Teaching First: Students and the Rain

Today brings the first major rain storm of the season and the first of my teaching career.

It's about 200 yards from the parking lot to the classroom and it takes about 4 minutes to walk the distance. I made it in 3 but not without getting wet.  Very, very wet.

I was curious to how the students would respond; my teacher friends agree that wind, rain, and full moons cause students to act strangely.  I haven't noticed too much odd behavior with full moons or wind, but the rain brought out student behavior out of the norm.

Here's how they responded to the rain.

Noise

Lots of screaming and yelling went on during passing period.  Also, students are excited to inform me that it's raining.

In Class

Students were a lot more squirrely today; many of them talked right through the lecture.  Even some of my quiet and studious students were chatty.  And, good gravy, the normally chatty students were off the wall!

Absent

And some students stayed home. 

Denial

Shorts and a T-Shirt.  Yes, I saw a young man in shorts and a t-shirt casually walking from the parking lot to his class.  I know we live in Southern California and all, but shorts and a t-shirt is not the most wise of clothing options.

It's been a crazy day.  I've dried out, the students have been pretty good, and the day's observations have been quite valuable.  Rain is rare and students respond differently to drastic change.  Yes, here in Southern California, rain is a drastic change.

Security Breach: Testing and Cell Phones

Summative Assessments are an essential part of education.  Standardized testing is the wave of the future.  Testing is not going away.

Cell phones are another thing not going away.  Most students I teach have smartphones.  In an unofficial survey of my class more than 68% of the students had a smart phone.  Students are tied to their phones for social reasons and parents are adamant about maintaining constant contact with their students (not to mention protecting their students' expensive cell phone).

There is a great deal of turbulence where testing and cell phone use overlap.  In a recent staff meeting one of the APs showed us a screenshot of last year's STAR Results.  Under the heading, in bright red letters reads the following:

A security breach involving social media exposure of 2013 STAR test material has been confirmed at this school site. This school is not eligible for state or federal award recognition during the 2013–14 school year.

Apparently a student took a selfie with the cover of the STAR booklet.  It may seem petty, but under no circumstances is any part of the test allowed to be reproduced; the integrity of the test depends on it.

Now the school is trying to figure out how to prevent this from happening again.  One of the big hurdles will be establishing and enforcing rules that run contrary to school culture.  Teachers seldom have established procedures for preventing students from using cell phones during quizzes and exams.  Most of the time it's a verbal warning: "Don't use your cell phone during the exam."  Students and parents push back when cell phone use is infringed.

The ideas for preventing a "security breach" ranged from a school-wide ban on cell phones to buying a cell phone pouch grid that can be mounted to the wall.  I don't know what the official position of the school will end up being, but the whole topic highlighted the benefit of matching my classroom cell phone policy with that of standardized testing.

Folks get riled up when expectations are tightened unexpectedly.  Setting expectations from the beginning of the school year seems to be the best way to prevent a tornado of angry emails.  Once the standard is established students and parents will feel more at-ease when it comes to standardized testing time.

In Mr. Davis' Science Classroom, cell phones will be welcome tools for research and analysis, but unwelcome for classic quizzes and exams in accordance with standardized test rules.

Whiteboard Picture: Cycles of Matter Quiz

We're taking a quiz on the Cycles of Matter.  One of the cycles is the nitrogen cycle, hence this encouraging note.

Videos: Worth a Thousand Words?

A picture, of course, is worth a thousand words.  But, is a video worth a thousand words?  With absolute certainty, everyone knows the answer to this question is "maybe."

A Lengthy Video

I find it hard to justify watching a video for an entire class-period.  Even if students are filling out a worksheet tied to the video, they are only being asked Knowledge based questions.  Unless a teacher is filling in a lesson plan for a substitute teacher dedicating an entire class period seems like a misuse of time.

If it's necessary to watch an entire video there's got to a significant assessment that goes along with it.  In English or Drama class, watching and analyzing a particular interpretation of a Shakespeare play may be valuable.  I can't think of anything in science that would justify this type of time investment.

Fortunately, many of the new science videos are short but highly informative. Take a look at the Pocket Mouse video on the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) website.  It's a minute long, well produced, and communicates information very well.  HHMI produces DVDs with longer segments and each portion runs for 10-15 minutes.

