Let's Ace This {Weekly Writing}

WOAH...assessments are multi-facetted. Each article or book I read this week was about a different component of assessment and /or evaluation. I am going to regurgitate some components I found important to recall and highlight before I dive into some information that I learned.

The type of assessment used varies on the class and students. There are multiple forms of assessments besides the traditional exam, which too many students know all to well. The idea of PLANNING resurfaces when discussing assessment because as teachers we need to plan for our students to do well on assessments. Assessments also do not only come at the end of a unit, again a traditional way of thinking, but everyday we are assessing student's performance.

I needed to unpack all of these thoughts and realizations I had while reading before articulating a few of the methods and types of assessments I read about. So now let's dive into the WHAT...

Student assessment and evaluations is the topic of the week. For the past 4 years of my college career I have heard these 2 terms being thrown around:

          Formative & Summative

Through the readings this week I was provided clarity and differentiation between the two. it is important to remember both terms are a method of answering the question, "How can you measure student learning?" Both of these methods are systematic processes.


What do you need to know about Formative Assessments? 

- What it looks like: Receiving and guiding feedback on their performance
- Not always attached to a students grade
- Allows teachers to gauge where the class is and where it needs to go
- Teachers are measuring performance for a daily or on-going basis

What do you need to know about Summative Assessments?

- What it looks like: Exams, tests, quizzes
- Cumulative
- Used to calculate individual student grades
- Familiar to many of us!

But wait... Curve ball... there is a 3rd way to assess students:

  Direct & Indirect 

Direct Assessments: assess through student's direct application of knowledge or skills

Indirect Assessments: Surveying or observing student learning

Each of these are further detailed out on the CTE website that also elaborates on the rubrics, self and peer assessment, developing good test questions, which are all beneficial resources to utilize when creating lesson and unit plans.

The Triple Threat

There will be encounters will special populations of learners in schools. Exceptional and ELL learners are two examples of special populations, so as educators, how do we grade them fairly? Well the three "P" words helps us answer this question:

Product

Process

Progress

The way I interpret the purpose of the triple threat is that they are each a criteria that breaks down an overall grade. This demonstrates for parents, administration, students, and teachers the learning process and performance of each student. When is comes time for placement decisions, progress reports, or meetings then there is clear evidence of the students performance. 

The Recipe {Problem Based Learning}

There is no set recipe in delivering successful Problem Based Learning (PBL). There are, however, correct ingredients that make PBL a successful teaching strategy. 

Successful Ingredients

5 Cups of the Problem Solving Process

       1. Recognizing and defining the problem

       2. Clarifying the problem

       3. Identifying possible solutions 

       4. Testing a solution or plan

       5. Evaluating the results 

1/6 TB of Reflection

       Dewey added a 6th step to the MODERN DAY 5-Step Problem Solving Process: Evaluating the results

1/4 T of a Driving Question

     - Proactive

     - Complex

     - Open-ended

     - Linked to what students should be learning

2 Eggs of Voice and Choice

Voice: Let PBL be something that students are interested in 

Choice: How are the projects presented at the end? What are the teams? Let students have choice in their learning process! 

There are other ingredients that can be taken away or added into this recipe, but it depends on the audience you are serving. The above ingredients though are the base ingredients needed to start mixing. 

Why use PBL as a Teaching Strategy?

1. Develop students ability to solve problems

2. Create self-directed learners

3. Facilitate the acquisition of new knowledge

Connections

STEM

When researching PBL, a lot of engineering problem solving models arise and my thoughts immediately go to STEM and how PBL can be an effective way to implement STEM into an agricultural program. One of the 8 Essentials for Project-Based Learning is to have Significant Content, which in short means, aligning the PBL with academic standards. Incorporating science, math, and English language can all be accomplished through PBL, which allows students the opportunity to learn and utilize their knowledge of multiple subjects as well as makes administration smile. 

National #TeachAgChat Twitter Chat

Looking forward to this week, our cohort starts the first ever #TeachAgChat and my group has the opportunity to facilitate the topic of Careers in Agriculture. Our goal is to bring together educators and industry personnel to share what is currently being done in schools to prepare students for agricultural careers and what opportunities and need industry has for students. In learning about PBL, I want to utilize the Twitter Chat to hear about the PBL that is occurring in agricultural programs as well as the what industry finds beneficial for students to learn and how educators can incorporate their suggestions as a PBL.

