Formative Assessments the easy way: Poll Everywhere

     I love students; they have an opinion about everything. Being able to find out more about what they know, or think they know, is extremely helpful in designing lesson plans that are engaging and effective. Quizzes are great tools for formative assessments; they can be made relatively quickly administered and evaluated. Quizzes given in class traditionally, however, present a challenge to both students and teachers: how can they be given in a way that allows teachers to determine where students may struggle with the content, but also protects students from embarrassment?

     What if there was a tool for formative assessment that helped both teachers and students that was affordable, accessible, and user-friendly? How could it be used in the classroom? Fortunately, Poll Everywhere has all of these important characteristics. In a school where cell phones are very accessible to students like my teaching placement, Poll Everywhere is a great tool to use. While we use DO NOW questions as bell-work and cold calling to help students with self-assessments and teachers determine where students may be having difficulties, the lack of anonymity can result in students not completely sharing their areas of struggle. 

     In my classroom, I would use Poll Everywhere not only at the beginning of class, but during my parts of the lesson to find out if students were following along with me or if there were things that I'd talked about or activities that we're doing that are not clear to students. I would also use this assessment tool to engage students in lessons by asking their opinions and finding out about any prior knowledge that they may have regarding the lesson. For example, I recently taught a lesson on gene regulation. Poll Everywhere would have been great for learning more about what students remembered from the previous lesson on genetic mutations, and would help facilitate connecting that previous lesson with the current lesson. It would help create a safe classroom environment where students could share their opinions and ask for assistance. And, it would allow me improve my lesson planning, delivery, and evaluation. Poll Everywhere is a quick and easy assessment tool that I plan to use often in my classroom.

MACUL 2015

My MACUL Experience

     It's hard to describe how excited I was to attend the MACUL conference this year.  This was my first teacher's conference, and it was quite overwhelming at first: the convention center is huge, and there were so many teachers everywhere: forming huge lines of traffic,  overtaking the sidewalks, and filing into the hallways and meeting rooms. Although I'd attended many scientific research conferences, MACUL had a different aura.  Instead of posters lining from wall to wall with students and professors dressed and speaking very formally, this conference was very professional but more personable. I experienced (once we were able to find parking) a very warm and welcoming atmosphere. There were people with ASK ME signs that were very helpful who directed us if we had any difficulties or questions finding information about sessions, speakers, or anything at all. 

    The first session that I attended was entitled Evaluating Teaching With Google Apps: A Case Study. The presenter, Gary Abud (Grosse Pointe Public Schools), was named Michigan Teacher of the Year for 2013-2014. I was hoping that I would learn more about some of the effective teaching strategies that helped him become named Teacher of the Year. What I didn't realize, however, that Mr. Abud has transitioned from the classroom to more of an administrative and consulting role in his school district. 

     While I appreciated the use of technology for his presentation (has was able to create surveys that the audience could respond to using laptops and mobile devices), I was a little disappointed. This presentation was not one that was not targeted for a beginning teacher or a teaching intern, but for teachers that had been in the system and were concerned about reforming the teacher evaluation process, which was not the best fit for someone like me, a novice. I had considered attending one that focused on special needs learning (Leveling the Special Needs Playing Field-Using BYOD to Build Student Capacity) or the use of Google Forms for Assessment, and probably should've chosen one of those sessions; the content was perhaps more appropriate for a beginning teacher.

     Another session that I attended focused on alternative education. I enjoyed that session because it focused on using non-traditional methods to teach students that have severe challenges to their learning. While I have not had an opportunity to teach in this setting, I have a daughter with special needs who has unique challenges to her learning. It as interesting to hear the perspectives of a teacher and an administrator who are committed to helping these students be successful in the classroom and beyond. It was a very engaging session for beginning teachers, teaching interns, and teaching professionals. 

     While the sessions that I attended did not meet my expectations, I did learn different methods of using technology in the classroom and beyond. I also enjoyed observing teachers using the Hands-On Space on the Bottom Level and utilizing the huge Jenga game. It was nice to see teachers having fun and networking. I enjoyed my time at this conference and look forward to attending next year. 

My 2 cents...about 2 cents worth (David Warlick)

     David Warlick is an edublogger whose most recent post was on our "civic duty." This post not only expressed his disappointment about not being to do more, but also referenced a very smart and funny show that I've watched on more than one occasion: Jeff Daniels' The Newsroom.  That alone was enough to intrigue me, but I also appreciated and share some of the same sentiments about that state of elections and voting in today's society.
     It seems, now more than ever, that the votes that count the most come not from people, but from checkbooks (or, more accurately, wallets); not from the average American citizen, but from millionaires, billionaires, and big corporations. Unfortunately, I can't compete with that, which is worrisome...doesn't that contradict everything for which our country used to stand? What happened to caring about the "poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free?" Or, as Mr. Warlick eloquently stated:
   
     "...this election was not about issues.

This election was about volume. ..and volume is $bought$ before the voting begins.

This election happened in dark rooms where checks were written, adding zero after zero, with the expectation that the writers would soon be legally freed from many of the consequences of acting to add many more zeros to their bank accounts."

    As discouraging as that sounds, I still believe (perhaps rather naively) that a person's voice and vote is important, and that the political process that we have, while severely broken, can be fixed (if enough of those voices speak and are heard). So I hope that in the next election, enough of them will speak out as opposed to stay silent.

Just like science, learning is messy!

