I've been reflecting on this past year and all the preparation for the AIMS. Yes, no question I taught to the test - was told to, had no choice. But I think I did some things that other teachers don't - and don't know how to do. It all comes down to study skills. When I put together a quiz of questions from the Galileo system, what also went along with all of that was a very close look at how questions were structured, as well as the type of answers presented.
Example - scientific notation. Questions were of only two types - go from standard notation to scientific notation, and then the reverse. There were enough hints within the question - and the answers - to help kids determine what the correct answer was. So we looked at everything within each of the questions. What I noticed was that kids would ask concept-type questions as we reviewed, so I felt they were getting some of the underlying understanding to the material.
We also drilled - something that has taken me a while to learn to do, after so many years of working with gifted students. Bright mathematics students do not need the practice that other math student do. I had to really amp that up for my kids.
Debriefing of all assessments, including how students did on each question, what was tricky about the questions, how the scores looked, and their own improvements, or lack thereof. I truly don't believe teachers use assessments as best they can - give it, record it, turn it back, maybe make a few comments. We did all the statistical analysis (mean, median, mode, etc), so the kids were reviewing those concepts in the light of their own work.
Last, but probably the most important - I constantly told my students they could do this test. And I was always throwing in tougher questions from the eighth grade AIMS that I knew they could do, so that helped their self-concept about doing well. If I were to do it again, I would include examples from the high school AIMS, since I just went through that. The kids know this stuff, but they need to believe they know it, and they need to know you believe for them.
Keep in mind, at no point was I just telling them they could do this test. It was always coupled with work they had done already and succeeded with. The praise was coupled with their hard work. Too often we just tell kids they can "do it," but we never show them their own proof.
Good teaching, plus a healthy dose of personal support, lots of practice, and never giving up - or letting the kids give up on themselves.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
AIMS Scores Are In....
...and I am one happy camper! Aside from the fact that I absolutely HATE teaching to a test, let's take a look at what the scores tell us.
Gee, I am a really good teacher....and even though I despise the test and everything it stands for, right now I could use a little validation on my teaching skills. So....the seventh grade math and reading scores at my middle school, and the eighth grade math scores were the ONLY ONES to see an increase. Let's focus in on math - 51.9 (let's call it 52) percent of our seventh graders met or exceeded the standards for math - a considerably large change overall, keeping in mind that this has been an underperforming school.
Now, about my two classes - my one math class (fondly referred to as my "class from hell") had 59.6 percent (rounded to 60) meet or exceed. Yea me!!!! This class was a challenge all year! I had two students fall far below - one is a language barrier, coupled with the fact she changed schools and was absent a lot. The other was a student who again was absent a lot and did nothing in class - literally nothing. Four of my students who were listing as Approaching the standard were only about 4 points from Meets the standard. One of my special ed students made another HUGE jump to Meets - I'm really proud of her! Two students who are pretty bright blew off math in favor of fooling around this year, and so were listed as Approaching the standard. My ELL students did pretty well all across the board - none in the failing area.
My second class (gee, imagine what I could have done if I had two more math classes and no art to take away my planning...) did even better - a 68.4 percent (68) who met or exceeded that standards, with four of the kids exceeding. Again only two who fell far below, and both of those were only a few points away from Approaching. One student did very well in math class all year, because so much of it was oral, so I think it was a reading issue, since he is a second-language learner. The other person was absent with ditching most of first marking period, and then used every excuse she could think of to be out of class.
Two of my students who failed all year, were absent a lot, and did little if any work made it on the Approaches level - so something stuck with them. My English language learners were all at Approaches or higher.
So I am thrilled. Now the next thing to do is compare my scores to the seventh grade average. 60 and 68 Percent, compared to a 52 percent for the whole grade. Hmmm - guess I really did my job this year. Good thing I was there....
More on how I think I did it later.
