Unloading the Trailer: Micro Teaching

My micro-teaching experience occurred November 14th-16th at Juniata Valley High School, under Mrs Rayleen Russell. Matt and Kayla were also along for the experience. I taught Mrs Russell's 3rd period of the day, which is an 8th grade rotational course (she sees every 8th grader in the school for 1/4, or one marking period). This was a situation that I did not expect to find myself in as a pre-service teacher, but I took on the challenge with an open mind. My topic:
Overall, I like the feeling I got from being in front of a class three days in a row. I enjoyed writing my lessons from MyCaert. I woke up each morning excited to teach. I will take the following away as this chapter of my #teachag journey comes quickly to an end.

Gems

• Kahoot: When I observed her class, she spent the day playing a kahoot game with them to review livestock breeds. I had heard of it before but had never used it. The students seemed to love it, so I decided to try it as a unique form of assessment. This definitely had their most undivided attention of any of my activities. One student actually said "you are a winner in my book" when I announced the activity. I need to tweak my overall management of the activity, but I believe I found a favorite tool for the teacher tool box. 
• Showing Learning: I feel I did a good job of actually showing growth in my 3 days there, via kahoot as described above. For the beginning pre-test (10 questions) the students ended with 43% correct answers. For the summitive test (15 questions, 10 repeat and 5 new), students ended with 65% correct answers. That may not seem like a lot, but most incorrect answers were centered around a few questions, which I will take as a fault on my part. Overall, I was able to show and archive growth with very little input on my part.
• Classroom Management: 8th graders are a handful. I had in my mind that I could not trust them farther than I could throw them (which being 8th graders is not too shabby). I made sure that they knew I was in charge, and they played to me well that way. I am a fan of the "proximity to the trouble student" strategy and it worked well at least three times. My strongest example was actually with a senior who spends the period as Mrs Russell's senior project. The students were working on group work, and he and I chatted briefly about the grade level. One student acted up and the senior took it upon himself to yell "hey sh*t brain" at the student. I acted quickly and sternly told him that that behavior is not tolerated when I am in the room. The behavior stopped, but I would be interested to see how that would have changed his attitude if I was there more days.

Ops

• Over Lecture/Share: Lecture is the best way to convey a lot of information in a short amount of time. That is what I tried to do, and my teaching became very lecture heavy. It is not necessary the fact that this is what I did, but I did it for up to 20 minutes at a time. A no-no for any age group. The thing is, my topic was so large that I had a hard time narrowing down a focus area. I would like to do other activities, but I don't think I could have covered the same material. Think: learn a few things well, not cover a lot of things.
• Classroom Management: I spent too much time working with students on the ends of the behavior spectrum, that a few in the middle felt over looked
• Clarity of Instruction: I have a hard time articulating the thoughts in my head, which can cause my thoughts to get jumbled. Because of this, I learned I need to slow down and deliberately go through the 4 elements of instructions (signal, task, comprehension, signal).

Concerns

• Prep Time: I spent a lot of time prepping for each class. I hope it gets better. This worries me as I will be taking on a full load here in a few months.

Unloading the Trailer: Inquiry Based Instruction

In a previous blog, I mentioned how in my teacher toolbox, Inquiry Based Instruction (IBI) can be a power tool, but like most power tools they can be intimidating at first and even dangerous to an inexperienced user. This was my first time using IBI in it's true form. Here are my thought for my IBI lab on soil.

Gems:

• I was surprised how well my plan flowed in to it's self. My first part was having them observe and capture on a fishbone diagram, and the second part was test an observation. It seemed potentially far fetched but by the end of observation, groups were itching to test. That is exactly the type of interest in the subject I was hoping to foster. 
• Board writing. I like to organised by spreading things out, and all the board space allowed me to do that. I worry about my hand writing by it doesn't seem like it held the learning back.
• A few students were having a hard time grasping what I wanted them to do. I was able to clarify 1-on-1 very well.

Ops:

• Clarification. I have found that my mind operates in a random and scrambled fashion, and therefore my directions and instruction follows suit. I am seeing the value of having instructions directions and questions clearly and simply written out, so I can "read the script" when teaching and not talk scrambled.
• Relating to my comments above, instead of "spitting knowledge" at them whenever something cool or important comes up, I need to slow down more and make everything purposeful. Use a student scribe, talk slower, and by far make sure I give students time to capture down what they need to know

Weekly Web Wonder 9: Inquiry-Based Instruction. Whats the Hype About?

Friday in #AEE412, we were introduced to Inquiry Based learning and given the hint that this weekly web wonder is very important. I completed my readings, and spent the afternoon with many thoughts on the subject racing through my head. I know I could easily write a blog that outlined the basic cycle of inquiry, but that didn't seem right. I know that inquiry involves students creating their own knowledge through interest, but it is more than simple problem-solving. I also know that, if done correctly, both students and teachers will benefit. This is an idea that was rarely used on me as a student and, as I found out, is relatively new to education. All things considered, you can understand why I feel like I'm dealing with something big here.