But, we're getting into short videos.  Videos that run longer than 20 minutes are, in most cases, time-fillers rather than the engaging material we'd hoped for.  And, the students know it.

A Short Video

Short videos, on the other hand, can help facilitate inquiry, curiosity, and discussion, all the things that we educators wake up in the morning eager to make happen.

Video segments can help students grasp difficult concepts or visualize instructions before going on to a lab. Not only do students take in the knowledge, but the surrounding time the video can be used for questioning and analysis.

Personal Experience

Perhaps I am biased based on my own experience.  I can not think of a time in my educational career where watching a lengthy video was an essential part of my understanding.  I also don't know of a single respectable teacher that does this as a regular part of their course.

So, until convinced otherwise, only short videos will make their way into my lesson plans.

Grading: Two Thoughts

We started a new unit and there hasn't been much to grade.  I am itching to know what the students know.

Grading papers helps me in two ways.  First, it gives me an opportunity to see what the students are learning and, secondly, it's another way to communicate with students.  Grading 186 papers is difficult work, but thinking about these two things keeps the grading engaging.

What do You Know?

I have determined that informing students to the purpose of an assignment helps them produce work that is complete and thorough.  Over the past two weeks I have stressed that assignments are a tool for me to know what you know; if you don't write it down, I don't know that you know the material.

Over the course of grading I can find weaknesses in the students' understandings and address them the next day.  I can also see where the students are excelling or what topics interest them the most.  Knowing students' strengths and weaknesses helps drive future instruction.

Communication

Grading is also a time to communicate back to students.  It takes a bit longer, but I want to make comments that will help students.  Even if I don't mark points off, I want them to know how they can do better work.  I may refine my ideas on grading, but it seems like the students deserve thoughtful comments on things they spent significant time on.  Unless students are given time to research stuff they got wrong, checks and "-1" next to answers doesn't communicate much to a student.


Today is a good day.  Students are turning in their first assignments and I am looking forward to grading them.

Whiteboard Picture: The Queen's English

Chapter 3 Quiz is on Wednesday.  Here, Sir. Mr. Davis holds a sign pointing to the bright red note on the board.

NetLogo - Technology and Models

For the past week we have been learning about Ecology.  I have a number of old resources that I have been asked to use in the classroom.  With the recent talk of NGSS and STEM I was looking for ways to integrate some sort of meaningful technology into the classroom.

As I was poking through several videos on the Bozeman Science website, Paul Anderson briefly mentioned NetLogo as resource he uses in his classroom.  NetLogo is a piece of software that creates computer models of all sorts of scientific or statistical situations.  The software helps model everything from basic traffic patterns to game theory.  I found a model that helps visualize relationships between predator and prey and I was able to use it in class with great success.

The need in the classroom:

1. To quickly visualize the relationship between predator and prey over generations.
2. To quickly visualize the results of messing with the balance of predator/prey relationships.
3. To visualize and analyze the results of the corresponding data.

Gathering this type of data to has been a lengthy process in the past.  It ends up usually being too general or too painstakingly lengthy to make the exercise meaningful.  And, generating data where one of the variables changed is hypothetical and equally time-consuming.  NetLogo provided a way to quickly generate data for the situations we were looking at.

The Old Way.  *sigh*

Downloading and installing NetLogo was pretty simple.  It's a Java based program so it can be installed almost anywhere and I was impressed that it ran so smoothly on my lightweight laptop.

Here's a screenshot of the Wolf Sheep Predation model.

Shiny!

Now, here's what I'm most excited about.  The model produced data that really helped scaffold good questions.  The students were interested in the modeling and were mostly impressed at how fast data could be generated.  The data allowed me to assess the students' understanding of the principles we've been talking about in the last 4 class periods.

In each class we ran a basic simulation and we talked about the ebb and flow of both predator and prey but we were also able to play with the variables.  In one instance we had a situation where the number of sheep dipped too low and the wolves went extinct within our digital biome.  I got a reaction from a lot of the students!  I was surprised and very excited at the empathy!

After the demonstration we moved on to other classwork, but I continued to get questions about the predator/prey relationships, what-if questions, and questions about running the software themselves.  For a small investment of classroom time and an hour of my personal time I got quite a satisfying result.

