Re-thinking Romeo and Juliet: the window scene

My grade 10 class received the following instructions at the start of class -

After answering their questions, and providing them with an example, the class set to work.

This was a fun in-class activity that allowed students to experiment with the Shakespearean play and explore the play's characters. They took on the roles of directors. I had multiple goals for assigning such an activity to my students. First, I aimed to break the shy boundary within my students and allow them to take charge in the classroom. Getting students to interact with their classmates and, simply, to raise their hands became a lot easier after this activity. This activity opened up the chance for students to be fun, creative, and collaborative in the classroom, which broke the traditional boundaries of the classroom and created a welcoming and an encouraging atmosphere for the students. Second, I aimed to indirectly test students' understanding and comprehension of the lines in act 2, scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet. The window scene is by far the most popular scene in the play and the monologues and soliloquies present in the scene are rich in meaning. By asking the students to take the lines and apply them to different scenarios correctly, allowed me to see who really understood what Shakespeare is trying to communicate with his audience. Standing at the back of the class while groups presented allowed me to check for different aspects of the presentation.

This was a successful activity that, again, indirectly allowed my to test students' understanding. No grade level was assigned, but students did receive written formative feedback on their scenario scripts.

Evaluating Students' Understanding of Literary Terms

After a very long and tedious lesson about the many different literary terms that may apply to William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, I decided to administer a small activity to test students' understanding. Each student received a two-page handout containing various examples of poems and passages to which they were instructed to connect an appropriate literary term. Most often, making sure the students have correct and complete notes is not enough. Allowing students to practise and test their newly gained knowledge is vital to their success.

The bellow attachments are of a worksheet students received in order to evaluate their understanding of the specific literary terms. The following was used as formative evaluation. Students received a completion mark and a class discussion either confirmed or corrected students' choices. During this activity, students were given the option of working individually or with an elbow partner. I try to encourage collaboration as much as possible in the classroom because I believe that people learn better by communicating with one another and sharing ideas. Small activities like this are a great opportunity to create a conversation between the students.

By the end of the class, and after the answers to the questions were answered, students' concerns were all cleared up and any confusion was set straight. This in-class activity reaffirmed the lesson to the students and allowed them to see the literary terms in a real context which set them up to identifying them later in the Shakespearean play.

Digital Media Exit Cards: Twitter

Matt Levinson wrote an article, published on the Edutopia website, about the advancements of technology and social media and how such technological media can be used in  the classroom as interactive exit cards. This was a very interesting read to me because Levinson wrote about and confirms everything that I want to implement in my future classes.

Levinson gives the following points as examples of multiple media platforms and how to use each as a digital exit card -

• A six-second Vine video to capture the most critical six seconds of class
• A 16-second video to post to MixBit, YouTube's new video sharing tool
• A tweet that boils down the essence of the class to 140 characters
• A photo illustrating the key learning moment that can then be posted on a class Instagram account
• A question posted to a class Edmodo account inviting a continuation of the learning outside of class

During one of my practicum, I used Twitter as a digital exit card. After reading the day's assigned scene from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, I asked my students to use the hashtag #RomeoandJuliet2015 to tweet a thought, comment, likes, dislikes, or a reaction to the scene. This was such a fun activity that allowed my students to access social media platforms during class time responsibly. I have met many teachers who claim that use of cell phones in class is a problem, and I tend to disagree. Proper use of cell phones, or tablets, in class, can be fun, educational, and beneficial. Technology in the classroom is just a part of creating the 21-century classroom and it is the teacher's responsibility to guide students' use of such technology.

Link to Matt Levinson's official Edutopia article: Hit the Mark With Digital Media Exit Cards

Kahoot! Game Review: a great form of formative assessment

Kahoot! is a new and an exciting game, quiz, and survey creator that allows teachers everywhere to create and administer tests, reviews, and gather all forms of ideas and opinions from their students. For the sake of creating a fun, an exciting, and an interactive class, I created and played Kahoot! games with my grade 10 students every chance I got. There is a wide cheer that can be heard from outside the classroom every time I ask my students to get their phones and their tablets out. They know a Kahoot! game is coming! Playing such games in class can be so much fun and it also allows students to communicate and discuss ideas and possible answers with each other before clicking in their answers. The game site is a great way to administer reviews before big test dates. Below I have attached two links to two Kahoot! games that I created for my grade 10 class before a big Romeo and Juliet test. Moreover, I used the results of the Kahoot! game as bonus points on the test, which was greatly appreciated by the students. There are many more ways one can use Kahoot!, bellow are just two examples.

