Assessing Assingments

Formative versus summative. Summative are the more "popular" method of assessment; they give you a specific letter grade based on how many questions you got "right" and "wrong". Possibly the most common type of summative assessment is multiple choice tests. I made a summative assessment to go along with the lesson plan I made a few weeks back on dimensional analysis. I used Google Forms to create this quiz. Feel free to take it!

Formative assessment makes it harder to assign a letter grade at the end of the class. Formative assessments measure where students are in their learning, what they understand and what they don't. They can be used to guide the teacher as to what topics need to be discussed farther and what is sufficiently learned. I made a Google Site to create a class website where students could submit their own ideas for test questions. Add your own ideas!

Screenr

A screenr is a video recording of your computer screen as well as an audio recording. I made a screenr to explain how to use GoogleSites to make a science class webpage and how to manually organize the sidebar.

Science Associations

Professional organizations have become an important part of teaching. They connect teachers in the same subject area together at the state, regional, or even national level.

In my research of professional organizations, I found three that I would highly consider joining: NSTA, NAS, and WSTA.
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) operates on the national level. For students, it costs $34 per year and this price includes one journal subscription. (NSTA publishes multiple journals for each level of science teaching.) They also provide both area and national conferences.
Nebraska Academy of Science (NAS) is exclusively for science teachers in the state of Nebraska. Student membership is $10 per year and allows you access to their newsletter and quarterly conference.
Washington Science Teachers Association (WSTA) costs students $15 per year and is intended to connect Washington state science teachers together. The publish their own journal as well as holding a yearly conference.

Joke of the Week: Einstein Teaches

Digital Divide 2.0

The digital divide is something that has been plaguing and concerning the education community for some time now. The growing gap between people with access to computers and people without has no diminished as technology has become cheaper and a force found everywhere. The new problem, coined as "The Digital Divide 2.0", is the gap between people with home internet access and people without it.

Most schools these days provide computers with internet access for students to use as classroom resources. Even schools with low SES get grants and donated computers. And teachers are called on more and more to make technology apart of their classroom. They are supposed to find new and inventive ways to incorporate social media into lesson plans to keep students interested. But teachers can help lessen the hurt of the Digital Divide 2.0 by keeping assignments the require the internet to the classroom and not at home. If a homework assignment will require internet access, be sure to have time before and after school as well as during lunch that students can come into your classroom and work on the school computers.

My First Lesson Plan

With a fellow Secondary Education- Natural Science Major, I made a lesson plan that I hope to use in the future. It is for teaching unit conversions (English to SI as well as within the metric system) and basic dimensional analysis. The lesson plan we created is actually three different ways to teach the same lesson: the first is for a classroom where each student has their own computer to use, the second is for a classroom of 25 students and five computers, and the third is for a classroom in which the only computer is the teachers. I hope that you find it useful (and one day I will be able to use it!), if you have any comments please let me know. I can use any and all help in this point of my career.

Joke of the Week: Ferrous Wheel

Fe -- Fe

/                \

Fe                 Fe

\                /

Fe -- Fe

Taxonomy of Learning

I recently learned about Benjamin Bloom's system of classifying different stages of learning for the student. There are six levels: Remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating. Mind mapping is a way to get ideas based around one central them out in an organized, pictorial way. Many students use mind maps to signify different stages of Bloom's Taxonomy.

For example, as an Instructional Technology student I could use Bloom's Taxonomy to classify at what stage I am. The blogs that I write after class every week are a way to analyze what I have learned. And if I were to look back at these blogs in a year or two, It would help me remember the information I covered in class. I also apply my understanding by creating things like UDL books, Glogsters, and Mind Maps.

This week I created a Mind Map that uses Bloom's Taxonomy to teach Stoichiometry (the units method) to high school chemistry students. I hope to use this mind map to make a lesson plan that will help me one day in the classroom.

Digital Citizenship for the Digital Student

The four topics above are what I perceive as the most important components of digital citizenship in a classroom. A big part of any class is researching. Whether doing assigned research for a project or trying to find more information on a topic being studied in class, students need to be able to evaluate the sites they are using. Digital communication, digital law, digital etiquette, and digital literacy are key aspects in evaluating websites. I will explain these components to my students and how they can use the questions on each index card to help them decide if a site is appropriate or not.

For parents concerned about internet use in the classroom, I will refer them to the school's handbook on policies and procedure as well as to the IT department. This will allow parents to fully understand what their child is, and is not, allowed to do on school computers and internet. For parents concerned with internet use outside of the classroom, I will suggest that they talk to their kids about their own expectations and make sure the children understand exactly what is appropriate behavior for themselves and other users on the web.