On Friday I recognized that we are all sort of learning about inquiry using inquiry. Therefore I hope I can contribute these ideas to our conversation:

(Note: To try and further my own ideas, I have been trying to get into Pinterest. Seeing a good situation, I used it to find the following:)

Check out this Edutopia Article. I like how the article broke down the idea into simple language. Educators have to battle students "dunno" when asked what they want to know. What we are doing with inquiry is trying to recreate the "whaa!?" feeling when we see something that peaks our interest. Also remember: "I think one of the reasons why the whole world seems to be losing its mind over the Broadway production of Hamilton is because it presents a fresh take on a story we’ve all heard before. The power of learning something new is undeniable."

From our reading, we can implement it this way: 

1.starting the inquiry process; 

2.promoting student dialog; 

3.transitioning between small groups and classroom discussions; 

4.intervening to clear misconceptions or develop students’ understanding of content material; 5.modeling scientific procedures and attitudes; and, 

6.utilizing student experiences to create new content knowledge.

When implementing, remember:

Inquiry based learning will not work in all situations for all subjects. It is also hard to get students to buy in to the idea. But when we can, it is an awesome power tool to keep in our teacher toolbox to further 21st century skills and promote student independence.

Weekly Web Wonder 8: Differentiated Instruction

Diferentiated. Differensiated. Differentiated  Instruction. As intimidating as it is to spell, the idea of it can scare new teachers just as much. My first thought was this would relate to students IEP's, however that is more based around individualized instruction. Individualized instruction works around setting specific goals for a student based on ability(?). Differentiated instruction is how you respond to your students and class as a whole, specifically in their readiness, interests, and learning preferences, while keeping the same rigor and expected learning goals.

Readiness: How much do they already know? You can not expect your ag mech class to diagnose problems with their small gas engines if they do not know the 4 strokes. However, your next period ag mech class might be able to rebuild engines in their sleep. This involves assessment of prior knowledge and may often lead to a "ok back it up" moment. I often hear high school and college students alike complain about being overwhelmed by content, or that "they never taught me this and expect me to know it". I wish to avoid all such comments in my future students

Interests: Of course, this relates to interest approach. How can we link what we are doing to prior knowledge and experiences? If we can do so, we create a feeling of "want to learn" rather than "have to learn".

Learning preferences: In mechanics, I prefer to learn hands-on with a coach by my side. Others prefer to learn by reading the manual. Every student prefers a different way to "..acquire, process and work with information. Learning preferences are influenced by gender, culture, the classroom environment, learning styles and multiple intelligences."(1) How can we teach to all these different styles?

I want to note that differentiated instruction requires constant formative assessment (shout out to last blog!). It is difficult to plan differentiated instruction far in advance. I know I will eventually end up re-planning future lessons based on my assessment of teaching that day, but hopefully I will be able to look back and remember this blog and why it is all worth it.


To end on a funny note...

When I saw this strip, I could not pass up including it. In #AEE412 we have all these ideas coming down the pipeline and at sometimes it feels overwhelming. I feel our cohort gaining confidence in our ability to apply everything that has stuck with us. Here's to the week ahead!

(1) http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesDI/Brochures/DIBrochureOct08.pdf

Weekly Web Wonder 7: Tackling Assessment

Assessment Pre-Thoughts

In my #TeachAg journey, no subject makes me more uncomfortable than assessment. I struggle to think of a way that we can asses what students know in an objective way, while keeping in mind individual talents and abilities and needs, while still grading according to district policy. I know that pre-assessment is a valuable part of the process because it establishes a baseline. Therefore, I am writing this part of my blog before I start my readings in order to capture beginning thoughts. Overall, when I hear someone say assessment, I think of the two pictures below.

Sadly, I feel comedian Daniel Tosh's comments are
all to common in our school system.

Although it is commonly used quote, it's idea is very important
to keep in mind as we fight the idea presented in the first photo.

I realize that exams are not going away, and I will give many in my time as an educator. Where I can make a difference is in the way that I write questions, and incorporate other assessment strategies.

Reading Reflections

I know that assessment does not directly equal grades, but that is the area that concerns me the most. After reading, here are a few points that stick out to me that I feel may help address my concern above:

1. Remember the difference between summative and formative assessments. Summative assessments are our traditional tests and quizzes, often cumulative, and at the end of a topic. They can also include final projects, and. are the basis for grades. Formative assessments are where students get input and feedback from others. We can do that may different ways and on a constant basis. Make sure to include both ways. Is there a way to incorporate grades into formative assessments, or is it simply a way to build scaffolding around a students learning experience to help them perform when grades are at stake?
2.  "Measuring is the third part in a five part process".
• Set outcomes
• Identify where outcomes are addressed
• Measure
• Revise
• Re-measure
3. Good test questions inspire though on the subject, not just regurgitation of a fact. Use bloom's taxonomy!
4. Rubrics are a tool to keep assignment grading objective, and expectations clear to students.
5. On my note of "bad test takers": Vary your assessment strategies and allow students to show you all of their skills. When it comes to assessing exceptional students, remember to view the IEP to see where accommodation or modification my be necessary. Our biggest challenge here is how do you weigh the grades of students who have received alternative assessments? A 100% grade on one does not equal a 100% on the other. 
6. "High-quality grading and reporting systems distinguish three types of learning criteria related to standards":
• Product Criteria
• Process Criteria
• Progress Criteria
7. Grades should never be assigned as a "feel good" move. Always keep things objective. If students struggle, re-evaluate your learning objectives for them.