Game Link: Kahoot! Romeo and Juliet Act 1 Review

Game Link: Kahoot! Romeo and Juliet Act 2 Review

Double Entry Journals: an alternative form of formative evaluation

In a previous post, I spoke a little bit about the necessity of assigning students straightforward questions at the end of a lesson, unit, chapter, or novel. For the sake of having similar results and arriving at a quick assessment of student's comprehension and students' knowledge, one can use double entry journals. Best used in an English classroom, double entry journals could also be an across-curricular method of formative assessment.

I used double entry journals during all my practicums while teaching William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet the graphic novel and the original text. Instead of asking students questions that will eventually have them contemplate the text, a double entry journal allows teachers to focus on specific lines of the text, as well as allow students to comment, interpret, analyse, and question the same lines. Double entery journals can be a great gateway to a larger class discussion of the subject material.

Comprehension Questions: Straightforward and Sometimes A Necessary Form of Assessment

Moderns forms of teaching and assessment and evaluation focus on contemporary methods. While it is always beneficial and fun to include electronic and alternative forms of formative assessment in class, sometimes it is necessary to give students a few direct questions that test their understanding, and reading comprehension.

Studying William Shakespeare is not an easy subject in school due to students' unfamiliarity with old English. There is always a little bit of tention when a teacher tells the class that they are starting a Shakespearean unit. While some students may love it, others will hate it. And I won't deny it, the language is difficult. And so, I believe that giving students straightforward, comprehension questions can be vital for the teacher to determine student understanding and highlight areas or scene he or she might need to re-teach.

Below are some sample questions I have given out to my students during one of my teaching practicums.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Act One Questions

Scene 2

1. Capulet eventually agrees to consider allowing Paris to marry Juliet. Under what conditions?

2. On page 33, lines 38-44, we meet the servant. He is instructed to send out the invitations to Lord Capulet's party, but he has a predicament. Explain his predicament. How does he explain it?

3. It is clear that the element of chance (fate or destiny) is introduced early on in the play. Where does it occur in this scene, and how is it expressed?

4.  In Scene 1, line 222, Benvolio says, "Be ruled by me." If you were Romeo, would you be ruled by Benvolio? What advice is he offering to Romeo in Scene 2? 

Scene 5

1.      Knowing what you do about Romeo and Juliet, how do you account for them falling in love so quickly? How much of a role does physical attraction play?

                           

2.      Look at page 67 and page 69, lines 93-109, and explain the metaphor Romeo and Juliet use during this scene. What purpose does this metaphor serve?

3.      Describe Lord Capulet's reaction to seeing people from the House of Montague at his party. How does Tybalt react?

Decoding William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: Media in the Classroom

William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, is one of the most popular tragic stories to have ever been written and it is a play that is still studied in today’s classrooms. While it is important that the play’s text is explored, watching the play and experiencing it visually is equally important. Bringing the different adaptations of the play into the classroom was a very easy decision to make. Not only does this cater to visual students, but it also brings live, passion, and excitement into the English classroom. I used the 1996 adaptation of the play directed by Baz Luhrmann, and a stage performance from the Stratford Festival 2013. Students were first asked to read the party scene. Second, they watched the 1996 version, and third, they watched the Stratford stage performance. Students were asked to fill in what they understood, what helped them understand, and what they still had a question about. 

The movie adaptation and stage performance, alongside the original text, helped students explore and understand the scene better. With each clip, the students discovered a new layer of the scene that they had not before explored. The students also had a chance to compare and contrast the importance of picking the right cast and how different directors interpreted Shakespeare’s scene differently. They learned about different people may read the same lines and see something completely different. I believe that is the true magic in studying and teaching English. I asked the students to hand in their comment sheets at the end of class. The comment sheets, which included three columns of 'I understood...", "what helped me understand...", and "I still have a question about...", were gives a check mark for completion and a few comments/reactions, and answers to their questions if they had any. The following day, I took the time to begin the class by having a "what did you think" conversation with the students. At this time, and through conversation, I answered some of the questions that they had.

