Part VIII – Reflection

Part 1 – Daily Reflection

3. How and why did you use pre-assessment data of students’ knowledge, abilities, and interests as you
designed your unit?

5. What effective teaching strategies and technology did you use?

Today I taught my first lesson of the unit weather. Students had taken the pre-assessment a couple
days ago and I have nearly completed correcting all of them. After I had given the assessment, I had asked the
students how they felt they did. Many expressed that they didn’t know or were even familiar with many of
the questions. I kept this in mind in designing today’s lesson. I wanted to keep things simple while
introducing them to big concepts they will see again and again throughout the unit.

After reviewing the learning preferences section of the pre-assessment, I was surprised to see that
many students prefer to learn from teacher lecture. Students also indicated that they liked to work in groups
and liked hands-on activities. As I develop lessons for this unit, I will have a lecture each day before students
work on labs in groups.

Effective teaching strategies I used included a clever way of assisting students with note taking. As I
lectured, I used PowerPoint slides with key concepts in green text. This clues students in to write that
information down. I also took time throughout the lesson to pause and check student understanding. I had
the students answer questions from my slides using lettered placards to indicate their answers. This is a great
way to quickly check for understanding without singling out students.

Classes were generally well-behaved. First period always struggles with staying awake and engaged. I
struggle with finding ways to keep them motivated. I’ll have to research different strategies to try to keep
them on task.

Day 2 – 2/18-19

7. Academic: What were your concerns? What worked; what did not; challenges?

After finishing correcting the pre-assessment, it was clear that many students were not aware of solar
insolation and how it affects Earth’s climate and weather. Today’s lesson included a lecture on solar radiation
and the two wavelengths that interact most with Earth’s surface and affects temperature. I used as many
visuals, diagrams, and videos I could to try to help students understand the concepts presented.

The worksheet students did was on calculating the amount of solar energy that is absorbed and
reflected by Earth’s surface and then postulating how changes to either might affect global climate. I was
concerned that students would not understand how to do the calculations and disengage from the lesson. I
think it is important, however, for students to have some practice with using math in science; math is the
language of science and they will need to do calculations once they enter chemistry and physics. This
assignment was as gentle introduction to using math in science.

To help students with understanding their worksheet, I used a projector and we worked through the
first section of the worksheet together. I then left a slide on the board that laid out the formula for finding
percentages. Students were engaged while we were working on the assignment as a class, however, once I
released them to work independently, many students engaged in off-task behavior to avoid working on the
assignment. This has been a challenge I am struggling with – how to keep students on-task when they decide
an assignment is too difficult? I try to assist them and figure out where they are specifically struggling, but
that does not always work. This is something I need to work on.

Classes were generally well-behaved. There were a few minor incidents with students that typically
get distracted. Issues were quickly resolved with proximity and gentle guidance. One incident with Neveah
was quickly resolved with a quiet conversation.

Day 3 – 2/20-21

Reflection Questions:

4. How did you conduct formative assessment and make changes as you taught your lesson?

I was very excited for this lesson. Each lesson I try to build off the previous lesson to facilitate student
understanding. We have been discussing how the Sun’s energy travels to Earth and is transformed to heat as
it is absorbed, but not all surfaces absorb energy the same way. For this lesson, we experimented with this
concept with an albedo lab. I had set up the lab before class and written explicit (or so I thought) instructions
on how to conduct the lab. First class I taught, 4B, proved very quickly that I needed to make changes to my
instructions to help them get through the lab and before I taught it the next day.

I had instructions on the board to not touch the lab equipment until I told them to, which most
students adhered to. When it came time to do the lab, it quickly became evident that my instructions were
not as clear as they needed to be. Students kept taking the thermometers out of the samples, turning the
heat lamps on and off, and not accurately using their timers. I quickly found a timer online and told students
to follow that timer. I then set up my own demonstration and did temperature readings with the students to
model how the experiment should be done. Before class the next day, I made changes to the instructions and
the other three classes went much more smoothly.

Despite the initial chaos, students really engaged with the lesson. I did have one behavioral incident
with a student that needed immediate addressing, but the issue was quickly resolved.

Day 4 – 2/24-25

Keeping with my promise to students to have as many hands-on activities as possible, I have planned
another lab for this lesson. We have discussed how the Earth’s surface absorbs the Sun’s energy, but the
surface does not receive the same amount of insolation. To test this, students used graphing paper and
flashlights to calculate the differences in energy the surface receives at different angles.
 I thought this lesson would help students understand how sunlight becomes spread out over the
surface more at the poles, leading to less energy per square meter, however many students seemed to think
that if more area was lighted up on the graph paper then there was more energy. This lesson did not go the
way I expected and I’ll have to rethink how to teach it.

