More thinking

Today, as the gray clouds part and the sun pokes through, I think about the course and what has been learned. I think about my unit, and what it was intended to accomplish. I think about the many times that I use technology to convey a point or demonstrate something new that relates to what we're doing in the classroom. It is truly amazing how far technology has come in the last few years. I see a new use for this boon in ideas and abilities. Integrating this capability is the issue for me. I like the idea of having a blog for my students to comment in and to ask questions, have assignments posted, interact with the parents and students and the like, but getting that kind of access to students in school is my issue. I have had a whale of a time getting access to these things at school myself. The negative outlook and potential for misuse seem to pervade and counteract the useful aspects, at least where I am. I am very interested in applying my newfound knowledge to my chosen profession. The uses and conveniences show the worth of such a use of newer technology. This class has shown some of the uses to me. Even though my unit did not fully explore this potential, I intend to integrate more of this in the weeks that follow the original few days that next year will bring. Thanks to all that have helped me learn how to work some of this stuff! You were very helpful! Hope all goes well for each of you and good luck in whatever you do.

mark

A Nice Day In PA

Today, as I sit and work on lesson plans for my UbD unit, I look out the window and see it's a beautiful day in PA. Those of you in the more southerly parts might not understand the importance of these days. After a long cold winter, warm cloud-free days during daylight savings time bring so many things. We've had enough rain to wash all of the salt, spread to make travel possible in the winter months, from the roads. It's nearing 65 degrees (warm for us), and it's time to take a break from work for a little while. Today is my last day of Easter break and it's time to work on a hobby. As I like to say, it's time to stretch the legs of my fish and burn some dead dinosaurs...or in regular speak, take a classic muscle car out and burn some gas! WAHOOOOOOOOO
mark

Impressed

Today, I am impressed. Three years ago I went offline. This was in response to that fact that I spent far too many hours researching for my lessons, at dial up speed. I decided not to let this time interfere with the rest of what I like to do and decided to use the school, staying later, but still not spending as many hours doing the same things. My computer sat for those years, collecting dust, being moved from one house to another and generally being neglected. Despite needing a good file cleaning and MS Internet Explorer being outdated, it has operated flawlessly. DSL is now available to me making my research a much more efficient process. Today I attempted my first printing on an old cheap Canon printer. To my surprise, the ink cartridges worked! I'd never have guessed that these would sit for soooo long and not dry up. I have color and good draft quality which is nice because I'm still the type that likes to have a hard copy to carry around with me, and use a writing stick to make comments and changes.
Some things never cease to amaze me.
mark

Thoughts and a Plan

Thoughts and a Plan

This week, as a work on the unit plan, some things came together; others became a bit more fuzzy. The idea of thinking through what I'm doing in a logical order showed me some weak points in my current lessons. When I think about it, most of the teachers I know have complained about testing taking time away from their lessons, or grade level field trips, or in my 8th grade case transition activities that are intended to getting the kids more prepared for life in the high school. I doubt that most have looked at how they can streamline what they do to assist this. I see now that this can be a huge time saver!
As I worked with my unit, I saw some real weak points which will have been addressed before posting. I'm also working on getting the state standards from other disciplines mapped into my overall plan. While my selected unit will be barely begun by the time the requirements for this class have been fulfilled, I feel that the start will be much more solid. I guess my idea of unit was quite a bit bigger than the 3 lessons required. I'm looking at doing the first 5 days of my unit. This will occur after all the introductory, text handout and syllabus/rules review is taken care of.
I look into the requirements and become a bit nervous. I'm seeing many things that will need to be set out for all to see. The methods behind doing this are currently beyond my knowledge. I have a set template for my lesson plans in my district(Word) (which works pretty well). I'm looking at using this template along with the template for the UbD (6 page template)(Word) to convey my intentions. How the next challenge is getting this out there. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Thank you all. :)

mark

Sequencing

Sequencing (Attempt 3)

In the process of trying this, I have done 2 drafts…neither of which made me happy. This is lucky number 3. This will begin the year for science. This is a starting point, using some previously used ideas and some new ones for me. I’m sure it will change as I get into more things…but here goes.

This will occur after the all of the introductory, syllabus referral, expectations, rules and text dispersion.

