9/10 Chemistry: ASYNCH Lesson for Balancing Equations

Please click here to access the ASYNCH Lesson as part of a Blended Learning strategy. (**Note that this course will only be made public until July 11, 2017. After such time, please contact me at keystonequality@gmail.com to request access.)

DESCRIPTION OF LEARNERS 

Learners will be “on-level” Chemistry students within 9th or 10th grade. Students will range from novice to proficient technology users, but require support in accessing Edtech tools and software features. Asynchronous tutorials and resources will be provided within the learning management system for “just-in-time” reference.

Students will have had minimal exposure to chemistry concepts prior to this course and will require scaffolding and activation of prior knowledge from biology.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Special needs and ELL students will be supported through optional tutorials,  experiential learning activities, daily teacher office hours, and integration of social learning constructs.

OVERVIEW OF LESSON

This lesson was created to contain the following instructional strategies and learning theories. Here is a copy of my lesson plan for further review.

Experiential learning & Constructivism

• video annotation
• simulation
• e-journaling & reflection

Collaborative learning:

• peer review
• e-journal web publishing

21st century skills:

• information literacy
• critical thinking
• problem solving
• collaboration & teamwork

EXPECTATIONS FOR INTERVENTION

At various checkpoints within the lesson, formative assessments were added to correct misconceptions, add remediation for struggling students, and determine course pacing. Intervention strategies include: one-on-one teacher remediation, reflection activities for key strategies in balancing equations, and “pulling” information through the peer review process for improved understanding.

INTEGRATE ASYNCHRONOUS TEACHING PRESENTATION

• The 7e Model (NSTA 2014) was applied to organize instruction and produce an engaging learning experience.
• CANVAS will be used as the course hub and learning management system.
• YOUTUBE videos will be edited and stored within EdPuzzle, with formative questions presented for critical thinking and verification of learning.
• NEARPOD will be used to record lessons, house the simulation activity, and provide a reminder for the Netiquette tutorial.
• CANVAS DISCUSSION FORUM will coordinate student reflection and peer review.
• CANVAS QUIZ & ASSIGNMENT will serve as the repository for student deliverables to demonstrate mastery of the learning target(s) as listed with the lesson plan.

K-12 Online & Blended Learning Reflections

Please visit my Course Reflection Journal to obtain access to resources and forward-thinking revelations in leading, managing, and creating online and blended programs.

Bolstering Blended Learning

Describe the qualities of a successful online or blended environment.

In the quest for best practices in online & blended learning, many sources point to the creation of a learning environment that is student-centered with well-trained teachers. According to a 2014 nationwide survey led by Fuel Education and EdNet Insight, the following qualities dictate the success of such an environment:

1. Rigorous and engaging curriculum which engages and challenges the student, yet is differentiated to accommodate learner preference (VAK) and support learner’s needs through instructional techniques such as scaffolding (remediation), visual literacy (ELL), and activating prior knowledge to build complex schemas.

2. Personalized instruction through student progress monitoring where teachers can provide immediate and specific feedback to the student for increased learning.

3. Teacher coaching which offers targeted support to the student as a “just-in-time” service.

4. Provision of clear procedures for navigating the technology, overall responsibilities for learning, and expectations on coursework and assignment deliverables to students.

5. Teachers that are specialized in managing and teaching in a virtual environment. These professionals must understand the guiding principles of instructional design, adopt a “coach” mindset to appropriately support learners, and manage virtual instruction through management of online tools, reports, and dashboards.

What issues must a teacher consider that are specific to teaching in an online or blended environment?

The Center for Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt University defines a blended environment as consisting of, “between 30 and 80 percent of the course content delivered online with some face-to-face interaction. Blended and online courses not only change how content is delivered, they also redefine traditional educational roles and provide different opportunities for learning”. In accordance with this model, the maximum amount of face-to-face interaction with students in a traditional classroom setting would reach only 70%. Because of this reason, modern teachers must be equipped with the skills to manage a classroom and a virtual learning space.

Some issues that teachers should consider specific to an online environment include:

• • A conscious shift from instructor-led to learner-centered instruction which demands the organization and delivery of the learning material in such a way that learners are in in control of the pace, place, and path for learning (Rice, 2012).

