tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8268028888891345652024-03-13T11:24:28.282-07:00{Teaching} ∩ {Change}My journey at the intersection of teaching and change...Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-23290822882795725062022-05-02T08:20:00.000-07:002022-05-02T08:20:18.224-07:00Well, that took a while . . .<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">New teaching position. Check.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Writing curriculum for six straight years non-stop. Check.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Massive success of said curriculum. Check.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Presented at multiple conferences. Check.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://makezine.com/2017/05/01/maker-spotlight-boyd-weiger/" target="_blank">Featured in Make: Magazine</a>. Check.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Global pandemic. Check.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Keeping up on blogging. I'm going to get on that . . . now.</span></p>Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-39838207116448099392017-02-26T19:23:00.001-08:002017-02-26T19:23:06.733-08:00ChangeIt's been a few years since I have posted, and lots has changed, including the name of this blog. The title of the blog used to be <i>{Teaching} ∩ {Physical Science}</i>, but physical science is not currently my primary teaching focus. I don't know where my professional journey will take me in the future, but I know that changes along the way will be inevitable.<br />
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If you had asked me a year and a half ago if I'd be doing something significantly different in the future than continuing to teach in the district I'd been in for 10 years, I would have said it would be unlikely. But because of a life-changing phone call from my friend Gina who at the time was a former colleague, I now work in a middle school digital fab lab and get to teach students how to use 2D and 3D design software to produce products on vinyl cutters, laser cutters, and 3D printers. <br />
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It's a fabulous position. I have already learned lots about how to (and how not to) teach a class like this well. I have been planning on sharing this journey on the blog here eventually, but the impetus to actually do something about it sooner came from George Couros's <a href="http://immooc.org/" target="_blank"><i>The Innovator's Mindset</i> massively online open course</a>.<br />
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I am looking forward to writing about starting a digital fab lab program and participating in #IMMOOC - let the changes begin!Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-26540886854348714232014-04-23T15:21:00.000-07:002014-04-23T15:23:17.054-07:00Culture of Learning, Part 2If you haven't read <a href="http://bweiger.blogspot.com/2014/04/culture-of-learning.html" target="_blank">my post from yesterday</a>, please check that out.<br />
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I took the entire class period yesterday and today really trying to combat student apathy. Oddly enough, <a href="https://twitter.com/garnet_hillman" target="_blank">Garnet Hillman</a> wrote an <a href="http://garnethillman.com/my-war-on-apathy/" target="_blank">interesting piece on student apathy</a> the same day, but tackling the idea with <a href="http://poweroficu.com/products/" target="_blank">Danny Hill's ICU / Brick House model</a> (I need to read his books!).<br />
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Today, I (mostly) followed the plan I wrote about yesterday:<br />
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I told the students that my goal was to remain out of the conversation as much as possible, and that I would only interject if I felt that it was really necessary <br />
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We have a seven period day at our school. I have my duty during 1st period and my prep during 2nd period.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>3rd period</b></span> is my advanced 9th grade physical science class. The students completely got out of the readings what I had hoped they would. They discussed the need for hard work, leadership, humility, choosing difficult classes instead of easy classes in HS and college. They decided spontaneously to do quiet finger snapping applause when someone said something they thought was really deep - that was kind of fun! The discussion was great and I couldn't have been more pleased.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>4th period</b></span> was pretty much a disaster. While I asked the students yesterday to slowly and carefully read the entire article, I think a large number of these students stopped thinking after the first sentence which says in part that, ". . . Google had determined that 'G.P.A.'s are worthless as a criteria for hiring, and test scores are worthless.' " Well, that led many groups to come to a consensus that they shouldn't go to college and grades don't matter at all. Ugh. Not what I was going for. I had to do a lot of damage control that period, and I anticipate that I'll need to do some more in the coming days. Sigh.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">5th period</span></b> went well. I prefaced my instructions with a short bit of guidance, letting the students know that if all they got out of the reading was that they shouldn't go to college and that grades don't matter, they missed the point, and that I was not interested having them take that approach to their conversation. Their discussion went well, although they weren't quite as willing to have a back-and-forth in the large group setting.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>6th period</b></span> was amazing. While presenting, one of the students said something about "when we get out into the real world", which tripped my trigger, so I raised my hand to interject. I strongly believe that students are in their own "real world" and that their K-12 education is just part of their real-world journey, so that's what I said. That opened a giant can of worms. Many students felt like they are more in the real world than others due to family circumstances, lack of parental support, or needing to work already. Some students were surprisingly willing to talk about education and work-related struggles of family members. A big disagreement was centered around motivation and who motivates or is responsible for motivating the students. One young lady wrapped up the conversation nicely, and I paraphrase here: "Even though we all may have different viewpoints on this, at the end of the day, no matter who has tried to motivate us - teachers, parents, or anyone else - we students have to make the decision whether or not we're going to work hard every day." She received some deserved applause.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">7th period</span></b> also went well, but I have a few students who tend to attempt to dominate conversations on a regular basis, which also happened a bit today. I need to figure out how to channel that energy better. One group brought up the idea of grit, and a good conversation was had on that topic by the students.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">At the end of each hour</span></b>, I asked for feedback from the students. I handed out a half sheet of paper with these questions:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rpFbCCwBOWc/U1g6tg-eiWI/AAAAAAAAA_M/4Q9DGtouoK4/s1600/feedback.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rpFbCCwBOWc/U1g6tg-eiWI/AAAAAAAAA_M/4Q9DGtouoK4/s1600/feedback.PNG" height="80" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Tomorrow</b></span>, I'll post representative samples or perhaps just a summary of the feedback I receive.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>All said and done</b></span>, today was a good day. Back to ionic bonding tomorrow! :)Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-90402478904648951922014-04-22T13:50:00.002-07:002014-04-22T13:50:53.210-07:00Culture of LearningI switched things up in class today. No science content at all. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Yesterday</b></span>, we returned to school after a four day break. I anticipated that my 9th grade physical science students would need a little bit of a refresher before we discussed a computer simulation they had completed exploring ionic bonding. So we backed up a few steps and reviewed the prerequisite knowledge for understanding why and how atoms form ions. I felt, though, that the students weren't very engaged and that I was doing heavier mental lifting than they were. By the end of the day, I was frustrated.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Over dinner</b></span>, I relayed my frustration to my wife, and she said, "well, do something about it." I said, "what do you mean? I tried to do something about it and it didn't work!" She replied, "you're creative - do something different." Obviously, she doesn't understand my problems.