Teacher's Diary

Photo of the Week

This week, instead of a photo, I'm actually suggesting a video that I was shown this weekend and which I will be showing to my students in Advisory this week. You can find it on TeacherTube or by searching for "Did you know" on YouTube. This video talks about population increases as well as the fast-growing development of technology in our world today. It is definitely applicable to any class and deals with a debate I have found myself involved in several times over the past week. How can we get our students prepared for a technology-driven world when they (and our schools) don't have the resources to buy computers, nor do the kids themselves have the knowledge to use them if they are available? How do we, as teachers, create a more tech-savvy population? And is it necessary for us to do so?

In addition, this short video can help students reflect on ideas in many subject. Certainly the issue of increased technology is a gateway into a discussion about the tools and methodology of science, but the issues of population increase and exponential growth can easily be used in math and to discuss migration and development in a history class. The video even mentions that there are currently 5 times the number of words in the English language than there were in Shakespeare's time! Such a fact could easily begin a discussion of how and why languages evolve in an English class.

Even if you don't show it to your kids, I highly recommend watching it. I certainly found it to be an eye-opening experience.

Celebrating Student Achievement

Yesterday, I experienced the first of my school's end of semester student presentations. We use project-based learning as much as possible and require each of our students to teach a small group lesson on a subject and topic of their choice. It is a chance for them to showcase what they have learned throughout the semester, but also a way for them to raise their grade in a class they may not be doing as well in.

I was nervous about how they would perform, seeing as I was a bit unclear on exactly what they had to do and therefore did not necessarily communicate the expectations properly to the students who chose to present in science. Many of them did not come to me to finish their preparations. I walked into school yesterday uncertain how the presentations would go. But, as usual, my students surprised me. They demonstrated a strong understanding of many of the concepts we covered this past semester and had developed excellent lessons to share with each other.

However, I feel that my school still has a lot of work to do before these presentations truly reach their full potential. Such presentations, I feel, should measure student growth and development and showcase things they are proud of. While it is great for them to get extra credit in their problem subjects, I feel it is even more important for them to demonstrate mastery and really feel good about their accomplishments.

If I were in charge of planning these events, I would make it a big deal. There would be refreshments and decorations; they would be held during a regular school day, not during Regents week, which many students regard as a vacation week. All students would be required to present and they would be prepared accordingly, for longer than a few days in Advisory. I did have three parents in attendance at my science presentations, certainly more than I had expected, but it would be great to have even more involvement.

In my mind, one of the best ways to promote student achievement is to celebrate their victories and discoveries. Whether or not presentations are part of the school's calendar, all teachers should try to incorporate this kind of assessment and provide real feedback for their students.

The QHQ Technique

Today, my graduate education class started for the semester. We jumped right into the real learning, unlike many of my previous classes, which have had a useless "introductory" class. In this class, we will be learning about increasing literacy among our students and I'm sure I will be writing a lot about that here, since it is such a hot topic in education right now.

This evening, we learned a technique that can be used to get all students to write without worrying about spelling and grammar called QHQ (Question-Hypothesize-Question). In this technique, a teacher gives a question (or asks students to come up with their own), then students each spend a few minutes writing freely about anything that they can think of to answer that question, and finally, they conclude by asking a new question that has come out of their musings.

As an example, we were each asked to try it out. Here's a modified version of what I wrote:

Q: Will my ELL (English Language Learners) pass the Regents in June?

H: I don't know if X's English will be good enough to really learn the material. I need to be better at giving him resources in Spanish so that he can take the test in Spanish and know what he is doing. Y and Z have the language skills necessary to learn and do well in my class. Y is very motivated, so I think she can do it as long as she keeps up her confidence. It concerns me that she seems less confident with her English since coming back from winter break. Still I think she can do it. Z is another story. I am very worried about her motivation, especially now that she is getting involved with gang boys who cut class all the time. I can already see that her mind is elsewhere, she's not focusing on school anymore and has missed 3 meetings with me already. She has the ability, though, if I can convince her to focus and keep coming for extra help. Overall, I think they all have the ability, but they need motivation and a lot of support from me.

Q: What should my next steps be in getting my ELL students as prepared as possible?

I found this method of free-writing very helpful in just getting some thoughts down on paper and definitely helped organize my ideas about this topic. I think it could be useful for students in any subject, especially if they know that they will not be graded on spelling or grammar, only ideas. I'm definitely going to try this as the next semester starts.

