, sorry about that. Things have been a little hectic, to say the least. Student teachers are required to act as the full time teacher for a minimum of 4 weeks. I'll have no problem meeting that goal. As Megan and I were talking about transitioning into full time teacher mode, we both thought there was no point in waiting to make the switch. Even though I was hesitant, because its more comfortable being the side-kick, I knew that I would be better off jumping in sooner rather than later.
In the transition I have certainly had my mistakes - hesitation on responding to rowdy students or not keeping my head wrapped around everything that has to get done. I have had a hard time staying more than one day (or even a half day) ahead. This, combined with the newness of not having Megan in the room on a consistent basis gives me a general sense of tension. I need to remind myself that this is still new, I'm not expected to be perfect at anything (although I'd like to be), and to take some time to relax a bit. I think I perform better as a teacher and I enjoy it more when I am relaxed. It can only get better from here.
In the transition I have certainly had my mistakes - hesitation on responding to rowdy students or not keeping my head wrapped around everything that has to get done. I have had a hard time staying more than one day (or even a half day) ahead. This, combined with the newness of not having Megan in the room on a consistent basis gives me a general sense of tension. I need to remind myself that this is still new, I'm not expected to be perfect at anything (although I'd like to be), and to take some time to relax a bit. I think I perform better as a teacher and I enjoy it more when I am relaxed. It can only get better from here.
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Getting Personal(ity)
Today I taught third period, which is the first section of our General Chemistry class. It being the first of four, I didn't really know what to expect. How long will the students take on their activity? What do I need to go over? What can I skip? What are the key misconceptions that I'm going to need to correct? I didn't really know any of this since I had never taught the lesson to anyone. Since it was the first attempt, it made me a little tense. Since I was a little tense, it made me a little boring. Ok, very boring. I like chemistry, and even I could tell it was boring as I listened to the words coming out of my mouth. It had to have been bad for the students.
This has been a recurring theme over the last few days that Megan, I and others have been talking about. I'm not a boring person (at least I don't think so), but I become one in front of a class. It seems so artificial to work myself up and get excited about content that I've known for years and that seems intuitive to me. Over the last few days, several other teachers have confirmed my sentiment. 1) Its always hard to know how to teach something the very first time, and 2) many times, it feels like you have to act far more excited than you actually are to draw that excitement out of the students.
One teacher in particular said that she has learned that having excitement and personality in your teaching comes with confidence. The more time you spend teaching, the more confident you become. The more confident, the more relaxed. The more relaxed, the more excitable.
Having personality in my teaching is incredibly important. It makes me relate and connect with students more, It makes the students more interested and engaged, and it makes me enjoy it more. All of this results in students learning more, which is why I'm here in the first place!
This has been a recurring theme over the last few days that Megan, I and others have been talking about. I'm not a boring person (at least I don't think so), but I become one in front of a class. It seems so artificial to work myself up and get excited about content that I've known for years and that seems intuitive to me. Over the last few days, several other teachers have confirmed my sentiment. 1) Its always hard to know how to teach something the very first time, and 2) many times, it feels like you have to act far more excited than you actually are to draw that excitement out of the students.
One teacher in particular said that she has learned that having excitement and personality in your teaching comes with confidence. The more time you spend teaching, the more confident you become. The more confident, the more relaxed. The more relaxed, the more excitable.
Having personality in my teaching is incredibly important. It makes me relate and connect with students more, It makes the students more interested and engaged, and it makes me enjoy it more. All of this results in students learning more, which is why I'm here in the first place!
Monday, September 1, 2014
Experimenting with Children
I knew this day would come. I had my first official failure. Megan and I decided to try a little experiment. I was going to teach an entire period and Megan was going to step out of the room for a few minutes, just to see how things would go. The students were doing an activity where they move about the room and record data at different stations. I was comfortable with Megan stepping out and the students were on a roll. However, I started to notice some students not staying with their lab groups - they started to work independently. I told a few of them to work with their teams. Then I started to notice the class becoming a little louder than it normally is, which is when I started to notice myself getting a bit uncomfortable with how things were progressing. I continued to walk around, keeping the students on task and answering questions.
About the time I decided to call all the student back to their seats to start the discussion portion of the period, I saw a couple of boys poking each other. As students were heading back to their seats, Megan came back into the room and it started getting much quieter. She gave the pokers a look and they went back to their seats. I led a time of discussing the activity, the students did a check-in question (exit slip), and the period was over.