Let's Share Infographics

I am a huge fan of infographics and I found one of Pinterest that was shared in another blog. The infographic was to large to share on this blog so click the link below to see how this infographic lays out the steps of problem solving: Problem Based Learning: Solving World Problems

If anyone has a PBL or problem solving infographic or poster they use and has been effective for them please share the link or picture in the comments section! I am looking for one to hang in a classroom.

Here by the Rising Sun {FLC Reflection}

"The rising sun is the token of a new era in agriculture. If we will follow the leadership of our president, we shall be led out of the darkness of selfishness and into the glorious sunlight of brotherhood and cooperation."

At the Fall Leadership Conference (FLC) held in Altoona, PA I, along with my two co-facilitators, had the opportunity to teach a workshop to 27 chapter FFA presidents. I am going to capture and reflect on this experience through breaking down the word P-R-E-S-I-D-E-N-T.

Purpose: The purpose of this workshop was to prepare and teach presidents their roles and responsibilities of their office in in 2.5 hours. As a facilitation team we focussed our objectives around the 4 defined presidential roles outlined in the FFA handbook.

Ruh Roh: In the words of Scooby Doo there were some "ruh roh" moments after reflecting on the experience. The biggest one was the lack of stating, posting, and revisiting objectives. The students had no idea what we were going to accomplish today. This was a basic practice we discusses the importance of Day 1 this semester that was a lack of preparation on our part. 

Enthusiasm: This is where we crushed it. I was thankful to have facilitators that met and exceeded my enthusiasm. The students responded well to this energy and spirit by the comments on their learner satisfaction form. What worked well was that we were able to be high energy but also hone in on lower tones and pace when we where trying to drive home the point of a topic.

Share the Stage: This is one area where facilitation and teaching in a classroom is different. I shared the stage with 2 other people and it requires extra planning! I am now not only speaking but I have to think about where the other teachers are, when I need to stop talking, when I jump in, and what my duties are at that time. (Ex: handing out papers) One big take away from this was what to do if your co-teacher misinforms, deviates from the plan, or is unclear. What role do I play then? I can better observe the students when someone else is talking so, for example, if directions are unclear I can see the confused faces. Today it worked out that I could jump in to re-state directions if needed, but my take-away is that I need to be able to observe my students and talk in a classroom setting. 

Informational: "The lesson was more informational then motivational" This was a comment that we received after the workshop. Not sure how to interrupt it at first, I came to a conclusion. We did our job. We gave all 27 of our presidents tools for their toolboxes to be better prepared for their roles and responsibilities. I wish that some of our empowering and call to action comments would have been better driven home, but I know we accomplished our objectives for the day.

Discover: What did I discover today? 2.5 hours is a long time, but when you are over prepared it goes by quick! Dave Burgess told us that you cannot base success off of 100% participation and engagement, and even though it was discouraging to have a few students not be into the activities it was a confidence boost to keep going due to the majority of student's engagement and excitement being evident. Students want the opportunity to express their personalities and skills, so give it to them. 

Evaluation: The area of evaluation and assessment lacked today. As the facilitator I do not know what they learned. They each completed a "Know Book" to take with them, but it was individually completed. Also, I regret not taking the time to provide more time for Q&A during and after the workshop. We constantly where trying to keep up with our allotted times but we never did catch up and it resulted in loss of ensuring our students were learning. 

Next Step: Where do I go from here? As mentioned facilitating is a little bit of a different role then teaching in a classroom, but there are skills I can transfer into a classroom. We had a lot of group activities that allowed me to go around and facilitate conversations and work. Also, when we had students share out, I was able to summarize answers and information. These are just two examples among many, but it was powerful to think about all the practice I had together will applicable skills I can use in a classroom setting. 

Transitions: As something that can always be improved, this was a huge area of emphasis to successfully execute today. Our team aimed to keep the student engaged and the activities connected together. We did well, and honestly some were impromptu, but this is an area of growth I saw in myself today.