  • Introduce more social learning constructs, as research has found that online instruction is more effective when students collaborate rather than working independently (Smith & Brame, 2018).

  • Teacher assuming the roles as a project manager, instructional designer, and e-learning expert (Rice, 2012).

  • Deliver multimodal content such as podcasts, videos, live video conferencing, presentation recordings, and e-learning materials (Smith & Brame), along with student “voice and choice” for deliverables and multiple opportunities for self-reflection (Fuel Education, 2014).

  • The acceptance that the strategies used in a face-to-face classroom may not be used successfully in an online learning forum. Teachers must be ready to adopt new teaching strategies to promote success in the virtual space (Rice, 2012).

What types of students might be most successful in an online or blended environment? How do we ensure that all students are successful?

Students are most often lured by the appeal of online education as it perceived to be easier than classroom instruction. Ironically, the online environment offers much opportunity for rigor and complexity, and “when structured effectively, online education has the capacity to facilitate more engagement with content, greater learning motivation…and increased learning and understanding of subject matter” (Rice, 2012, p. 23). Students that seek flexibility in attending school on a time schedule of their convenience, pacing that is comfortable for their learning ability, and following a path that is led by their interests are most likely to succeed in an online or blended environment. Teachers can assure that all students are successful by promoting clear directions, offering support via coaching and technology training, and providing teacher, social, and cognitive presence as explained in the Community of Inquiry model (see https://coi.athabascau.ca/coi-model/ for further details).

References

Fuel Education (9 Oct 2014). The top five attributes for online and blended learning success. Retrieved from: https://resources.fueleducation.com/blog/the-top-five-attributes-for-online-and-blended-learning-success

 

Rice, K. (2012). Making the move to k-12 online teaching: Research-based strategies and practices. Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

 

Smith, B. & Brame, C. (2018). Blended and online learning. Retrieved from Vanderbilt University: https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blended-and-online-learning/

Teacher Effectiveness

The goal of performance evaluations is to determine the employee’s progress at meeting the objectives set by employers, or set jointly by employers and employees. Teachers are generally evaluated on an annual minimum basis by administrators in their schools. In some school districts, teacher unions or organizations have negotiated that these evaluations be conducted by other teachers.

Some school districts adopt or adapt national teacher evaluation systems such as the Danielson Framework. Others may combine student assessments of a teacher’s effectiveness as an important data point for evaluating teachers, and even state test scores. In this activity, we unpack the most appropriate metrics that should be included within an evaluation to measure teacher effectiveness by reviewing 2 local school districts in Phoenix, Arizona.

According to the Chandler Unified School district, teachers are assessed by a qualified evaluator, such as a school Principal or other person who is designated by the Governing Board to evaluate the District’s certificated teachers. These individuals must undergo appropriate training on the instructional elements and protocols for the teaching framework. Teacher Performance classifications encompass four (4) levels identified for teachers under the law and defined by the State Board of Education (highly effective, effective, developing, and ineffective). The performance system reviews such Instructional Practice, Student Achievement, Deliberate Practice, and Collegiality and Professionalism as part of their framework, listed in order of weighted review.

In contrast, Arizona charter schools derive their own framework for teacher evaluation. Sonoran Schools is a K-12 charter district with a heavy focus on STEM college preparatory curriculum. School funding is dependent upon AzMerit scores, a state standardized test, which in a few years will have a minimum passing rate to graduate from high school. In preparation for the student’s success, the school uses i-Ready and Galileo for growth assessments and diagnostics. Teachers are separated into groups based upon their subject of instruction and their alignment to AZCCRS. For these teachers, classroom-level data (AzMerit, iReady and Galileo growth), school-level data (parent survey, student survey, and teacher self-review), and teaching performance (formal observations using Danielson Framework aligned to In-TASC teaching standards).

As a future graduate of an ADE-board accredited program, my current and future teaching evaluations should be based upon the Danielson Framework and In-TASC standards, and include domains such as: planning and preparation, classroom environment, instruction, and professional responsibilities. Mastering these 4 domains will provide the most impact to the overall student learning experience.