As we talked about the period, I told her that I had started to get uncomfortable with how loud the students were getting and that they were wandering off on their own through the stations. I had hesitated on what to do. I was glad that she had come in when she did, as it definitely helped to bring everyone together for the end of the period. Megan advised me that you need to nip it in the bud immediately when you start to get that sense of discomfort (I saw her do that the very next day).
Looking back, I'm glad we ran our little experiment. Looking forward, it tells me that my presence doesn't have as much weight or authority as I thought it had. It has given me a chance to have time to think about what to do in a situation like that, and through our debrief, I now have several options I can use to help calm things down. I sense that I am in a better position the next time things start to get a little rowdy. And there will be a next time.
About the time I decided to call all the student back to their seats to start the discussion portion of the period, I saw a couple of boys poking each other. As students were heading back to their seats, Megan came back into the room and it started getting much quieter. She gave the pokers a look and they went back to their seats. I led a time of discussing the activity, the students did a check-in question (exit slip), and the period was over.
As we talked about the period, I told her that I had started to get uncomfortable with how loud the students were getting and that they were wandering off on their own through the stations. I had hesitated on what to do. I was glad that she had come in when she did, as it definitely helped to bring everyone together for the end of the period. Megan advised me that you need to nip it in the bud immediately when you start to get that sense of discomfort (I saw her do that the very next day).
Looking back, I'm glad we ran our little experiment. Looking forward, it tells me that my presence doesn't have as much weight or authority as I thought it had. It has given me a chance to have time to think about what to do in a situation like that, and through our debrief, I now have several options I can use to help calm things down. I sense that I am in a better position the next time things start to get a little rowdy. And there will be a next time.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Hapara
On Thursday I attended a training session about Hapara. Hapara is essential for any school that is heavily using Google, especially chromebooks. It is an app that can be added to your Google Chrome web browser. In addition, there is also a Hapara extension that is added to Chrome to allow it to work better with the app. Hapara runs in the background on every student's chrome account (they don't even know its there). Then, Hapara's teacher dashboard allows any teacher to have access to any student's Google Drive. When assignments are completed as a Google Doc, but not shared with the teacher, the teacher doesn't have to email the student and wait for them to share it. They can just go into their Drive and grab the assignment, or see if its complete. The teacher can also make comments in the assignment that can serve as valuable feedback for the student.
Hapara also gives teachers the ability to view whatever the students are viewing. If the students are using their Chromebook to check Facebook, the teacher can send them an anonymous message that pops up on their screen, such as "Get back to work!" Furthermore, the teacher can go ahead and close the Facebook tab in the student's browser and open a new tab for the website they're supposed to be using.
There are a few catches, though. If the students learn about the extension and app, they could disable it or remove it. One teacher said she had been using it for several years, and the students never figured that out. The students also have to be signed into their school Google account for it to work. It can't monitor their personal Google account.
The lesson: technology brings new challenges, but it also brings new opportunities. Never before could students access the class' resources or their own assignments from anywhere. There is no more "I left my homework at home." The dog can't eat the Cloud. Hapara helps us use all the benefits of technology in the classroom while minimizing the downsides.
Hapara also gives teachers the ability to view whatever the students are viewing. If the students are using their Chromebook to check Facebook, the teacher can send them an anonymous message that pops up on their screen, such as "Get back to work!" Furthermore, the teacher can go ahead and close the Facebook tab in the student's browser and open a new tab for the website they're supposed to be using.
There are a few catches, though. If the students learn about the extension and app, they could disable it or remove it. One teacher said she had been using it for several years, and the students never figured that out. The students also have to be signed into their school Google account for it to work. It can't monitor their personal Google account.
The lesson: technology brings new challenges, but it also brings new opportunities. Never before could students access the class' resources or their own assignments from anywhere. There is no more "I left my homework at home." The dog can't eat the Cloud. Hapara helps us use all the benefits of technology in the classroom while minimizing the downsides.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Meet the Parents
On Wednesday night, York had an open house, where all the parents come in the evening to follow in their son or daughter's footsteps. They are given their kid's schedule and spend 6 minutes in each of their kid's classes. We put a PowerPoint together for each of our two preps - chem and honors chem - to show to the parents. The PowerPoint was made easy with the Google Chrome "Explain and Send" extension. It allows you to take a screenshot of your screen, crop it, and mark it up with circles, arrows and text to highlight the important parts of a webpage.