NGSS Breakdown: The Space Station View

I thought I'd write out a bit of what I understand about the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).  This is not even a birds-eye view of NGSS, it's the space-station view.  There are plenty of better reviews, but here's mine.

NGSS is based off of A Framework for K-12 Science Education, a brief 400 page explanation on how we need to be teaching Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, or STEM, from Kindergarten to 12th grade.

NGSS is intended to be a benchmark for the science that all informed citizens must know.  Not everyone needs to know the clotting cascade but everyone should know how to interpret a graph and understand basic ecology.  Students interested in honors and AP courses for college transcripts can still take them, but all students must meet the minimum NGSS Standards.

NGSS is concerned with these three branches of science:

1. Earth Science - Earth & Universe, Earth's Systems, Earth and Human Activity
2. Physical Science - Matter & its Interactions, Motion/Stability, Energy, Waves
3. Life Science - Organic Structures, Ecosystems, Heredity, Evolution

NGSS Breakdown

NGSS delivery has 3 Dimensions:

1. Dimension 1: Science and Engineering Practices - This is concerned primarily with what all students must be able to Know and Do.
   There are 8 subtopics
1. Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
2. Developing and using models
3. Planning and carrying out investigations
4. Analyzing and interpreting data
5. Using mathematics and computational thinking
6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions) for engineering
7. Engaging in argument from evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
2. Dimension 2: Crosscutting Concepts - This is primarily concerned with Fundamental Questions and Bridging Concepts.  After all, you can't really teach biology without understanding basic earth and physical science.
   There are 7 subtopics
1. Patterns
2. Cause and effect: Mechanism and explanation
3. Scale, proportion, and quantity
4. Systems and System Models
5. Energy and Matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation
6. Structure and function
7. Stability and change
3. Dimension 3: Disciplinary Core Ideas -  This is concerned with Content delivered in a logical Progression. Here we get to specific science content.  In 1st grade, a student may learn about using their senses to tell whether something is warm or cool; in 11th grade, students may learn how to take the temperature of a substance using different thermal scales.
   There are 44 subtopics that I will not include here.  Take a look at how the core ideas are presented over a student's entire K-12 career: K-12 Core Disciplinary Ideas (.pdf)

Bozeman Biology has an excellent YouTube channel and a terrific website, BozemanScience.com, that offers a range of science-related videos.  Paul Anderson does a good job explaining NGSS and is in the process of producing individual videos on each aspect of the standards.  

I'm very optimistic about the state of science education once this is all rolled out.  At its core, NGSS works on leading students beyond data memorization and information regurgitation to critical thinking and problem solving.  The current No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards are quite long in the tooth and NGSS is coming.  ...eventually.  ...maybe in 5 years.

Can We Have Class Outside Today?

Can we have class outside today?  Yes!  Yes we can!  And, there was much rejoicing!

We began a unit on Ecology and it seemed fitting that we actually go outside.  After all, we're all very much a part of the local environment and getting into the environment seems like a good first step.

During the beginning of class students wrote down as many observations about the local environment as they could.  Before going out we had a discussion about some of the things that make up environments.  Then, students were asked to be silent, observe, and write things down.

Students responded well.  They were very funny too.  One student 4th period wrote down "Mr. Davis," much to the enjoyment of his buddies.  It was a good jumping-off point to discuss human impact on the local environment; one of the major parts of our study of ecology is recognizing that we all have an impact on the environment.

When I discussed my plan with my wife, she offered some suggestions:

1. One, the time outside needs to be finite.  Too long and the students will get bored.
2. The students need to have a goal to work towards.  I asked each student to come up with at least 20 observations in the 10 minutes we were outside.
3. The students need to be spread out from one another; too close and they chat.

The 10 minutes flew by!  The students came up with great observations that we were able to incorporate into the following lecture and discussion.  This is a lesson plan I'll definitely use in the future.

Here's a shot of the local environment from the classroom door.

Teaching First: Project Worksheet

Well, here it is.  My first Project Worksheet (pdf)!