This was a great form of assessment because it tested students' ability to rationalise and interpret a scene from a play and a movie, and to compare and contrast the two. This is an exercise I would certainly repeat in future classes.

Going Gradeless

In his article on the widely popular Edutopia, Matt Weyer, a grade six teacher, explores the idea of going gradeless self-assessment. Weyer writes about Mark Barnes who "Barnes advocated using narrative feedback to enter a feedback loop that would culminate in the mastery of specific learning targets within the context of a larger project" (Weyer 2016). This large project consisted of teaching an entire school year and administering different forms of formative and summative evaluations without assigning a grade level on any of the assignments. The teacher and the student, according to the written feedback given in the duration of the school year, would arrive at the final grade, Weyer states. And what a fascinating idea this is. Reading Weyer's article, I was reminded of Dave Petro's talk about the importance of written feedback, because really what does a 77% mean, and what is the difference between a 3- and a 2+?

Often, teachers mark students' work through a rubric that has been written according to various learning goals and ministry standers. This rubric would have been communicated to the students (and I believe there is a great benefit in telling students what you will be looking for when marking an assignment), and the students then take the rubric and develop the assignment in order to "hit" all the rubric requirements. Later, teachers receive the assignments and match the assignment with the rubric, assigning a grade level. Without communicated this grade average, it really means nothing other than students knowing that he or she did well or not so well. Instead, Weyer started using Barnes' SE2R model to provide feedback.

It was very interesting to read Weyer's article, where he outlined his goals for this experiment. His main goal was to see how students apply themselves when grades are completely removed from the daily equation. Weyer found that students actually more interested and more invested in their learning process. Suddenly, students stopped asking about their grades and started asking about what they can do to improve.

Matt Weyer's Article Link: Going Gradeless: Student Self-Assessment

More about SE2R Model of Feedback: SE2R Feedback Model

Newspaper Report

 

 

During my practicum, I taught two grade 10 English (university prep.) classes where we read William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Since the practicum took place a month before the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT), I decided it would be beneficial for my students to include OSSLT teaching moments throughout the Shakespearean play.

Before my practicum began, the grade 10 students wrote a practise OSSLT and the results of the tests were determined two weeks after my practicum began. While many students performed well on the test, the results for the newspaper article were quite low across all those who wrote the test. It was clear to me that writing up a lesson plan that focused on newspaper writing was vital to the future success of my students. The first scene of act one of Romeo and Juliet takes the audience to the marketplace where a fight breaks out between the Montague and the Capulet men. This was the perfect place to start my lesson on newspaper articles. After exploring the scene with my grade 10s, I introduced them to their next assignment. Using a large model of the inverted pyramid, I explained the form and structure of a newspaper article. Next, each student was handed a copy of the day's newspaper and a question sheet. By answering the question, the class was able to explore and dissect the structure of that is included in a newspaper article. They also had a chance to differentiate between a good newspaper article and a bad one. This was a vital part of the lesson because it gave students a chance to look at a newspaper. I know, this sounds a little silly; however, with online journalism (which has its very own reporting rules and structures) and news feeds on Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr, students have less of a chance of picking up a print newspaper. This exposure to newspaper articles gave the students a base to model their own news articles.

Each student received a copy of the assignment guidelines and rubric. Students were encouraged to peer assess and self-assess their news articles before submission. I feel very confident in my students writing and I am glad to notice a significant difference between their OSSLT practice test and their Romeo and Juliet act 1, scene 1 fight scene articles.

