SED 513: Final Reflection II

FINAL REFLECTION II: Goals: Professional and Personal

Success of my goals thus far: I am happy to say that I was only partly successful in my goals this semester. I had set out to pull two students who are not in jeopardy of failing TAKS, but who’s scores have decreased over time. I was able to mentor one student, but sadly the other I did not due to conflicting schedules. She was never on campus when I had conference.

Activities used/will continue to use to work toward completion of goal: I will continue to encourage the one student to go to TAKS tutoring and tutoring in general. I will continue to send Jag Cards to my students letting them know how much I do care about them. Jag cards are a big hit with students.

Results: Daniel has been working with Mr. Haney on science material. Sending reminders via mail to Daniel and Jamie, have been unsuccessful. Jamie does not attend due to her work schedule and Daniel just chooses not to go. I talked with him today and he promised he’d attend at least on session this week. According to Mr. Haney, he feels that Daniel will do well on the science TAKS. I have been working with Daniel on history and I believe he will pass. I have one more tutoring session with him, so hopefully it will be successful.

Reflection on the activity of goal-setting and its value in my teaching: Goal setting is very important in one’s professional and personal life. Life is all about progression and its worthwhile to set goals and record the improvement.

SED 513: Final Reflection I

FINAL REFLECTION I: What Instructional Strateg(ies) Worked Best?” and Why?

WHAT?- My favorite teaching strategy by far was Chapter 9: Generating and Testing Hypotheses. I commonly thought that generating and hypothesizing was only used in the science classroom, but I have seen the significance of its usage in my history class. There are two generalizations that guide the use of hypothesis and testing in the classroom and they are 1.) Hypothesis generation and testing can be approached in a more inductive or deductive manner and 2.) Teachers should ask students to clearly explain their hypotheses and their conclusions. Personally I find great value in generalization two. Reason being is that when the student begins to explain the facts, his/her hypothesis, and conclusions, he/she would have gone through the steps of the scientific method. I wanted my students to go beyond knowledge, comprehension, and application. I wanted them to use “higher level” thinking; analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. By using “higher level” thinking, the student is more likely to retain the information and apply the steps and content in other learning areas.

SO WHAT?- Hard to believe, but some students do not find history interesting the way I do! Shocker! History has a bad rap for listening to lectures and taking notes. I wanted to change that! I wanted kids to become involved in history. The task was not an easy one. But during the second presentation of Chapter 9 in Marzano’s book, we were given a “JFK Hypotheses” project. There is great interest in the assassination of JFK. I wanted them to know why their parents do not trust the government. I want them to know how shocking it was to capture the assassination on film. I wanted them to be apart of it all. So this was a great idea. I started off by reviewing what the Warren Commission had agreed upon the assassination. Basically we got the “facts.” I also included an article titled, “40 Years Later.” This article explained that more than 50% of Americans do not believe the Warren Commission’s ruling nor do they trust the American government. I posed the question, “Why?” The students had about a week and a half to research, form a hypotheses, test it, come to a conclusion, and present their theory to the class.

An example: Jacob found it interesting that the X-CIA agents that were apart of the Warren Commission were fired by JFK. He also found it interesting that at the last minute the President’s route was changed at the last minute. He then wrote the questions he wanted to ask, “Why were they fired? Why was the route changed? Why did Jack Ruby kill Lee Harvey Oswald?” etc. From his questions he posed a hypothesis that perhaps that the CIA was involved in the assassination. Did the American government set up the assassination or the Soviets? If it were the Americans, why? If it were the Soviets, why? After presenting his hypothesis to the class he concluded that because of this conspiracy combined with the Pentagon Papers, that most Americans do not trust the government. If our own President is not safe, then are we?

NOW WHAT?- This was a highly successful project. It kept the student’s interest, they enjoyed doing the project, and most importantly they used “higher level thinking skills. These skills can be applied to all subject areas. They will retain this information longer than if I had lectured over it all. I will definitely use it next year!