I adapted it from several sources to meet the needs of the our classroom.  Teachers, please note the appealing lack of Comic Sans.  I used Arial, a font for grown-ups.
The method of the project I found at the University of Georgia website.  Click here to look at the entire packet; it was created for a much more extensive project that includes a 10-15 minute presentation.
I also took the rubric method from a book on grading from Robert Marzano.

I'm sad that I have to send it to the district copier.  In a perfect world I would make the project worksheet available online and the students could refer to it electronically and print it out themselves only if they wanted a hard-copy.

This will accompany a poster the students will use as a model when I present the project.  This helped keep the worksheet to one page.

I'm really looking forward to the student's response to the worksheet.  I'm sure there will be a version 2 to stick in my electronic filing cabinet to pull out and adapt for next time.  The biome projects should be pretty good.  My students have proved themselves to be rather creative.

Here's how I created the published PDF worksheet

1. Create document in Microsoft Word
2. Save as PDF
3. Upload to Google Drive
4. Find document in Google Drive, select it, and then hit share.  Under the "Who has access" section, click on the "Change" link.
   
5. Click on the "Public on the web" radio button, then click "Save."
   
6. Distribute the resulting link.  Copy and paste it into your favorite electronic platform.
   
   I would use the Google URL Shortner to make communication easier.  Bitly also works nicely.
   See the Wikipedia article on URL Shortening here:  URL Shortening
7. Resolve to print fewer pieces of paper.

Evernote Update

After 6-7 weeks of playing with Evernote, I have settled into a routine.  Here's how I'm using it.

Lesson Plans

I have an entire notebook dedicated to High School student teaching.  I have divided up the notebook into easily accessible sub-notebooks that I refer to quite frequently.  All my lesson plans are easily accessible;  It did take me a few weeks to settle on a good notebook setup.  

Each lesson plan is titled with an 8 digit day stamp (yyyymmdd) and I have the notebook listed by Title in Reverse Sort Order, leaving the latest lesson plan on top.

Tags

I have not used tags for a couple of weeks now.  I have found that the search function is quite sufficient to get me back to the notes I can't find.  This may be a bad idea, but it's working for now.

The Web

I follow a number of blogs ranging from science miscellany to education stuff.  When I use the Feedly iPad app and I find something interesting, I simply email it to my Evernote Post email address.  I have set up a "Holding" notebook in Evernote where all these articles are sent.  Then, I can review an article at length, file if if I'll refer to it again, or delete it if it won't be valuable in the future.

I was using Pocket to hold articles of interest, but now with the Evernote Web Clipper (Chrome) and the Evernote Email address, I no longer need Pocket. 

Going Paperless

This makes me so happy.  I am using the Document Capture feature on the iPhone version of Evernote to copy all manner of papers.  Once synced, I recycle the paper.  The document is now available on any device connected to the cloud.  This has come in handy during meetings, during lesson planning, and in class.

I have also used my Evernote email address when I scan documents to pdf and have them emailed to me.  This saves so much time and paper.

I love the freedom from being tied to information on a single piece of paper.

Next Generation Science Standards: Hart District Teacher Symposium

While the students started their 4-day weekend, the teachers of the Hart District were at a buy-back day.  The theme of the Hart District Teacher Symposium was Common Core and, for science teachers, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Dean Gilbert, Science Director for the Orange County Department of Education, ran the first session.  He spent a fair amount of time talking about the history of NGSS and its implementation.  I have heard some of what he talked about; we've been introduced to a lot of the NGSS theory in my credential classes.

The New

 Here a few of the things I learned:

1. NGSS is a system of delivering science for all students.  NGSS does not address those students headed for a STEM careers (doctors, scientists, nursing, etc.)  Students pursuing those careers will still take honors and AP classes.
2. Implementing NGSS will cost the state 3 times what it's costing to implement Common Core.
3. There is a debate about how junior high teachers will implement NGSS.  Gilbert is leaning on teachers to adopt an integrated approach where teachers will deliver physical, earth, and life sciences in an integrated class.  Due to some backlash from teachers, the option to continue teaching the differentiated fields is on the table.  The decision will be voted on by current science teachers.
4. What we have been calling "standards" (.pdf) will be replaced by "performance expectations."
5. A body of experts are being gathered as I type to create the framework on which the curriculum will be based.  Should nothing go wrong, it will take at least 12 months to establish the science framework.  Add another 17 months for materials preparation, and we're looking at the earliest possible date for NGSS implementation is fall 2017.  