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Later in the evening</b></span>, I attended the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23colchat&src=typd" target="_blank">#COLchat</a> (Culture of Learning) meeting on Twitter from 8-9pm CST. I just learned about the hashtag and meeting last week, so this was my first time attending (I mostly read). Lots of great questions and answers were scrolling on my Tweetdeck. It was hard to keep up, but very inspiring! Afterward I was thinking, "yeah! Culture of learning! I'm going to change the world!" But I hadn't come up with any solutions for my classroom. I decided to forge ahead with curriculum the next day.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Early this morning</span></b>, I found the newest <a href="http://www.marshallmemo.com/" target="_blank">Marshall Memo</a> in my inbox. I popped it open and read through the first article summary, which led me to read the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/12/opinion/sunday/raising-a-moral-child.html?_r=0" target="_blank">entire article</a> on the NYT website. But more importantly, it led my to read Thomas Friedman's latest op-ed piece <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/20/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google-part-2.html" target="_blank"><i>How to get a Job at Google, Part 2</i></a>. I then read <i><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a></i>. In a nutshell, the articles describe what Google is looking for in new employees, which is pretty much exactly what I'm wanting my students to do. This is what I needed!<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Before class started</span></b>, I copied and pasted both articles into a document with a defined 2-inch margin on the right side:<br />
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and then typed up the following assignment:<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As students walked into class</span></b>, the article and assignment were hot off the press. I gave them some of the back story I have just written about and then explained what I wanted them to do. Almost every student really dug in and worked hard. One of them worked past the bell for about a minute and then said, "Mr. Weiger, this is going to be an entire diary by the time I get done with it today!" as she walked out the door with a smile on her face. That was fun to hear.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Tomorrow</span></b>, here's what I plan to do:<br />
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<li>Give students time to skim the article again and read their notes written on the article and their writing inside their science notebook.</li>
<li>Get students into groups of four</li>
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<li>take a minute each to share their overall comments, thoughts and questions in their small groups</li>
<li>as a small group, </li>
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<li>come to a consensus and whiteboard the two most important take-aways from each article</li>
<li>prepare to discuss their ideas with the large group</li>
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<li>in a large group setting, each group will present their ideas to the rest of the class, using our <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/c7g0jp03at2z4ji/Discussion%20Guidelines.doc" target="_blank">class discussion guidelines</a></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Looking forward</span></b>, I'm really excited to see what tomorrow holds. I haven't done anything exactly like this before, and I wonder how much the students really took the assignment to heart today. If you have suggestions or comments, I would love to hear them either in the comment section below, or on Twitter. <a href="https://twitter.com/boydweiger" target="_blank">@boydweiger</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Also</b></span>, I should probably listen to my wife's suggestions more carefully. Thanks Steph!Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-68462769987180734922014-03-18T06:15:00.001-07:002014-03-18T06:24:09.950-07:00Whiteboarding and Classroom ClimateI have been using modeling in my 9th grade introductory physics class for a few years now, with whiteboarding being an integral part of the class. One of the byproducts of whiteboarding, if done well, can be a classroom climate that feels very safe to students.<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=826802888889134565" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=826802888889134565" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
During my first year of modeling, I was searching for additional question stems to help students politely ask questions of each other (even though they all love "Have you considered . . ." !). I found <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/stw/edutopia-kipp-criticalthinking-toolsforct-socraticseminarstatements.pdf" target="_blank">this document</a> at Edutopia, which was a help.<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=826802888889134565" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=826802888889134565" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>Last summer, I read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/An-Ethic-Excellence-Building-Craftsmanship/dp/0325005966/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395101132&sr=8-1&keywords=ethic+excellence" target="_blank"><i>An Ethic of Excellence: Building a Culture of Craftsmanship with Students</i></a> by Ron Berger, and got some more ideas from that book for making a better document which I give to my students. Berger discusses his methods of critique, which parallel whiteboarding techniques, on p.92-95.<br />
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You can <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/c7g0jp03at2z4ji/Discussion%20Guidelines.doc" target="_blank">download my document</a> (it's in science notebook foldable format) but here are the contents:<br />
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I don't let students slide on politeness. They all know that I will not
hesitate to halt the conversation and direct the question-asker to page
12 of his or her science notebook so he or she can find a more polite
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I have a quite powerful story about this from class last year. A new student (let's call him Joe) arrived in my classroom towards the end of the first semester. A few days after Joe arrived, we did a whiteboard session on an assignment. As Joe was working with another student on their whiteboard, I gave him a quick run-down of how whiteboard sessions work. Unfortunately, I left out the polite questioning techniques. Half-way through the whiteboarding session, Joe raised his hand after the presenters asked if anyone had a question. Joe then made an unkind <i>comment </i>about their whiteboard instead of asking a polite <i>question</i>. The effect on the other students in my class was immediate and obvious. Jaws dropped and brows furrowed as they whipped their heads to first stare at Joe and then at me. Class mores had been violated and the students were obviously wondering what would happen. I <i>politely </i>said, "Hey Joe, we try to ask questions politely when we're whiteboarding. Could you rephrase what you said to be a little more polite?" Joe complied, and we moved on. I kept him after class, gave him a copy of our discussion guidelines document, and a had a short non-confrontational pep talk about what the expectations are during whiteboarding. Our conversation went well.<br />
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The very next day, when we were finishing up the whiteboard session from the previous day, Joe made the same sort of snarky comment that he had made the day before. The other students appeared incredulous that he would go down the exact same road as the day before. I asked Joe to step out in the hallway and asked the other students to continue the whiteboard session (which they're absolutely able to do). I had a stern, yet calm conversation with Joe about what our class expects student interactions to look like. After we were both on the same page, we went back into class, and continued on.<br />
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The next time Joe participated during class, I could see the other students tense up before he spoke. After he politely spoke, I watched the tension in the room visibly dissipate. We had no problems from there on out for the rest of the year.<br />
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TL;DR<br />
