SCIENCE: LIVING AND NONLIVING UNIT

Standard V Self Evaluation and Reflection DM1 I used culturally responsive curricula/multicultural education in my Teacher Work Sample (TWS) lessons and instruction by first speaking, observing, and learning about the students in my classroom. I learned that the students come from a wide assortment of socioeconomic status families. I have a few students that are quite low and live in a trailer park. One student went a few days without power in his trailer. Many of the students come from middle class families, however there are a few students that come from wealthy families. While I prepared this unit, I intended to use quite a bit of time to build background and pull experiences that would be familiar to all students. This unit had a few lessons that focus on large environments. Many environments the students hadnt visited and there are a few students whom I knew wouldnt have experience with any but the desert since they dont travel much. There is another lesson objective of predicting reactions of living things to weather in the environment. For this lesson, I was careful to discuss familiar weather changes. I also learned that while most students are LDS, there is one who is Jehovah Witness and several who dont attend any denomination. With this diverse religious background, I have to be careful what I say and ensure that I dont show bias to any particular religious belief. Since I planned a science unit, I was prepared for comments or questions that could be religious based. DM2 There is quite a bit of technology in the classroom I am in. Technology helps enhance the lessons. The classroom is equipped with a SMART board. I used this technology to enhance the lesson about living versus nonliving things. The students played an interactive categorizing game.

SCIENCE: LIVING AND NONLIVING UNIT

For a different lesson, I had planned to have the students observe an ant farm, however this plan fell through. To help teach the objective of living things interacting with nonliving things in their environment, I used the National Geographic website to play a video about beavers. My iPad was also useful. I used it to pull up pictures of real life scenes to help the students understand what I speaking about. I also used pictures to explain organism to the students. My iPad came in handy when I used an app to randomly select students. DM3 My subject matter knowledge was high with this unit. Science is a subject Ive been comfortable with and know the 3rd grade curriculum well. I am particularly familiar with the scientific process and felt confident that I could facilitate discussions and explorations on living and nonliving things. My confidence in teaching this unit was equally as high. Prior to this unit, I had taught the students a little about living and nonliving things to prepare them for a visit from a ranger from Zion National Park and therefore felt I understood the students misconceptions. Creating the unit was a bit tougher than I had anticipated, but once I started going at it, ideas came easily. This proved to be the same as I taught the lessons. I found that I could easily tailor the lesson to the class, even while teaching it. DM4 One of my top priorities in my classroom is to create a physically and emotionally safe environment. I wanted to make sure this carried over into everything we do. To accomplish this, I am mindful of the group configuration. Most of the students get along well with each other, yet there are a few of them who should not be paired due to personality conflict or academic gaps.

SCIENCE: LIVING AND NONLIVING UNIT

Whenever we work collaboratively, whether its random groups or planned groups, I make sure to configure the groups to maximize learning. Another way I help create a safe environment is by being sensitive to the needs of the students. There are two students that are very shy. When I call on them, or any other student that doesnt feel comfortable sharing, I either help them or allow a friend to help them share ideas or answers. While evaluating my classroom management skills, I found that I have strengths in getting students motivated and keeping them engaged. I have learned about the students enough to know what motivates each one. I also tend to have an excited tone in my voice that seems to attract the attention of the class. Another strategy I use for classroom management is by waiting silently if I hear talking or disruptions. When I do this, the disruption usually ends within a 10 second time period. One management weakness I need to work on is being attentive to quiet disruptions. I sometimes fail to notice note passing or whispering. To combat this weakness, my goal is to be more mobile and move about the classroom more rather than spending all my time at the front of the classroom. DM5 Data from this TWS has helped me evaluate outcomes of teaching and student learning. I found that while I thought I had strongly taught the vocabulary words, the class still needed more exposure and opportunities to learn them. This was evident as I analyzed each students scores, especially the scores of my ELL students.

SCIENCE: LIVING AND NONLIVING UNIT

Before analyzing the data, I felt positive about the post test scores. I had scanned them and assumed that effective learning had taken place. After computing the percent of the class that had mastered the concept, I realized that a few concepts needed re-teaching. DM6 Personal growth and learning occurred on my part as I taught this lesson. One of the most important point I learned is to create a good environment for testing. I mentioned before that students were given the post test immediately following a walk-a-thon. I knew the students were rushing to complete the test and showed little concern when I urged them to slow down and choose their choices wisely. Their state of mind was not conducive to testing. I also learned that end of year testing wore the students out. When I taught lessons after a morning of review or testing, the students were more negative and less focused. I now know, for future lessons, that period of time for the students to take a break is necessary. Having a caring and professional relationship with students fosters learning in the classroom. Ive found that when I take time to listen to the students talk about their lives, they tend to work harder when I ask and behave better. Its as though they perceive an investment on my part which motivates them to invest in what interests me, which is student learning. Maintaining a professional relationship is just as important. I observed that the students attitude and behavior during lessons changed as I went from teaching a lesson infrequently to teaching every day. I had initially thought this was due to my taking on a teacher role, but as I pondered this, I realized my own behavior had shifted. I had given myself a more informal role with the students in the beginning and then jumped to a professional behavior as I taught more. This shift caused the students to stay engaged in my lessons, work harder, and respond to my classroom management more efficiently.