SED: 513 Marzano chpts 8,9, & 10

CHAPTER 8:

What?- RUBRICS! Rubrics are so important to the learning process. Our goal in education is for students to be successful. Its important for them to know what the expectations of success are. Its important for us to tell them ahead of time what is expected.
So what?- I usually give my students a rubric as to how they will be graded. On a project given to my on-level US History students, I did not provide an adequate rubric. I had kids wanting to know why they received the grade that they did. All I could tell them was that I did not see the expectations met. They replied with, "what are the expectations?"
Now what?-Usually I find the rubrics on the floor at the end of the day, so I just thought that they didn't care. But on the contrary, they did care and all knew how to receive an A. When I do hand out rubrics (which is with every project now)those who did not receive an A, know why and I no longer have arguments. They can see that the expectations were not met.


CHAPTER 9:

What?- Using hypotheses in our curriculum is very important to the learning process. In fact, out of all of the teaching strategies, I find this one to be the best. It does not only apply to science, it applies to History, English, and Math as was demonstrated by the presentations.
So what?- I used the JFK Hypotheses project in my APUSH class. My students LOVED it! It was their 5th 6 weeks test grade. In class we reviewed what the Warren Commission had agreed upon. They the students were to investigate anything that did not sit well with them. For an example, Jacob found it interesting that the men on the Warren Commission who investigated the assassination were X-CIA agents fired by JFK! Sounds pretty fishy to me :) From this investigation, Jacob and the others, hypothesised what actually happened. Jacob presented his case to the class who the CIA was involved in the assassination. It was wonderful! I have it if you would like to see it.
Now what?- I LOVE this strategy! I honestly do. It is so cool to see the students connect the past to the present. They were able to take "fact," make inferences and come to a conclusion about their research. I know they will remember what they studied and their ideas as to who assassinated JFK. One of the best projects I have done all year!

CHAPTER 10:

What?- Cues and questions are ways that I help my students use what they already know about the topic we are studying. There are 4 generalizations that should be considered when prompting students' knowledge. Those 4 are

1. Cues and questions should focus on what is important as opposed to what is unusual.
2. "higher level" questions produce deeper learning.
3. Wait time
4. Questions are effective learning tools when they are asked BEFORE a learning experience.

So what?- I stuck to these 4 generalizations when I prepared my students for TAKS. With TAKS, it is important to focus on fact, not fluff. When I introduced the topic of WWII, I played a game called "LINKS." On the board I wrote, WWII, and from that the students had to list all the things they knew about WWII. "Adolf Hitler, Pearl Harbor, A-bomb, FDR, Truman, rationing, Treaty of Versailles, etc. From each of these items, I asked "higher level" questions. Such as, "how did the Treaty of Versailles lead to the rise of Hitler? Not only did the students need to know what the treaty was, but why it was significant. A lot of teachers are afraid of "awkward silence." Its important to wait a few minutes after you ask a question to allow students to think and process the information. Likewise, its important for students to raise their hand and not blurt out the answer so others can think. Finally, asking questions before a learning experience is helpful. Because they have begun the process of thinking. They are able to make predictions as to what the correct answer is. And as we saw from chapter 9, forming hypotheses is a great teaching strategy.
Now what?- I need to remember to use "LINK" more often and present questions before we learn about a subject. I am currently going through my PowerPoints and adding a slide at the beginning of each with questions to be answered. I think it will help a lot. The students were amazed at how much they actually knew about a topic and helped reduce the tediousness of TAKS.

Arpil 8th- Marzano chpts 6&7

CHAPTER 6
WHAT?- Most of my students are visual learners. I am a visual learner. Just like my students, I can make more sense out of concepts and ideas if I put facts into a graphic organizer. In history, it can be difficult for students to keep track of all the information, sequence of dates and time. Part of the TAKS test is knowing different types of government. I used the graphic organizer on page 78 in Marzano's book to teach Types of Government; specifically Totalitarian governments. Since I cannot create the actual graphic organizer on my blog, I will write out what the students wrote.