Megan used the entire 6 minutes to talk about her background (and I introduced myself as well), what we do in class each day, how the students are graded, and where online resources are. There is a lot to cover and only a few minutes to do it, so you have to think about what is important for the parents to hear. I would guess that the two things they care about most are 1) how can they follow up with their kid and help them stay on top of assignments and 2) where can they find the resources if their son or daughter misses class or loses a worksheet. These were the two things we focused on.
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| Luckily, I didn't have to do a polygraph test. |
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Let's Stop and Think a Minute
In a nutshell, good teachers think about what they are doing; bad teachers do something because they either did it last year or because everyone else is doing it. I'm surrounded with good teachers.
The Chem teachers at York began a new routine this year: daily reflections on that day's objective (see the link below). Each lesson has at least one objective - the key concept or skill for the lesson. At the end of the day, we wanted students to write down a reflection about how well they understand that concept or can do that skill. The idea was that this will act as a journal of sorts and give the students a snapshot of their progress as they look back on the lessons come test time. However, its also part of their progress grade, which presents us with a dilemma. Is it fair and to give the students a grade on their opinion of their own understanding? This would mean the overconfident student gets a higher grade just because he thinks he knows it all.
We needed to stop and get back to our original goal: do we want this to serve the students as a tool to help them study and learn the material (in which case it shouldn't be graded), or do we want this to be an assessment for us to gauge the students learning prior to the test (in which case it should be graded)?
I think we found some middle ground. We discussed replacing daily reflections with a end-of-the-section reflection in which we can gauge the students' understanding of the overall section and how all the daily lessons and objectives fit together. We still need to work out the kinks, which we'll discuss more tomorrow.
The Chem teachers at York began a new routine this year: daily reflections on that day's objective (see the link below). Each lesson has at least one objective - the key concept or skill for the lesson. At the end of the day, we wanted students to write down a reflection about how well they understand that concept or can do that skill. The idea was that this will act as a journal of sorts and give the students a snapshot of their progress as they look back on the lessons come test time. However, its also part of their progress grade, which presents us with a dilemma. Is it fair and to give the students a grade on their opinion of their own understanding? This would mean the overconfident student gets a higher grade just because he thinks he knows it all.
We needed to stop and get back to our original goal: do we want this to serve the students as a tool to help them study and learn the material (in which case it shouldn't be graded), or do we want this to be an assessment for us to gauge the students learning prior to the test (in which case it should be graded)?
I think we found some middle ground. We discussed replacing daily reflections with a end-of-the-section reflection in which we can gauge the students' understanding of the overall section and how all the daily lessons and objectives fit together. We still need to work out the kinks, which we'll discuss more tomorrow.
Monday, August 25, 2014
Sixth Sense
Today I write about a really good strategy for classroom management, which means it didn't come from me. To give a little context, one student's brand new shoes got stolen last Friday. Based on when the shoes were missing and last seen, and what students were coming in and out of the room at the time, one of the teachers had it narrowed down to one or two kids. One student in particular had been testing the waters for a while, seeing how much he could get away with. He was confronted, a police report was filed, and he had coughed up a pair of shoes by Monday.
Now if he was in my class, I don't know how I would have handled it from there. The experienced teachers have a sixth sense about this stuff. The thief's teacher had been noticing from day 1 that this student is an attention seeker in a rather rude and disruptive way. She was explaining her strategy from here on out: ignore all his attempts at negative attention and emphasize positive feedback for the rest of the class. Within a day, she is already seeing that his demeanor is beginning to shift. He wants to be a part of the class, like everyone else that is getting attention and praise from the teacher. He is learning how to do that in a positive way.
Now if he was in my class, I don't know how I would have handled it from there. The experienced teachers have a sixth sense about this stuff. The thief's teacher had been noticing from day 1 that this student is an attention seeker in a rather rude and disruptive way. She was explaining her strategy from here on out: ignore all his attempts at negative attention and emphasize positive feedback for the rest of the class. Within a day, she is already seeing that his demeanor is beginning to shift. He wants to be a part of the class, like everyone else that is getting attention and praise from the teacher. He is learning how to do that in a positive way.