The Exciting

From Gilbert's talk, here are the things I'm really looking forward to:

1. Anything not deemed important for all students to know about science will be removed from the curriculum.  No memorizing the details of the Kreb's Cycle anymore.  The voting public doesn't need to know this information to make informed decisions about science or environmental policy. The Kreb's Cycle will still be studied in honors and AP biology courses, so it won't totally be eliminated.  But, again, this course of study will be for those students pursuing STEM careers.
2. By eliminating superfluous material in our courses, we can spend more time on inquiry, problem solving, and scientific literacy.  This is exciting.  Normal folks don't care much about the "mighty mitochondria," but most people have stuff they're curious about.  Helping students figure out how to do research, solve real-world problems, and communicate effectively is why I'm in the game. All this involves time, and it appears that by eliminating overly technical stuff, we've got some time back.
3. The NGSS seems pretty student-oriented.  The needs of the 21st Century student came up a lot, and I think that NGSS should meet them nicely.
4. Data and reflection are major drivers of NGSS.  One of the major problems with the current standards is that you've got to cover them all in a limited time frame; covering the standards trumps mastery of the standards.  And, anything you do to meet the standards is just fine.  This has led to a culture of "set it and forget it": teachers prepare lessons once and then they're on cruise-control until retirement. NGSS finally allows teachers the time to act on information gathered by good assessments.  When students display that they misunderstand a concept, the lesson for the next day can address it. Sadly, this type of teaching is rare, and I expect that this will be a point of contention for the old guard.
5. Backwards planning is a major part of NGSS.  This is huge in the credential program, but is not done a lot in classrooms I have observed.  We do stuff because it's always been done that way.  

The Concerns

Here's what makes me hesitant about NGSS:

1. Computer-based Testing - Gilbert was really excited about computer based testing.  Apparently Smarter Balanced didn't get the contract, and NGSS is looking at other options.  He mentioned that the California Department of Education would like to have lab simulations where students could virtually pour liquids into beakers.  I'm all about computer-based testing, but students who have not used computers regularly will be at a major disadvantage.  Students need to practice and be familiar with the technology to get the best results. Current computer labs are slow.  iPads and netbooks are expensive.  One major part of NGSS is equity, and I hope that lack of resources doesn't hinder scores on the computerized exams.
2. Professional Development - There is concern about how to get teachers out of the old way of thinking and into the new.  Gilbert mentioned training programs and certifications, but these cost money and I don't see the public being that eager to foot the bill.
3. Credentialing - There is a major emphasis on integration across fields of science.  Physical, earth, and life science are all interrelated, and the NGSS standards wants them integrated.  How they're integrated is a point of contention.  This will eventually change the credentials required of teachers.  No one has answers to these questions yet.
4. NGSS and College Requirements - The subject of how high school science courses meet the requirements of colleges is squishy.  In my conversations with those who have dealings with curriculum development, the answers are not yet there.

But, when it's all said and done, I learned quite a bit today.  I have a better grasp of the near future and the goals of NGSS, and I'm optimistic about implementation.  There are unknowns and I'm okay with that.

Here, we're making Oobleck, a non-Newtonian fluid, to simulate an inquiry-based, NGSS-compliant task.

Happy Valentine's Day from Mr. Davis

To: You, My Dear Reader
From: Mr. Davis

Academic Purgatory: Day 3

Today is the last day of The Perfect Storm of quizzes and exams.  Here's the day's encouraging note.

Fights: Several Thoughts

Yesterday, between sixth and seventh period, I broke up a pretty brutal fight.  During the 20 seconds or so for the whole situation to play out, I noticed three groups of people: the fighters, the bystanders, and the entertained.

There is all kinds of gossip going around about the causes of the fight.  The common denominator seems to be a scorned lover; I don't know who or what to believe, so I'll just leave that one alone.  Either way, I was sad to know that the students felt the need to punch it out, make threats, and cause all sorts of havoc for purposes that will seem petty to them in a year or two.