While the assignment fulfilled its purpose and the students grasped newspaper article writing, I encountered many issues while marking the assignments. These issues revolved strictly around the rubric. Even thought I wrote the rubric twice before checking back with my associate teacher, I still had a very difficult time with grading and trying to match students' work with the rubric. I should take the time to clear up the fact that some assignments were very easy to mark because they followed the rubric exactly. Others, however, were very difficult to mark. The entire grading process revolved around trying to pinpoint where the students' work fit on the rubric. This is also where I started to question the difference between a 3- and a 2+. Because, really, the difference is so small, it might as well not exist at all. Checking back with my associate, the response consisted of a shoulder shrug and a "well that's rubrics for ya". For the sake of providing proper feedback to my students, I made sure to include lots of written feedback on their sheets and their assignments. The feedback consisted of what I thought was done well, what needed improvement, and what did not work at all. This and the "interviews" I held after the marked assignments were handed back out, really helped the students understand the assignment and their grade better.

While I am not dismissing rubrics all together, I'm simply saying that they work best alongside written feedback.

Josee's Resource #13: TRIBES Activity - Creating Empathy

This TRIBES (unofficially) Learning Community Activity can be used for mindfulness and empathy development.  Students can take a moment to think about the importance of the randomly chosen loss, and discuss their thoughts and feelings with their TRIBES group.  In turn, this will deepen the connection between group members and promote a sense of care and understanding. 

Peer Assessment Table

Peer Assessment Table
(Best used in "science fair" type presentations)

The above peer assessment table serves a wonderful alternative form of summative assessment. Usually, the course instructor performs summative evaluations in a rather traditional manner through examination or a project. Students are always instructed to write or create with their audience in mind, the audience being their teacher and other class members, and peer assessment, such as the table above, provide students with the chance to be assessed by their target audience.

This type of peer assessment resource could be used during project presentations. After a reading a novel, students would conduct critical analysis by applying a literary criticism theory and present it to the class. The audience would record their likes, dislikes, and possible areas of improvement for each presentation as they travel amongst the stations.

The peer assessment table can be used for any grade level and any subject area. At the elementary grade level, students have the opportunity to reflect on the presentations they witness, while at the secondary grade level, students are encouraged to critically think about their peers' presentations instead of merely sitting witness them. This is a great resource to use in a student-centered classroom where the students are transformed from the audience into active members of the classroom.

Balancing Chemical Equations

I have used this quiz as a formative assessment tool while I was teaching Balancing Chemical Equations (SNC2D). Some students found this quiz to be challenging so I gave them to opportunity to rewrite it as long as they came in for help during lunch hour or after school. For this reason, I have two versions of the assessment.

Balancing Chemical Equations Quiz 1
Balancing Chemical Equations Quiz 2

SNC2D Cell Structure

During my first placement, I had the opportunity to teach a small portion of the biology unit. I taught the Cell Structure chapter. I love using technology in the classroom so I used a PowerPoint to teach the content. Rather than having students copying notes from the PowerPoint and not paying attention, I provided them with the link to the PowerPoint. Before I started the lesson, I let students know that the PowerPoint was available on-line so they did not have to take notes if they did not want to. I found that this was very effective because I had the student's attention at all times.

Attached you will find the PowerPoint.

Cell Structure PowerPoint

SNC2D Chemistry Unit Plan

During my last placement, I had the opportunity to teach the entire gr. 10 chemistry unit. Although, I had a few days to prepare my unit plan, many times, I had to change my lesson plan for the day due to unplanned circumstances. Through this experience, I learned that as educators, we must be very flexible and ready to "think on our feet". The unit plan was very effective in the sense that I always knew what I was going to do next. I felt the unit plan allowed me to become an effective and efficient teacher. The unit plan also served as a means to let my associate teacher know what I was planning on doing next; it was a shared document with her through Onedrive so she always saw the changes I would make. Attached you will find my Chemistry unit plan.

Chemistry Unit Plan

SNC2D Chemistry Unit test

I wrote and used this unit test during my last placement when I taught the grade 10 Chemistry unit. The students found it very fair as they were well-prepared for it. The class average for this unit test was actually really high; 81%. Students were very happy with their marks.