Concept: Totalitarian Government
Characteristics 1: Communism
Example 1: Soviet Union 1922-1990
Example 2: China
Example 3: North Korea
Example 4: North Vietnam
Characteristic 2: Run by a dictator
Example 1: Vladimir Lenin
Example 2: Josef Stalin
Example 3: Pol Pot
Characteristic 3: Civil Liberties removed
Example 1: Nuremberg laws
Example 2: Stalin's 5 year plan
Example 3: Collectivization

SO WHAT?- Graphic organizers of any sort help students grasp concepts better and quicker. Tyler had a hard time keeping all of the different types of government characteristics in order. He would confuse Communism with Nazism and fascism. So in his Cornell notes, I had him fill in the graphic organizers. Its not perfect, but he is better at associating dictators and characteristics with the correct government.

NOW WHAT?- I use graphic organizers with my CMC students. Tyler is not a CMC student. He is just an average kid who does not enjoy history and has a hard time remembering the information. I will continue to teach Tyler how to use graphic organizers in history as well as in other classes he struggles in.

Chapter 7:
What? Group work can be a good or bad thing! As I student I hated group work. My teachers would pair me in groups with students who were not as productive as I was. It was their way of "balancing" out the grades. Giving those who are not doing work an advantage and those such as myself a time to babysit. With that being said, group work really needs to be group work; all need to contribute to the activity. Games tend to get all students involved. My classes like to play "Battleship." The class is set up like the battleship board game. We play this game to review for chapter tests or to review vocabulary. It also helps to play during TAKS time to break up the monotony of review.

So What?- The game is fun to play. The kids love to "torpedo" each other. I start by asking one side a question. If they get it right, then they torpedo the other side. The goal is to torpedo all of the opposing ships. Certain desks are set up to simulate different ships. Some kids are in pairs; some are 6 to a table. The harder the question the bigger the ship the opposing side they can wipe out. The kids have to work together to answer the questions. I will group the kids. I put kids with the same achievement level together. In a gifted and talented training class I took this past Wednesday night I leaned to put all gifted kids in the same group. They work better and benefit the most. I can tell who needs more study time by the ability; or lack of ability; to answer the questions. It is a good motivation for them to be prepared on game day. I do give rewards for the winning team.

Now What? Group work will always be a struggle. Most teachers think that group work is easier for them; a time to relax. Really its more exhausting. You have to constantly monitor, make sure all are participating, and make sure all are absorbing the information. I will continue to use group work in class. It can be beneficial, but its important to remember that its not time off for me. That I need to continue to "teach" while they are in groups.

March 11th- Marzano Chapters 3,4,& 5

Marzano- Chapter 3

What? Being a history teacher, I rely heavily on lecture to convey the information to my students. In preparing my students for the AP exam, my students need to be familiar with DBQs (Document Based Questions). I have chosen to use the Cornell Notes Strategy in teaching my students how to take notes during a lecture or when reading primary documents.

So What? Cornell Notes are “the bomb.” Most students do not know what to listen for during lectures or while reading. By using Cornell Notes, they can write as much as they want, the go back and then pull out the main ideas. The best thing is that they have to summarize or synthesize what they had heard or read that day. Before I encouraged my students to do Cornell, but now I am taking the notes for a daily grade. At the end of each class, I have my students; summarize (on the bottom part of the page) what they have learned in two to six sentences. This allows for questions to be asked and clarifications. They tend to remember more when they do this at the end of the period.

Now What? I have been and will continue to use Cornell Notes. I used them when I was in college and it was very helpful in determining what the main focus of the class was for each day. I think that as teachers we are really good at getting the information to our students, but we lack in having them process the information. Cornell Notes allows them to do so. It takes about 5 minutes at the end of each class and the students are able to get a better sense of what is going on.

Marzano- Chapter 4

What? I chose to use the Pause, Prompt, and Praise strategy. I have a particular student with whom I focused this strategy on this 6 weeks. I use a form of this with a lot of my kids, but with this particular student, it worked VERY well and we both were pleased with the results.