Gee, I am a really good teacher....and even though I despise the test and everything it stands for, right now I could use a little validation on my teaching skills. So....the seventh grade math and reading scores at my middle school, and the eighth grade math scores were the ONLY ONES to see an increase. Let's focus in on math - 51.9 (let's call it 52) percent of our seventh graders met or exceeded the standards for math - a considerably large change overall, keeping in mind that this has been an underperforming school.
Now, about my two classes - my one math class (fondly referred to as my "class from hell") had 59.6 percent (rounded to 60) meet or exceed. Yea me!!!! This class was a challenge all year! I had two students fall far below - one is a language barrier, coupled with the fact she changed schools and was absent a lot. The other was a student who again was absent a lot and did nothing in class - literally nothing. Four of my students who were listing as Approaching the standard were only about 4 points from Meets the standard. One of my special ed students made another HUGE jump to Meets - I'm really proud of her! Two students who are pretty bright blew off math in favor of fooling around this year, and so were listed as Approaching the standard. My ELL students did pretty well all across the board - none in the failing area.
My second class (gee, imagine what I could have done if I had two more math classes and no art to take away my planning...) did even better - a 68.4 percent (68) who met or exceeded that standards, with four of the kids exceeding. Again only two who fell far below, and both of those were only a few points away from Approaching. One student did very well in math class all year, because so much of it was oral, so I think it was a reading issue, since he is a second-language learner. The other person was absent with ditching most of first marking period, and then used every excuse she could think of to be out of class.
Two of my students who failed all year, were absent a lot, and did little if any work made it on the Approaches level - so something stuck with them. My English language learners were all at Approaches or higher.
So I am thrilled. Now the next thing to do is compare my scores to the seventh grade average. 60 and 68 Percent, compared to a 52 percent for the whole grade. Hmmm - guess I really did my job this year. Good thing I was there....
More on how I think I did it later.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Let's Talk....
When you analyze the talk about education in this country, it seems to fall into two categories: teachers whining about what is wrong (witness this blog) and state and federal "leaders" who have never set foot in a classroom to actually teach. We need to change that. If the very fabric of our society is to survive and develop an educational system that will create thinkers and creatives to work on the world's problems, then we need to change the rhetoric.
NO MORE WHINING!! This blog will remain a place to vent our frustrations at what is wrong with the day-to-day job of teaching, BUT...
Welcome to The Education Dreamers - a place to start a national dialogue about REDESIGNING education. Not fixing it. Not throwing more money at it. Not reforming it.
REDESIGNING IT!!
What is it the American people want and believe their education should be?
We need a national dialogue - we need to move our leaders into action on education. It can't be a "throw-away" election issue. It needs to be from the ground up. We need the swell of support and new ideas. Bobby Kennedy said in 1968:
People look at things as they are and say "why?" I look at things as they could be and say "why not?"
NO MORE WHINING!! This blog will remain a place to vent our frustrations at what is wrong with the day-to-day job of teaching, BUT...
Welcome to The Education Dreamers - a place to start a national dialogue about REDESIGNING education. Not fixing it. Not throwing more money at it. Not reforming it.
REDESIGNING IT!!
What is it the American people want and believe their education should be?
We need a national dialogue - we need to move our leaders into action on education. It can't be a "throw-away" election issue. It needs to be from the ground up. We need the swell of support and new ideas. Bobby Kennedy said in 1968:
People look at things as they are and say "why?" I look at things as they could be and say "why not?"
Monday, June 2, 2008
Interviews
I got calls today for two interviews. I am continuing to apply for history positions, as I think it is time to get out of math. I need to prepare a couple of lessons to teach, and it so happens when I was cleaning out my classroom files, I found my journal from China, so I am going to do a lesson on primary and secondary sources in world history.
I am kicking around a new idea for a book on education with Michelle. No one listens to the ideas of teachers- we are always considered the whiners. This could be extremely interesting, especially coupled with Eckard Tolle's ideas in The New Earth. We shall see.....