How to Prepare Students for the Regents Exams

Tomorrow I will proctor my very first Regents examinations. Although some students took exams yesterday, it was a science exam so I was not allowed to be a proctor. I'll be proctoring the Integrated Algebra Regents in the afternoon. Many of the students taking these two exams were not allowed to take them last June, although they had passed the respective classes - this was our school's way of inflating Regents pass scores. Now most of them are unprepared to pass the tests.

I don't want the same thing to happen to my Earth Science students. I decided as soon as I heard what the school did last year that every student who passed my class and completed the labs would take the Regents this June. I think many kids need a reality check: they will fail if they do not prepare properly.

But how can I ensure they are prepared?

This question is a tricky one for me because, as a first-year teacher, I don't really know what to expect and therefore struggle to really prepare my students. After all, how can I get them ready to take a test I have never taken or administered before?

So far, my main attempt at Regents prep is having students do old Regents problems in class and giving them only Regents-based tests. I use the Barron's Regents site, which is amazing for creating worksheets and tests with old Regents questions. It allows you to search by category and keyword or to just browse the questions. And it has many different exams, not just science. Although it does require a fee, it is well worth the minimal price.

However, my students are failing the tests miserably and I know they have an easy time copying multiple choice answers from each other when we work in groups. There must be more I can do to truly prepare them. The first step in becoming a better prep teacher must be to familiarize myself more with the test itself. As of now, I have read over several, but I think it would help to go through and count how many of each question type appear on several recent tests. Then I will know which areas to focus on and which areas can be skipped.

The second step must be to teach them how to read the reference tables, for the Earth Science exam at least. I have been told by a more experienced teacher that an effective teacher should be able to get even the worst students to pass just by going over these tables for 2 or 3 weeks before the test. If students can read the graphs and tables in the reference tables, they will be able to answer at least 60% of what is on the test. I am trying to incorporate the tables into classwork as often as possible.

Finally, many of my students lack the skills necessary to take a test. To improve their scores, I must explicitly teach them how to take tests, from properly filling in bubbles, to how to eliminate wrong choices, to how to handle nervousness. While teaching these skills obviously doesn't fall into the science curriculum, it seems well-worth the time to get them to learn test-taking strategies.

I will keep you all informed as to how my students do on the Regents.

Semester Wrap-Up

Today was the last day of the semester. Let me rephrase - I have officially been a teacher for a whole semester! And, on top of that, I survived and feel better than ever about my teaching ability and dedication to my students. I'm genuinely excited about the upcoming semester.

I'm also very excited about Regents week - a welcome break when I can recharge and rethink things. I'm trying to take time to really reflect on my teaching (something I seem to be doing a lot, and which I think is vital for all teachers, both experienced and otherwise). Today, I asked my students to write down the best and worst lessons from this past semester, and while I know much of it was crap, I hope that a few students were genuine in their comments so that I can use them to further my success.

A breakdown of my feelings about the semester go something like the following.

What worked:

- classes that incorporated games and winning prizes, even when the prizes were small

- class discussions that were student-driven, about topics chosen by students

- the Token Economy (although still in its beta phase right now)

- building student relationships

- hands-on activities and experiments (even when they were just demonstrations)

What could use some tweaking:

- working fluidly with my co-teacher

- not getting too attached to students or focusing too hard on one or two "chosen" kids

- making each lesson start off with a "bang," and not talking for too long before allowing the students to explore concepts on their own

- organization of the classroom and being consistent with the routines

- incorporating feedback and new ideas quickly and decisively

I'm sure more will come up as I continue to look back on my progress, but one thing is for sure. I'm definitely better than I was before. I even had students tell me today that I looked nervous on my first day (or two) and that they thought I had gotten better over the months since then. Sometimes, they can be so perceptive. If only they would apply those skills to science...

Photo of the Week

The photo this week, originally found here,is less a photo to show students and more a reminder for teachers to make sure students are learning basic skills. With Regents coming up this week, it is easy to lose sight of what really matters in the face of test anxiety and pressure to get higher passing scores. In the long run, however, it is the basic skills that help our students the most. So make sure they know how to read a ruler, tell time on an analog clock, read a newspaper article and browse the web for reliable sources of information. After they have long forgotten all the material on the Regents, these skills will still be helping them get through the day-to-day.

Reminder: Apply to NYCTF

There is just one more day left to get in your NYCTF application. They are looking for qualified science teachers, especially, to teach under-served children in New York City. See my previous post for details and a link to the website. Good luck!