I suppose that as long as we view the world differently, there will be conflict.  Heated conflict, even.  Conflict so blinding that you make rash decisions to assault another person.

During the brawl, there was a great deal of ooh-ing and ah-ing as punches were thrown.  There was even fighting advice amid laughter as these two beat on each other.  Plus, there's a video of the brawl circulating the campus.  Encouraging violence between two people is completely inexcusable, and on a larger scale, that shows a greater evil than the fighters themselves.

The bystanders had mixed reactions; some simply watched and some responded quickly by informing teachers.  I am aware of the Bystander Effect; it's hard to know how to react in a situation in which you are completely unprepared.

I hope the fighters learn their lessons as they're under some pretty stiff suspension rules.  The bystanders are still talking among themselves.  The entertained...yeah, I don't know.  It seems like a good opportunity for all of us to push against the seemingly growing desire to be entertained at almost any cost.

Encouragement from the Deep Sea

Well, Day Two of Examination Purgatory is upon us.  Here's the note of encouragement I added to the board today.

The Most Dangerous Phrase

The most dangerous phrase a person can say is, "We've always done it that way."

Today the students will sit down to an exam that has been given to students since the 90's.  The review worksheet is a copy of a copy of a copy and only mostly legible.  The multiple choice part of the exam has been literally cut and pasted together before being sent to the copy center.

I have been rather surprised at the lack of reflection from a lot of seasoned teachers.  When students do poorly on an assessment, teachers are quick to say, "Well, they just need to study more."  This may be the case, but conversation about reevaluating a quiz or ensuring the material delivered in class match questions on a quiz has been anathema.

Naturally, students are scared of exams.  Some do well and some do poorly.  The part that concerns me is that students are surprised.  Even worse, teachers are surprised.  If assessments given during a unit are well-planned, and if the teacher has done a good job communicating with the students, the results of a unit exam or other summative assessment should not be a surprise.

Fear and poor grades kill a students' interest in a subject.  If we're serious about our subject, we must improve on the things we've always done.

Here are a few ideas I have now:

1. Rewrite test questions that students repetitively ask about.  
2. Develop instructional plans directly from the summative assessment.  
3. Teach test-taking skills during the unit.
4. Analyze common mistakes on formative assessments and make sure to change future instruction.
5. Ensure questions accurately assess what you want the students to know.  
6. Heavily comment on formative assessments.  Communication, though it takes a lot of time, is something the students deserve.
7. Do a review of an assessment after the quiz or test with the students.  All assessments should help students understand the content.
8. Do an evaluation of all assessments, making sure the assessment was an accurate portrayal of students' understanding.  If not, change something.  

That's a lot, but making improvements, even small ones, has the potential to increase student understanding.  That's what we're here for, right?

Quiz Today: Low Forms of Art

A quiz on Chapter 17 - The History of Life, will take place today.  Tomorrow and Thursday are the unit exams on evolution.  The students are not that happy about this.

Drew this on the board as another means of encouragement.  Drawings of phagocytosis are the lowest forms of art.

February 10, 2014: A Day of Much Rejoicing

For those who packed themselves into schools around California on January 11, 2014, February 10, 2014 was a stressful day.  See, the fine state of California waits 4 weeks to report scores on the infamous CSET examinations.  It is a long 4 weeks.

On that January 11, a Saturday no less, I sat in a chilly classroom and took CSETs 122 and 126, the Earth and Planetary Science exams.  I worked my way through the test and left expecting that I'd need to retake at least one of them again.  That was until February 10.  Yes, dear reader, I passed both sections of Earth and Planetary Science!

Once I complete the required student teaching and coursework required by California, I will be certified to teach all biology and earth science courses from grades 6-12.

And there was much rejoicing!

Squeezing In Points: Academic Purgatory

Here's a note for Future Dan: better planning reduces student stress.

This week will be a stressful week for the students.  5 Week Grades are due on Thursday, and there is a pressure to finish the unit on evolution before starting the next 5-week session.  The pressure is only coming from a planning calendar loosely based on the effectively defunct California Science Standards.