Flipping Things Around
This post is a little late - writing on Monday about last Friday. I haven't written much about our one section of Honors Chemistry, so I thought now would be a good time. Honors Chem at York is what we call "flipped." Instead of spending class time teaching the lesson and then sending students home to struggle through the homework on their own, we reverse the order of things. For homework, the students watch and take notes on a "Screencast," which is a recording of a teacher explaining the material. This opens class time up for students to do the actual work associated with the lesson - when teachers are there to correct misconceptions, answer questions, and check for understanding. It works with some subjects (such as math) more than others (such as English). This format creates a large amount of front end work on the teacher's part to create and record each screencast, but once its done, it can be used for several sections of the same class for several years and puts most of the responsibility to learn on the students.
This brings me to my next thought. Because we do a lot of flipped instruction for the Honors students - students that are more motivated and responsible than your average high schooler - it easily leads into thinking that these kids teach themselves. To some extent, this is true. They do take more ownership of their learning. However, I need to be careful to not allow myself to fall into the temptation of believing that they don't need instruction, correction, or guidance. A student that teaches herself should be pushed further, not just allowed to teach herself. Similarly, what does this mean for my other students? I also can't allow myself to think of them as unable to take responsibility for their learning.
We love to categorize people. Two categories are Honors classes and general classes, which is appropriate and helps us meet their needs, but the categories must always be balanced out by the individuals.
This brings me to my next thought. Because we do a lot of flipped instruction for the Honors students - students that are more motivated and responsible than your average high schooler - it easily leads into thinking that these kids teach themselves. To some extent, this is true. They do take more ownership of their learning. However, I need to be careful to not allow myself to fall into the temptation of believing that they don't need instruction, correction, or guidance. A student that teaches herself should be pushed further, not just allowed to teach herself. Similarly, what does this mean for my other students? I also can't allow myself to think of them as unable to take responsibility for their learning.
We love to categorize people. Two categories are Honors classes and general classes, which is appropriate and helps us meet their needs, but the categories must always be balanced out by the individuals.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Follow the Leader
Megan and I had some good debrief time for a few minutes at the end of the day today. We were commenting on the observation that each class seems to have a natural leader, regardless of whether or not that leader is a positive influence. Each class has one student that is willing to speak up and share his opinion (and it is a guy in every case). In the Honors class, the leader starts off discussions, asks questions no one else is willing to ask, or helps to keep his group on task. In one of the general Chem classes, the leader cracks jokes, ridicules other peoples answers, or contributes to distractions. However, we started off by calling him out at the beginning of the year for not contributing to a positive environment. He's repeated the phrase now himself several times, calling other people out for negative comments. To him, it's a joke and a way to gain attention or respect in the classroom, but he is helping us keep that consistent theme going in the classroom, which will also serve a dual purpose of placing more weight on times when we remind him to be positive, since he's the one reminding everyone else.
Each class has its own dynamic - this is just one example. Megan and I talked briefly about how we can let these leaders lead the class, as long as we are leading them. We can use their leadership to our advantage. As long as I'm always handling the classroom with confidence, I can work to manage the classroom culture through identifying and guiding the natural leader among the students. Each class will have its own culture. I've seen that already. Third and 4th periods are calm and subdued in comparison to 5th and 7th, which are far more eager to talk and joke with me and each other. I have to find the balance of letting the kids form their natural culture and me creating a culture that is positive and conducive to learning.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Watch and Learn
Today I taught an entire class period...well, almost. Megan started the period off with some announcements and other items, but then I took over for the rest of the period, which was fun, because we plated a penny in zinc and then heated it to turn it into brass, making it look like gold. We used this demo to work on formulating and testing a hypothesis. Some students had a hard time explaining how the copper penny all of a sudden looked gold.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Options for Homework
Its day 3 of full class. I'm ready to get into the material. We've spent a lot of time covering things like the syllabus, lab safety, and how to access materials on Google Drive, as well as trying to learn as many of the 138 names as I can. Even though it is sometimes painful to spend time going over such basics, I know that without the time spent on it, the students will soon feel quite lost. By the end of today I have realized one thing that the students are still confused on, despite going over it several times: Homework.
This year, we are giving the students two options to do their homework: they can either read the book and take notes on their reading, or they can finish their daily activity sheet and add a reflection to it. Almost every day, the students use an activity to learn the material. Usually, we don't get through all the questions on the sheet in class, so they are able to finish it and write a short reflection to fulfill their homework requirement. The key is that they learn the material. There is no point in doing extra problems or work if they have already learned it. By having to write a reflection, they will be unable to copy "answers" and they will easily be showing whether or not they truly understand the concepts covered. Click here to see the Reflection template we created. The "Making Sense" question is a reference to the activity sheet. Eventually, I think we'll progress to having them submit the reflection through Google Classroom, which was just released by Google.
