Passing Period: The Best Time to Fix a Lesson

During first period, the review of Hardy-Weinberg equations garnered a bunch of blank stares.  We expected that students would come into class with questions, but we got nothing.  I was completely unable to assess the students' comprehension.  The students who understood the concepts answered the questions quickly and got the correct answers.  The students who didn't understand it copied the answers from their sharing neighbors.  At the end of the period, my master teacher and I looked at each other and we knew that we had 5 minutes to come up with something better.

So, in the next 300 seconds, we floated a bunch of ideas ranging from more practice problems to short essays explaining each step of the equation.  But we didn't know where the students were having problems.

Then, I recommended a pop quiz.  At first, my master teacher wasn't thrilled.  She said that we didn't need more papers to grade, Scantron forms are too expensive for a super-quick assessment, and that we didn't really have time for a quiz.  I countered:  the students didn't know it wouldn't be for points, and I promised to keep it short.  I got the green light.  I was about to give the first pop quiz of my life!

It worked.

Each "question" was a logical step of a rather basic Hardy Weinberg equation.  The "quiz" part of "pop quiz" set the right tone in class.  After the initial wave of groans, the students were quiet and attentive.  As the students wrote out out their answers, I was able to walk around and look at their work.

I got the information I needed and spent about 10 minutes addressing the weak points in the students' problem solving.

Reflection
I realized on the way home that this is something I'll not be able to do every day.  This was an emergency assessment piece and a pop quiz will lose its "pop" if done too much.  It worked in a pinch and it's something I'll come back to if I manage to get myself into a bind again.

The students needed another set of practice problems to really solidify the concept.  They wouldn't like it, but it would have been best for them.

Assignment review is an essential part of the learning process.  The next time I teach a difficult concept, I'll need to be much more rigid, providing a step-by-step guide.  Once students get -a- method, they can then take the logical leaps that streamline the process.  Once this happens, they're ready for the next application.  This will be in the back of my mind when I get together with my peers to review the pacing calendar.