Methods II Blog

 This article highlights the importance of backwards design.  Many teachers begin writing lessons and circular based on textbooks and other things when they should really be focusing on the end result desired.    First, decided what the results should be.  Thinking about what you want students to get out of the lesson first can help when writing the lesson.  Next decided how they students are going to achieve the desired results and plan the lesson around that.  I think this is a great way to approach lesson planning and writing curriculum.  It seems very reasonable to write the lesson around the end result desired that way, everything in the lesson has a purpose.   

  1. Who decides what it taught in the science classes?  Is there a process?  If so, please describe it.  Analyze a lesson from your cooperating teacher that you’ve been doing in class.  Does it contain  all of  the components of a lesson plan as we discussed in class?  Where does the lesson plan originate from?  Does the instructor have freedom to create their own lessons.  If so, how do they go about it? (Next Weeks Blog Post)  In my  practicum experience, it seems like there is a ciruculum that they used in the past, but have since strayed away from that.  My teacher co teaches with another teacher.  They lesson plan together so they stay on the same schedule.  There is also another teacher in 8th grade that does not plan with them.  There is also a supervisor that overlooks the lesson plans but she does not dictate what the lesson plans are. ...

 What makes a good lesson plan?  The purpose of learning.  What are students going to get out of the lesson and what should their main takeaways be.  create space for student thinking and discussion. let students explore the lesson in their own way and in a way that makes sense to them.   Push students to do their best.  Get them outside of their comfort zone.  Let the students reflect on the lesson and what their takeaways are.   have some sort of check to see to make sure students understand what their task is and what their understanding is  Create a realistic timeline for the lesson.  Let yourself reflect on the lesson.  what went well, what could be changed for the future.   Maintain positive learning environment.   Build on prior knowledge.   Maintain student attention.   http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education-update/oct11/vol53/num10/How-To-Plan-Effective-Lessons.aspx   https://crlt.um...

Shifting from Activitymania   I thought this article summed up my education here at Iowa wants for me.  My whole academic life, I have participated in activitymania.  Most of my science class were structured in a way where the teacher let us go in small groups to complete a worksheet.  I can say that I have retained very little science material from high school.  Going forward in my own classroom, I want to follow inquiry based learning.  This article highlights the key benefits of inquiry learning compared to activities.  In the long run, inquiry based learning better prepares students with skill they can use in college and careers.  Coupled Inquiry Cycle This article does a good job at detailing 'what is inquiry learning". Activitymania does a good job and introducing inquiry learning, but this does a good job at explaining inquiry learning.  It highlights the different stages of inquiry learning which was, for me, clarifying.  I reall...

A.  To answer these questions, think about whether the performance expectations are clear and specific enough for a classroom teacher to understand the outcome expected and assess whether a student has met the outcomes specified. Base your answer on all of the information provided, including the stem, performance expectations, and foundation boxes.   MS-PS2-3. Ask questions about data to determine  the factors   that affect   the strength of electric and magnetic forces.   • Do you have clear idea of what students must know and be able to do? Support your answer.   I would  expect  my students to craft questions that  relate to how and why magnets works.  They should be able to run an investigation to answer how magnets work.  Working with different material would enable to students to see what causes the strength of a magnet to change.     • How open to interpretation are the performance expectations? Expla...

On your own  please answer these questions (IN CLASS): What are some “real life” applications of magnetism? refrigerator   magnetic earing    construction/junk yards       etchasketch What experience have you had with magnets in your life?  on   my   fridge   the use of magnetic earing     pick   up   nails   from construction site   What ideas do you have about the science of magnets?  poles   of   the   magnet   (positive and negative ends)     different   strengths of metals, opposites attract  Carry out the investigation: What did you find?  Iron is the only material to make the paperclip stick to the magnet  What did you explore and what did you learn?  we explored the science behind how and why magnets work.  I am not super familiar with the science of magnets, but I learned that only 3 me...