This week: The Perfect Storm:

1. Tuesday: Quiz on Chapter 17
2. Wednesday: Essay Exam on Unit 5 - Evolution
3. Thursday: Multiple Choice Exam on Unit 5 - Evolution

I am growing increasingly skeptical of the massive unit exam typical of science courses.  The ability to assess the students' higher level learning in an intense examination in 90 minutes seems counter-productive.  Unit exams seems to promote cramming and really hinder long-term understanding.

Unit exams may have their place, but they should be more application, synthesis, or evaluation-type assessments.  

I would like to find or develop a system where there's a capstone assignment for the unit rather than a massive exam.  The capstone project would be supported by better assessments during lesson delivery. All assessments would involve an activity or a section of reading from something that piques students' interests. 

Better planning before a unit built on better assessment types can avoid cramming and the test anxiety common with antique testing methods.  Sadly, these methods are perpetuated by the always dangerous mindset of "that's always the way we've done it."

Grading Papers: Knights and Giant Snakes

I was grading papers last night.  When suddenly, a snake!

We had students cross off the last section of a lab.  Some of the students simply crossed out the sections; some scribbled over the questions.  This student drew a snake.

I love my job.

On Cell Phones and Making Excuses

After yesterday's quiz, a student was simply sitting at his desk and staring out the window.  I asked him if he had a book to read.  Many of the students are studying The Odyssey in honors English, so I thought he might better use the time.

Mr. Davis: "Do you have a book to read?"
Student: "I forgot my book at home."
Mr. Davis: "Hmm... Got your cell phone?"
Student: "Um, yeah..."
Mr. Davis: "Good. Download one. You're reading The Odyssey in English right?"
Student: "Yeah..."
Mr. Davis: "It's free online. Google it."

A few minutes later he was reading his assigned reading for his English class.

Boy howdy, I love the age we live in.  There's a plethora of knowledge and art that can be quickly found using a device we carry in our pockets!

An Encouraging Note

I posted this on the board before the last quiz.  I laughed.

White Board: Relative Dating

Here's a whiteboard drawing from today's lesson on the fossil record.  The slide for the topic of relative dating wasn't that good, so I drew this on the fly.

Here, using relative dating, we can determine that the T-Rex skull is older than the human skull but younger than the trilobite.

Teaching First: The Cheat Sheet

We had a quiz yesterday, and I caught a student cheating.

I normally walk around the room during an exam with two intentions.  First, to make sure the students aren't cheating, and second, to make sure students can ask clarifying questions.

As I went over to address a raised hand, I noticed a student, less than 5 feet away from me, pull something out from under the desk.  After addressing the question, I looked again; the student was looking at a cheat-sheet.

After taking the strip of paper, I handed it to my master teacher and explained what I saw.  So, we followed the classroom policy of giving the student a "0" on the quiz, and the school policy of calling the parent and informing an administrative counselor.

I was sad for the student, who just sat there for the remainder of the quiz.  The 0 would kill the student's 96% in the class, which will almost be impossible to recover from before the end of the quarter.  On the other hand, it wasn't an exam, and the student should be able to recover before the end of the semester.  Honors and AP students are under a lot of pressure from a variety of sources; sadly, cheating is a much larger problem in higher classes than the mainstream classes.

Hopefully, the student will learn his lesson.

Grading Style: Hard but Fair

There are a good amount of written analysis questions asked of students in our honors biology class, and before I give an assignment, I usually answer the first question with the students.  I outline my expectations and have a discussion before turning the students loose on the rest of an assignment.  When papers are collected, I grade according to those expectations.

Before grading, my master teacher and I get together to calibrate expectations, and then I show her my grading after I've finished a stack.

Despite the hours of grading, I have really enjoyed the process.  I admit that it's frustrating to see students rush through questions and miss major pieces of the question.  I take off points and make comments about what they missed.

I was glad to hear from a student.  He said, "Mr. Davis, you're a hard grader."
"Fair?" I asked.

"Yeah.  But, hard."

I was happy.

Sophomore Registration: Mixed Thoughts

Today's lesson allowed students a great deal of flexibility.  Most needed to finish gathering data for a lab, others worked on the analysis questions, and the rest worked on other homework.

Today was also sophomore registration.  This proved to be an unexpected distraction, but it was a great opportunity to talk to and learn about my students.  They are beginning to wrestle with how they're going to get to college.