You, as a classroom teacher, absolutely impact your classroom climate by the expectations you set. These expectations may the become the expectations of your students as well.Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-81828821233421675882013-04-05T20:33:00.002-07:002013-04-06T06:01:18.823-07:00SBG Part 6 - What about assignments?<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Once of the nice features of SBG it that it really lends itself to the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Design-Expanded-2nd-Edition/dp/0131950843" target="_blank">backwards design</a> process. Using state standards to write learning goals, using learning goals to write assessments, and then designing instruction to support the assessments.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Because my academic standards assessments are 100% of a student's grade, if I expect that my students will do their assigned work, it had better be high quality and completely aligned with the learning goals. I have to convince the students that if they don't do assigned work, their grade will suffer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I truly believe that homework should be used for students to practice skills that they are in the process of learning, and that if they make mistakes while they are practicing, they should not be penalized. Sports analogies are particularly apt: mistakes on the practice field are fine - it's performance in the game that counts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I expect students to have their assignments done to the best of their ability when they walk in the door of my classroom. If they have trouble with a question, I expect them to reason through as much of it as they can and write down as much as they could figure out along with a note about their confusion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I check assignments for completion at the beginning of the class period. I enter assignments into the online gradebook as either 'T' for turned in, or 'M' for missing. Students can fill out <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/n9abcpez35htzu5/Assignment%20Gradebook%20Status%20Change%20Request.docx" target="_blank">a small form</a> to get the grade status changed from 'M' to 'T', although I make a comment that the assignment was late in the gradebook. Assignments are all in a 0% weight category. I enter this information mostly so parents can see their student's trend in assignment completion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Students quickly find out as the school year starts that even though assignments are not directly part of their grade, they cannot attain high levels of achievement without doing the assignments in my class.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cheating becomes a non-issue. Students usually copy assignments in other classes to get points for the assignment. In my classes, the only way for students to earn points is to learn from assignments and then show me what they know during an assessment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As far as extra credit assignments go, there are none. What can you do to get your grade up? Study and reassess a standard. No word-finds in this class!</span><br />
<br />Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-38007250159531606942013-04-04T18:30:00.000-07:002013-04-06T06:01:31.255-07:00SBG Part 5 - Reassessing<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If you put any stock in what Carol Dweck wrote about in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mindset-The-New-Psychology-Success/dp/0345472322" target="_blank"><i>Mindset</i></a>, then
encouraging students to have a growth mindset while implementing a
traditional grading system often sets them up for failure. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Let's say a student does poorly on the "Unit 3" test. If you as a teacher are unwilling to allow them some way to reassess after they upgrade their level of knowledge, I don't see how that promotes a growth mindset. What that says to the student is that even if they are willing to put in work to improve their level of knowledge, you as a teacher do not value that effort. I think that send the wrong message.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Here's what I tell students that they must do in order to reassess a learning goal:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">New information showing additional learning will replace old information. You may reassess provided that you have:</span></i><br />
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<li><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">fully completed ALL assignments related to that standard (standard codes are listed at the top of every assignment)</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">checked your answers for all assignments related to that standard using the key in Mr. Weiger's notebook</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">documented an effort to engage in additional learning (e.g. tutoring, additional practice, test corrections, studying, etc.)</span></i></li>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">You must fill out an online reassessment request two workdays in advance of any reassessment. You may only reassess one standard per day. You must reassess before or after school. The deadline for any reassessment is the last day before the final week of the semester. No reassessments will be allowed during the final week of the semester. Any grade changes due to reassessments made after Q1/Q3 ends will be reflected in your S1/S2 grade.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I post my before/after school availability on a <a href="http://weigerscience.blogspot.com/p/before-after-school-help.html" target="_blank">google calendar on my class website</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Here's <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEU0Qy1hN3c1WGtvSi1wUFNFM3ZuQUE6MA" target="_blank">what the reassessment form look like</a>. Some good meta-cognitive questions are included - click the link to check it out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The new score is entered over the old score in the gradebook after the student reassesses - even if if goes down. This ensures students take reassessment seriously.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I put a comment in the gradebook that says for example, "original score:1, reassess:4"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A nice aspect of this system is that it puts most of the responsibility for the reassessing process on the student.</span>Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-30030328013607769012013-04-03T17:55:00.000-07:002013-04-06T06:05:31.554-07:00SBG Part 4 - The written assessment process<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have gone through many iterations of how to do assessment, but I think I've hit on something pretty good this year. Here's how it goes:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I assess more frequently on fewer learning goals. This allows me to conference with every (usually) student immediately after each assessment.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My tests are printed in a <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/b42ua2aykfokbhg/ExamView%20-%20PT.2-3%20%20A.pdf" target="_blank">specific format</a>:</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">they have a cover page containing only the student's name, period, and any relevant given information (formulas, constants, etc.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">the questions are sectioned by learning goal</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">at the beginning of each section, the learning goal code and description are listed along with a score box</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The first student who is done with the test comes up directly to me and I grade his/her test. This has several benefits:</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I get to have a individual conversation with each student. I always greet the student by name and then take the time to briefly connect with them in some way besides the test we're about to grade.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If a student has written an answer that I am unclear about as I read it, I can ask the student right then and there to clarify their answer. I can take that into account when score the test.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I can give the student immediate feedback. Not the next week. Not in two days. Not tomorrow. Immediately. This is a big deal.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I can give specific ideas for them to remediate if necessary. </span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The second student done with the test stands in the "on-deck" circle near my desk.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The third student who is done puts their test in a wire bin, sits back down at their desk and works on whatever I have assigned students to do after the test.</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Pointing into the wire bin is an old video camera that I have permanently checked out from our media center. It serves as a DIY document cam.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The video camera is hooked up to the video port on my digital projector.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Since the cover page of the of the test does not contain any test questions/answers - no problem.</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Other students who finish, put their test on the bottom of the stack in the wire bin.