So What? This student, Jose, was a failing student from day one. He would barely slip by each six weeks with a 68% or so, and I would just pass him with a 70%. He is not a trouble maker and he is intelligent (but I don’t think anyone has ever told him that.) He does not have a lot of support at home for academics. At the beginning of the 6 weeks, I had a project due where the students had to create a Time Magazine from the 1920s. There were various components that went into making this magazine. In the library during research time, I could tell Jose was having a hard time getting started. So I went and sat with him. (Pause) I first asked him how his day was going, etc. Then I asked him who he would like to research. He said, “Al Capone.” I said that was a great person to research and I had the best book for him to look through. At that moment, I Prompted Jose to go to the Biography section of our library and look up Capone. When he came back to the table I wrote out a specific rubric for Jose. He got right to work. When it came time to turn in his project, it was complete and on time! I was so pleased! He received a 100% because he followed my rubric perfectly. I have a “Wall of Fame”, where I display the best work of students and when he saw his project on the wall, he was very pleased with himself (PRAISE).

Now What? I think its important to see those students who are struggling during class. Sometimes they just need a bit more direction and they can do the work. Jose, like many others are capable of the work, but they don’t know how to start nor do they know how to ask the right questions. Since this project, I have assigned three more and Jose has followed the rubric perfectly. He has learned that if he does exactly what I have written on the rubric, he will succeed.

Marzano- Chapter 5

What? I chose to focus on making sure that my assigned homework is “designed clearly that articulates the purpose and outcome” (pg 65). Too often students are given busy work, or what they appear to see as busy work. I have made sure from day one to let my students know that I would never give busy work that wastes their time.

So What? My AP students have homework every night. We cover a chapter a class. While in class, I lecture for about 30 minutes, show some type of video clip that reinforces a certain topic that is important to the lecture, and have them summarize their Cornell Notes. There isn’t any way that I can cover everything that is needed for them to know for the AP exam, so homework is required. My students know that they have to come to class prepared; having read the chapter, answered the main idea questions from the chapter, and are prepared to have a class discussion over those main ideas. I have the students answer these “focus questions” to ensure they are learning the material. Textbooks have a lot of fluff added, so by narrowing down the material to the focus questions, they have a better grasp of what that chapter is about. Since I have been cutting down the focus questions to about five (instead of ten-fifteen), they have better answers during discussion and tend to ask more questions.

Now What? Homework is something I have assigned from day one. I will continue to assign homework that focuses on what we will discuss in class and that I will grade. I never assign homework that I won’t look at. That is just wasting their time. My students also know that I READ EVERY WORD they write. If they are going to take the time to write out answers, then I have to take the time to read their answers.

SED 513- Teacher Personal/Teaching Goals

I find that too often we focus on the high and low performance students rather than on the "average" students. Those who are doing well in class, are well behaved, those who just do what is expected; no more, no less.

Professional Growth Goal:
Personal: Give better recognition to the "average" students. Both verbally and non-verbally.
Professional: Choose two students to mentor for the TAKS test. These students should not be high risk students who are more than likely going to fail, but select those who are going to pass, but can see that their scores are decreasing each year.

Professional Growth Measurable Activities:
Personal: Get to know these two students. Learn their likes, dislikes, interests, what is their home life like? What is causing their scores to decrease.
Professional: Meet with each student twice a week to check in on them. Offer them tutoring sessions with me. For science and math, get TAKS prep material from those teachers. Work with my colleagues to help these students.

Professional Growth Assessment and Evaluation:
Personal: Learn more about science/math TAKS material. Get with my colleagues to learn the best approach in tutoring these students. Gain their insights.
Professional: Look at past TAKS tests. Utilize CSI and INOVA. Add value to these students. Meaning, enrich them academically and personally. Do NOT measure success on pass/fail, but on how many points this student increased.

SED 513: Secondary School Curriculum- Marzano chpt 2

What? Currently we are studying the Progressive Age in APUSH. I chose to do a Venn Diagram for comparison of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois. I chose this strategy because all of my students were already familiar with it.

So What? This strategy worked very well. The students were able to see that even though both of these men had the same goal, they approached equal rights in two different ways. DuBois demanded equal rights immediately where Washington took a more moderate approach. The data that I have that provided feedback was the class discussion. It started off about Washington and DuBois, but then it moved towards Alice Paul and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, etc. They were able to see how goals were met to better the nation even though these individuals had different tactics. It lead to a discussion about Obama and former President W. Bush.

Now What? I plan to use this strategy over and over. I was surprised that the kids were able to make better sense of the Progressive Era simply by comparing individuals with similar goals. I was also pleased that we were able to bring in current issues and talk about tactics.