Day 1

1. Students will create a brainstorm list for anything that they can think of about minerals, their uses etc.
1. Students will be able to write their answers on the whiteboard, using the “magic pen”. At the end of the activity, this will be saved and printed for later referral. (students respond very well to getting to write on the whiteboard)
2. After the initial class brainstorm, students are introduced to skimming (Extremely useful in taking the PSSA tests). Students will begin by looking for BOLD and italic terms from CH 9 in their texts. This is done for several reasons: 1. Teach the students a useful skill and 2. Students begin to learn some of the useful things their textbook does to help them.
1. “Know/Familiar/DUH?” lists: Students will classify the bold and italic terms into one of 3 columns. The first is for terms that the students think they know. They are warned that entering a term here will necessitate a student explanation of the term. The “familiar” column will contain terms that they have seen before, and sort of explain, they know something about, but can’t put a definitive definition or explanation on. My favorite, The “DUH” list will encompass all the terms that the students have absolutely no clue on. The combinations of letters that do not register any previous knowledge, spark any thought of its meaning or words that they can’t even pretend to guess a definition for will fill this column. (this is generally a huge column when compared with the others.)
2. Assessment for today will be purely participation and effort.

Day 2

3. Third, students will read and discuss the “Section objectives” for CH9.1. These are the topics/ideas that they will be expected to comprehend.
4. Next students will be introduced to pulling information from their text. Students will help construct a class set of notes for the introductory paragraphs of CH9.1, using the laptop and projector to display notes.
5. The fifth step involves getting a baseline for students’ ability to pull information from the text. Students are assigned a short section from the book, CH9.1, first section. Students are to take the notes that they feel they will need to know. Students will be given class time to get started and will be observed during the process. This gives me a baseline to use. Individual note taking skills have been requested from our HS counterparts.
1. Assessment today will be based on the effort made on the homework assignment.

Day 3

6. This day will begin with 3 voluntary students displaying their notes, each on a different blackboard. Student notes will be consolidated into class set, with input from the class.
7. Now is a good time to develop a basic set of requirements for student-generated notes. They have had the opportunity to make an attempt at notes and have been shown a class set of notes. Students will contribute to list of things that a “good” set of notes should include. These will be written on a note card for later reference.
8. Students will be assigned the next set of paragraphs for notes. Students are to use their lists of requirements as a guide when taking the notes. Part of class time will be used to start these. Students will have the opportunity for clarifications and for assistance.

Day 4

9. Student work will be evaluated. A student volunteer is requested to have their notes scanned and displayed for the class to edit and put a score on. An “official” set of notes will be displayed on the projector/laptop. . Students are asked to compare theirs, check the table partner’s notes and edit their notes. Students are also free to ask questions about their reading.
10. Students will view a laser disk with pictures of minerals. The ones chosen will be a combination of commonly seen and rare, odd samples. The internet will also be used to search for some student selected minerals using a mineral web page.
11. Homework will be the next set of paragraphs.

Day 5

This will begin similar to day 4, with notes being checked/edited and compared. “Mineral ad” introduction. Students will be introduced to their long-term project, the requirements and deadlines. More on this later.

I know that this seems a bit slow, taking up more time than it should, but I feel that spending the time early will save far more later.
What do you think? Ideas? Suggestions?
mark

Recent Read

I was just checking some news a little while ago, when a title caught my attention. It was titled "What's Wrong With America's High Schools". I'm not a memeber of Time's club, so I could only read the first page. http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/09/time.cover/index.html
It was interesting to see that dropping out of school is common and the school's fault. The title suggests this. Maybe the rest of the article would go on to other things, like parenting, drugs etc. If anyone is a member, I'd like to read the remainder of the article...or I'll try my school library and see if this is available.
mark

A Change and a Thaught

A Change and a Thought

This week was a good week for figuring some things out. First of all, I see now that my UbD unit is quite a bit too large to complete right now. I understand that I need to break it down into more manageable chunks. I will now concentrate on the first week of teaching for my next school year. I’ll bypass some of the introductory stuff and just start the unit for this class.

An idea that I’ve found works very well at the start of the year, and saves me many questions later in the year, involves the new students getting to know me and their classmates. I work with 8^th graders now. They are quite interested in what their teachers do outside of school, and ask lots of personal questions throughout the year. I tell them what I want them to know about me on the first day of school, which really decreased the number of these questions I have to answer later.

I start with 5x8 note cards and ask the students to fill out the answers on themselves. I do the same thing. The questions involve things like favorite things in the world, fav foods, hobbies, dislikes, siblings, trips, birthday etc. Students are given the opportunity to introduce themselves to the class, using only what they feel comfortable telling the others. I usually have at least a few extroverts who like to do this. I also read through the student responses, which gives me something to talk to the kids about in the hall, before class, or when I’m cruising through the cafeteria visiting with the students. It’s also useful when we get new students in the district. I have them fill out the same thing and I can get them introduced to others with the same interests.