I am kicking around a new idea for a book on education with Michelle. No one listens to the ideas of teachers- we are always considered the whiners. This could be extremely interesting, especially coupled with Eckard Tolle's ideas in The New Earth. We shall see.....
Saturday, May 31, 2008
On Getting Screwed
I've had a week to process this, and it still stinks. Picture this - the last day of school, 8 AM in the hallway by the office, trying to get stuff set for the 7th graders for their day, eighth grade parents coming in for promotion, and the principal says, "we have to talk." Did I have the high school job yet? Well, no, I had to reapply, and I said I would let you know by June 15, and you said that would be fine. "Well, I'm DIT'ing you anyway."
Say what? This is how you tell me you want me transferred? I understand wanting to get rid of me, and since I did the moral, ethical thing by letting you know I was looking, you use it against me. Okay, I can live with that.
But what a shit-ass way to do it. No class, no cojones.
'Nough said.
Say what? This is how you tell me you want me transferred? I understand wanting to get rid of me, and since I did the moral, ethical thing by letting you know I was looking, you use it against me. Okay, I can live with that.
But what a shit-ass way to do it. No class, no cojones.
'Nough said.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Goodbye Museum...
So I had to return the panels to the school district for "inventory." I emailed the principal almost 2 weeks ago about taking the museum to the district office, as he had indicated. No answer ("I have over 200 emails every day - I can't read them all."), so today I went in to strip the panels. Pretty bitter-sweet. The kids did such a great job, and we had no publicity - the media can't be bothered with covering something worthwhile and good at their favorite failing school. We stripped the panels in about half an hour. I am so glad I have a photographic record of the kids' work for the year, but realistically I know that most of them would have just stripped their panels and thrown the stuff away - without any regrets. So I will have the regrets for them and know they did an awesome job.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
A Nation Still At Risk....
I am going through emails I didn't have time to read during the hectic days at the end of the school year (more on that in another post), when I came upon this quote from an article in the New York Times:
NYTimes
April 25, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
"
A Nation at a Loss
By EDWARD B. FISKE
"To put it bluntly, American students may not know as much as their counterparts around the Pacific Rim, but our society allows them to make better use of what they do know. The question now is whether this historic advantage will suffice at a time when knowledge of math, science and technology is becoming increasingly critical. Maybe we need both the enabling environment and more rigor in these areas."
"Most troubling now are the numbers on educational attainment. One reason that the American economy was so dominant throughout the 20th century is that we provided more education to more citizens than other industrialized countries. “A Nation at Risk” noted with pride that American schools “now graduate 75 percent of our young people from high school.”
"That figure has now dropped to less than 70 percent, and the United States, which used to lead the world in sending high school graduates on to higher education, has declined to fifth in the proportion of young adults who participate in higher education and is 16th out of 27 industrialized countries in the proportion who complete college, according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education."
This should be on the agenda of every superintendent, governor, and presidential candidate. How do we get this across, that it is our problem-solving and thinking, our creativity, that makes us so strong as a nation? I think part of what I will look to do this summer is start my own educational coup, with questions that need answers, and hopefully people reading this will want to contribute.
NYTimes
April 25, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
"
A Nation at a Loss
By EDWARD B. FISKE
"To put it bluntly, American students may not know as much as their counterparts around the Pacific Rim, but our society allows them to make better use of what they do know. The question now is whether this historic advantage will suffice at a time when knowledge of math, science and technology is becoming increasingly critical. Maybe we need both the enabling environment and more rigor in these areas."
"Most troubling now are the numbers on educational attainment. One reason that the American economy was so dominant throughout the 20th century is that we provided more education to more citizens than other industrialized countries. “A Nation at Risk” noted with pride that American schools “now graduate 75 percent of our young people from high school.”
"That figure has now dropped to less than 70 percent, and the United States, which used to lead the world in sending high school graduates on to higher education, has declined to fifth in the proportion of young adults who participate in higher education and is 16th out of 27 industrialized countries in the proportion who complete college, according to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education."