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When<i> </i>I am done conferencing with the first student, he/she goes into the lab area to update his/her notebook:</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">enters scores on unit score tracker in science notebook</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">color codes scores on tracker with a colored pencil:</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">4 - green</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3 or 2 - yellow</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1 or 0 - red</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">puts assessment into his/her personal manila folder containing all written assessments</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">puts manila folder in a different wire bin</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">sits down at desk, calculates new science grade using notebook grade tracker page, and then works on assignment</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When the first student leaves, the student in the on-deck circle comes up to get their test graded</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The student whose name is being projected on the board gets their test out of the bin and waits in the on-deck circle.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The process continues until I'm done grading all the tests or the bell rings.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If I don't get to conference with all the students, I grade those tests after school and pass them back the next day. Since I typically don't have many to grade, I have more time to leave detailed written feedback.</span></li>
</ul>
Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-41778549119713832112013-04-02T17:09:00.000-07:002013-04-06T06:03:07.453-07:00SBG Part 3 - Students track their own grades!<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I haven't posted a grade sheet in my class for the last two years. Students track their own grades and can calculate their current grade at any time. Here's how the system works:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As I've mentioned before, I have the students glue my <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/syacjrf70xh5ygq/Grading%202012.doc" target="_blank">grading policy</a> into their notebooks at the beginning of the year.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">On the very next page in their notebook is a <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/ufelmdq4oyqq1ia/Grade%20Tracker.docx" target="_blank">calculation page</a> that they can use to help them calculate their current grade.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The first two notebook pages in any unit always consist of:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a unit overview page (<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/q0iss4q488j62rm/Essential%20Question%20%26%20Learning%20Goals.doc" target="_blank">example</a>) that contains:</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">the essential question for the unit</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">the learning goals for the unit</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">vocabulary from the unit </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">the MN state standards related to the unit</span></li>
</ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">a score tracker page (<a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/sv275fyvnt7nbqd/CB%20Tracker.doc" target="_blank">example</a>) that allows students to track their assessment and reassessment scores</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">To calculate their current grade, the students use the calculation page. They:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">add up all the assessment scores in their notebook (using the most current score for any one standard)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">count how many standards they've been assessed on</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">divide the sum of their assessment scores by the number of standards they've been assessed on</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This gives them a score that is between 0-4, which they can compare to the grading policy page in their notebook to convert to their letter grade.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Easy-peasy! </span>Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-87268737566229131972013-04-01T16:27:00.000-07:002013-04-06T06:03:16.520-07:00SBG Part 2 - Grading Scales<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I grade students on a 0-4 scale based on their level of knowledge or ability on learning goals that are written as "I can" statements in student-friendly language.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">At the beginning of the course, I have them glue my <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/syacjrf70xh5ygq/Grading%202012.doc" target="_blank">grading policy</a> into their science notebook. It contains the following rubric:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table border="1" bordercolor="#000000" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: white; width: 100%px;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Score</b></span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Description</b></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>4</b></span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Expert - My response shows I understand the content/ skills completely and can explain them in detail.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> (This means no mistakes on an assessment, or only a very minor error)</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>3</b></span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Proficient - My response shows I understand the important parts about the content/skills.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">(This means only minor errors on an assessment) </span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>2</b></span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Developing - My response shows I have a general understanding of the content/skills, but I’m also confused about some important parts.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">(This means that it's obvious to me that the student understands some of the material, but is also confused about some of it) </span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>1</b></span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Beginning - My response shows I have minimal understanding of the content/skills.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">(This means that it's clear that the student understands very little about the concept) </span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>0</b></span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">No Evidence - My response shows I have no understanding of the content/skills</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">(This means that the student clearly understands nothing or close to nothing about the concept) </span></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I also provide students with a chart in the grading policy that allows them to convert their 0-4 scale grade to a letter grade. In the chart below, I have included that information, plus the minimum percent for each grade bin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<center>
<table border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: white; width: 175px;">
<tbody>
<tr style="background-color: #ffffcc;">
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A+</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">4.00</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">100</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ffffcc;">
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3.99 - 3.80</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">95</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ffffcc;">
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A-</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3.79 - 3.55</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">88.75</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">B+</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3.54 - 3.20</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">80</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">B</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">3.19 - 2.85</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">71.25</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">B-</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2.84 - 2.55</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">63.75</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ffffcc;">
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">C+</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2.54 - 2.20</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">55</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ffffcc;">
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">C</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2.19 - 1.85</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">46.25</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ffffcc;">