Cyber bullying is becoming more and more of problem. It is important for students to know what exactly cyber bullying is so they know it is not appropriate to treat people in that fashion nor is it ok if someone treats you in that fashion. Knowledge is the biggest way to prevent cyber bullying as well as access to sites like The Big Help or Stop Bullying. If cyber bullying is brought to my attention, I will make sure to deal with it consistently and immediately so students know that it is not acceptable.

Joke of the Week: Partial Credit

Joke of the Week: Out of this World

After eating his first meal on the moon, the astronaut reported, "The food was good, but the place lacked atmosphere".

Universal Design for Learning

To read my very own UDL book, go to Book Builder and click on "Public Library Books". Then type "Topics in Physiology: Vision" into the search terms and click "Search". A link to my book will appear, simply click on "Read" to access the book. To the right is a picture of the cover that should appear. I hope you enjoy it, please leave me any feedback so I can improve on my next UDL book!

Topics in Physiology: Vision qualifies as an UDL book because it is designed to be functional and beneficial for different learning styles and needs. It is interactive (there is a quiz and you can click on words to bring up definition) and uses multimedia. Students can learn the information on each slide by listening to it, reading it, or looking at a picture. Having three ways to delivery the same information re-enforces the ideas in the student's mind and allows them to chose the method they are most comfortable with.

Joke of the Week: Chemistry Cat

Social Media for a Social Age

This table gives some descriptions of popular social networking sites and how they can be used in a classroom setting. Using sites like Twitter or Pinterest, which are already popular with high school students, is an easy way to get them interested and engaged in the task at hand. However, teachers need to be very careful when deciding what sites to use.

There are many social networking sites that I do not think are appropriate for classroom use. Among these are Facebook, Reddit, Tumblr, and StumbleUpon. These sites contain so much controversial and/or inappropriate material that it is a liability to use them in a professional setting.

The Good and The Bad of The Web

How do you decide what to use as a source for yourself or for your classroom? You need to analyze the sites and articles that you are considering by using these "clues" to bring you to a "conclusion" of good or bad. I recently found many instructional simulations to aid in the learning of astronomy, biology, chemistry, and physics concepts. I found these on Merlot, a site just for educators that helps assure the information you putting out into your classrooms is peer reviewed. Whether you decide to use this site or another, all teachers need to be very careful and precise in making sure the information they choose to give to their students is appropriate and accurate.

Science for Science Teachers

I am, above all, here to become a high school science teacher. I am doing this because I have a passion for science. I think that the best way to describe how I feel when I learn a new concept is giddy. I make jokes that no one else gets (I'm as paw-sitive as a cat-ion) and answer rhetorical questions (you actually need to go to the bathroom more because caffeine suppresses the amount of antidiuretic hormone you produce). I love science, and I hope that everyone going into my field also feels the same way.


However, Michael Ruse's article leads me to believe otherwise, and I find that scary. He begins by describing a high school biology teacher's testimonial against a Bill that would force Arkansas teachers to read the book of Genesis to their students. The teacher said, "I’m not a scientist. I’m a science educator. I love science, I really do. And I love my students. My job is to take the science and teach it to my students. I am not a leading researcher. I am an educator, and I have my pride and professional responsibilities." Ruse then goes on to say that in 2007 Florida hired 1,154 science teachers; of these 282 had science qualifications.


These new teachers are sent our into the world and charged with educating the future generations, but how can they do this without having the necessary education themselves? I love science, and I try to learn everything I can about it. I do this to further my own self, as well as being able to answer the questions my future students may have.

Joke Of The Week: Showing Your Steps

In The Wide World of Technology

I recently discovered a whole new plethora of technologies. While they initially may make your life harder, after using them for a week or so they can become second nature and add depth to the classroom.

A class website is key to teaching in the twenty-first century. It does not have to be fancy, but at least functional for your students to find information of on assignments, tests, and projects as well as due dates, grades, and outside resources. Using Google Sites you can easily create the perfect website that is suited to the needs of your class.

I plan on using social bookmarking in two ways for my class. First, can share with my students what I bookmarked and the notes that I associated with that site so they can get a peak into my brain. Second, I will have my students use Diigo or a similar site to highlight and sticky note the sites they are researching while at school so they can go home and continue their research without having to waste any paper or backtracking time.

