Post from Deb 10-18-2007

Hey guys,

I don’t know how valuable my two cents will be since I am not currently in the classroom, but I’m coming up against some of these issues as I finalize a long-term inquiry module that I am working on. I keep thinking about that video that Todd gave us to watch from Dr. Bain. One part keeps playing over and over in my mind when a student walked up to Dr. Bain after what Dr. Bain thought was a great lecture and asked, “Who cares?” How do I get my students to care? I am really struggling in my History 3220 class right now because I don’t see any relevance to my life in what I am studying about the Middle Ages. I keep trying to make connections to me now but that is not what is valued during the lecture. There are so many things I want to say, but I get the feeling that is not what I am there for; I am there to shut up, take notes and feel very foolish about my ignorance. Although I am sure that is not the goal of the professor, that’s how I feel. I wonder how many times during my clinical teaching experiences my students got the same impression from me; shut up, sit down and learn, and oh yeah, you have to learn it my way. I think the most important thing I can do is give my students a safe environment in which to question and then show how valuable their questions are. I saw this really cool activity at NSTA last year where the teacher had students on a worksheet answer some basic questions about a topic that was considered a common misconception, then we exchanged papers without knowing who had answered the questions. We got to see how others were thinking about the topic without putting our egos on the line and it generated a lot of discussion without putting anyone on the spot.


Another thing I would like to try in the classroom is the test procedure I learned about also at NSTA. Give the students an exam, record their scores, then let them take it again in a group setting where they get to discuss answers within a peer group (similar to how scientists actually problem solve), justifying any changes made and any change in thought. Again, I think it would provide a buffer to the ego that then allows students to pursue wonder without fear; fear of not feeling like s/he can be successful because of low test scores. If you think about it, school and the DMV are about the only places that require tests for progression (and with all the questionable drivers on the roads these days, I’m not sure how effective the DMV is at testing). Yet we are being tested everyday; how effective am I as a mother, can I communicate my concerns about city council issues, could I have handled that spat with my husband better, how can I reduce our family’s cost so we can take that vacation to Hawaii next year, etc.
etc. etc. It’s just that those kinds of test don’t come with a letter grade and thus not as much pressure to perform at a certain level determined by someone else. With the above testing method, I wonder if the students would be able to work together to solve the problems, thus learning from each other and simulating a real world experience. Just some thoughts.

Response to James and Additional Ideas and Questions

James,

I think your ability and willingness to look at this data and to think about how to improve indicates qualities of a concerned and effective teacher. I think we are sometimes surprised with what we find when we dig a little deeper into what we are curious about, I know I am with my own teaching. I think my experiences at the charter schools have in some ways mirrored what you describe in your post. In my first week last year with the Native American students I assigned take home assignments whereby they would interview community and family members to investigate their community’s views on science. I had visions of us synthesizing the results of the community survey and comparing it to tenets of the nature of science to see whether or not the views aligned. I saw it as a way to initiate discussion about the Nature of Science early in the school year and to set the stage for continually focusing on NOS throughout the remainder of the year. I was disappointed when none of the students returned any of the surveys. I extended the deadlines and made sure to explain what ideas I had for using the surveys, but still received none. Finally after a month of extending deadlines, I had the students interview two people each in the school during class time. This experience and many others since have led me to minimize the work that is assigned outside of class for these students. I hope this isn’t lower the bar too low. I want these students to succeed and want to hold them accountable; in my own experience I have been better able to do this if I plan to have them complete their assignments/activities in the classroom. For me, this doesn’t completely violate my philosophy of teaching in that the assignments I want them to do at home are not ones that would have them completing drill and practice problems, but would be ones that support where we are going in the classroom. In methods classes, I have found that I can expect much much more outside of class, but with these students this is not the case or at least has not been in the way that I have approached it. I don’t see this as giving in, but as putting them into the position so that they can succeed. I continually give them feedback on the work they do in class (if I don’t, they won’t do it either) and from time to time they test me by trying to just do something even if it is unrelated to the assignment to see if I am paying attention. I continue to pull the cart up the hill with these students but every so often I am elated with their response. I see success with these students as the ultimate victory, not because I think any less of their abilities, but probably more because I see the disconnect between my ideas of schooling and a culture that is not aligned with my vision (which may/is jaded by my whiteness and mainstream experiences). I don’t know if the idea of limiting assignments to the classroom is the right answer and I would certainly say it isn’t for all groups, but for this one I am pleased that it at least keeps me from having to fail them and slam the door before they every come in to learn. I would love to hear others thoughts about this and what you might do/try differently.

Post from James on 10-16-2007

I gave a multiple choice test today and the results were somewhat pathetic. The test wasn’t much different in format than the CRT that they will take at the end of the year, on which my teaching will be evaluated. I’m not sure what else I can do when so many students do not value their education and take it seriously.

I ran through my records to analyze a little bit what is going on. About 37% of my students are not passing – that is up from last year, but still pathetic I think. Many of them miss a lot of days and make no effort at all to make the work up. I am here every day after school but could count on two hands the number of students that have taken advantage of my willingness to help them. No matter how hard I try I cannot get the Native American students interested enough to put forth even a minimal effort. Of those not passing, 43% are Native American. Out of all of my students with origin other than Caucasian, only about 21% are passing – and only one of these is a full blood Native American. The ones that are passing for the most part include other nationalities such as Tongan or Mexican. Any ideas from anyone would be appreciated. Thanks - James

Post from Tom on 10-18-2007

• I am feeling a lot of what James is. My science classes seem to be well engaged but when I test the algebra classes the average is down in the forties and fifties. I honestly don't know what to tell you, with my algebra class we simply reworked the problems and retook the tests. This process went on for over two weeks but we did finally get the class average around 75 percent. Same as James, some students just seem to be extremely different to motivate. On the other end of the spectrum, I wanted to share a great experience from physics. We were going over a practice test the students had done on UTIPs and the entire class got it wrong. I could tell by the way they were acting that they were not going to accept the correct answer just because I said it was right. The question was asking a problem about elevators so I promptly invited them all across town to the district office to take a ride in the elevator. The kids loved it, I had one of them get a set of bathroom scales from their home on the way down and we went up and down over and over (with the superintendent's office just out side mind

you) until the light bulb had clicked on for all the students. We spent 45 min. on one problem, perhaps a waist of time but to have the kids talking about what they had actually observed was worth it.

