Strategy Reflection #9 Cues, Questions, & Advance Organizers

What?

Marzano states that cues and questioning are the heart of classroom practice. They are ways in which a classroom teacher can help students use what they already know about a topic. Cues involves "hints" about what students are going to experience and questioning previews what students already know about a topic. Advanced organizers are a way to simply present new content to students that will be taught in the duration of the lesson. One type of advanced organizer is skimming. Skimming is a way to expose students to information before teaching the lesson. I decided to utilize skimming into my classroom practice.


So What?

I decided to use skimming when I introduced a new chapter to my students. Before I started the lesson I gave my students about 5 minutes to look through the chapter. I asked them to look at key terms, charts, graphs, time lines and headings in the chapter. Once they finished skimming the chapter we discussed what they read or what they saw. They were able to tell me what we would be learning and already started asking questions about certain topics. By doing this my students were introduced to the material so when they saw it again the information was not new to them. Then they were able to recall the information better when they saw it again which helped their retention rate. I also incorporated a strategy called picture walks. In a picture walk students are instructed to look over the pictures in the chapter and try to explain what each picture is representing. Once they looked over the pictures I walked through the pictures with them again and asked them to tell me what they saw. We then read the captions under each picture to help us understand what the picture was depicting. Then once we started our lesson it was easier to understand because they were already familiar with the information and understood the pictures.

Now What?

Skimming is used a great deal in my classroom. I not only use it in my classroom, but I also use it when I am helping in Content Mastery. I try to teach students how to find the answer they are looking for by reading headings in the chapter and skimming to narrow down their search instead of reading everything word for word. Most students understand and are able to skim on their own, however, I have had a handful of students who just didn't understand what I was asking them to do. I will continue to use skimming because I feel that it familiarizes my students with key terms and information that we will discuss which makes it easier for them to understand.

Strategy Reflection #8 Generating & Testing Hypotheses

What?

Marzano explains generating and testing hypothesis as involving the application of knowledge. Most of the time when you generate and test hypotheses, you use two types of thinking, deductive and inductive. By using a variety of structured tasks to help guide students to generate and test their hypotheses, students can reach a higher level of thinking. The one that I used in my history class is the historical investigation.

So What?

My students had been learning about the early European settlers who came to the New World in the 1500s. Upon learning about the early settlers, we also discussed the Lost Colony of Roanoke in North Carolina. As many of you may well know the Lost Colony was settled in 1587 and started out with 115 men, women, and children. However when their leader left for England and returned three years later, he came back to discover that everyone on the colony had disappeared. Naturally my students' enthusiasm on the subject amplified. They began asking me questions about what happened to the colonists. I saw this as an opportunity to incorporate the historical investigation. I created a worksheet and required my students to respond to four instructions. I asked them to clearly describe the historical event being examined, identify what is known about that time period, offer a hypothetical scenario about what they believed happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke, and finally research evidence to determine if the hypothetical scenario they came up with was plausible. My students were split into groups where they worked together to complete the worksheets. I was amazed at how well my students had understood the assignment. They were able to describe the possible diseases that were around during this time period that might have possibly led to the disappearance of the colonists. By the end of the assignment my students came up with scenarios that the people just moved to another location and didn't leave a note behind, they were killed by either Indians or the Spaniards, they all contracted the diseases and died from not being treated or they starved to death. Then once we discussed their scenarios I showed them the research that suggests that most of the things they said were the same explanations historians had come up with already.

Now What?

My students were so excited about trying to figure out what happened with the Lost Colony that they enjoyed the lesson. They were engaged in the group work and coming up with solutions to the disappearance. I found it impressive that my students were able to generate and test their hypotheses. I decided that I will use this lesson for as long as I teach US History so my other students can discover the same enthusiasm. I will also use it in my other history classes.

Strategy Reflection #7 Setting Objectives & Providing Feedback

What?

Providing feedback is one of the most powerful single modification that enhances achievement according to researcher John Hattie. When we consider feedback, it should be "corrective," timely, specific to criterion, and student led. To utilize feedback, I decided to use all of these but one suggestion. I have unintentionally become the world's worst when it comes to grading papers. When I first became a teacher I did well on grading papers and returning them back to my students. Now since I teach bell to bell I would just pile all the work in a grading folder to grade later. However, it started becoming a problem because with five preps I am constantly getting ready for the next class. When I thought I would have time during my conference to grade papers, something else always came up. Soon it was 2 weeks before my students received their work back. Then when I did grade it I would only put an "X" on the wrong answer. I never wrote down the correct answer or circled it.

So What?

Instead of putting a big "X" on my students' work I have since started circling the correct answers. I was usually in such a big hurry to finish grading that I didn't take the time to circle correct answers. I've started noticing that my students now look closer at their graded papers when I circle the correct response. I have also made it a point to grade their work as soon as they turn it in. By doing so I am able to provide them with immediate feedback. I have also found it keeps my papers graded so it doesn't pile up on me. I have been assigning reflections for my students to write after each section we discussed that day to grasp a better understanding of what they learned during the discussion. To utilize student-led feedback, I asked my students, on occasion, to exchange papers with either the person in front of them or behind them. I instruct them to read their peers reflection and make comments regarding the concept of the paper and to check for errors with either grammar or spelling. Although most of my students are unable to actually do this task, I have found that they enjoy being able to pretend to be the teacher. I go back after they turn in their reflections to read the peer suggestions because then it gives me a chance to see if my students knew enough about what was discussed to make corrections on peers' reflections.