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">C-</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1.84 - 1.55</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">38.75</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">D+</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1.54 - 1.20</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">30</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">D</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1.19 - 0.85</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">21.25</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">D-</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">0.86 - 0.55</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">13.75</span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #ffffcc;">
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">F</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">0.54 - 0</span></td>
<td><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">0</span></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
</center>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">There's no formula that you can use to convert a 0-4 scale to a percent scale. I have tweaked my scale a few times over the last couple years. You can check out the <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/gmk5ayt9fo5eo6x/SBG%204pt%20to%20percent.xls" target="_blank">excel file</a> that I use to work on the scale.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My grade bin sizes are not exactly equal, but it's the best I have been able to do so far. There are two factors that drive my bins:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I want a score of 3 to equate to a grade of 'B', so that means a middle 'B' must be equal to 75%. Similarly, 2 should be 'C' and 1 should be 'D'.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If a student assesses two standards, and earns for instance a 3 and a 4, I want the scores to average out to 'B+', not 'A-".</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Speaking of averaging out, I am limited to a traditional online gradebook called i-Cue. While I would like to eventually have tiers of standards where some standards are weighted more heavily than others, I feel that it would get too confusing for students and parents. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">All standards are in one category that counts toward 100% of a student's grade during most of the semester. I have a comprehensive end-of-semester final that I weight as 10% of the semester grade, so the academic standards end up being 90% of their grade.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Our online gradebook defaults to the standard 90-80-70-60 scale, but teachers can edit the percentage bins as they please, so I can warp the gradebook enough to achieve my basic needs for SBG.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I can also suppress the percentage score that students and parents can see. I do this because parents and students are not used to seeing a score of say, 50% to equal a 'C'. Percentages have a different meaning in my class and it's not important information for students or parents.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">If you use i-Cue in your school district and would like me to help you set up i-Cue for SBG, I'd be happy to help! :)</span>Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-47788180166187123562013-03-31T15:05:00.000-07:002013-04-06T06:03:30.852-07:00SBG Part 1 - Justification<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have been wanting to write about my standards-based grading (SBG) implementation for a while, but being on a panel discussion tomorrow has given me the push to actually do it! :)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I am splitting up the topic into several posts so I don't put you into a TL;DR situation... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">First, why do I use SBG in my classes? I believe that:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> students' grades should reflect what they know or what they can
do for that particular course.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">grades should inform students as to their strengths and weaknesses. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">homework is for
practice, and that students should not be penalized for mistakes while practicing. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">if students upgrade their skills or level of knowledge during a
course, their grade should reflect that. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">traditional
grading systems often give a false indication of a student's skills.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The posts that follow will address each one of these points. </span>Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-49670025023849825092012-04-09T13:50:00.000-07:002012-04-09T17:38:10.063-07:00ISN Logistics<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
When students come into my room every day, they look to see if there's anything to glue in in the wire bins I always have out - if there is, they get right to it. I rarely have tardy students since they can get right together with their friends to glue in pages.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uPSjqBi0hd8/T4NKKLtCTfI/AAAAAAAAAz0/AHI3Xovx12c/s1600/IMG_3312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uPSjqBi0hd8/T4NKKLtCTfI/AAAAAAAAAz0/AHI3Xovx12c/s320/IMG_3312.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wire bins & custom glue bottle holder</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
Sometimes I have them glue in several days worth of ISN pages at a time, other days it's just today's pages.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
For students who have been absent, I simply print out the entry from my <a href="http://weigerscience.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">classroom blog</a> and tape it to a weekly calendar - a time saver, since I'm not typing/writing the same thing twice. Each day, I list what we did (including any ISN pages glued in), what was due that day, and upcoming due dates. I have a weekly calendar for the current week and the previous week that I just switch back and forth. I also post my before/after school availability on the calendar.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xqDsKkhX8Ao/T4NKcIGuuJI/AAAAAAAAAz8/AgkwlXZdA9w/s1600/IMG_3308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xqDsKkhX8Ao/T4NKcIGuuJI/AAAAAAAAAz8/AgkwlXZdA9w/s200/IMG_3308.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This week's calendar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1ybt-0LCIQE/T4NKctD4ZyI/AAAAAAAAA0E/0BaVNQM2Bxc/s1600/IMG_3309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1ybt-0LCIQE/T4NKctD4ZyI/AAAAAAAAA0E/0BaVNQM2Bxc/s200/IMG_3309.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last week's calendar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
I store extra copies of each assignment in the hanging folder crate shown below, which is right by my weekly calendars. When students come back from an absence, they can easily get all the assignments they need without any intervention by me. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cbrGfdDbw6k/T4NKr3nitlI/AAAAAAAAA0M/rXnXpv7bVi0/s1600/IMG_3307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cbrGfdDbw6k/T4NKr3nitlI/AAAAAAAAA0M/rXnXpv7bVi0/s320/IMG_3307.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ISN assignment crate</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-43222338364350647682012-02-28T17:13:00.000-08:002012-02-28T17:13:01.581-08:00Prelude to a series on my 2011-12 semester 1Well, there has been quite a gap since my last post. I had a very busy first semester teaching the physics portion of 9th grade physical science. I made major changes to my instruction (for the better I believe), and now I am planning on a series of posts to hopefully get some feedback from the science teaching blogging community at large. I changed my instruction from a lecture-driven approach (using <a href="http://mazur.harvard.edu/publications.php?function=search&topic=8" target="_blank">Peer Instruction</a> ala Mazur) using traditional grading to <a href="http://modeling.asu.edu/" target="_blank">Modeling Instruction</a> using <a href="http://oldmathdognewtricks.blogspot.com/2011/06/sbg-gala-6.html" target="_blank">Standards-Based Grading</a>. Additionally, I have been using <a href="http://www.sciencenotebooks.org/" target="_blank">interactive science notebooks</a> (ISNs) for the past few years, and I reformatted all of the modeling materials I used to fit into a 9.75 x 7.5" bound composition notebook.<br />
<br />
I am going to start this new series of posts with some information on ISNs. I have also provided a couple pages on the blog where I've posted some of the generic pages that may be of use to others as well as the <a href="http://bweiger.blogspot.com/p/isn-resources.html">blank templates</a> that I use to create assignments in the ISN.<br />
<br />
If you haven't looked into using interactive science notebooks in your science class, I would highly recommend it. I have used them for a few years now with great success. Some of the benefits of using ISNs are:<br />
<ul>
<li>if students have the science notebook, they're prepared for class - you'll
never hear, "I can't find that assignment, so can I get another copy?"