Tom's Thoughts about Floating Physics

As Todd has said last night we had a physics night and got together to float boats that the students had made. We are going over forces and while we were talking about the different kinds of forces I brought up boyancy force.
I actually don't think this is in the core but saw it as a chance to apply our book studies to the real world and to have some fun. The students had to calculate the amount of water they would need to displace to float while they designed it. I was quite pleased with the way it turned out. While talking to students and people in the comunity you could tell it was being talked about, and quite a few spectators showed up simply to watch. I also believe it can help get people exited about physics class, I have had all kinds of students asking if I am doing the same sort of things next year.

Dr. Bain video

Wow, I just finished watching the Dr. Bain video that Todd sent the link for. It has really changed my own paradigm about what and why I am teaching. It has made me think that maybe there is a way to teach balancing equations in Chemistry in a meaningful way. Thanks for the link Todd.

Physics in the Pool

I was able to stop by the pool last night after class to observe Tom's students as they tried to float the boats they created. My understanding was that they were studying buoyancy and where asked to use what they learned to create a boat that would float. What I can say from my observation was that students where into what they were doing. I witnessed Tom in an environment with his students where they were doing something creative and novel and really enjoying themselves. My own experiences like these with students taught me that bonds, trust, and relationships were often born or strengthened when I went out of my way like this to make learning meaningful and to engage students beyond the boundaries of the classroom walls.

Post From James 10-4-2007

Todd, I am happy to hear of the successes Tom is having. I have also found it extremely difficult to engage all of my students and I think that this is a difficulty for all teachers; especially new teachers like us, but also for seasoned teachers. Unfortunately some students have no desire to learn and their attitude is so bad that you keep trying, but see little success. The interesting thing about it is that when the year is over some of these kids like me the best so maybe it was frustrating at the time, but it really did mean something in the end.

During my first hour on B day I have a couple of students who I am constantly just trying to keep awake, I am convinced that one is into drugs and the other I’m not sure, but he says that he is working late at night. I have some others that no matter what I do I can’t get them to do anything, even the activities that are very stimulating for the majority of students. I struggle a lot with some classes because I have a few students who could get through college classes right now and a lot who are resource students. My department head told me yesterday that 1/3 of all of the students that I get are at a 6^th or 7^th grade reading level – and from experience I can also say that many are math deficient. In my A3 class I have so many resource and study skills students – and others who don’t know how or want to work – that it is difficult to keep the class engaged when some students can finish in 20 minutes and many others it takes an hour. My best solution is to pair up the resource kids as much as I can with the really sharp ones and vigilantly try to have them tutor those that struggle when I can’t tutor them. Sometimes it works really well if you can find the right combinations of kids, other times the tutoring doesn’t help much.

Later, James

Observation of Tom's Class

All-I was able to observe Tom today (10-3-2007). I was excited about what I saw and wanted to share a summary of this observation with all, first because I am very excited about what Tom is doing and second to allow you to offer him insight or suggestions if you have any after reading about what he did. The following is the summary I wrote to his principal:

When I observed Tom’s class today, the objective of the class was to have students identify factors that impact the period of a pendulum. Tom allowed students to investigate this by having them in the gym where he had a bowling ball hanging from the ceiling. He initially had students discuss what they thought impacted the period and then had the whole class testing out the ideas that they had with the pendulum. I though this was an excellent opportunity to allow students to build their own understanding of periods of pendulums. When students asked Tom if there ideas was “right” he continually had them check their ideas again to convince themselves. I observed students engaged in critical discussion of about their own ideas (whether the weight of the bowling ball or the length of the string mattered). In the end I observed two students who had developed an equation to describe the pendulum period. These students, after developing the equation, went about testing it. When the class went back to the classroom, a few students dug into their books to check to see if their ideas were comparable to what was in the text. One student was jumping up and down saying “we got it”. Tom then discussed the students’ findings with them until the class ended.

The things we discussed, which Tom shared before the observation was a concern for engaging all students. I noticed and Tom brought this up in our discussion after the observation, that there were times in the class when not all students were engaged. We discussed ways to make sure that all students are involved such as having students work in groups to develop ideas and ways to test them, sharing them with him before trying the ideas, and having groups present their findings at the end. We also discussed assessments such as rubrics that could be used to assess the students (perhaps also thinking of having them use the rubric to assess themselves). In the end, I was excited to see what Tom is doing with the students and do think that the instruction I observed today was aligned with the National Science Education Standards and not only got at the standards of the Utah Core Curriculum, but perhaps as critical got at the following Core ILO’s:

• Use science process and thinking skills.
• Manifest science interests and attitudes.
• Understand important science concepts and principles.
• Communicate effectively using science language and reasoning.
• Understand the nature of science.

I am pleased with what I observed today and with our identification of areas that he can continue to work on (keeping all students engaged and developing assessments that align with his instruction and objectives for students). I just wanted to provide both of you with this update and reflections from my observations and to remind you to contact me at anytime for whatever you see might be needed to continually support Tom. I am appreciative of the leadership you are providing for Tom as well as your empowering him to enact instruction in the way that he believes will lead to students learning.