This year, we are giving the students two options to do their homework: they can either read the book and take notes on their reading, or they can finish their daily activity sheet and add a reflection to it. Almost every day, the students use an activity to learn the material. Usually, we don't get through all the questions on the sheet in class, so they are able to finish it and write a short reflection to fulfill their homework requirement. The key is that they learn the material. There is no point in doing extra problems or work if they have already learned it. By having to write a reflection, they will be unable to copy "answers" and they will easily be showing whether or not they truly understand the concepts covered. Click here to see the Reflection template we created. The "Making Sense" question is a reference to the activity sheet. Eventually, I think we'll progress to having them submit the reflection through Google Classroom, which was just released by Google.
Fighting Battles
It has been said that we should "be kind, for everyone is fighting their own battle."
I must remind myself to always ask students to fill out a survey each year. From just a few simple questions, I have already learned so much about my students. I have learned some of their struggles, ways that I can connect with them, and what they are concerned about. As I mentioned in a previous post, we asked the students to fill out a survey on Google Forms. The responses automatically populate a spreadsheet that we can view, and it is constantly updated as students submit the form. Here are just a few of the responses we've received:
"I would love to be an engineer hopefully working for Union Pacific because my uncle works for them and he makes a great amount of money and has the most amazing life so I look up to him a lot and hope to be just like him ever since I was little."
"[My dream job is] A child's therapist because children go through very tough childhoods and I myself have had a little rough past and I find that if children have a safe place to talk. They will let out their feelings and it will help."
"I struggle with science because there is so much reading and memorizing equations."
"It takes me a long time to understand modern things, especially things like science and computers and I am not very smart I just work very hard for my grade and to learn."
"I really struggled in science in middle school"
"I want to be a teacher that helps dyslexic kids b/c I have dyslexia and I would love to shw [sic] them that you don't have to let it keep you down and you can do just as well as the other kids."
"I am an ELL student, and i just moved to this country almost 2 years ago."
I must remind myself to always ask students to fill out a survey each year. From just a few simple questions, I have already learned so much about my students. I have learned some of their struggles, ways that I can connect with them, and what they are concerned about. As I mentioned in a previous post, we asked the students to fill out a survey on Google Forms. The responses automatically populate a spreadsheet that we can view, and it is constantly updated as students submit the form. Here are just a few of the responses we've received:
"I would love to be an engineer hopefully working for Union Pacific because my uncle works for them and he makes a great amount of money and has the most amazing life so I look up to him a lot and hope to be just like him ever since I was little."
"[My dream job is] A child's therapist because children go through very tough childhoods and I myself have had a little rough past and I find that if children have a safe place to talk. They will let out their feelings and it will help."
"I struggle with science because there is so much reading and memorizing equations."
"It takes me a long time to understand modern things, especially things like science and computers and I am not very smart I just work very hard for my grade and to learn."
"I really struggled in science in middle school"
"I want to be a teacher that helps dyslexic kids b/c I have dyslexia and I would love to shw [sic] them that you don't have to let it keep you down and you can do just as well as the other kids."
"I am an ELL student, and i just moved to this country almost 2 years ago."
Friday, August 15, 2014
Building the Culture
Today was the first day of class. On several occasions, I watched as students tested the waters, sometimes unintentionally. Megan handled it beautifully, always exaggerating a bit because it is the first day. You can always back off a bit on classroom management; its much harder to ratchet it up. A few students came in late, tried using their phones, or tried to not participate in what the class was doing. When Megan confronted a student, it was entertaining to watch some of the other students cringe a bit and look at each other. However, afterward, Megan and I talked about the importance of following up.
One student in particular she put on the spot to participate in class. He was embarrassed and just wanted the situation to end. She pushed him, telling him that he could do it, that every bit of what he had done was good, but he needed to keep going. As he was leaving class, she pulled him aside and said that she pushed him because she knew he could do it. He smiled, thanked her, and left class. We talked about how that personal touch has to be a part of every classroom management situation. Through this, we worked to build a culture of confidence and hard work. At the same time, students learn they can't get away with an easy "I don't know."