     I really enjoyed reading the Learning is Messy! edublog post "Close Reading? Ok, how about Close Doing?" Student engagement is key to student learning, especially in science. STEM education, however, is notorious for having many opportunities for students to observe scientific phenomena, but not necessarily having activities where they are effectively describing and communicating what they observe. In other words, there is little emphasis on scientific literacy in STEM education, which puts students at a severe disadvantage.
    How can this trend be reversed? The blogger for this post expresses concern about traditional science field trips and other hands-on activities that students participate in, because there are very little opportunities for student learning to be enhanced by these "stand-alone" activities; rarely are connections made that improve learning. Students are not often encouraged to take notes or ask questions, and they also may not be given the opportunity to tie in their experiences on the field trips to units that they are studying in the classroom. Furthermore, technology is not effectively utilized to bridge this gap.
    I particularly liked and appreciated the blogger providing ways to address this issue. In particular, I appreciated the suggestion of having students not only take notes and ask questions, but also creating digital photos and video clips that they could use free sites, such as Flickr, to archive for future discussion and use. Computers, tablets, and/or cell phones could be used in the classroom to share this data and generate meaningful discussions and inquiry-based learning opportunities. This could help improve science field trips, activities, and student involvement in them.

Cell phones in the classroom? Are you sure, Dr. Kolb?

     I appreciated Dr. Kolb coming to speak to us about cell phones being used in the classroom for more than just opting out of discussions and engagement. The policy for cell phone usage at my field placement is changing-they are increasingly being utilized as a learning tool. In my mentor teacher's classroom, cell phones are used by students to make observations during laboratory experiments and to record/share data with other group members. Students that take Forensic Science as their elective are also able to use their devices to take pictures of staged crime scenes. Students at many other schools, however, are not as fortunate; I am aware of policies in other public schools that completely prohibit cell phone use. 

    While I understand and appreciate the policies of other schools, it seems as if continuing them may be very detrimental to student engagement and learning in the classroom. Cell phones are more accessible and affordable to students than other forms of technology, which can yield positive outcomes for school districts that are having challenges incorporating technology use into their budgets. In addition to assisting with funding issues, using cell phones for performing formative assessments of student learning is a time-saving measure. Assessments can be done in real time, and because students are already very familiar with how to use them, very little time is needed for training. Student responses for formative assessments also have the added advantage of allowing students to provide them anonymously, which can also increase student engagement. It takes away the fear of embarrassment that students may have of providing a wrong answer, and allows the teacher to determine where there may be any gaps in knowledge or misconceptions.    

     Another concern involving cell phone use in the classroom is the issue of equity. While cell phones can be costly and students of varying backgrounds and socioeconomic status may be unable to provide their own devices, school districts may be able to provide devices to these students due to the savings that they have when allowing those that do have access to use their own devices. While at one time I was somewhat skeptical of the educational benefit of cell phones in the classroom, my experiences at Thurston High School and with my own daughter have shown me how beneficial they can be for typically developing students and for those with special needs. Thank you Dr. Kolb for helping to enlighten us on the benefits of their educational classroom use.

David Theune's visit to EDUC 504

     The night that David Theune came to visit our class, I wasn't sure what to expect. While we have learned about many technological tools for our use as teachers, I still wasn't quite sure how I could effectively get my students to use it to enhance their learning. It's been difficult for me to keep the internet, blogging, and tech tools like Prezi to be distracting; how in the world could I expect my students to do a better job than me? Then Mr. Theune began to show us about the wonderful ways that he's been able to use technology not only to teach content in his classroom, but to build connections between his students and their communities.
     As important as it is for students to be knowledgeable of the academic content of school, it is equally as important for the school environment to provide a place for students to foster positive relationships with each other and with other members of their neighborhoods and those less fortunate. The community service projects that his "kids" have spent time, energy, and their intelligence working to develop have helped them become more compassionate and empathetic human beings. It reminded me that as teachers, it is important for us to be heavily invested in the socialization of our students.
     School is not a place for students to go to be filled with academic knowledge like swimming pools are filled with water; it is, in the spirit of Dewey, a place for them to learn how to be positive and productive members of society. We, as teachers, are charged with using the tools available to us to help make this happen. So I want to thank you Mr. Theune for reminding me that my job as a teacher is about more than just filling up empty vessels with academic content, and for showing me how technology can be used to do it.

Connections Across Disciplines: Photosynthesis meets Spongebob

Photosynthesis...Photosynthesis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqEDz2vfhpQ

carbon dioxide + water =light energy=> glucose + oxygen

6CO₂ + 6H₂O =light energy=> C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂

     For this post, I wanted to take some time to highlight a project of my classmates in the blue cohort that chose photosynthesis as a topic for their Connections Across Disciplines assignment for EDUC 504 (Teaching with Technology).  I can imagine that students will really enjoy the use of Spongebob Squarepants to grab their attention (I sure did) in teaching a concept as important as photosynthesis. My colleagues (Katie, Anthony, and Lourdes) who all  have STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines, were able to link their content areas together by using the process that plants use to convert light into food. This process involves chemical reactions that involve math, and are important in biology...what a perfect fit!
    The image of the popular cartoon character Spongebob acting in the same way that a plant releases oxygen is memorable and accurate.  It is also quite simple, which I think makes it brilliant. This could be used with students to create a fun learning environment. It was quite easy for me to find the link to  a YouTube clip using my computer. Students or teachers can easily access these images from the internet using their own devices (computer, cell phone, tablet) and incorporate them into notes or powerpoint presentations.
     There are also many internet resources and websites devoted to explaining photosynthesis, which provide plenty of support for both students trying to learn the material as well as teachers trying to develop lesson plans. This material could be a good way to introduce a laboratory experiment as well;  there are many biology lab experiments that can involve plant growth and development. Connecting an image like Spongebob that is so easily recognizable to a process as abstract as photosynthesis is a great way to make science and math real and relatable to students.