again! Ever.</li>
<li>students are always organized (they have no loose papers)</li>
<li>students never lose assignments (they're glued into the notebook!)</li>
<li>students are literally and figuratively "on the same page"</li>
<li>students have a built-in reference for the entire semester (since everything goes into the ISN)</li>
<li>It's a great communication tool with parents - especially at
conferences. I require regular parent reviews and I require students to
bring their notebook to conferences. </li>
</ul>
I wrote a <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B0QHT_wkD0DUNzQ4NjA5NWQtZjBmNS00N2ZiLWFjYmYtYzlhYjE1N2VhNWFh" target="_blank">paper </a>for an action research project I did which outlines exactly how I used them in class (my use of ISNs continues to evolve), so if you want a primer on how to effectively set up and use ISNs take a look at it. I included an extensive annotated bibliography that covers all aspects of ISNs.<br />
<br />
A few things that I have found important for using and setting up ISNs:<br />
<ul>
<li>Having the student customize the cover of their notebook is a big deal. It makes them take ownership of the notebook and creates a personal connection to the notebook that cannot be underestimated.</li>
<li>Ensure that all students number all pages of their notebook right away. Trust me - it will save lots of time in the long run.</li>
<li>Have the pages to glue in and the glue in the same spot every day. I have very few tardies in my class - students come in and get to work right away before the bell even rings. It's a good way for them to connect with each other and with me at the beginning of class.</li>
<li>Use white glue. Glue sticks will hold for approximately 1 day. Wrinkle-free glue pens will hold for approximately two days.</li>
<li>Use small drops of glue. More is completely unnecessary and will make the ISN look wrinkly and not neat.</li>
<li>Make small circles on your assignments to show the students where to put these small drops of glue. Trust me on this. If you don't, stand by for your glue supply to dwindle quickly.</li>
<li>Sitting on the notebook for a minute after gluing actually makes a pretty big difference in the thickness and neatness over the course of a semester. </li>
<li>A table of contents is mostly not useful (although I still have the students use one). Much more useful is an index of topics/concepts/terms that students update as they progress through the semester (I still have work to do on this myself).</li>
</ul>
<br />
So, that's about it for now - more to come on modeling instruction soon!Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-26491350188574102102011-06-22T06:48:00.000-07:002011-06-22T07:10:51.978-07:00Using Gmail and Mozilla Thunderbird for Listserv ManagementSubscribing to listservs can be a very valuable source of collaboration and professional development, but it has the potential to overload your email inbox. I'm going to describe a simple way to manage and archive listserv emails using two free resources: Gmail and Mozilla Thunderbird. You can replicate this process using other email services - the steps just may be slightly different.<br />
<br />
1. <a href="https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount">Get a Gmail account</a><br />
<br />
2. Set up Gmail filters for your listservs:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5n4PXYZn2lo/TgDmE6E4GeI/AAAAAAAAAWE/mS55O3Wxd7U/s1600/gear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><ul><li>Click "Mail settings" under the gear icon in the top left corner of the screen</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5n4PXYZn2lo/TgDmE6E4GeI/AAAAAAAAAWE/mS55O3Wxd7U/s1600/gear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5n4PXYZn2lo/TgDmE6E4GeI/AAAAAAAAAWE/mS55O3Wxd7U/s1600/gear.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>Click the "Filters" tab and then click the "Create a new filter" link</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fpW_aBNKdBo/TgDmU9ZbyDI/AAAAAAAAAWI/YTZAOfbfhMA/s1600/filters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="121" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fpW_aBNKdBo/TgDmU9ZbyDI/AAAAAAAAAWI/YTZAOfbfhMA/s640/filters.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>In the "To" box type the the email address of the listserv. In the example below, I only have the portion of the email address after the "@" symbol since I subscribe to multiple NSTA listservs and I like them all to go into the same folder. Click the "Next Step" button when you're done.</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PR9tZU8WuKI/TgDmq_0SHxI/AAAAAAAAAWM/mPI3JvRl6NY/s1600/to.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PR9tZU8WuKI/TgDmq_0SHxI/AAAAAAAAAWM/mPI3JvRl6NY/s640/to.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>Check the options "Skip the Inbox" and "Apply the Label"</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rY0eehLqBc8/TgDnq4QXi7I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/7c6UOKh9tYc/s1600/skip+inbox+-+apply+label.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rY0eehLqBc8/TgDnq4QXi7I/AAAAAAAAAWQ/7c6UOKh9tYc/s640/skip+inbox+-+apply+label.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>Click the dropdown box that says "Choose Label..." and click the "New Label" option</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zu8Aw1ldF94/TgDpClAI0qI/AAAAAAAAAWc/GARcD7eJSDE/s1600/New+Picture+%25281%2529.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zu8Aw1ldF94/TgDpClAI0qI/AAAAAAAAAWc/GARcD7eJSDE/s640/New+Picture+%25281%2529.bmp" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>Choose the name for the folder that you want your listserv messages to go into. If you want to use subfolders like NSTA/Physics or NSTA/Chemistry you can set that up as well (if you type in the whole email address in the filter setup). Click "Create" when you're done.</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7JtKchYORcQ/TgDoNSeMbWI/AAAAAAAAAWY/7QMXR-8ftbg/s1600/Newlabel+no+sub.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7JtKchYORcQ/TgDoNSeMbWI/AAAAAAAAAWY/7QMXR-8ftbg/s320/Newlabel+no+sub.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li> Click on the "Create Filter" button. and you're done with the filter part</li>