I feel like the more I know, the more questions I have. Nevertheless, here is my final thought for the blog. Remember that students will inevitably get good and bad grades in your class no matter how you write questions, vary instruction and assessment strategies, and write objectives. It is our job to give each student the best opportunity for success (they can take it or leave it) and then keep grades as objective as possible. 

Weekly Web Wonder 6: Problem Solving and Project Based Learning

Problem Solving

Problem solving is one of the most basic skills that students should receive from education. Just think of what everyone from mechanics to engineers do on a daily basis in their careers. I will admit that I have taken problem solving for granted in the past. It was just something you do, everyone should know how work though a problem. But these readings helped take me back to my math class freshman year. Our whole class did well on quizzes where the problems were purely math based, but we struggled on the exams where we needed to apply the concepts to real life situations. We were asked to problem solve, but couldn't because we were never taught.

The need for problem solving is the first thing Jamie Kirkley identifies in her technical paper Principals for Teaching Problem Solving. She points out how fast ideas change in modern science. We can not educate our students with current knowledge and expect them to be good through their careers. We need to teach them how to be life long learners and adapt to changes. We can do that by teaching the process of problem solving:

1) Identify the problem
2) Define the problem through thinking about it and sorting out the relevant information
3) Explore solutions through looking at alternatives, brainstorming, and checking out different points of view
4) Act on the strategies
5) Look back and evaluate the effects of your activity

Project Based Learning

Assigned projects themselves are not considered project based learning. We have all been assigned projects that we feel were simply "busy work". That defeats the entire purpose. Our readings highlight 8 essentials to project based learning. They are:

1) Significant Content

2) A need to Know 

3) A Driving Question
4) Student Voice and Choice
5) 21st Century Skills
6) Inquiry and Innovation
7) Feedback and Revision
8) Publicly Presented Product

The part I was least comfortable with was the 21st century skills. To clarify this, I found the graphic below. It is a good idea to keep these in mind with every lesson we write.

I'm looking forward to diving into project based learning by writing my lab lesson this week and presenting it next week!

Unloading the Trailer: Lab 3, Interest Approach

My performance in lab this week was not quite up to where I would hope it would be. Nevertheless I believe I continued to be strong in a few areas of delivery, and showed improvement in others. Here are my gems and ops as I unload the trailer to prepare for next week.

Gems

• As Cahill pointed out on Edthena, my lesson had lots of variability. I went from Google searching, to a video, to a powerpoint in the first ten minutes. I don't feel like it was too much too fast either. It all flowed together. The challenge would then be keeping the variability going as the powerpoint starts to get pretty heavy. 
• The daily Google. This is a strategy I remember hearing from an ag teacher many years ago, and it has stuck with me to this day. The idea is that you start by having students google search a basic question, one so basic they may have never considered it before, and have them record and share their findings. It is almost like a mini interest approach in it's self. It is designed to spark follow up questions that will relate to the day's content. I had some mixed feedback about it, but I believe it will go smoother if I introduce it better at the beginning of the year, and make it a regular part of class.
• Including vocab. I included essential vocab at the beginning of the lesson as a way to foreshadow the content. Vocab on the board is a common practice at Central Columbia. My peers liked this and thought it made me come across as more knowledgeable, which is always nice.
• My peers and I agreed that I had a good strategy for Snyder when he started to doze off in class. I used proximity to make him alert, and then asked him a question, all without missing a beat.

Opps

• My interest approach in general was a little "ehh". I feel like these kind of things are supposed to come to you, highlight Dave Burgess when he talked about buying golf balls in the middle of the night after a cool idea laying in bed. This one came to me on Monday when a friend shared a Red Greene video on facebook. I took it and ran with it. There was mix of positive and negative feedback on the video. I feel it would have gone better if I would have scaffold better questions and content around it.
• I did not make sure technology worked before designing the lesson and had to adapt day-of.
• For some reason I decided not to correct Miranda even thought I saw her on her phone during the video. Perhaps I didn't want to interrupt the video? I should have taken action here.
• I need to be more creative with how I ask questions and accept students responses.This was also peer-mentioned. I believe class this week will help clear this up.
• I was a little under the weather, but it was noted this week and last that I should bring the energy up. That is something to continue improving on.