This should be on the agenda of every superintendent, governor, and presidential candidate. How do we get this across, that it is our problem-solving and thinking, our creativity, that makes us so strong as a nation? I think part of what I will look to do this summer is start my own educational coup, with questions that need answers, and hopefully people reading this will want to contribute.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
More Museum....
This is the panel that caused quite a stir, and that was before he put up his homemade barbed wire and camera!
THe landfills girls just did an amazing job!
The Rainforest information was amazing. I had no idea there were that many plants with cancer-reducing properties - and we are losing them at an alarming rate.
Billy worked long and hard to get the facts, but he also included an opinion essay that was very well-received.
Great writing on this one -and she gave away low-flow shower heads during the reception!
I am waiting to hear if the museum will move to the district office....lots said, but no follow-through as yet....
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
And Now - The Museum...
Here they are - shots of the museum and a few of my students.
Koko worked on learning about AIDS, and in the process she discovered a great survey on line for people to indicate when they've taken an AIDS test. Pretty sophisticated stuff for 13.
This student missed most of the first semester and part of the third marking period, so there was a lot of catching up to do with research - and did a great job on the final product on a history of immigration.
Di worked on endangered animals, primarily fish and birds. His artistic talents showed here and in other panels, as he helped out his peers.
Check out the ebola and black death "stuff plush toys" in the background - from the site Giant Microbes.
Nice look at causes of endangerment around the world.
The student who worked on graffiti had an artist friend create some paintings just for the museum.
With all the different complex issues in global warming, the girls pick ice melt - and had great information about rising seas.
More coming....
Koko worked on learning about AIDS, and in the process she discovered a great survey on line for people to indicate when they've taken an AIDS test. Pretty sophisticated stuff for 13.
This student missed most of the first semester and part of the third marking period, so there was a lot of catching up to do with research - and did a great job on the final product on a history of immigration.
Di worked on endangered animals, primarily fish and birds. His artistic talents showed here and in other panels, as he helped out his peers.
Check out the ebola and black death "stuff plush toys" in the background - from the site Giant Microbes.
Nice look at causes of endangerment around the world.
The student who worked on graffiti had an artist friend create some paintings just for the museum.
With all the different complex issues in global warming, the girls pick ice melt - and had great information about rising seas.
More coming....
Project-Based Learning
The museum opened on May 1 to rave reviews. I was so proud of my kids! They came through and were able to talk about their topics quite well. Now while project-based learning seems to be fairly new, I have been doing this for years - probably since I started teaching. The second year teaching my students sponsored a World Peace Day that they worked on all year, and the third year we sponsored a Model UN, with schools around the islands representing various countries. Both were fabulous events.
Probably the only difference, albeit an important one, is the direct instruction and structure that goes with project-based learning. I had to do a huge amount of work at the beginning of this, in September, in order for the students to have the skills to accomplish their panels. After all the prep, I basically didn't do much else except help with reading, note taking, citations, and the like, until the last month when we did the design and construction of the panels. Peace Day and the UN just happened, without a lot of direction at the beginning except a vision of what we wanted at the end. With the museum all the steps were very deliberate, and yet I don't feel like anything was taken away from the experience with the direction they got. Maybe part is also the difference between high school students and middle school students. Either way, it was a great experience and worth every lost minute of sleep!
Probably the only difference, albeit an important one, is the direct instruction and structure that goes with project-based learning. I had to do a huge amount of work at the beginning of this, in September, in order for the students to have the skills to accomplish their panels. After all the prep, I basically didn't do much else except help with reading, note taking, citations, and the like, until the last month when we did the design and construction of the panels. Peace Day and the UN just happened, without a lot of direction at the beginning except a vision of what we wanted at the end. With the museum all the steps were very deliberate, and yet I don't feel like anything was taken away from the experience with the direction they got. Maybe part is also the difference between high school students and middle school students. Either way, it was a great experience and worth every lost minute of sleep!
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