<li>Next, you need to enable IMAP access to Gmail. First click on the "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" tab on the setting menu:</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-azdE9tgYzRU/TgDraTCm8jI/AAAAAAAAAWg/b4IEXM-s294/s1600/fwd+pop+imap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="68" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-azdE9tgYzRU/TgDraTCm8jI/AAAAAAAAAWg/b4IEXM-s294/s640/fwd+pop+imap.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>Next click the "Enable IMAP" radio button, and then click the "Save Changes" button at the bottom.</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WlwaZCU0pRI/TgDrxd4KelI/AAAAAAAAAWk/bTIPBScS3pM/s1600/enable+imap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WlwaZCU0pRI/TgDrxd4KelI/AAAAAAAAAWk/bTIPBScS3pM/s400/enable+imap.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>Now you're done with Gmail. Next is setting up Thunderbird. The instructions for basic configuration are at the bottom of the Gmail screen, so click on that link if you need help. Ensure that you set up Gmail as an IMAP account, and not a POP account.</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BDqqs5xSQw8/TgDsdhKKC0I/AAAAAAAAAWo/sSlz_F_TOc8/s1600/config+inst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="81" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BDqqs5xSQw8/TgDsdhKKC0I/AAAAAAAAAWo/sSlz_F_TOc8/s400/config+inst.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>When you get Thunderbird configured, it'll automatically load all your folders. This is what mine looks like:</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UWn8_eL2-Zs/TgDuwCsh0CI/AAAAAAAAAWs/9RMwtMyZpo0/s1600/folders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UWn8_eL2-Zs/TgDuwCsh0CI/AAAAAAAAAWs/9RMwtMyZpo0/s1600/folders.jpg" /></a></div> Notice that I have a couple subfolders under NSTA, one of which is my NSTA listserv folder. You'll also notice that I have a LOT of unread messages. I read the topics that are of interest to me as they come across. The rest, I don't bother deleting as Gmail gives you 7GB of space! That way if I want/need to go back to a conversation that happened long ago, it's easy to search for.<br />
<ul><li>There are a few configuration settings for Thunderbird that you'll want to make. First you should set how Thunderbird handles downloading messages. Do this by first clicking on your email address in the above image (mine is partially blurred out and blue in color). This will bring up the following option on the right side pane. Click on the "View settings for this account" link.</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NoaLT-lBhYU/TgHrGlJWGiI/AAAAAAAAAWw/01J70l2jP-o/s1600/account+settings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NoaLT-lBhYU/TgHrGlJWGiI/AAAAAAAAAWw/01J70l2jP-o/s1600/account+settings.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>That will bring up the following menu. Click on the"Synchronization & Storage" option</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SPWW-X4zJIk/TgHso25phAI/AAAAAAAAAW0/TdJ_n7jaxsc/s1600/synchro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SPWW-X4zJIk/TgHso25phAI/AAAAAAAAAW0/TdJ_n7jaxsc/s1600/synchro.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>Then you're presented with the following screen. I have Thunderbird set up so that it doesn't keep the messages on the computer by unchecking the option shown. What this means is that the subject of the message is only downloaded at first. The content of the message is only downloaded from Gmail if you actually view the message. This setup prevents your hard drive from getting bogged down with thousands of messages, but the content of all the messages IS on your Gmail account. The downside to this setup is that you can only search the message subjects and sender/receiver information within Thunderbird. You can't search the contents since you haven't downloaded them. If you need to search the contents, you can always do this in Gmail itself. Click the "OK" button when you're done.</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0MSnrml71fg/TgHtGym31-I/AAAAAAAAAW4/p24OIsUe5hg/s1600/keep+messages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0MSnrml71fg/TgHtGym31-I/AAAAAAAAAW4/p24OIsUe5hg/s400/keep+messages.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>Next right-click on your listserv folder and choose "Properties" from the pop-up menu. </li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XbXzdaheIEk/TgH2xmKhBTI/AAAAAAAAAXI/3NQgHFqpPmE/s1600/folderproperties.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XbXzdaheIEk/TgH2xmKhBTI/AAAAAAAAAXI/3NQgHFqpPmE/s1600/folderproperties.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<ul><li>Put a check mark in the option "When getting messages for this account, always check this folder". Then click the "OK" button.</li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-figQqMrFA8M/TgH3ltEWyeI/AAAAAAAAAXM/saU1mZpCy0E/s1600/checkfolder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-figQqMrFA8M/TgH3ltEWyeI/AAAAAAAAAXM/saU1mZpCy0E/s320/checkfolder.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<br />
<ul><li>The final setup involves the message pane, and here's where the real organization power of Thunderbird comes into play - this is really the most important part! </li>
<ul><li>In the message pane, the fist thing you want to do is click the date column header so that the little arrow is pointing down. This sorts the messages chronologically with the newest messages first. (This is pointed out below by the hand on the top right)</li>
<li>Next you want to click on the column header symbol on the left (it's a symbol of a directory tree and it will say "Click to display message threads" when you hover over it. This will group the messages by thread so you can easily see the flow of the conversation. (This is pointed out by the hand on the top left)</li>
<li>So, when more than one message is in a conversation, the directory tree symbol will show on that line and a [+] symbol will be shown. If you click on the [+] symbol, the conversation will expand and you can see all the messages in that thread. (This is pointed out by the two arrows on the bottom left)</li>
<ul><li>You can see an example of an expanded thread with the "Fortune Fish" thread</li>
<li>If you look at the "Physics/Chem position" thread, you'll notice that another unrelated thread "calendar ideas?" is attached to it. This glitch happens every now and then (not often) but I just wanted to point it out.</li>
</ul></ul></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B_JlHn7NVH8/TgHvTMbQPBI/AAAAAAAAAW8/KlOXtuXbN5A/s1600/tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B_JlHn7NVH8/TgHvTMbQPBI/AAAAAAAAAW8/KlOXtuXbN5A/s640/tree.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<br />
So that's how to use Thunderbird and Gmail to tame the listserv wilderness!<br />
<br />
