Week 6 EDUC 410

EDUC 410

This week, in EDUC 410, we continued work on our lessons for edTPA task 4. Still using the data given to us on how a 4th grade class did with fractions we are forming a reteach lesson. I have decided to focus on equivalent fractions because that seems to be where the majority of issues were. I have been trying to come up with different methods to use to show equivalent fractions to accommodate different learning styles. I have decided to draw out the fractions so that visual learners can see how the fractions shown are equivalent and using manipulatives like glasses of water and crackers for those tactile learners. I believe that abiding to these styles in my teaching is very important because it gives every student a better chance of understanding the material that is presented rather than if I only teach it towards one learning style. This idea can be  aligned with the NCTCS standard 2d. Teachers adapt their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs. This standard does not only apply to students with IEPs or 504s or with ADHD but it applies to those individual learning styles as well. I will definitely continue to apply this in my future classroom as well.

Outside

We have also been talking about formative assessment in EDUC 410. To go along with this I found a good resource. This is an extensive list of formative assessment strategies that can be used in the classroom. It lists them out and then explains what they are. I found it very helpful and wanted to include it here. http://www.stma.k12.mn.us/documents/DW/Q_Comp/FormativeAssessStrategies.pdf 

Week 5 SCED 330 and EDUC 410

SCED 330

Tuesday my science fair group met to work on our project. We are testing to see if washing your hands has an effect on how germs spread, as well as if different soaps have an effect. To show this we are using slices of bread. We took slices of bread and put them into ziplock bags. One slice was the control where no one touched it. We all took another slice where we all touched it before washing our hands. Then we all washed out hands with a different soap and each touched a slice of bread, labeling the bag with the type of soap we used. Now we are just waiting to see what happens. I am really happy with how this experiment is started and cannot wait to see where it goes. I am also looking forward to get our water cycle project going with my other group.

Right now the biggest struggle I am having this week is with the hyperdoc. My group’s hyperdoc is due this week and we have been struggling to find time to get together. We tried to get a meeting set up early this week but it did not work out. So it looks like we will be connecting with each other mostly through email and phone. My plan is to work on this as much as I can throughout the week but I am not sure how much internet access I will have so the majority of my work on this project will have to be completed Monday. I hate this because I was doing well at getting things done in a timely manner, but sometimes there is just no control.

Speaking of hyperdocs: 

EDUC 410

This week in EDUC 410 we are looking at assessment. In our virtual meeting we discussed the reliability and validity of an assessment and how important these are. The reliability of an assessment refers to its consistency. The assessment should measure the same. It should not matter what time of day a student does the assessment, and if a student gets an answer right he/she should be able to get the answer to a similar question correct as well. The validity of an assessment reflects accuracy. You are wanting to measure whether the students are understanding the content you are teaching so your assessment should reflect this. If your assessment has nothing to do with what you taught then it is not valid. To have a good assessment you need both of these, not just one or the other. This goes with standard 5 of the NCTCS. Specifically 5a which says, “teachers analyze student learning.” Teachers are to create affective assessments and then continue with them. They cannot just create the assessment have the students do it, grade it and stop there. They need to look at these assessments and take what they learn of their students and use that to help them improve. This is what I plan to do in my future classroom. I want to create reliable and valid assessments and then use the data I glean from them to improve my teaching and the learning of my students.

Outside

I have another story from my job this week. I have a student who really wants to behave and is pretty good for the most part. However, he gets into these crying tantrum fits. Any time he does get into trouble he freaks out. He also does this when he is playing a game and is “out” or does not think he was treated fairly. Well the other day he got into trouble. At the time I was busy helping my other students with their homework, I called him down for something, but proceeded to work with another student. The other group leader happened to be in there as he had already dropped his students off with their tutor so he was giving me a hand. Well when this student was still not doing what he was told this group leader took it from there. It escalated into one of his crying fits, after a while I could see that the other group leader was not to get anywhere with the student so I traded off with him. I was able to get things under control which I was very proud of but the main piece of this story is that when the day ended the other group leader came to me asking questions about it. He has decided to go into teaching himself, though at the high school level, (by the way this was a second grader that we were dealing with). He is having problems with his discipline and management skills with the students. Especially those at a younger age. So far every week he has come to me with a new question, a new scenario and how I would handle the situation. I have just been so proud to be able to help a fellow teacher grow like this, at least the best I can. This also goes with the NCTCstandard 1: “Teachers demonstrate leadership.”