Using Pre-Assessment to Guide Differentiated Instruction

As a teacher, it is important that student progress is monitored closely to proactively determine strategies to close gaps in concepts and skills. A pre-assessment of student knowledge and skills helps teachers know a student’s prior knowledge about a topic. Some students already understand a topic or concept at a high level, other students have superficial knowledge about the topic of study, and the remaining students may have limited knowledge.

Having this information prior to beginning a lesson or unit of study provides the teacher with indispensable information in keeping the high achievers engaged and increase their depth and breadth of understanding, creating strategies to help students with limited knowledge develop their learning, and expanding knowledge for students in the middle.

In this example, a Quizlet was developed to summarize the academic language included within the math unit of study, which includes processes required to demonstrate mastery of calculations.

This Mind Map was created to demonstrate how these categories of students can be supported. High performing students (i.e. excelling students) are given a problem-based learning scenario which requires the use of current math skills, and draws upon previous math skills in order to solve the problem. This activity can also be used as an assessment to demonstrate mastery of the unit’s concepts. For students on-level (i.e. performing students), the teacher can encourage higher order thinking through increasingly difficult word problems which require problem solving and critical thinking skills. For students that require extra support (i.e. developing students), teachers can help the learner build schemas by combining ELA skills and assigning a metaphor that will tie new learning to existing information. For example, developing students could consider a vertical iceberg to represent the vertical number line where below sea level is negative (feet deep for swimming) and above the water as the positive digits (climbing the iceberg).

The High-Stakes Debate

The implications of high stakes assessments on teachers and students are both immense and intense. The data received from these types of tests help institutions and their administration make important decisions about students, schools, and districts for the purpose of accountability in ensuring that students are enrolled in effective schools and being taught by effective teachers.

According to TeachNOW, an international educator preparation program headquartered in Washington, DC, “most schools measure student learning on an annual basis. Many schools in the US have adopted assessments that are created for the Common Core and Advanced Placement (AP). International schools often use AP, the Cambridge system, and/or assessments created for International Baccalaureate (IB) curricula (among others). The results of these tests are often used to determine whether students should be promoted to the next grade and/or graduate from high school. Assessments are also used to place students in levels of RTI when they need extra support.”

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS, is used for international achievement comparisons and is linked to teacher evaluation for effectiveness.

It is important to note, however, that there is conflicting evidence regarding the impact of  student and teacher creativity and motivation as a result of these assessments.

The implications of high stakes assessments in my current school:

My current employer is a K-12 charter school with a heavy focus on STEM college preparatory curriculum. As such, we are bound by the AzMerit, a state standardized test, which in a few years will have a minimum passing rate to graduate from high school. In preparation for the student’s success, the school uses i-Ready for growth assessments and diagnostics. This is to provide teachers with 2 sets of data: (1) determine readiness to sit for the state exam to receive a passing score each year, and (2) help identify students for intervention as the diagnostics predict their grade level in math and language arts. In comparison with the local public school districts, at this time they do not use a sophisticated, data-driven approach to predict success. Instead, they seek out class grades, which are neither calibrated (based upon teacher technique) nor standardized (some grades do not have a curriculum guide that is enforced). One class period per week is devoted to i-Ready, and Bellwork is created based upon the general class trends.

The charter district maps the AzMerit blueprint to the common core (ACCRS) with all efforts focused on preparing students to achieve high marks on the AZ test. As  a result of the student’s achieved scores, teacher base salary is increased or decreased based upon the testing outcomes.

The implications of high stakes assessments in the international & domestic spotlight:

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “At grade 8, the U.S. average mathematics score (518) in 2015 was higher than the TIMSS scale centerpoint of 500 [with] eight education systems ha[ving] higher average mathematics scores than the United States: Canada, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong (China), Japan, Quebec (Canada), the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and Singapore.” This creates extra pressure for schools in the United States to improve their scores to remain in competition with leading countries in mathematics for future jobs and innovation.

Comparing the STEM charter with its local public counterpart, I interviewed Mrs. Smith*, a K-12 educator within the Chandler unified school district. As students emerge from 6th grade, the pressure to test at a higher level in middle school and beyond becomes more intense. The main problem is attaining motivation of the student to do well on the AzMerit, as there is no incentive for the student. At present time, students are not yet required to pass the test to move to the next grade or graduate, and instead are placed into intervention or special education (with a qualifying diagnosis). The only real motivation to test “satisfactorily” is to not qualify for RTI services.

