Group items tagged

One of the instructional gaps I noticed during data analysis, Is a limited amount of re-teaching opportunities that are available to students after a concept is initially taught. When I was a classroom teacher, one of the strategies I used to re-teach was to assign video-based homework assignments that would "walk" students through the concepts that I taught on a given day. I would often attach the video to a Google Form and ask a few multiple-choice or open-ended questions that would allow me to gauge the students' understanding while allowing me collect data.

Implementation Meeting 3 - Chris, Noelle, Elijah, and Angela Citation: Wilson, D. & Conyers, M. (2015, February 12). Put Working Memory to Work in Learning | Edutopia. Retrieved March 21, 2018, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/put-working-memory-to-work-donna-wilson-marcus-conyers This article focuses on activating and using the "working memory" of learners. Working Memory, as defined in this context, "...is what you can do with what you know." The authors provide several instructional strategies that encourage teachers to move away rote memorization instruction and move toward active use of knowledge. The strategies range in simplicity from repeating information to researching and peer-teaching. All of the working teachers within our group are seeking to improve student performance on testing, which in general, is more problem-solving based. In some of our data discussions, we have talked about students knowing material, not being able to identify and apply the information to complete certain tasks.

Week 9: Melissa and Claire This journal article is accessible thought the link given above by accessing the UMUC library This article was about how a randomized experimental design was used to examine the effects of a digital formative assessment tool on mathematics achievement and motivation in the classroom. Experimental schools used a digital formative assessment tool while control schools used their regular teaching methods and materials. The data used included standardized achievements pre-posttest data, student motivation survey data, classroom data observation data, and student log files. The results of the tests revealed positive effects on student achievement and motivation. The digital formative assessment tool positively impacted achievement and motivation. It also helped teachers to differentiate instruction. The more the students used the digital tool the higher their achievement and motivation for mathematics improved. Reference: The effects of a digital formative assessment tool on mathematics achievement and student motivation: Results of a randomized experiment By: Janke M Faber, Hans Luyten, Adrie Visscher Doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2016.12.001

Group 9: Claire and Melissa This journal article is accessible thought the link given above by accessing the UMUC library Friedman and Garcia describe a qualitative study wherein they taught a lesson on the 9-11 attacks either through asking them to read transcribed oral history interviews or listen to them with an interactive iPad app called "Explore 9-11." The students who used the "Explore 9-11" app reported greater emotional engagement with the historical actors, leading one student to describe the app as depicting "people with real experiences." Students who used the app reported an overall positive experience of interacting with the various sources and greater historical empathy than students who did not use the app. Resources: "People with Real Experiences:" Using Mobile Devices in High School Social Studies Adam M Friedman & Emily R Garcia ISSN 1933-5415

Week 9: Claire and Melissa This article is accessible though Diigo using the link above This article provides instructional strategies for language arts teachers trying to teach writing to their students. While it is well-known that teaching by example is an effective strategy for writing instruction, this article provides steps for teaching students through mentor texts in a way that mitigates frustration and maintains engagement. Resource: 8 Tips for Teaching with Mentor Texts Edutopia

(Week 8: Maia and Shawntel) This article is accessible through the UMUC library. The focus of this article was to introduce and explain the importance of strategies that motivate and engage students when learning how to solve word problems in algebra classrooms. The author argues that students show more engagement in algebra word problems when they are guided through problems that have real-life problems. The article provided data based on a study where students were given similar problems to solve with real-life and fictional problems. The students trended a preference to the real-life problems while also scoring higher on real-life problems. The authors state, "given a set of word problems covering a variety of application areas, students prefer problems which either generates intrigue or problems to which they can easily relate" (Premadasa and Bhatia, pg 15, 2013). Our group choose this article because of the current situation for the implementation process. The practicing teacher was met with a lot of resistance when introducing the new tactic. This supports our notice and wonder questions that students are not engaged and positive when approaching algebra word problems. The attitude of students directly impacts comprehension of word-problems. Therefore, we used a planning protocol to re-adjust the types of problems that were presented to the students. The practicing teacher found instructional videos that had current and real-life scenarios. Although it is still early in the implementation process, the teacher did notice an attitude change among the students as the proceeded with the material. Premadasa, K., & Bhatia, K. (2013). Real Life Applications in Mathematics: What Do Students Prefer?. International Journal For The Scholarship Of Teaching And Learning, 7(2), http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=ef4d2731-303f-462b-ba77-64f1a21bc66e%40sessionmgr101

(Week 9: Shawntel & Maia) This journal article can be accessed through UMUC's library. The focus of the article was to investigate the impact of linguistics in the process of solving math word problems. The article describes as study analysis of the influence of the number of steps and operations as variables that need to be utilized by learners when solving math word problems. The study used a combination of math word problems where some had consistent language and some had inconsistent language. Both focus groups were given the same questions; however, one group the instructor focused on metacognitive strategies to assist with reading comprehension. The group who were taught metacognitive strategies highly outscored the other group. The study showed that effective teaching strategies require the inclusion of metacognitive and self-regulating processes. The article strongly argues that conceptual understanding in mathematics is highly interrelated with reading comprehension. The article discusses three main components of learning, which are cognition, metacognition, and motivation. In other words, reading comprehension equips students with the confident ability to connect previous concepts to current processes the resolve issues on their own. Our group focused on the understood definition of reading comprehension as obtaining the meaning of what has been read based on readers' previous knowledge or background information in order to continue. Therefore, reading comprehension is the most important factor to improving student success when developing strategies to solving math word problems. This article was used to support teacher strategies when facilitating group work. The students were placed in small, mixed groups to discuss the videos to solve a math word problems as suggested in the article. During their collaborative work, the teacher developed more specific metacognitive questions to focus on reading comprehension and not the math technique.