Student teaching in a freshman honors biology class means most of the students are very driven.  Next year looms with their first AP courses sprinkled within a sea of honors classes.  I am firmly convinced that students need to challenge themselves and take as many honors and AP classes as they can manage. The students themselves are very driven to take the advanced courses, but sadly, are unclear as to the purpose.  Sure, to get into college; everyone knows that.  Then what?  None of the student I talked with knew what they wanted to do when they grew up.

A good college, a good career, a good retirement, and a good twilight of one's life is all very nice, but, for students, these are very distant and impersonal.

Students have time.  Rather than give advice on what will get them into a better college, I recommended things that would help them appreciate the world around them.  And, if that means taking a bunch of AP and honors class, then they should do it.  Sparking student interest seems more valuable than leaning on them to follow a particular career path or get into an elite college.

The Earl Grey Tempest: In Defense of the Pep-Rally

I accidentally found myself in the midst of a teapot, and oh, how the mighty tempest blew.

See, last Friday was a big pep-rally and students involved missed 3rd period.  It affected my class by removing 4 students in dance and cheer.  School-wide, about 100 students missed 3rd period.  After the rally, I found myself in a knot of teachers who were indignant that all of these students missed an entire period of academic instruction all for a 20 minute pep-rally.

I suppose that's true.  Each student missed 54 minutes of instruction time.  But, if we're going to help students become college- and career-ready, then we must instill the value of communication and help them realize that decisions have consequences that they might not like.

I don't know any college or career that demands that you be at work every day the doors are open.  There are procedures for taking a day off regardless of the reason.  The work must get done, but with good communication, there's no reason why anyone can't take a day off.  Even if you're sick or have a family emergency, there are ways of communicating and getting a shift covered.  This is real life.  This is how the real world works.

Every teacher has a method for dealing with students who miss class.  Students know they need to make up work.  Students, with their parents, need to be the ones making decisions about how they're involved in co-curricular activities.  Being involved in these things requires a sacrifice; sometimes that means coming into class during lunch or after school to make sure they get what they missed.  Demanding that students never miss classroom instruction for any non-academic reason is quite a disservice.

I'll leave this note here to remind future Mr. Davis that no, biology class is not the most important class to most of your students and a missed class will not condemn a person to destitution.  Biology class is a small piece of a larger mosaic of student education.  Education happens in the lab, on the field, on a dance floor, in anti-bullying clubs, in books, in the choir room, and just about anything else that students rub shoulders with people who care.

I did remind my fellow teachers that a handful of students missing 3rd period won't be any more work, it's no different than sports teams leaving early for a game, and despite academic classes' legitimate importance in the life of a student, they're not the only thing.

I got silence.  Then I was asked to leave the teapot.

Mr. Davis' Lab Notes: A Few Ideas

After tens of hours leading a high school biology lab, here are a few things I've learned:

1. A lab worksheet should have clear instructions.  Just because it's clear to me doesn't mean that it'll be clear to a student.  If you have a student service, ask them to do the lab.  Adjust the instructions as needed.  When a lab is over, go through the lab worksheet and change things for next time.
2. A teacher should only need a minute or two to set the lab in context of the course content and issue safety warnings before turning the students loose.  If it takes you more than a few minutes to do this, then either your expectations or the lab design must be changed.
3. A good lab takes time.  Students need time to read the instructions and even to visualize the process. Students need a few attempts at tying things out before they're actually getting good data.  In my experience, severe time constraints inhibit the value of a lab; when teachers eliminate problem-solving, labs turn into a paint-by-number assignment.
4. Students must be taught to read instructions.
5. Use the lab to walk around and ask good questions.  Even with 40+ students in a classroom, I have managed to get to each group several times over a period and be available for questions or to point students in the right direction.
6. There's an art to asking analysis questions.  I am certain that the quality of the question determines the quality of the answer.  I'm no good at this yet, but this will be one of those things I will try and continually improve.  A good question points students to the right answer without giving it to them; they'll need to make the jump themselves.

It seems to me that a lab should be organized chaos and the teacher's role is to ask guiding questions.

I would love to get to the point where I can teach content, present students with an overarching question, give the students resources to answer the questions, and then set them loose.  To that end, I improve my labs.