Watching Cosmos

We watched an episode of Cosmos (s1e2) on evolution and had a backchannel going using todaysmeet.com. I really like this format for watching longer videos as it allows for some deeper thinking and engagement when compared to a worksheet. Also it gives students who might have trouble following a rapid discussion during class can follow the written dialogue. So some of the student questions that came up today that led to great discussions:
-Would evolution occur on other planets?
-What would life look like if evolution just stopped, would we get more similar or different?
-If we sent bacteria to another planet and it evolved into an advanced life form, would they still be aliens?
-Are humans evolving?

Data from class today

For anyone who needs the data from class today. It doesn't matter if the people are from your class or not.

First day of school

http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/58108950.jpg

Data Data Data

Based on our EOG scores (NC, 8th science) we wanted to determine the best predictor for student outcomes. Previously, I had used classroom grades as a fairly strong predictor for how my students would do. Anyone with a B average I was confident would pass. In 5 years, I have only had 2-3 students carry B averages through the year, and not be proficient on their EOG. However, as we move towards RtI and MTSS and even in our PLC this was a not a good indicator for talking across the grade level to the other science teachers. I looked at :

• CFA - cumbersome to see trends due to lack of prep work on my part. This will be improved for next year
• County benchmarks - no strong correlation between those scores and EOG
• 7th grade science MSL - total mess
• EVAAS predicted score - better than the previous data sets, but still not as strong as I would like.
• 2013 Percentile Score - WOW! Intuitively, this made almost no sense to me. I checked it last, and even then only because I had the data for it. Why not? Across three teachers, with only 1 exceptions, every student who was above the 40% in 2013 passed with a 4 or 5. Quite a few students below the 40% threshold passed as well, but not all of them. Changing proficiency to include a level 3 and there was a rough correlation between 30% and a level 3 or better. 

Implications for next year. Our grade teams and content areas will be using the 2014 percentile in conjunction with the EVAAS predicted score to monitor the students. Students that are predicted to grow significantly, but are below that 40% will be ones we need to keep a closer eye on. Somewhere we are dropping the ball with these students. I am optimistic this will help us in closing gaps and providing appropriate interventions to make sure student end the year where they need to be.

Comics in the Classroom

I have been wanting to do a comic themed lesson for a while now and finally everything lined up. I grew up loving comics and while not many of my students read them, they are all familiar with the movies. The idea was that we could have some good questions and discussions because many of the students would know some of the nuances of the characters. I wasn't disappointed. The comics we used were Civil War #1 and #3 which is a part of the Marvel Universe with mostly your A-list characters that have multiple movies about them. The plot took a little bit of explaining but the students picked up on the main conflict quick enough. 
(source: http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111216093135/marveldatabase/images/9/9a/Civil_War_Vol_1_7_Textless.jpg)

Day 1: Civil War #1 (Marvel)
Goal -  Prep for EOG by providing EOG style questions to go along with the reading.
Reflection - I felt that many of them did better than expected. Maybe it's the casual writing style, presentation, or something else but many were picking up on vocabulary and context clues they otherwise have not done well with. Overall I thought it went pretty well. Here is a link to the worksheet.

Day 2: Civil War #3 (pg 13-24) (Marvel)
*alternative or in addition is #4 pg 1-15
Goal - Have students explore how conflict effects relationships.
Reflection - I thought of this lesson a few months back when the students were studying the American Civil War. In the previous comic, Iron Man and Captain American fight it out with Iron Man getting the upper hand. The heroes on both sides show inner conflict as friend fights friend. This reminded me of a story about two brothers who fought on separate sides and even against each other in battle during the Civil War. You can find their story here. Here is the worksheet which includes their story along with writing prompts drawing comparisons between the two.

Has anyone else used comics in the classroom? Are there any comics or characters out there you would like to see brought into the classroom?

Lifeboat discussion

The ELA teacher and I modified a lesson called "Lifeboat" for the students today. There are 15 people on a sinking ship and the life boat only holds 9. Who do you save? Here was our list: 

white pregnant women

black boy

black girl

hispanic teacher

black priest

white rabbi

black fisherman

white boatbuilder

middle eastern professional athlete

middle eastern single dad

President Obama

white cancer patient

hispanic male doctor

white female doctor

(I can't remember the last one)

The outcomes... Some groups made decisions based on skill with a little emotional reasoning. Others went purely by the heart. Every group chose to save the white pregnant women. Reasons ranged from the very practical "You're saving two lives with only one spot on the boat" to the more emotional "You can't let her die...she's pregnant, can't do that." After each group had shared we went back to the single dad. We brought up the point that while not pregnant, he does have kids. Not only that, he is a "single dad" meaning he is the primary caregiver for that child(ren). Not a single group put him in their top 5. Why? Here is where things took a turn. The first reason was that his kids could just go live with someone else. I think this attitude is telling of where my students come from and their experiences growing up. The second answer though elicited a lot of conversation. "We didn't save him because he might be a terrorist." After further probing at least one group felt it was acceptable to not take the dad, even at the expense of his children's welfare because "his kids are probably going to be terrorist." Wow. We discussed at length the assumptions that were being made and if they were justified. Briefly we touched on the effects the media has on our perceptions as well. This lesson didn't fit any science standards but it certainly fit the "how to be a better person" standard that was left out of the CC standards. 

Bad idea for a test?