Twitter

This is so important. Through out all of our classes we learn this everyday. This is the whole point of looking at the data, so that we are able to gauge where our students are and go from there. We cannot skip ahead to another lesson if they have not mastered the last one.

As teachers we need to remember this. Focus on our students. Change the world for that one student, it has an impact, see it, use it.

This is a cool read. Having students peer edit can help them better see when errors happen. Doing this will help them better see them in their own writing and help them know how to correct these errors. Peer Feedback Article

Week 4 SCED 330 and EDUC 410

SCED 330

In science class this Tuesday we had an activity where we had a hypothetical situation (which is 100% probable in our future classrooms) where we get a question from a student that we do not know the answer to. In class our question was “how do hurricanes form?” So we spent a set amount of time researching this question to where we could understand it and then turn around and explain it to the student. I thought this was great practice for the classroom and really helped us to see what would be a good practice in this sort of situation. This activity also went into standard 3 of NCTCS, teachers need to know the content they are teaching. We did not know the answer to this question so we had to research it. This will happen to us because we do not know everything there is to know about everything, but it is important for us to understand this, and we still have to find the information so that we can teach our students. This also goes with standard 1. As leaders we need to understand that our learning never ends, this was a great opportunity for us to see this and learn something new that we would then share with our students. 

We are continuing our work on our Ecocolumns this week. These things are so much fun, I am really enjoying the project, and I am proud in someways as to how mine is turning out. In other ways it is not turning out quite as I had hoped but that is how science goes. It is an experiment, these things do not always turn out as you expected. Another assignment I am really enjoying is the Science Through My Lens project. I mentioned this in my last blog but it has become a lot of fun trying to notice things that are happening around me. These things have always been happening but now I am focusing on them and really seeing them. It is harder for me to come up with questions to go with my pictures but I am starting to get the hang of it. I am excited about getting started on our experiments next week for our science fair group project as well. We have our plan all ready and I am raring to go.

One of my biggest struggles this week is still procrastination, I have gotten a lot better but I am still not quite there. I have done really well in getting this week’s things done in all of my classes but I have been struggling in getting ahead in next week’s assignments. I have to get them done because I know I will not have time to do them next week. The hardest things are the group projects though. Doing my own assignments early can be accomplished easier than getting my groups to meet earlier in the week to get those things done. But my plan is to get into contact with all of my groups to get those things done, or it least figure out my part and get my parts done early in the week. 

I went through the hyperdoc that was shared on chapter 2 this week. It is really cool and kind of fun to go through. I think the group did a great job with their links, with the videos and sites they found. I liked how they put arrows pointing out all of the links so that they were not missed. Something that stood out to me personally was the question “[What was] your most memorable science experiment?” This got me to thinking on all the science experiments and activities that I got to do during my public school years and even while I was homeschooled. It brought up all of those memories that have stuck with me, and it made me think about the impact those classes had on me. Through out all of school those science experiments are what have stuck with me the best. All of those hands on experiences have stayed with me, much better than what I just read out of a textbook. It made me think of what those certain teachers did for me, and made me realize how much I wanted to be able to do this for my future students.

EDUC 410

In 410 this week we have been working on Task 4 of edTPA. This has been really hard for me. We are using data collected to go back and come up with a strategy for re-teaching a lesson. However, we are making up the information right in the middle. It is one thing when you start creating a beginning lesson plan. It is another when you are trying to imagine what that first lesson was, then imagining what the students need extra work on and creating a new lesson from that. This has just been struggle for me this week. In our seminar we have been talking about feedback. I have always thought feedback was hugely important. I know as a student myself I always hated when teachers would just put a check mark or something on my work. Even if I got a 100 I wanted to know what I did well on on the assignment. If I got a lower grade I wanted to know why. Especially if I was going to have a similar assignment later because I wanted to know what I needed to improve on. This is highly important for students. They need to know what their strengths and weaknesses were on an assignment. The whole reason is for them to grow and improve. If we do not give them the information they need to do this, how will they know? This will definitely be something that I will be proactive in in my future classroom. I do not want my students to feel like I did as a student. I want them to have feedback so that they can grow.