Chemistry Unit Test

Ryan- Self Reflection

I have found through working with my group on this project I have encountered many new and interesting methods of assessment and evaluation I would have never thought of.  At first the idea of creating a blog seemed quite daunting for someone who is not at all technologically savvy, but it has definitely opened my mind and introduced me to ways that technology can be a huge benefit to the classroom.  I enjoyed looking into ways that Art and Drama could be used in other subject areas to help a student better understand topics like Geometry or History.  Creating a base that I can refer back to  get ideas from my fellow peers on methods of assessment has been quite valuable not only in my past placement but in looking towards future teaching goals for myself. 


http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&module=Rubistar&rubric_id=2618000&

Student Suspension and Keeping Students Academically Engaged

 My views remain mixed on what the role of the teacher should be if a student is suspended from school for an extended amount of time.  I believe firmly the concept that no child should be left behind and as someone who hopes to someday be educating my own students this leaves me to wonder about what can be done to make sure students are still being engaged and required to complete assignments and projects. Although a student is provided with the proper class material if their suspension is under five days what do we do if this student misses vital test review or in class presentation.   Can certain accomodations be made without putting the entire class behind and should we allow students to write missed tests for reasons such as bad behavior?

Teachers, adminstrators and  staff  need to work to find a way of  insuring that  students understand they are on vacation.Suspension or bad behavior should not be awarded with time away from school and the classroom environment.  Arranging designated times for them to write the test and making sure to be aware of assignment completion,  therefore is the responsibility of both the student and teacher and must be handled in an appropriate manner.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Various School Assessment Methods

With each type of method of testing, the knowledge of disadvantages often overshadows the benefits it carries. 

http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-different-types-of-test-questions/

http://ar.cetl.hku.hk/am_mcq.htm

Multiple-choice questions
Advantages

• Quick for teachers to score. Can be done electronically
• Can cover a wide range of material
• Used to cover material from lower to higher thinking development.

Disadvantages

• Often test literacy skills: “if the student reads the question carefully, the answer is easy to recognize even if the student knows little about the subject” (p. 194)
• Provide unprepared students the opportunity to guess, and with guesses that are right, they get credit for things they don’t know
• Expose students to misinformation that can influence subsequent thinking about the content
• Take time and skill to construct (especially good questions).

True and False

Advantages-

• Quick
• Encourages students to read the question carefully as one vital point could make the entire answer wrong.

Disadvantages

• Unreliable, students can guess if they do not know an answer not a true representation of what the student has learned.

Creative Entry/ Short Answer

Advantages

• Students are required to follow instructions and use past knowledge as a method of further expanding on thoughts and ideas, possible consequences, Cause and Effect and creative output .
• strengthens writing skills as well as creativity while incorporating the elements being assessed.

Disadvantages

• Students who are not strong readers/ writers will struggle with this type of testing. 
• Leaves room for interpretation and less for testing of content area material.

Integrating Arts Into the School Curriculum

The arts have long been a vital piece for both a culturally rich and academically strong education.  Arts integration works well in creating a dialogue which allows students to articulate their sense of deep thinking through artistic application.  Arts integration have proven to accentuate more culturally diverse elements in a school or classroom which can show to have an even more widespread effect as seen with the Integrated Arts Academy project at H.O Wheeler, an elementary school in Burlington, Vermont that aims to reduce the amount of poverty and socio-economic inbalance through the development of a program which integrates art more fully into other subject areas.

Aspects and goals found in the arts curriculum need to be valued as much as in the Math and Science or Literacy subject areas.  Using them to compliment eachother and weave ideas together, working off one another to keep material relevant and relatable to all your students.  For teachers who are more traditionalist in their teaching methods or who may not see themselves as creative individuals or talented in a given arts focus the idea of incorporating something like Music or Drama into their school day lessons is a scary thing.  Collaborating with your fellow teachers and keeping yourself to date with current ideas and styles of learning through workshops or additional courses can help bridge that gap. 