"Any other questions?" {Weekly Writing}

In my blog title it asks, "Any other questions?" and this is because I learned this is a non-effective question to ask and I am guilty of saying it. After teaching a few lessons in labs and reflecting on each of them, the teaching tactic of effective questioning has been surfaced several times. Like many college students, I can be a culprit of word vomit, meaning I say something to quickly that I did not mean or that made no sense. With the fast pace that I tend to talk, the combination can be deadly for effective questioning.

One of the documents of our weekly writing addresses the why and how of effective questioning, something I know is important to add to my teacher toolbox. The article boils down to the reoccurring practice of... PLANNING! When writing my lesson plans I need to think:

"What level of thinking am I trying to draw from my students?" 

"What is the type of question that will cause this level of thinking?" 

"When do I ask these questions during my lesson?" 

The chart below is a reference for Bloom's Taxonomy with application of critical thinking skills on each level that has help guide me in developing purposeful and effective questions:

                

Let's talk about my concerns with effective questioning...

Not only do I need to think about the questions I will ask, but the also about the facilitation of answers that maybe given...which is something teachers can not always plan for. In reflecting on facilitating answers, I know this is a mastery skill I will learn through practice and repetition. The creativity and sass high school students can supply sometimes makes this a skill one I am patiently awaiting to practice and master. In addition, students not responding correctly to an answer or with something that I was not quite looking for is also another skill I am uneasy to approach, but am looking forward to practicing. I do not want to have a student not answer again if they are wrong or continually reinforce the same students positively or negatively all the time for their answers. 

Another topic that was explored this week was Differentiated Instruction (DI), and with no surprise, success with DI is a result of planning. I am not going to go into detail but the graphic I found depicts the "Yays" and "Nays" of what Differentiation really is and is not. 

Model Unit Plan

The first unit plan. I imagine 30 years from now, I may think back and try to remember what the first unit plan I wrote was and how it turned out. I am hoping at the age of 52 I would have mastered the art of writing unit plans. So for my 52 year old self I am going to document the before, after, and future of my first unit plan.

Basic Information:
Unit: Welding Orientation and Safety
Class Sessions: 15
Length of Sessions: 80 minutes

My thought bubbles before:
- Formatting. I wanted it to possess an easy to read yet creative flare! Who's template can I steal?
- What section do I actually begin with?
- Standards are daunting and will take forever to find! Ugh
- Am I really in charge of deciding the order in which this class is taught? Who said I was ready for this?
- I have to know what materials to put down without writing a lesson plan? Weird.

These were my thoughts and questions before I started to tackle my first unit plan. After completing my unit plan I figured a few things out...

- Formatting. I wanted it to possess an easy to read yet creative flare! Who's template can I steal?
Combine a variety of different people's templates to make my own hybrid unit plan template. There is no "right" template. 
- What section do I actually begin with?
Start with the end in mind...assessments
- Standards are daunting and will take forever to find! Ugh
Wrong, "Control F" is your best friend
- Am I really in charge of deciding the order in which this class is taught? Who said I was ready for this?
You do not learn until you do, so dive on in!
- I have to know what materials to put down without writing a lesson plan? Weird.
Not weird, normal. PLAN PLAN PLAN! Being prepared for every detail is normal and necessary for success. 

All of my initial concerns and thoughts were addressed through simply completing my unit plan. The unknown became known and the " I do not know why I need to include this?" made sense after simply trying. Let me assure you I am no where near a master unit plan writer but my first go around was not a complete flop.

I was fortunate enough to have two peers review and critique my unit plan and they both did such a great job! They shared with me to review the rubric for minor details, such as using APA for my citations as well as be mindful of the number of references or objectives I need to include for each lesson. The major critique
was on my objectives. Remembering to include all 3 components of an objective, condition, criteria, and behavior is where I fell short. My objective criteria especially need to be checked to ensure what I was asking students to do was reasonably measurable and/or attainable. The positive feedback I received was that my unit plan format was easy to read and view and my materials list was detailed and complete.

So why blog about this?
This is the first foundational block and learning experience in my unit planning journey. To be able to reread this blog post after completing my first student teaching experience will be insightful because at that point I will have laid many more blocks of my foundation. Also, I would have had to use this unit plan and I will see just how successful it was.