*Name changed to keep anonymous at interviewee’s request.

Conclusion

Students are reacting to the increasing pressures to perform by only wanting to learn about material that is exactly aligned to the AzMerit. As educators, we understand that we are unintentionally creating a generation that is “learning to perform” rather than “learning to grow”. This will create added pressure on corporations to produce concise, impactful, and engaging training as this generation ages and enters the workforce, and fill in the gaps with critical thinking skills.

References

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (n.d.). Fast facts. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=1

Smith, J. (2018, Jan 23). In-person interview. Chandler High School.

Multiculturalism

A multicultural curriculum incorporates the histories, experiences, and cultures of the diverse groups that comprise a community or a country. Multicultural lessons help students from diverse groups see themselves and their families as valued members of society. They increase student awareness of the diverse community and world in which they live and help students gain awareness of multiple perspectives.. This blog will uncover how multiculturalism can be designed into K-12 instruction.

Through the intentional integration of materials that reflect global contribution to improving the field of science and mathematics, K-12 curriculum can reflect the diversity of my local community, region, and country. This can be achieved through the exploration of global inventions, how government policy impacts the future for scientific breakthroughs, and how patriotic principles shape the ability to promote science over politics. Please see this lesson plan for how Science, Patriotism, and Multiculturalism collide.

It is important to introduce students to multicultural content and multiple perspectives because we have entered a global marketplace. As technological advancements continue to grow both in capability and reach, people around the world have access to similar resources, and are available for collaboration. In addition, new scientific inventions are often shared for profit, thus improving life in its origin country, and in those countries that adopt these advancements. K-12 students need to be prepared for this new world, not only to recognize and applaud these efforts, but to understand how scientific breakthrough promotes change for the future.

In order to ensure that my students develop cultural competence in the classroom, it is essential that credible materials be offered for debate and discussion, along with higher order assessments which require students to analyze and evaluate how countries will work together to achieve future scientific advancements.

Planning for Differentiation

BACKGROUND

Anticipating student needs is a critical aspect of lesson planning. In addition to the main resources needed to teach the lesson, teachers need to determine what additional resources and strategies may be required for equal opportunity learning.

Let’s revisit the key steps and sequences in deriving a winning lesson plan:

1. Determine the curriculum standard.
2. Backwards design the standard into learning objectives.
3. Chunk the learning objectives into unit requirements.
4. Derive lesson plans for each unit by: (a) Assign learning objectives for each lesson. (b) Identify the summative assessment that will demonstrate mastery of the learning objective. (c) Determine the formative assessments than can be used to check for student understanding. (d) Develop strategies for differentiating instruction among developing, performing, and excelling students.

ANALYSIS

Considering the different skill levels of students is an integral part of effectively preparing lesson plans.

By incorporating the following strategies for differentiated instruction, the teacher is able to challenge excelling students, engage performing students, and support developing students within the same class period. See this flowchart for a simplified version of the explanations listed below:

Differentiated instruction pertains to all students, as each fit into a unique persona. In most cases, teachers need to be mindful of the developing student, or the one that requires additional scaffolding to support learning. For example, students with ADHD need more reminders to stay on track. Provide remedial support through Scavenger Hunts to improve engagement and provide interactivity. See this mindmap for additional details in guiding struggling students.

Including lesson modifications for struggling students ensures that all students have a chance to succeed. If during formative assessment, some students are not understanding the content, one strategy is to create a metaphor or graphic organizer to build schemas by relating complex content to familiar concepts. Another method is to create role-play scenarios with a peer. These scenarios would be developed with a Q&A focus and provide additional base knowledge. Learning through workstations is a way to create self-paced learning in the classroom and can benefit excelling and developing learners.