Now What?

I didn't realize how harmful it was for me to not mark the correct answers before I hand back papers. I always assumed my students would be able to determine the correct given the wrong answer. I now take time to circle each answer when it is wrong so my students will have a higher percentage of success. The part of feedback that has been the most helpful is providing feedback in a timely manner. I didn't realize the importance of immediate feedback. My students would constantly ask me what their grade was on a particular assignment and I would tell them to wait until next time. Then weeks later I would finally give it back to them. What was worse is when I'd give back their work it would be after we took the chapter test. By the time my students got back their work they were unable to use the information to help them understand the chapter. I also found that I have less stress about getting my papers graded. When I keep up with them and grade them by the end of class I don't have a "to do list" hanging over my head for weeks. Now when I give my work back at the end of class my students immediately go back to their seats and look up the answers they got wrong in the book. Before this my students would just look at the grade and then put it away in their folders. I am definitely going to continue to return papers by the end of the period or by the next class period. In regards to student feedback, I only see a little change in success. Although my students enjoy grading each other's reflections, I have discovered that some students will make fun of others who didn't understand the assignment or made spelling errors so I will probably not use student led feedback in the future.

Strategy Reflection #6 Cooperative Learning

What?

Cooperative learning is one strategy that I use in my classroom on a regular basis. I decided to create a heterogeneous group for the next cooperative learning assignments I assign. I usually allow my students to create their own groups which I have found tends to lead to more socializing. I also noticed that my higher performing students would pair up and my lower performing students would pair up in groups.

So What?

The statistics involving the success rates of the lower performing student groups versus the higher performing groups was an eye opener to me. I had never considered the negative effects in allowing my students to determine their own groups. I decided to create the cooperative learning groups myself. In my US History class I have exactly 12 students. I figured I would split my groups into 3 groups of four students since the statistics revealed groups of 3-4 students had a +9% success rate. I looked down my gradebook and noticed that I had 3 students who currently had an A in the class. I separated them and put each in their own group. I then began looking at my B, C, and F students then split them up between the 3 groups. I had 4 students who were currently failing so I put 2 of the F students in the group with the person who was making the highest A average to make it more even. I was a little weary about splitting the groups the way I did considering that my A students usually don't associate with the F students since they tend to be the students who are always in the office. However, as I monitored their groups I noticed that they were all working together to come up with the correct answers. I was amazed to discover that the cooperative learning groups I created seemed to be functioning well. Once they completed their assignments I had them return back to their seats. Then I decided to have a debriefing to reflect on how they felt about their groups. Surprisingly, I had students that mentioned they enjoyed working with their groups. The higher performing students mentioned that they enjoyed being able to help other students because it made them feel like the teacher. They also mentioned it gave them a chance to get to know other students in the class they wouldn't associate with normally.

Now What?

Since the heterogeneous cooperative learning groups were so successful I plan to always arrange my groups that way. When I graded their work each student performed better. They were also able to explain to me what they learned from the assignment. I plan to include more cooperative learning projects into my lesson planning since it appears that peers can sometimes teach better than the teacher. The students enjoyed it and it prevented them from asking me a million questions regarding the work. They were able to ask their peers questions which made it easier on me. They were able to solve the problems on their own within their groups.

Strategy Reflection #5 Nonlinguistic Representations

What?

Nonlinguistic representation can be described as a way to get students to create an image of what they learned through graphic organizers and other strategies. I decided to utilize the describing wheel graphic organizer to enhance my students' understanding of the Industrial Revolution in World History. My usual classroom routine is to read the selection of text aloud and discuss it. Once we discuss it I have my students complete questions and worksheets to conduct more independent practice to see what my students got out of the lesson. I decided to try a graphic organizer to determine if they comprehended what we had been discussing the past couple of days.

So What?

I printed off copies of the describing wheel that was passed out during a group presentation. I explained to my students how to use the organizer and what I was expecting them to do. I had them write "Industrial Revolution Inventions of the 1700s." I wanted them to list all the inventions we discussed and include the year the invention was created and the person responsible for the invention. Most of my students went straight to work without any hesitation, but I had others who were still confused. I wrote Eli Whitney-cotton gin-1793 on the board and told them to put it in one of the boxes on the graphic organizer. The demonstration helped them to understand what I wanted. I walked around the room and observed my students writing down the inventions. I was surprised at the number of students who didn't use the book as often as others. It showed me that those students understood the material enough to create a mental representation such as a graphic organizer. Some were so pleased with their assignment that once they finished they asked to color it. I posted each graphic organizer on my student recognition board so they can gain confidence in knowing they were able to create a visual representation.

Now What?

