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.