Discovering lesson ideas in which you can combine both arts and non arts content together into one concrete idea challenges the thinking of the students and helps the teacher learn as well into the thought process of their students.  Using Dramatic elements to create a historical play or scene, students not only use their creative writing skills they are applying knowledge of historical information and strengthening communication and group collaboration activity.


http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/01/13/how-integrating-arts-into-other-subjects-makes-learning-come-alive/

Making Accomodations

Tests are often a stressful time for students and can feel quite overwhelming when one considers it as a culminating summary to everything you have learned in one unit.  A Student may perform well on assignments and quizzes so relying on a test at the end of the term to determine the overall mark may not represent an accurate picture of what the student truly knows and understands.  A student who struggles with reading or writing may require a scribe to dictate the information to orally. Allowing the student to write their tests or exams in a quiet environment that is not overly stimulating, taking the extra time needed and ensuring all students understand the rules explained at the beginning.
The overall impacts of assessment accommodation have remained unknown.

Several federally-funded research efforts are currently underway to investigate the impact of accommodations on test validity and reliability. Until we know more about the impact of assessment accommodations on test results, students with disabilities should be provided needed accommodations. The only alternative to this is to exclude students who need accommodations. In doing so, school districts and states are left with no data on these students. It is better to include and accommodate and look for ways to report test scores than to exclude students (NCEO, Policy Directions 8, Reporting Educational Results for Students with Disabilities).

Types of assessing such as Criterion-Referenced Testing could appear beneficial to those students who require accomodations as this method of testing looks specifically at a set criteria and examines if the student knows and understands the set goals or point of focus.

http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/measeval/crnmref.html

http://www.cehd.umn.edu/NCEO/onlinepubs/archive/Policy/Policy7.html

Inquiry Based Learning and. Critical Thinking

is rote memorization and high stakes testing the best way to assess if we are engaging students in higher-order thinking? Encouraging students to participate in activities that strengthen skills of analysis and self-regulation should be incorporated more into the classroom at earlier stages of development. Students not only are engaging in methods of critical thinking but they also learn how to use Inquiry Based style learning effectively. Learning to hypothesize, question, infer and draw upon their own conclusions through their own process of deductive reasoning

   in the following article, Overtly Teaching Critical Thinking and Inquiry Based Learning, Zoeller et.al  claims a foundation or baseline must be laid for the Critical Thinking process to continue in future learning. A baseline can be defined as being derived from motivation and an intention .  Simple activities can be designed to engage students from a young age to get them more excited about the idea if Inquiry Based learning. helping the student through scaffolding to discover a way in which they can relate the information to something in their lives helps to strengthen the sense of interest and overall willingness to engage in active learning.

http://blog.heidisongs.com/2014/06/how-to-teach-critical-thinking-skills-to-young-children.html


http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/our-concept-of-critical-thinking/411


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqGHqC_IqhM


http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ839873.pdf

Relating Learning Goals to Classroom Activity

From the perspective of  someone hoping to go into the world of teaching someday soon, the idea of following a strict set of Curriculum Expectations and Learning Goals can appear quite daunting.  As anyone who has worked as a teacher or in an environment conducive to learning we know that every child in the classroom is different is unique.  While Learning Goals aid a teacher to maintain a sense of direction, achieving these for the students require aa fine balance, following the documents assigned by the ministry and making the necessary accomodations for the students in your classroom.

During my last placement in relating Learning Goals to my students it became apparent to me that learning vocabulary in a specific unit area would require a stronger development of Literacy Skills, which many of my students were struggling with.  Some of the students spoke English as a second language which made the use of conventional teaching strategies often confusing or irrelevant. Taking the opportunity to take a few extra steps to reach your end goal can be both mutually beneficial to the teacher in finding new creative learning techniques and the student.



















Making sure to go over Learning Goals and how you intend to achieve, which would be the Success Criteria demonstrated by the completion of various activities, assignments and tests throughout the unit will give student a point of reference to assess the relevance of what they are learning.  Students will be more motivated to learn if they can see how it will benefit them and what they can use the knowledge for in their everyday lives.  Going over Learning Goals with the class and keeping them on the board for reference allows me to make note of what elements have been covered and the material that needs to be further expanded upon.  It has also helped shape the direction of my lessons and given me motivation to find new activities and exercises that can be used to further ensure students will meet their Success Criteria requirements and take away meaningful knowledge with them.

