End of course reflection

This course has taught me to really reflect on my teaching practice and to be more intentional as I develop instructional plans and strategies.  Necessary reminders to state the objective and break down the desired outcomes into achievable goals as a part of best practices have actually been a highlight of the course. Yes it takes more time, but the pre-planning and constant formative evaluations really help me to redesign along the way and become a better teacher as a result.

Extras from week 14

More reflections on summative assessments and in particular end-of-course exams in South Carolina for our discussion board this week...

I have two high-schoolers and I asked them if they felt EOCs were an accurate representation of what they had learned or were expected to learn throughout the semester.  This is what they said.

• The questions are unbalanced - not evenly distributed (i.e. 20% of the test comes from a single chapter.)
• The curriculum is too broad and their teachers do not have time to cover everything.
• There is unfamiliar content on the test (possibly because of the reasons above.)
• They test too early.
• Why do they have to take a final exam for the class when they took an EOC two or three weeks before?

Based on their responses, I would say that the EOC system does not work well; however, as a parent my view is that it is a necessary component.  Teachers should be evaluated.  Students should be evaluated.  I'm afraid that even as an educator, I do have not viable solution or replacement for summative evaluations.

Extras from week 12

Last week we were asked about instructional plans and materials we've used.  I am a huge fan of problem-based learning and love Dr. Shelagh Gallagher's work with gifted learners.  I had the opportunity to attend an educator conference sponsored by the Duke TIP program several summers ago.  I attended two of her sessions - one on problem-based learning and one on effective questioning.  Both were excellent!  I purchased her middle level problem-based learning units and have tried (unsuccessfully) to get my teachers to use them.  I think that I am finally going to get an opportunity to facilitate one of her units at the end of the school year (after state testing has completed.)  I am so excited and can't wait to share that experience.

Extras from week 10

Our discussion board this week - “Research since the early 1980’s confirms that the choice of media for delivering instruction does not make a difference in how much students learn or in their attitudes about what they are learning; rather, it is the design of the instructional experience- the instructional strategy- that makes the difference.” (Chapter 9)

I agree whole-heartedly.  The same multi-media presentation can be shown by two different teachers and there will be two different results.  The content might have been delivered in the same way, but it is the teacher's use of effective instructional strategies that engage the learner and progresses the learning.  The same is true of our students.  We know that they do not all learn the same way, yet somehow there is a perception that there is a one-size fits all prescription for teaching.

Dick, W., Carey, L. & Carey, J., (2015).  The systematic design of instruction.  (8^th ed.).  New

     York:  Pearson.

Extras from week 9

Planning the learning components of an instructional strategy...  This was a good week.  The preinstructional learning activities part of this made me really reflect on posting objectives.  I'll be honest and say that I used to think of this step as a necessary component only because it was required of me as a student and by my first principal.  My second principal is much more laid back.  As a result, I became a little slack and stopped posting objectives (and corresponding standards.)  My lessons are fun and engaging but only after really studying this chapter of our text did I realize that I was doing my students a disservice.  I want them to be able to evaluate our lesson (and particularly my instruction.)  Their feedback is important to me.  They can't do that if they don't know what their expected outcomes are in the first place.  Eye-opening moment for the teacher!

Extras from week 8

I'm playing a little bit of catch up.  I may have taken a few extra days of fall break! 

In reading our text and delving into criterion-referenced assessments, my mind wanders to the state of public education in our state - an antiquated system that seems unwilling to change, a seemingly impossible feat, but also no simple solution or model to change to!  It's easy to complain about standardized testing.  It's easy to complain about teachers being evaluated based on the results of standardized testing.  Most agree that change is needed.  Almost none agree on what those changes should be.  The truth is teachers should be evaluated on their performance.  I feel sorry for teachers who complain about teacher salaries.  You didn't decide to become a teacher to become rich, but like so many, you feel entitled to a raise, but why? In the real world, people don't receive a raise every year.  (Teachers say they don't because the payscale doesn't change every year, but the truth is the payscale adjusts based on years of experience and education received, so teachers receive more pay this year than they did last year, and will receive more next year than they did this year.)  Everywhere else but in education, that's called a raise.  Do quality teachers deserve a higher salary?  Probably.  Does every teacher?  Definitely not.  I don't know what the right answer is.  I am very intrigued by self organized learning environments, but find it hard to imagine a South Carolina where this education model would exist.  Fewer teachers but with higher salaries and a decreased need for brick and mortar schools would certainly save tax dollars over time.  Enough for now - I've expressed some very unpopular opinions and probably should have done so anonymously!

Extras from chapter readings (week 6)

So this week, I should be focusing on performance objectives but my mind wanders to performance tasks.  I love ill-structured problems, or rather I love watching my students solve ill-structured problems.  I am a huge fan of Shelagh Gallagher's work with gifted children and especially her problem-based learning units.  My teachers complain that there is simply not enough time in the school year to implement units like hers because they are in a time crunch as it is to cover content before state standardized testing begins.  My district paid for DefinedStem.com which is a great resource for smaller, content-centered PBL performance tasks.  It is great!  Unfortunately, not enough teachers used it last year and they discontinued the subscription.  I am frustrated that teachers will not try new things and that administrators jump into a new model without preparation or adequate staff training and then discontinue when they don't see results - results that they shouldn't even expect to see without providing a little extra support or incentive.  Everyone agrees that we need to focus on critical thinking skills but everyone continues to teach to the tests.

Extras from Discussion 5 (week 5)

Two trains of thought colliding within me this week after reviewing the week 5 discussion board:

1) Advancing students too early?  I wonder if this will run its course in just a year or two.  It will be about that amount of time before our first cohort class are juniors in high school, realizing that they have all of the credits needed to graduate.  Why should they stay for a senior year?  What will the school district think of this mass exodus?  Will we then go back to being more discriminating in our selection process for honors and advanced placement classes?

2) Using test scores as a predictor for future test scores?  Our students have taken MAP two or three times a year for so long, that I fear that they don't really take it seriously.  As a whole, I think they are just rushing through the test.  While I don't want any of my students to suffer from test anxiety, I do wish I could see more effort.  BUT, this leads me to question - Are we over-testing our students?

Extra from chapter readings (week 3)

Instructional Goal Analysis
I guess I appreciate a good assessment.  The interesting pick of the week for me from this week's required readings was the rubric for evaluating a goal analysis.  I will be using this tool to examine my instructional goals in future instructional design and lesson planning.

Extras from chapter readings (week 2)

Desired status minus actual status equals need.
I love this simplified explanation of needs assessment from our powerpoint and text this week.