One student in particular she put on the spot to participate in class. He was embarrassed and just wanted the situation to end. She pushed him, telling him that he could do it, that every bit of what he had done was good, but he needed to keep going. As he was leaving class, she pulled him aside and said that she pushed him because she knew he could do it. He smiled, thanked her, and left class. We talked about how that personal touch has to be a part of every classroom management situation. Through this, we worked to build a culture of confidence and hard work. At the same time, students learn they can't get away with an easy "I don't know."
Planning and Streamlining
Today is the final day of preparation before the start of class. We went through all of our Google Forms and Docs, making sure than the right people can open and/or edit them. We are using Google Forms for student surveys at the beginning of the year as well as the Retake request form that I mentioned in the previous post. We also spent a lot of time streamlining the Google site and linking it up with Google Drive, where the students will be able to access all handouts, worksheets, and forms.
We also spent time in our team (5 teachers) planning and walking through what to cover on the first day, which was incredibly helpful for me, as well as two other teachers (one new teacher and one long-term sub). We spent a lot of time on grading policies, described in the syllabus. The emphasis is always on learning, never on "points," which is why we allow retake tests and tests make up 60% of a student's grade. Another 25% is formative checks, which are made up of Progress Quizzes, Reflections, and Audits. The quizzes provide immediate feedback because they are always reviewed immediately after they are taken. By the time the student leaves the classroom, they know whether or not they understand the material and what they missed. We also wrestled with the flexibility of grading the quizzes, since they are very short (about 3 questions) and decided to use "Rate Your Understanding" as a general guide, rather than being strict about points when grading. Even if the students get every question wrong, they still receive a 5/10 because they were there to submit evidence. A 0/10 would mean that no evidence of their learning was received. Zeros skew the grades too much to be used on a 3 question quiz.
We also spent time in our team (5 teachers) planning and walking through what to cover on the first day, which was incredibly helpful for me, as well as two other teachers (one new teacher and one long-term sub). We spent a lot of time on grading policies, described in the syllabus. The emphasis is always on learning, never on "points," which is why we allow retake tests and tests make up 60% of a student's grade. Another 25% is formative checks, which are made up of Progress Quizzes, Reflections, and Audits. The quizzes provide immediate feedback because they are always reviewed immediately after they are taken. By the time the student leaves the classroom, they know whether or not they understand the material and what they missed. We also wrestled with the flexibility of grading the quizzes, since they are very short (about 3 questions) and decided to use "Rate Your Understanding" as a general guide, rather than being strict about points when grading. Even if the students get every question wrong, they still receive a 5/10 because they were there to submit evidence. A 0/10 would mean that no evidence of their learning was received. Zeros skew the grades too much to be used on a 3 question quiz.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Googlizing
Today was the first institute day at York. There were many meetings to which I had little context, but they were nonetheless helpful to get an idea of 'teacher life.' In the afternoon, we started working beginning of the year stuff, like syllabi, safety contracts, and other policies and procedures. York is a Google school, more and more each year. Leading the charge to Googlize is my cooperating teacher, Megan Ewald, among a few others. She gets me excited about using technology in the classroom. Today we dove into Google Sites and Forms as if we knew what we were doing. We didn't, but we figured it out, mostly. We created a Form for retake sign ups. Students go online, fill out the form, and submit it. This kicks it to a spreadsheet that all the chem teachers share that we can filter by teacher, period, or anything else we set, making retake organization completely paperless and instant. We can even set up the form with multiple pages so when the student says that Mrs. Ewald is their teacher, it kicks them to another page with her availability to schedule individual help. Pretty cool, if you ask me.
Introduction
Hello there. I am now a blogger for the first time. Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Ben Yergler. I'm a student at Wheaton College pursuing a Master's in Teaching. I was fortunate to be placed at a great high school to do my student teaching in Chemistry and Honor's Chemistry: York Community High School in Elmhurst, IL. After only a few weeks interacting with the Science Department, I can already tell this is going to be a great setting. The partnership, excitement, and expertise among the staff is excellent. How can I make the most of this experience? Answer: this blog. I'm going to learn a lot this semester. I'll remember more of it if I write it down. The blog will allow me to embed files, videos, documents, and links so that I can easily save them forever and share them with whomever. I'll try and capture a little snippet each day of what I learned, what I tried, how I succeeded, and how I failed. So here it goes, my first blog...
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