I am 22 {Reading Reflection}

Be loud and proud is a common and familiar saying to many, but often undermined in the power and cry for change behind it. The TEDx Talks "I am 17" surfaced many valid points about the collaboration needed between adults and teenagers because teenagers have good ideas. A lot of this is due to their unpaved minds, but they have the capacity for change and ideas that even the most educated adults cannot dream up.

I am 22 and am considered an educated adult at this point, but I still have a horizontal license. I say this because I believe I have been structured to think certain ways and demand validity behind what I hear and read, but I still have some unpaved pathways in my brain that reap creativity and innovation. Our cohort is going to tap into these unpaved pathways by conducting Genius Hour. Before reading what Genius Hour was I thought this was some way to be creative in presenting material through technology. O how I was wrong. Genius Hour empowers me to LEARN WHAT I WANT and present what I learn ANYWAY I WANT. One more time... I CAN LEARN ANYTHING I WANT TO!


                    

Well my next thought was obvious, "What do I really want to know about?" Being a pre-service teacher my thoughts immediately went towards subject areas I find interesting but do not have experience in such as flower design and livestock judging. In reading examples of Genius Hour topics from 6th graders, I was blown away by their curiosities and diversity in topics. I noticed my 22 year old mind was resorting to my paved pathways already so I decided to step outside my agricultural and athletic worlds and consider the following 3 topics:

1. Create my own website
2. Starting up your own business
3. The art of acting

As if picking a topic will not be difficult enough, I will need to decide how to present what I learn. I know I want it be a accessible resource for everyone and flare passion as well as informative content. So this is where I ask the audience, which topic would you want to learn about and how would you want it to be presented? 

Stay tuned for the outcome!


Did you know....
     Google allows their employees 20% of "Genius Hour" time to learn about what they want to. The result of this time is many of Google successes including our "can't live without" Gmail.

Playing with Fire and Ice {Interest Approach Lab}

To plan for this lab I decided to use a lesson from my first unit plan I developed and also make it my first informational lesson plan to hand in on Friday. My unit is Introduction to Welding and the lesson title is, "What is Arc Welding?" To prepare for the lesson I practiced the interest approach several times and was successful. In class though, my activity was not successful for my students and it is still weighing on me because it was my fault as the instructor.

My intention for the lesson:

• Students guess what will happen and how it will happen
• Students try to weld ice with a candle
• Students write down their observations and conclusions 
• Teacher states the objectives
• Discuss what student's hypothesis, observations, & conclusions were
• Explain what a weld is
• Have students try again

 What actually happened in lab:

• Students guess what will happen and how it will happen
• Students try to weld ice with a candle
• Students write down their observations and conclusions 
• Teacher states the objectives

Not having the last two parts made my interest approach lack context and content. In saying that, I needed to be prepared with questions and statements to provoke creative thinking on how to weld the ice cubs together while my students worked. 

  

The activity needed more clarification and direction to ensure students were learning and not just doing. This could have been solved by developing questions and statements to ask during their welding time such as, "If the wax is not working, how else can we weld the ice cubes together? Think about ice in a water bottle." This would have been beneficial to insert before the students tried a second time.

On a less critical note, this activity I will utilize in a lesson plan and I learned a lot from practicing this interest approach once with students. I was happy with how the "entering the shop" exercise worked and incorporating the scientific method into the interest approach. Including the scientific approach allowed me time to hand out materials which was a planned moved. After watching the video I thought I accomplished control and filtered enthusiasm today, but still engaged my students.

One of Lancelot's primary principle's of interest states, "Interest increases with the acquisition of any given ability or skill". The students wanted to try a second time to figure it out, but would they have been interested enough in a third? I want my students to be successful in this activity so they keep in interest in wanting to weld metal later on in the class.

Takes aways:

• Provide the direction and guidance towards success and learning
• Effective questioning - preparation ahead of time! 
• With an activity involving hot wax and flames it is important to always be looking around and on the move
• Sell the tickets - this is a Teach Like a Pirate concept that I need to remember with every interest approach I implement