Please post questions on this blog page in the comments and not the NSTA listserv.Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-71660488885554710112011-06-15T10:51:00.000-07:002011-06-15T10:51:43.272-07:00Low-tech student response system<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jmNuJFtU6Hs/Tfjh_BvFVwI/AAAAAAAAAVk/N5_e4CbsRiU/s1600/srs7.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>A while back, our district department chair handed out an article from Science entitled "<a href="http://mazur.harvard.edu/publications.php?function=display&rowid=635">Farewell, Lecture?</a>" by Eric Mazur. In the article, Mazur's method of "peer instruction" is briefly described. I was keen on <a href="http://mazur.harvard.edu/publications.php?function=search&topic=8">implementing peer instruction</a> in my classes, but I was worried about not having access to a digital student response system. In the article's bibliography, an article titled "<a href="http://mazur.harvard.edu/publications.php?function=display&rowid=628">Clickers or Flashcards? Is There Really a Difference?</a>" by Nathaniel Lasry was cited, so I read that, and learned that Lasry found no difference in the effectiveness of using flashcards compared to using clickers. After reading Lasry’s article, I felt confident that having no access to student response system technology would not hamper my ability to implement peer instruction. Here's a basic flow chart of how peer instruction works that I adapted from Lasry's article in case you aren't familiar with the concept:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5DblqUoBPmM/Tfjla03OPTI/AAAAAAAAAVw/FimtVGNCbpY/s1600/srs10.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="397" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5DblqUoBPmM/Tfjla03OPTI/AAAAAAAAAVw/FimtVGNCbpY/s400/srs10.bmp" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
If you'd like a more detailed explanation of peer instruction, see the book section "<a href="http://mazur.harvard.edu/publications.php?function=display&rowid=538">Peer Instruction: Making Science Engaging</a>" on the Mazur Group website. <br />
<br />
So, I came up with a flashcard system that is simple, but that works really well! I require my students to have a composition notebook with them in class every day for science. At the beginning of the semester, I give each student a 6-1/2” x 3-5/8” envelope to glue into their science notebook on the back inside cover. If you don't use science notebooks in your classroom, students could easily tape or glue the envelope into a folder or whatever they bring to science class every day. Inside this envelope, I have them place a stapled pack of construction paper cards<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aTAAibFxefM/TfjhH_bDKuI/AAAAAAAAAVM/JTHirLg3XMQ/s1600/srs1.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aTAAibFxefM/TfjhH_bDKuI/AAAAAAAAAVM/JTHirLg3XMQ/s320/srs1.bmp" width="198" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2DyjdGsl-Js/TfjxIjGFshI/AAAAAAAAAV8/O7tR7zq8Gy4/s1600/0615011153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2DyjdGsl-Js/TfjxIjGFshI/AAAAAAAAAV8/O7tR7zq8Gy4/s320/0615011153.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><br />
of six different colors (green, red, yellow, blue, orange, and purple). I cut the cards out of 9” x 12” construction paper into 6” x 3” size cards which fit perfectly into the envelope and are easy to cut on a paper cutter. On one side of the construction paper cards, I will have the students write the following:<br />
<ul><li> Green: A | True | Yes</li>
<li> Red: B | False | No</li>
<li> Yellow: C | Maybe | It depends</li>
<li> Blue: D</li>
<li> Orange: E</li>
<li> Purple: F</li>
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I specifically choose green to represent true/yes, red to represent false/no and yellow to represent maybe/it depends for obvious reasons, but the other colors are just what happen to be available in our school supply. Writing letters A-F on the cards is only done to mitigate color-blindness for any students with that issue.<br />
For concept test questions that I plan ahead, I have developed a series of <a href="https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AUQHT_wkD0DUZHA0NzQ3Yl8xN2NqNGMyM2Zi&hl=en_US">PowerPoint slide templates</a><br />
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into which I can quickly enter questions and answers. One issue with digital projectors is that the colors projected often look different than on a computer screen, so some trial and error is required to determine which digital color best matches the construction paper colors. Also, what looks blue on your computer screen might not look blue on the projector!<br />
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Sometimes, I come up with an impromptu concept test question that I want to be able to quickly ask of the students. In this case, I have created a device to use in conjunction with my magnetic whiteboard to quickly facilitate creating a multiple choice question.<br />
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You could use this if you don't have access to a digital projector. I took one card of each color and taped them on top of a long piece of adding machine paper at even intervals that would fit into the size of my classroom whiteboard and then laminated it. If I were to make a new one, I think I'd use posterboard to laminate it on instead of using adding machine tape and I wouldn't forget to write the corresponding letters onto the colored cards - oops...<br />
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After it was laminated, I taped a couple high-strength magnets to the back of the top card. <br />
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When the device is not in use, I can attach it to the unused end of my whiteboard. When I need the device, it is easy to move it to the middle of my whiteboard and quickly write as many answers as I need to (up to six) on the whiteboard.<br />
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Whenever I pull up a PowerPoint or use the manual device to ask a a question, my students just automatically pull out their flashcards and away we go. They really enjoy using them and arguing their cases with each other - good stuff! "Blues talk to yellows - figure out who's right!"<br />
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Obviously, you can't store data/results with flashcards and they're not the latest and greatest in technology, but if you want your students to argue with each other about science and you've got a small budget, I have had a lot of success with this system.<br />
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So, there you go - the low-tech, low-cost student response system! Please feel free to comment if you have questions or suggestions for improvement...Mr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-826802888889134565.post-57497139600383295232011-06-13T08:25:00.000-07:002011-06-15T08:05:16.395-07:00Diving into edubloggingI have read many edublogs over the last several years, and I have received lots of inspiration and ideas from many of the posts I have read. My own thoughts on teaching (and my practice) definitely have been challenged. I want to get in on the digital teaching community - so here I go. I welcome your feedback!<br />
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- Boyd WeigerMr. Weigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07094853723501475266noreply@blogger.com0