Due to a series of scheduling conflicts we have not been able to get a test in like I had wanted. The interrupted schedule coupled with how amazing this group is, I thought we would try something different. I passed out a small piece of paper for them to take their test on. There were some awkward glances and confusing looks. Generally, we test through Schoolnet so the confusion was warranted. They were then instructed to think about the content the test would cover, what they were capable of, previous test scores, their current grade, and then to write down the lowest grade they would find acceptable on the test. That's the grade that will go in the gradebook, before they have even taken the test. Immediately they all write "99" and "100" on their paper thinking this was the easiest grade they have ever had. Then they were told they would have to still take the test next week, and they would score equal or better than what they wrote down. "But...what happens if we don't do as well?" A HA. That is a great question. If you don't score as high as your self-grade, you take it again. And again. And again. "That's fine, I will just memorize the answers." On a typical 30 question test, I would agree. But I have a question bank of 100+ questions and the test will be different every time. (Insert sour faces here) Many of them erased and put scores that certainly were going to push them, but would not have them testing till the end of the year.

So, is this some strange psychological game or is there sound reasoning behind it?

1. Students do not set goals for themselves. (Now they have)
2. Students do not understand what is required to reach lofty goals. (They will go through this process)
3. Students seem to think that a grade is something they "get", as if it is already determined before the test occurs. (Many will understand that more work by them generally equals more acceptable outcomes)
4. If the point of school is to learn, it makes sense to allow students to continually grow until showing mastery of the content. I do this with all other aspects of my grading, but have always been reluctant to extend it to my tests.

Finally, there was something very positive about walking around collecting papers and having students ask if I thought they were capable of earning the score they wrote down. "Of course."

Water testing

This comes on the heels of an activity the students did where they had to follow the water from the creek outside the school all the way to the ocean. I think mapping it out helped put in perspective how a lot of little problem areas can lead to one big one down stream. Today we throughout the planned lesson and went down to our creek to do some water sampling. You have to take advantage of these 80 degree spring days. Based on our findings, our little creek is not contributing to any issues downstream. Copper, chlorine, pH, nitrates, and phosphates were all at good levels. The water is soft and the DO was very low. I almost wonder if my tablets were bad because it showed no color change at all.

Photography during labs

A couple of students pulled out their phones to take picture during their labs. This is not a regular occurrence but it's not uncommon either. This was probably the best of the bunch, although they were all interesting. I have toyed with the idea of trying to include more photography in my labs. However, I have always approached it from creating a "visual lab writeup", I actually like this a little more. Art (mainly photography) where the subject matter is not your typical photography setting always has a certain allure for me.

Photo by AF on Galaxy S5 active

Chemistry Test

You can find the information you need to take your test here. You can use your periodic table (or one find elsewhere). You cannot use your lab book, study guide, internet, friends, non-friends, etc. Good luck!

Future of education?

Over the last three years I have witnessed a concerning interest in 'adaptive learning systems'. These systems are computer based programs that provide the exact lesson the student needs in order to gain mastery in a standard. For instance, during a test, a student consistently misses questions about cell parts. At the end of the test the program says "hey, this student needs more work with cell parts. They need to read this section, watch this video, then answer these questions."  The student does this and then takes another test and the program checks for growth. If they do well, the program sends them on to the next standard, if not, they go back to review more material. Eventually, they will progress and everyone can point to the program and say "IT WORKS! Look at that growth, wow! You're a great teacher!"

I have a lot of issues with this, and I fully admit that I am jaded in this area. This goes against every reason why I am in education and the day that someone tells me I will use this is the day I start looking for a school that is not as 'progressive'. First, and most importantly, the majority of my students HATE this style of learning. I don't think this can be glossed over. I want kids excited to come to school. I want them excited about learning. That does not seem to happen doing prescriptive lessons behind a computer. I have never heard a student say they don't need to be in class "because we are just doing a lab" but I have heard you didn't miss much "we just did insert adaptive program name here".

Second, teachers, you are shooting yourself in the foot. Now this is entirely self serving, and someone could read this and say "he's just protecting his job" and they wouldn't be wrong. I love my job, I do want to keep it. But I also want the students to enjoy school. When/If I come to the conclusion that students would rather be behind computers, I will happily move on myself. But my opinion is driven primarily by them, myself a distant second. Why do you need a small class size when they are learning via a computer 50% of the time? Why do you need to get paid for that masters when you just watch students on a computer? Why do you need to be paid for that National Board when anyone can monitor a computer lab. I foresee a shift from teaching to monitoring. I can effectively teach ~20-25 students, I can monitor and assist as needed, 35, 45, maybe 50 students? It is not hard to imagine a computer program that detects you are struggling with balancing equations. It provides a video and extra questions. You still struggle, but specifically you are struggling with counting atoms, so it provides another video and more focused questions. You still struggle, but it is only when there are coefficients in the problem, so it provides another video dialed into that issue. AH -HA the light bulb goes off, you have it! Again, I can admit I am not looking at it completely objectively, but I see it going that way because that's what I do, as as teacher, because I actually teach.

With all that said, I have to acknowledge that it works. I have seen the growth myself. Supposedly, the teacher that has shown the most growth the last 3 years uses one of these programs "almost daily". As an admin, it would be hard to turn it down. If a teacher uses it regularly, you are almost guaranteed results. We are continuing to move towards more and more testing and more and more data, why would I not want that for my school and district? Because it is being done at the expense of exciting students for acquiring knowledge. Because no one in the real world gets paid to learn behind a computer all day. Because the social dynamic is lost between student and teacher that has been at the center of education since the great Greek philosophers.

update 1/28 - Yesterday we got off track and started talking about the school's budget, (I love these students) and they made the comment that we spend too much money on technology, and specifically laptops. I probed further and it turns out they hate the laptops because all they do is use them for taking tests and doing programs. "What's the point of having teachers if someone else is just going to teach us?" -S1.