Tweets

So this week all of my top tweets are lists of tools and strategies that teachers can use. I am bookmarking all of these links and I hope they are useful to you guys.

This first one is list of 20 strategies to help keep your students engaged. Even those reluctant to do anything in your class. It is just a list of ideas that you can do that might help, and it is highly useful. I was going to pick on thing off the list as an example but honestly I cannot pick one and I think everyone should read the whole list. 

https://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2016/03/03/20-strategies-for-motivating-reluctant-learners/ 

This link is focused more on a teachers relationship with their students. What are some ways that you can become a memorable educator? Again I like all of these strategies but I will pick one this time. One of the strategies is to be approachable. A simple thing to do to help with this is situating yourself or your desk to where your students are not intimidated or feel cut out. You want them to be able to come up to you with questions or feel like they can talk to you.

http://www.teachhub.com/teaching-strategies-become-memorable-educator

This last link could be used for teachers, parents, students, and ourselves. This is a list of strategies or tips to help get you organized. But these are categorized by learning styles. So there are tips for the best ways for a kinesthetic learner to get organized, an auditory learner, and a visual learner. I am a visual learner and looking through those tips I find that they are definitely things that help me. Some that I already like to do and others that I have never thought of. However, no learner is stuck in one category, each person fits into each style in different ways, so do not forget to look at the other categories because you may find something that would work for you there too. I know I did.

http://www.coolcatteacher.com/tips-organize-learning-styles/ 

Week 3 SCED 330 and EDUC 410

SCED 330

This week was exciting in Science Methods. We did a lot, but what stood out to me was working on our ecocolumns in class. This has been such a fun project for me so far and I think it will continue to be so. We are building self sustaining ecosystems out of two-liter bottles. Complete with a terrarium and aquarium section. During class we have been catching creatures to keep in our ecosystem along with things for their new habitat to keep them alive and healthy. This is the kind of thing I love to do and so far I feel like I have been able to be a lot of help to the other students in this process. I am proud of this. 

Something else that we have been working on in Science is our Science Through My Lens learning experience. We are to be looking out for scientific occurrences happening around us, document them with pictures and have questions designed to inspire and encourage inquiry in students. I have started on this assignment and it is completely eye opening. I know these occurrences are alway going on around me but I have never really taken the time to notice them. This assignment forces me to always be on the look out and to see my world in a completely new light. 

I know I am going to be very busy and away from computer access a lot the week after next. So my action step for this next week is to get ahead as much as I possibly can so as to not get in a bind that week.

EDUC 410

We have started to look at task 4 of edTPA in 410 this week. Task 4 is the math section of edTPA. In this task the teacher is to teach a math lesson, review and reflect on the data from the lesson and assessment, revamping and reteaching the lesson using information gleaned from this data. In this class we are going to be doing this to get a better idea of how it is done. We are going to be completing a math lesson and teaching it to a group of our peers. Then we are to reflect on the lesson and use what we learn to reteach the lesson. This will be great for us to learn and be able to practice. Because we will be doing this in our student teaching and we must know how to do it.

Outside

My interview for the Education program at Gardner-Webb is next Thursday. I have been working constantly on trying to prepare myself for this. This type of thing is not my strong suit and I have been struggling with it. I have been working hard on myself these past weeks. My biggest struggle here is my belief in myself, as well as my mind freezing up. I have also been reviewing the Conceptual framework and NCTCstandards. Viewing these standards, I see how they have become almost second nature to me. I have gone from having never seen them at the beginning of the spring semester last year, to knowing them so well now. All of the standards are equally important, but I have found that the 1st one stands out to me the most. It says that teachers are to be leaders. I feel like this encompasses all of the other standards. As leaders we teachers should create a respectful environment for our diverse learners, know our content, know how to facilitate learning for all of our students no mater who they are, and be able to reflect and use this reflection to improve. These are the other 4 standards.