Josee's Blog Post Self-Reflection

Writing blog posts as part of an assessment assignment has truly been one of the best experiences I've had, as a student-teacher.  It has not only obliged me to review details of our assessment course lectures in order to teach the material to our readers, but has proven to be an effective means of furthering my learning in the subject.  Blogging isn't for everyone, and requires dedication, persistence, and motivation.  But for me, it is one of the most pleasurable ways to learn as I enjoy researching information and sharing my discoveries.  I plan on continuing on with this blog, as it has greatly contributed to my growth as both a mother and future teacher.  Additionally, it is a great way to keep informed of new information in the field of education and to contribute to the online education community.  I would like to thank you Prof. Leo Clark, for your encouragement and open-mindedness in allowing us to create our own assignment.  This blog is not only a reflection of our own independent learning abilities but also the direct result of an inspirational teacher's effective teaching strategies.

I hope that you (my readers) will find my posts interesting and that they contribute to the improvement and effectiveness of your own teaching practices. 

Violeta's Resource Compilation Rubric

Assessment Recourse Compilation Rubric

Topic / Description of assignment: Resource Collection for Grades 7-12 Science

Evaluation Criteria	4	3	2	1
Overall Quality of Resources	Exceptional in all areas. Very well constructed and completed.Exceeds standard expectations.	Very good. Minimal errors and meets the standard expectations.	Satisfactory. A good attempt but at times lacks flow.	Minimal effort in all areas. You can do much better.
Topic Relevance to Ministry Guidelines. Includes expectations, in all required materials.	Novel and unique approach in many aspects of the project. Exceptional effort and all requirements completed.	Some unique characteristics brought to the project. Fulfilled all requirements.   Some details could be better defined.	Satisfactory project. Most requirements completed.	Missing requirements.
Appropriate and creative selection of digital technology	Appropriate technology and high creativity demonstrated. Very good work.	Effort apparent in preparation with creativity. Meets expectations. Few errors.	Some effort show in preparation. At times difficult to follow and to make connections. Noticeable errors.	Appears that very little effort was invested to communicate ideas and information. Errors prevalent.
Communication of   Concepts and Principles	Strong connection between research and practice.  Ideas about learning and teaching have been pushed forward.  Exceptional use of proper terminology and language.	Evidence that considerable research created your ideas about learning and teaching forward.  Appropriate terminology and language used.More details about learning for/of: formative and summative.	Evidence of some research and resources accessed providing foundational knowledge.  Some information is missing but key ideas are covered.	Difficulty understanding concepts covered. Some key information is missing.
Assessment	Assessment activity related well to curriculum expectations.	Assessment activity does not relate well to curriculum expectations.	Purpose of assessment activity is unclear.	Assessment activity is difficult to follow and lacks purpose.
Followed Instructions	All instructions followed and complete as handed in. Complete details were provided as outlined.	An instruction was not followed. Some details need to be better explained, and/or need to be added.	Several instructions not followed. Quite a few details need to be added.	Instructions not followed. Many details need to be added

Violeta Reflection

Reflection

            When I started working on this assignment, I thought it would be straightforward. Even though it turned out to be challenging, it has proven to be a valuable learning experience.  One of the important things that I have learned while compiling resources for this project, is that it takes time to find appropriate assessment tools for your students. In addition, energy and dedication is necessary to personalize assessment tools based on individual student needs.

            While conducting my research, I found that collaborating with peers was invaluable to my learning.  Thus, I believe that applying this knowledge through cooperative learning within the classroom is crucial to effective student learning.  Also, the quality of assessment resources which educators use should depend on a deep understanding of curricular expectations, and effective application of student learning goals and success criteria. Thus, a practical aspect of this assignment was not only the knowledge gained about assessments, but also the research and collaborative skills acquired as a result of this experience.

            Finally, the strengths of this collection includes the development of computer, social and scientific literacy skills through games and other interactive forms of assessment.  However, a weakness is that these tools mainly focus on General Sciences for grades 9-10.