Week 9: Eli, Angela, Noelle and Chris This journal article is accessible given above through the UMUC library. The focus of this article discusses how observations can be used as an assessment tool for teachers when dealing with differentiation. The study specifically highlights differentiation in a high level G/T classroom and provides different observation tools that teachers can use to self assess. This article is useful to our team as although not all of us teach high level students, it made us think critically about the observation process of each of our schools. We realized the importance of observations when they are used correctly, where the observer gives constructive criticism in order to improve teaching strategies. Also the differentiation aspect of the article suggests proven strategies to use when contemplating differentiation, which are good examples for us who need more differentiation in our classes. References VanTassel-Baska, J. (2012). Analyzing Differentiation in the Classroom: Using the COS-R. Gifted Child Today, 35(1), 42-48. doi:10.1177/1076217511427431

This is a great read for our SMART goal. An assessment is a great way to figure out what the students know, what they want to know, and what interests them the most so we are able to improve and adjust our teaching.

Week 9 Melissa and Claire: This article is accessible using the link above though Diigo Well crafted formative and performance assessments which include setting meaningful goals, and giving students ownership over the process can powerfully and positively affect teaching and learning. The key to good instruction is assessments. Assessments show what students know, what they want to know, it allows us to adjust our instruction to cater to each student. There are 5 keys to an effective assessment: Meaningful unit goals and questions, summative assessment through writing, performance assessment through presentation and portfolio, formative assessment and feedback along the way, and student ownership of assessment process. These methods of assessments are to be done with the students putting a focus on the student and their learning. Resource: The 5 Keys to Successful Comprehensive Assessment in Action By: Andrew Miller

I am a special educator at RHHS in Howard County. As a special educator, I have been tasked with teaching Tutorial classes that were created to help students with disabilities receive service hours in various goal areas. Last year, was the first year that I attempted to implement SMART Goals into my classroom. Most students struggle to determine their personal SMART Goal and use it to help them focus on improving specific skills. This year, one of my midyear assignments required students to develop a SMART Goal for the following quarter. Students were asked to read and annotate an article, then discuss what they learned with their peers through a classroom discussion. We are now in Quarter 3 and some students have already achieved their SMART Goals from Q2. I found it interesting that part of this week's assignment was to find articles to help support our data analyzing from Venables by developing SMART Goals based on our macro and micro data. I have never thought of using a SMART Goal to improve my professional practices. I think that this could be a wonderful idea, however, I am nervous to develop a SMART Goal because I do not have control over many of the aspects in the classrooms that I support. For the purpose of this class, I will be creating a SMART Goal that I believe would benefit my students. I will share it with my co-teachers and see what they think. The resource that I provided gives examples of professional and student SMART Goals. I found that no only did students struggle to determine what a SMART Goal should measure, but I am facing that same difficulty. I wanted to provide my peers a reference of some achievable and specific SMART Goals that they could use as a model when creating their own.

SMART Goal: Given 1 month of guided reading instruction, students in below grade-level reading groups will increase their reading level by at least one level. This article gives an overview of the strategies that need to be taught in reading groups that help students become effective readers. These strategies for understanding words are called word-attack strategies. These must be taught explicitly.

This article gives a brief overview of vocabulary development and then offers many different instructional strategies to teach vocabulary in the classroom. Strategies include interactive word walls, word mapping, and self-selected vocabulary among many others.

This article strongly correlates with my instructional focuses. After viewing the article, I was able to see the different levels of vocabulary comprehension as well as the interventions that can be used to assist and assess the student's levels of comprehension. This article is a great source for any reading/language arts educator.

Vocabulary plays a vital role in my class with ELL students. This resource contains criteria that will help monitor students vocabulary progress as well as give different strategies such as Self correction, Mapping, Graphic Morphemic Analysis, Interactive word Walls and more for ELL students and students with special needs. This resource aids my groups' SMART Target learning goals by providing strategies for comprehending academic vocabulary.

"a simple and fun way for all students to get a chance to move, think, talk, and learn from others. The teacher first has students model: stand back-to-back with a partner, listen to the question and think, turn face-to-face, taking turns speaking and listening, then turning back-to-back"

This video shows individuals how to use a technique called back to back and face to face. I could use this technique in my classroom for my SMART goals. This would give me a better understanding of my student's ability to hear the sounds of letters. For example, I can say a word like "cat"; then, they can use the back to back and face to face technique to tell each other the first sound they hear in "cat". This would also be a wonderful tool to use for reading comprehension and answering questions during a story.

My SMART goal is by the end of Marking Period 3, English Language Learner (ELL) students identified will be able to explain how to solve for an unknown number in an equation with at least 80% accuracy. The back-to-back and face-to-face strategy is an excellent method for allowing students appropriate wait time to think through their responses, as well as an opportunity to hear model responses from their peers. This might help students develop language skills needed for their mathematical explanations. This could be used during a lesson to have students explain how they would solve an equation with a missing number. Using the planning protocol rubric, this is an effective strategy to increase student engagement during a lesson. I would rate this strategy a four on the rubric because it consists of high engagement for most students. All students have an opportunity to share their thoughts and hear a response from a peer. Rather than calling on one or two students to respond, this is an equitable strategy which involves all learners in the classroom.