For some students, a disability is preventing them from fully understanding the material. In the case of a hearing impairment, teachers can use “multimedia approaches for visual representation of course content. Overhead projectors or PowerPoint presentations are preferable to blackboards, as the teacher does not need to turn his or her back to the students. This is especially important for students who are relying on speechreading, signing, cuing, and/or use of residual hearing for receptive communication.” (TTAC online)

Resources that can be used to support developing and disabled students include:

• Self-authored remedial library housed within Google Classroom, a school-sponsored website, or YouTube EDU channel containing media playlists and visual literacy aids to scaffold learning.
• Evernote collaborative class notes which illuminate key points and offer peer insight for learning new material.
• Small groups with clear roles and responsibilities drawing upon strengths of each member and focused activities that can be modified.

REFERENCES:

TeachThought. (2017). The Ultimate List – 50 Strategies for Differentiated Instruction. Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/50-strategies-for-differentiated-instruction/

TTAC Online. (2017). Instructional Strategies – Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Retrieved from https://ttaconline.org/differentiated-instructional-strategies-deaf

 

Assessment FOR Learning: Putting the “FOR” in Formative

BACKGROUND

An important part of teaching, and specifically lesson planning, is the inclusion of formative assessments. Formative assessments are informal “checks” for student understanding, and should be integrated into the lesson at strategic points to determine if clarification or modification of the instruction is required.

Formative assessments can be conducted in a variety of ways, and some popular approaches include the following:

• Observing students as they work on problem solving
• Random questioning
• Pair and share
• Peer review
• Entrance & Exit tickets
• Class discussion

In this post, the following standard has been unpacked and cross-linked with innovative and engaging formative assessments for the K-12 classroom.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content (Biology).

Please visit this Coggle mindmap for details in applying formative assessments in your classroom.

Articulating Outcomes through Assessment

BACKGROUND

Performance-based assessments include projects and other tasks that are summative in nature. In thinking like an assessor, teachers must ask themselves questions in order to articulate outcomes for your students. Some examples of these questions include:

“What assessments/tasks will help me to guide students’ learning–what will I have students do by the end of the unit to prove their understanding? What informal assessments can I use throughout the unit to help me to know if students are understanding?”

The following SMART lesson objectives were set forth during the backwards design mapping process for the following Common Core standard, excerpted from English Language Arts Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1

Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content (Biology).

 

ASSESSMENT “AS” LEARNING 

Using Formative Assessments to Gauge Understanding

According to an Edutopia article authored by Andrew Miller, he states,

“With all the education action around Standards-Based Instruction, Understanding By Design, Assessment for Learning, Grading for Learning, Project-Based Learning, Competency-Based Instruction and more, we need to have a frank conversation about formative assessment and grading … Formative assessment is practice. It is part of the journey. A grade is supposed to answer the question: “Did the student learn and achieve the learning targets or standards?”

With this idea in mind, a few formative assessments that could determine if learning is taking place include:

• Create a fictitious case study full of “research data” from varying sources. Encourage students to classify these as “credible” or “noncredible”. Share their opinion with a peer learner, then group share in class.
• Students to complete a “3-2-1” exercise where they record 3 things they learned about credible sources, 2 things that surprised them about noncredible sources, and 1 strategy they can employ to determine if a source is credible or noncredible.
• Create a mindmap that organizes criteria for credible and noncredible sources.

ASSESSMENT “OF” LEARNING 

Using Project-Based Learning to Demonstrate Mastery

Project-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered pedagogy that promotes educational activities where students can acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems. This instructional method continues to gain popularity in K-12 classrooms as it offers in depth authentic summative assessments that clearly demonstrate student mastery of a given standard, and, in turn, edifies teacher’s confidence that the student has learned that target.

An example of how PBL can be used as a summative assessment for identifying reputable research sources is as follows:

1. Implement R.A.F.T as the framework for the summative assessment

R = Role as an individual or group. In this example, the student will take on the role of the “judge” of the research criteria.

A = Audience as related to the role. In this example, the audience can be the opposing party, or the ones that firmly believe in noncredible sources.

F = Format to present the findings. In this example, the format can be a two-column poster with source criteria with research classification, or decision tree that leads to the selection of credible sources.

T = Topic for review. In this example, the student evokes learner choice to select the topic of the claims/counterclaims research and filters the relevant sources through the source criteria.

REFERENCES

Common Core. (2017). English Language Arts Standards. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/WHST/9-10/1/

Edutopia. (2011, Dec 15). Courageous Conversation: Formative Assessment and Grading. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/courageous-conversation-andrew-miller