I follow that with my answers to the same questions. Some years I also show a short “about me” power point. This introduces the whiteboard, laptop and projector to the kids in an environment that allows me to answer questions about it before I try to use it for a science topic. I find that these introductions ease the students into my room, seriously cutting down on personal questions and kicks off my school year in a positive manner.

mark

Tech to Use

Tech to Use

This week as I work through the links and lists, I see that there are many creative souls out there. I also get the feeling that I'm more behind than I thought in this area. I was very impressed with some of the webquests, and could implement at least one into what I do already. My bigger concern is that I would like to be able to create these wonders for my own students specifically for what I do.
Another thing that caught me was the virtual field trip section. We live in a small, rural area(about 30 minutes to the nearest movie/mall), which makes the virtual field trip a good idea. We have some history(as most towns do). I am thinking that I could work with our technology education department to create something relating to our "birthplace of the oil industry" heritage, couple that with the geology and local fossil finds, access through hiking and biking trails and canoe views...OK it gets big pretty fast, but the tech ed guys started doing our announcements with recorded video already. Each year more kids know how to edit and create animations here. If we start small, I think it can become quite the project. These other teachers are open to trying just about anything, and I'm pretty sure that I can get my Language Arts teacher on board. Math and Global Awareness are cooperative too. This then leads to the Art department, Music department and so on… Whatever happens from this point on in this class, I have something to "run with"!
Thanks for the links and ideas!
mark

UbD Unit start

Here is the unit plan for my first attempt at using UbD. With a little help, I now have a template for this! I now realize that I need to make my units a bit smaller or more specific. I'm attempting to do my entire first unit for next school year in this format. I have been told where I'm starting, so all will be different to me any way...seems like a good time for a complete overaul and re-evaluation of what I do.
It doesn't look nearly as good posted as it did in the template! Any suggestions for attaching a file here?
mark



6-Page Template, Page 1


Unit Cover Page

Unit Title:
Rocks, Minerals and Ore
Grade Level:
8 and 8 Learning Support
Subject/Topic Areas:
Cooling rates, rock vs mineral, practical uses, physical properties, environmental effects
Key Words:
CH 8, 9, 10 vocabulary lists
Designed by:
M Hiokins
Time Frame:
3/22/06 (for use at start of 06-07 school year
School District:
Titusville Area
School:
Titusville Middle


Brief Summary of Unit (including curricular context and unit goals):
- Students will be working with rocks, minerals and ore samples, determine origins and methods of formation.
- Students will perform tests on rock and mineral samples, which will be used to complete a Rock Collection, which will contain descriptions of samples, ID tags and a method for organization.
- Students will research an ore/natural resource, determine its uses, how it is obtained and potential environmental hazards that accompany the procurement of the resource.

Unit design status:
In progress

Completed template pages – Stages 1, 2, and 3

Completed blueprint for each performance task


Completed rubrics

Directions to students and teachers

Materials and resources listed

Suggested accommodations

Suggested extensions
Status:

Initial draft
(date

)


Revised draft
(draft

)

Peer reviewed

Content reviewed

Field tested

Validated

Anchored


6-Page Template, Page 2


Stage 1 – Identify Desired Results

Established Goals:
Use the skills gained in a controlled lab environment to create a collection of locally available rocks.
Identify method of formation, physical properties, and identity of samples found.
Determine uses for rocks, minerals and ore.
Research

G

What understandings are desired?
Students will understand that. . .
- the rock cycle is used to determine the numerous possibilities for a rock during its lifetime
- cooling rates affect texture
- magma is the parent material of all rock
- the importance of RMO in daily life
- there are potential risk to life and the environment in obtaining RMO

U

What essential questions will be considered?
How/where do rocks form?
How do I tell one RMO from the other?
What processes are at work forming RMO?
What are RMO good for?
What makes RMO valuable?
What do I use that comes from RMO?
Q

What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit?
Students will know. . . K Students will be able to. . .*
- how to organize, describe and categorize RMO found locally
- the processes that form the 3 main rock types
- the difference between R and M
- how to perform physical tests and ID RMO
· explain the formation of 3 rock types
· create and use identification keys
· describe RMO features
S