After the success of this activity, I decided to implement graphic organizers into my lessons each week. In the past I would occasionally use graphic organizers to check for understanding anyway, but now I will make sure to use them more. Instead of doing my usual worksheets and questions I plan to check for understanding by having my students complete graphic organizers. I didn't realize how many different graphic organizers were available online. After this activity I researched other graphic organizers from the handouts given to us during the presentation and was overwhelmed with the results. I now understand why graphic organizers and other nonlinguistic representations are so important in determining whether or not students grasped a concept.

Strategy Reflection #4 Homework & Practice

What?

Since I teach resource history I don't expect my students to take home much homework. I don't give them big projects due to the lack of parental support at home to help them with the project. The only homework my students have is when they are behind or if they didn't finish their work for the day and request to take it home. I decided to try to implement homework in my senior economics class since they are my older group of students. In economics we are studying pure monopoly and competition. On the section about competition I asked my students to think of ways companies compete for business. They mentioned that businesses compete in prices for the same products.

So What?

I decided to assign my students a homework assignment. In this assignment they were to go home and get two sales ads. I gave them a worksheet with three columns. The columns stated: Product, Store #1, and Store #2. I instructed them to go home and find two stores and products that both stores were selling. They had to write down the product and then each store's price for the product. Once they finished writing down the prices they were then supposed to decide which store had the better price and which one they would buy that product from because of the better deal. My students brought back their completed assignments comparing products from Best Buy and Conn's, Tom Thumb and Albertons, and Wal-Mart and Target. We discussed their findings with the rest of the class.

Now What?

My students expressed how much they enjoyed the assignment and didn't realize that so many stores had the same products on sale the same week. I realized that my students grasped the concept of competition and understood the difference between a good sale. I will try to find more ways to get my students to do homework that is meaningful and relevant to what I am teaching. I am not going to just assign my students homework as a punishment, but as an extended lesson. I just have to make sure that the homework will be easy enough that my students can do it on their own since their parents aren't very supportive in their successes.

Strategy Reflection #3 Reinforcing Effort & Providing Recognition

What?

In my classroom I tend to use more verbal recognition than concrete recognition. When I am lecturing and my students answer a question or read from a selection of text for me, I tell them things such as, "good job" and "very good." I decided to implement more concrete recognition into my classroom. Since our district is strict with providing students with candy coming up with something for high school aged students was difficult since they enjoy candy. I tried to find something that would recognize them in a way that would make them feel appreciated.

So What?

I decided to write my students notes. On our campus we have post cards called "Skeeter Shout Outs." The purpose of these shout outs is to promote recognition to our students and staff. When we recognize our students we are instructed to write the note and then send them home to their parents praising their child for their good work. I decided that instead of sending the cards home to parents I was going to personally deliver them to my students. I have only a handful of students in each of my classes that will happily read for me. I decided to first start in my freshmen World Geography class. I asked for volunteers to read and as usual, the same 3 students were the only ones who were willing to read. Once we finished the lesson and they began their work, I took time to write a shout out to each of them. In the cards I thanked each of them for their help in teaching the lesson and I told them how much I appreciated their hard work. I then gave the card to each of them. One girl jokingly told me that the card was going to make her cry because it was so sweet. One of the other students I wrote a card to is usually a handful in class, but even the defiant students could benefit from recognition. When I handed him his card he was thankful. He kept telling me over and over again that he was going to show it to his uncle as soon as he got home.

Now What?

I enjoyed the immediate reaction of giving my students the cards instead of mailing them home. I felt that I was able to personalize the card by hand delivering them to my students. When we send them home we can't see our students reactions. I feel that the cards helped my students to feel appreciated and recognized. I will continue to fill out the cards and hand them to my students instead of mailing them home. For one it saves the district money and then it also allows my students to receive recognition after they complete a task. I realized that concrete recognition lasts longer and is much more rewarding that what candy can provide my students.

Strategy Reflection #2 Summarizing & Note Taking

What?

I decided to implement note taking in my classroom. I thought about which class to work on first and decided to try it out on my sophomore World History class. We had just finished studying the Middle Ages and Medieval Times. At the conclusion of the chapter, I showed The Sword and the Stone. Although The Sword and the Stone is a children's movie, I showed it to them in clips each day.

So What?

I reviewed the Middle Ages with my class and reminded them of key terms that we learned about. I told them that while they watched the video they needed to write down everything in the video that mentions what we discussed in class during that chapter. I only showed about 15 minutes of the video each day because I put it in after we finished the days work. I was amazed at how well my student's paid attention to the details of the movie. When I got back their notes I noticed that, for the most part, they really took to the assignment. They picked out the moat around the castle, the description of how the castle looked (as we discussed in the chapter), knight, page, squire, etc.

Now What?

I have learned that I underestimated my students. I never expected them to identify so many things in the video that came from what we learned in class. They really enjoyed the video and were able to understand, visually, more of what we learned. I am going to make note taking a part of my lesson plans. Even though the notes they took weren't long sentences or thought provoking statements, I found that they were able to pick words out of the video and remember to write them down. I especially am going to make it a point to teach my seniors since college success depends on it.