Day 5 – 2/26-27

6. Behavior: What were your concerns? What worked; what did not; challenges?

We had another lab for today, this time modelling the Coriolis Effect using balloons and markers.
Before the lab, I lectured what the Coriolis Effect is and we watched an awesome video that demonstrated the
phenomenon. Students have been really engaged with the labs, although not all students appreciate working
with others.

While I was excited for students to do this lab, I did have concerns about behavior issues. I was
concerned that students would play with the balloons, intentionally pop them, or engage in other off-task
behavior. To try to minimize the possibility of off-task behavior, I made it very clear that each pair of students
would only get one balloon, so if they popped it they would not have another chance to do the lab. Then, to
help students get the urge to play with the balloons, I allowed them 2 minutes of free-time to bounce the
balloons around the classroom. Students really enjoyed this and respected the moment I told them to stop.

Classes were generally well-behaved with minimum distractions. I had once incident with Monalani
because she did not want to work with a partner. She refused to do the lab until I had a talk with her out in
the hallway.

Day 7- 2/28-3/2

9. What would be next steps for students that did not meet your objectives?

I started this lesson with a review of what we have learned about weather so far using slides and the
placards. Most of the students seem to understand the major concepts we have learned so far, which is
encouraging. This lesson is on how we study and measure weather. It isn’t explicitly part of the new SEEd
Standards, but it is part of the old core, so I thought it was a good idea to include it so that students would
have some context when they do benchmarks at the end of the semester.

After the lecture, students had a worksheet on which they were to map fronts and pressure systems. I
demonstrated the first city using the projector then released students to work independently. During
independent work, Pablo was being very loud and distracting. After several prompts to get him to work on his
assignment, I removed him from his seat and had him sit alone.

Next steps for students that did not meet learning objectives for this lesson or any other lesson in the
unit would really depend on how many students did not meet the objective. If a majority of the students did
not meet the objective, I would take time to reteach the lesson to the entire class, finding new material to
supplement learning. If only a few students did not meet the objective, I would sit with each student to figure
out where they were struggling and offer alternative ways of explaining the concept.

Day 8 – 3/3-4
 Today we had a review for the weather assessment students will be taking next class period. I created
a review worksheet that students were allowed to work on together with their elbow partner. I gave students
the opportunity to ask any questions they had about any of the concepts we have learned so far. In general,
students were well-behaved and stayed on task. I think they want to do well on the test and took the review
seriously.

I also introduced the authentic assessment and told students to start thinking about extreme weather
events they are interested in. We then had a discussion with students about Covid-19 because there seemed
to be a lot of concern about health and safety amongst the students.

Day 9 – 3/5-6

8. How would you describe student learning during the unit, based on pre- and post-assessments?

Students took their final assessment for the weather unit today. We had a short, but comprehensive
review using slides and the placards. Most students seemed confident. There were some topics that students
seemed to have struggled more with and I’m worried that I should have taken more time reteaching those
concepts. I am hopeful that student confidence is an actual reflection of their understanding of key concepts
taught throughout the unit.

I haven’t had a chance to grade A days tests, but I did grade B4. There has been a decent improvement
in scores between the pre-assessment and the post-assessment. It seems that most students were able to
comprehend the key concepts that were taught throughout the unit. I am interested in seeing how the rest of
the classes do.

Day 10 – 3/9-10

1. How and why did you use funds of knowledge?

2. How and why did you use research in context data?

Today students are working on their authentic assessment. When I was designing the assessment, I
wanted to be able to give students some choice based on their experience and funds of knowledge. Many of
the students are either immigrants or children of immigrants from LatinX and Pacific Islander countries. Many
students picked weather events and locations that were relevant to their experience.

I also know that many of my students come from low-income families, so I wanted to create an
authentic assessment that could be completed with materials for school and during school hours, so students
that helped watch siblings at home or had jobs after school wouldn’t be stressed.

I think it is important to consider not only the academic needs of our students, but the emotional,
cultural, and economic needs as well. Although I did my research on Hillcrest Junior High, the schools have
similar demographics and therefore similar needs and considerations. I try to take these considerations into
account whenever I am designing lessons.