6-Page Template, Page 3


Stage 2 – Determine Acceptable Evidence

What evidence will show that students understand?
Performance Tasks* (summary in GRASPS form):
Rock Collection Final
Mineral Lab 1
Rock Lab 2
Quizzes
Section reviews
Chapter test

T
*Complete a Performance Task Blueprint for each task (next page)



Other Evidence (quizzes, tests, prompts, observations, dialogues, work samples):
Section quizzes
CH test
Rock collection(tests acquired skills)
Daily observations

OE


Student Self-Assessment and Reflection:
Journals
Surveys
Essay
Self-grade for Rock collection
Exit requests (what could be done to make the unit more useful etc.)
SA




GRASPS Task Design
MINLAB 1

Goal
- Your task is to identify the physical properties of a selected group of mineral samples
- The goal is to become proficient in assessing these characteristics.
- The problem or challenge is no single characteristic will determine what a sample is.
- The obstacles to overcome are deviations in hardness readings, determining what part of the sample to test, coming to a consensus with the group.

Role
- You are a scientist whose job is to identify minerals recently found.
- You have been asked to develop and use a system for categorizing your test results.
- Your job is test these samples, create a chart of physical properties and report back.

Audience
- Your clients are fellow scientists.
- The target audience is a group of mineralogists studying possible uses of these minerals.

Situation
- The challenge involves dealing with one or two other scientists that may or may not support your findings, which means that you will have to work closely and explain what you’ve done, and listen to what others think.

Product, Performance, and Purpose
- You will create a neat, organized chart of the physical properties you observed with your team,
in order to develop the needed skills for your final project(Rock collection).
- You need to develop these skills
so that you can accurately present your collection of local samples
Standards and Criteria for Success
- Your work will be judged by the given rubric.

Eye Opening Assessment
I have made some changes in my plans for this year, in direct response to the UbD concepts. One of them was a result of the ideas on assessments. I used an activity related to a "key idea". This year I used it as more of an assessment of understanding. The students had to fully understand the idea of superposition. Definition knowledge was also useful for unconformity, geologic column and rock formation. A combination of these was necessary to create the geologic history of a given area. This year, I did not lead them through step by step. I allowed them to struggle and asked them think. I answered no "what do I do" questions with direct answers. I told them to read the directions out loud to me (which resulted in many saying "never mind, I get it"), and then asked questions about their questions. Students seemed to get the idea that they were to use their heads to figure out the problems.
I was surprised at the number that did not understand, and could not explain what they were doing. When a group was going down the wrong path, they had no explanation for what they were doing. This was an eye opener for me. I thought that the majority understood the basic concepts. I was surprised that many of my students seemed totally lost, even though they had been doing well on the regular tests and homework. I was also surprised at the number “AHA” and “I GET IT” comments that arose and who these comments came from. Students seemed very proud of themselves when they were explaining their actions to the other members of their group. I saw students being very helpful and refraining from making fun of each other for lack of understanding. Even when students were totally off base, the others were supportive. This was no easy task. What I usually do in a single 43 minute period, took just over 2 full periods, but seemed much more useful.
The idea using multiple assessment types is something that I seem to have lost since coming from alternative education where we did many different large projects and presentations that replaced standard testing methods. When dealing with a class of about 15 which remained in one room all day (similar to an elementary school), it was pretty easy to set time aside for a cross–curricular assessments. Most of mine lately have been leaning toward the standardized test types for a variety of reasons. I see there is a need for more self reflection on my part. Each day, each lesson, each activity and each assessment needs to have more purpose and thought than they currently do. After looking at what I do in curriculum, I see that I haven’t looked as closely at the “big pictures” I’m trying to help the students to create. I have some work to do over the next several months before I start my new curriculum next school year. mark

An Apology

An Apology
Hello all,
I have to start out this week with an apology. I was unable to access any of the blogs for the majority of last week. Today (Monday 4-3-06), I was able to get in for a short time. I was welcomed by 86 postings to catch up on. I intend to read these postings and get caught back up…but it will take a little time. This is what can happen when technology isn’t accepted in schools. I’m having a difficult time with getting the privilege of accessing the needed web pages. I can only imagine the fight that will ensue with our tech coordinator when I begin to request student access. In my district, the tech coordinator does not seem to take the “facilitate, spread and encourage” approach to technology throughout the schools. It appears to be more of a “hamper, thwart and frustrate” method. It’s really a long story, but not one worth spouting off about at this time.
I will be responding to the blogs as I get through them.
On a better note, Verizon should have my access for home on Tuesday :)
Look forward to reading your ideas!
mark