Violeta's Resources Introduction

Introduction

In this assignment, we are gathering assessment tools that can be useful for Intermediate/Senior English and/or Science teachers. Since assessment can be described as a continuous flux of student learning, the connection between overall expectations, specific expectations, learning goals, and success criteria must have an end result.  That is, children in the classroom have to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways. Resources for assessment should give students the necessary confidence to successfully achieve, and even surpass the levels of expectation outlined in the following Ontario Curriculum documents:

-          “The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 and 10” (2008)

-          “Growing Success” (2010)

-          “Learning for All” (2013)

Violeta's Resource 10 - Project Noah

Grade 9: Unit B - Sustainable Ecosystems

Project Noah mobile app

This app can be used as formative assessment for a research project of discovering the impact of a missing link in a food web. This can be used for nature exploration and teach students about ecosystems and the impact all living organisms have on the environment.
I would use this for one of the summative assessment at the end of the unit for grade 9 academic or enriched.

http://www.projectnoah.org/mobile

Violeta's Resource 9 - Wizardry and Chemistry - SCH3U

Grades 11-12 Chemistry SCH3U - Wizardry and Chemistry

This is an activity that can be performed with the students in class on as a duel and magic of pyrotechnics and it is geared towards a STEM education. I would use with a grade 11 or 12 chemistry university level in preparation for a Science Olympiad. The activity is going to require 2 days and it will be set up as a lab and follow-up discussion.

https://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.php?url=collection/uoh_/activities/uoh_wizardry/uoh_wizardry_activity1.xml

Assessment will be based on the activity presentation, lab write-up and class discussion as formative assessment.

Ryan's Resource #10- Online Assessment Rubrics

 I recently came across a great website called Rubistar which helps guide students in selected topics or areas of focus and design a step by step working of a class rubric for Projects, tests or oral presentations.  Rubistar allows users to see examples of past rubrics and the different subtleties between giving a student a level two or three on a given work.  I have completed a copy of a rubric to use for evaluation of my following resources. Assessments can be more regimented for high stakes testing or more broadened for alternative types of assessment.  The rubrics can be made interactive and easily altered and learning goals or expectations can be changed to accommodate  students needs and the pace of learning in the class.

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=ShowRubric&rubric_id=2616769

Blog Reflection

Retrieved from: Teaching Knowledge

Creating a blog was a very nice idea because it allowed us (my group members and I) to share our thoughts/opinions on things regarding assessment/schools with the world. This was the first time I created a blog so I was unsure what to expect. I thought it would be a very tedious and boring assignment but it has proven to be otherwise. The blog has allowed my group members and I, to share opinions regarding matters that will most likely effect all of us in the classroom. It has served as a discussion board as some discussion took place in the form of "comments" on certain posts. Although creating a blog was an interesting journey, it was a difficult one as well. Many times, I did not know what to post or discuss on my blog. It was very frustrating for me but once I had an idea about the topics I wanted to discuss, it became much easier to do.

Learning Goals and Success Criteria

Retrieved from: Slide Share

According to Learning goals and Success Criteria, learning goals "...answers the questions “Where are we going?”, “What are we expected to learn?” It allows students to take ownership of their learning and encourages them to build common understanding of why they are learning what they are learning. Therefore, it is important for students to know what their learning goals are. It usually starts with, "by the end of this lesson students should be able to..."

Learning goals and Success Criteria, also says that success criteria allow students to answer "....the questions “What does successful learning look like?”, “What are we to look for during the learning?” Success criteria promotes self assessment as well as peer assessment. It usually lists the things the student can do successfully. For example, "I can recall the process of photosynthesis". Success criteria allows students to determine if they are on the road to success in the classroom.

Should teachers be evaluated?

Retrieved from: Hawthorne Public School

I believe teachers should be evaluated by their students and the principal. They should be evaluated by the students at the end of each semester the same way professors/instructors are evaluated at the university level. This will help teachers become "better" teachers as this will indicate to them what to do and what not to do for their future students. At the end of my placements, I asked my students to evaluate me. A handful of students said I was "going too fast" but when I asked my associate teacher, she seemed to think I was going at a good pace...maybe even on the slow side. This just goes to show how important student evaluation can be because the way we, as teachers/adults, view our teaching may be different than how students actually see and understand it. That said, every couple years, teachers are evaluated by their principal. The process is called the teachers performance appraisal (TPA). I think this is necessary because it ensures that all teachers are performing at the level they are expected too

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