Calling Child Services

Yesterday I made my first call to the New York City Administration for Child Services (ACS). As a teacher, I am a mandated reporter, meaning that I am required by law to report any instances of suspected child abuse. I don't even need any evidence other than my own gut feeling. For kids with chronic attendance problems, if the parents seem unwilling or unable to get the child to school, it becomes a case of educational neglect. This is the type of case I reported.

After several attempts to engage both the student and his mother is the school community, I decided it was time. In retrospect, things might have been better had I called early, as I had planned to do. This student's behavior and attitude plummeted in the past few months and I wish I had done something drastic much sooner.

This is the complication teachers face. I want the best for my students, but at the same time, I want their families to have as much say as possible. Calling ACS can lead to threats from parents angry that they are being called bad parents. In this case, however, I had warned the mother several times that I would call if she did not show up to meetings and she missed several in the past month alone. Yesterday, she again failed to show up for a meeting and it was the last straw.

While I like to think that most parents are pretty competent, a mandated reporter is meant to call as soon as a problem is identified. In the case of educational neglect, the line is a little more fuzzy. If a child comes in with a broken arm or a bruised face, inflicted by a family member or responsible adult, the reporters task is clear-cut. Take a kid with poor attendance and a mother who does not show up to meetings, and it is a little less clear. Still, I had identified the problem months ago, but didn't act.

Now, I have done the right thing, I feel. Hopefully this kid will get help and start making some important life changes. At least I feel I have done all that I could for him.

For anyone who works with children in New York, you can find information on how to contact ACS about suspected child abuse at this website. Hopefully you will never have to use that information, but if you ever do, know that you are doing right by a child who needs you.

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001042.html

Letting My Hair Down as a Teacher

One of the comments I recently received from an outside consultant on my teaching was to have a bit more fun. The kids like you, he told me, so smile at them more. It has been one of my goals in the new year to be more fun and plan more fun lessons, so today, I took a huge step.

My (usually) worst class was almost halfway over and I could tell that they were going to finish a bit early because, for once, they were on task for nearly the entire period. We were cutting out paper and creating 3D objects of different shapes, which would then be put together as a way of demonstrating how mineral shape is determined by the shapes of the components.

I foresaw immediately a potential problem. Here were some of my most disruptive students, finishing work early with tons of paper scraps around them. What was there for them to do besides start throwing paper balls around. I decided to a preemptive strike was the way to go.

"Everybody listen up," I shouted over the din of their group work. "We still have to finish these models up, present them to each other and then I need a few minutes to discuss make-up work and some extra credit. But I think we will finish a bit early and, if we do and you follow my instructions, we are going to have a paper ball fight."

"What?!?" The kids shouted, then quieted down, shushing each other and encouraging other groups to finish up quickly. They shared their models in record time and were nearly silent as I explained the homework.

Then, I set some ground rules. "You may only throw paper balls, nothing else. And when I say stop, you will stop or we will never do anything like this again. We will stop two minutes before the period ends and you will pick up every paper ball before leaving the room."

The students sat in silence, until finally I shouted, "Fire!" Then all hell broke loose. The favorite target, of course, was me, and I sent the balls flying right back at them.

With two minutes left, I shouted stop and miraculously, only two more balls whizzed past my head and settled in a heap. Then one student got the trash can and started walking around the room, while others raced to pick up as many balls as possible. Without any prompting from me. When they filed out, the room was neater than when they had come in.

Today was a good day. It was a victory for me, plus it was really fun. I let my students see that I can be silly and do things they don't expect. Now, how can I top it tomorrow...?

Using the News in Your Classroom

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In light of the events of last week in Haiti, I guided my students in a discussion of scientific and historical significance of the earthquake and trying to understand how and why it occurred. I like using current events as much as possible because my students are much more engaged. It helped in this case that about half of my students are from the Dominican Republic and therefore wanted to know how their country would be affected by the event. In general, however, I have found that my students are eager to discuss current events. Perhaps it seems less like work to them.

I try to read the Science section of the New York Times as regularly as possible to get articles. However, I recently discovered the the Times has a whole online section of resources for teachers, complete with lesson plans for adaptation of news articles to the classroom. The site also has quizzes based on the front page current events and other resources for teachers. While this may sounds great for history or social studies teachers, it is also great for science and English.

If you are ready to liven up your classroom with current events, check out The Learning Network today!