The more technologies that become prevalent in our society, the more teachers have to work to find ways to incorporate these new techniques in the classroom. I hope that I can successfully do this for my classroom, in the mean time I will keep trying to master the newest ways to use the world wide web.

Interested in Making Your Own Instructional Video?

In an early post I described what I would do differently for the instructional video I had done, but it occurred to me that you might want to make your own. So I played around with some more technology and made a Prezi with a step by step guide to making your own instructional video. Enjoy and good luck!

Joke of the Week: Quotes from Confucius

Confucius once said, "When you breathe, you inspire, and when you do not breathe, you expire."

Incorporating Instructional Videos

I recently made a video of science projects you can do at home in your kitchen, with full explanations of how to do the experiments and what the science concepts behind them are. If you are have a rainy afternoon, I suggest watching it and trying some of the experiments out!

After reviewing a project, ideas of how to improve it always come to mind. In this case, I would have done the video clips in an overdramatic silent video style using big gestures and a lab coat/goggles. Then, I would have done all of the explanations with voice overs. I think that this would make the video more entertaining to watch, which I believe is an important factor in getting a classroom to pay attention to their teacher.

I think that it would be beneficial to my students if I made a video of how to do a lab before they actually do it. This would help assure accuracy and make sure they had an idea of what they should be doing in lab. Having students view a short how to video before they start the lab will also make them focus on the safety rules associated with chemicals they will be handling, and this will improve the environment for everyone in the class.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

There has been lots of talk in the media lately about copyright laws. Copyright is something that everyone needs to have a full understanding of so they know if and when they could be doing something against the law. But "copyright" is no longer the only player in the game, fair use and creative commons are also policies to be considered.

As a future teacher, there are two big ways that copyright laws will effect me. First, I need to be aware of what I am presenting in my classroom, and how I am representing the source. If I were to show an educational video, lets say Bill Nye the Science Guy, from a DVD that I bought with departmental or personal funds I would be in the clear! But, if I were to pull up a clip from YouTube of Bill Nye doing an experiment and show that to my class, I would be breaking copyright laws. The second way I will be encountering copyright laws is with student plagiarism. It is important for students to know what exactly plagiarism is and the consequences of it so they do not break any copyright laws.

Fair use says that I, as a teacher for a recognized nonprofit educational institute, may use portions copyrighted material in the course of my lessons (even those on a class website) without permission or paying a fee. This means that I can make numerous copies of a worksheet out of a book to give to students to work on, or I can play "The Element Song" for my chemistry class.

Because this all wasn't complicated enough, they decided to add a third element. Creative Commons is similar to copyright in that you are still the owner of what you make, but it gives you the ability to share your product with others in the way that you want to. If I was to use a creative commons poem about ecosystems in the rainforest to share with my class I would have to attribute it, give credit where credit is due. Depending on the author of the work, I may have to follow some other rules.

Joke of the Week: Elementary Physics, My Dear Watson

Question: What is the name of the first electricity detective?
Answer: Sherlock Ohms

Joke of the Week: Love in Lab

A small piece of sodium that lived in a test tube fell in love with a bunsen burner. "Oh Bunsen, my flame," the sodium pined, "I melt whenever I see you." The bunsen burner replied, "Its just a phase you're going through."

Thoughts On Collaborative Learning

Collaborative learning is considered to be one of the best tools a teacher has in his/her arsenal. It is common knowledge that students, or just people in general, tend to do better when they are explaining or teacher a subject instead of just reading about it in a book. Collaborative learning allows students to work together in a way that every member of the group will be doing both teaching and learning. This re-enforces the concepts and usually sheds new light on the subject matter. Collaborative learning can help reach the peak of a "slow hunch", but instead of an award winning idea at the end of that hunch the result is mastery of a certain content area.

In a science classroom teachers tend to utilize informal and formal learning groups, and since science tends not be the easiest subject students utilize outside study groups. To facilitate an informal learning group I could ask my chemistry students to get together in a group of five and make a list of all the terms and concepts they can think of that apply to the scientific method. Then I would have them define and connect the ideas together.

This article describes how a Harvard physics professor is changing his intro physics course from a lecture based class to a class based on collaborative learning.

The Start Up

Hello everyone! My name is Sasha and I am currently studying at a major university to become a high school science teacher. I would like to teach either chemistry or biology, but I will also be certified in physics and general science when I graduate. I am new to blogging but I hope that you can enjoy this blog and maybe even laugh at my (very nerdy) science jokes!