The results are in. This week, Wezi and I sat down to grade the tests, and this, too, was a lot harder than it seemed. Our students didn't do well on the oral test, and that is ironic since we gave it to help out students that we were sure wouldn't do well on a written exam. I think it brought everyone's grades down though. And overall, the class did not perform well. So what should I make of it? Was the test hard? I dont think so- it was everything we taught and reviewed. Did we not teach effectively? Maybe, but everyone seemed to grasp it during the review. I think that simple machines, and knowledge of how they work, is practical knowledge, and maybe it is hard to express in test responses. So maybe it was the test. I dont know, but I emailed F and gave her a spread sheet with the results, so I dont know whether or not she will use them. But while grading, two questions came up:
First, how much should each portion of the test be worth? Wezi and I had to sit and deliberate, since we didnt do it beforehand. But the reason why is connected to the next question, which is...
Should student's performance on the test determine how much its worth? In my experience, it has. If the whole class does poorly, my teachers have sometimes altered the value of the test or scrapped it altogether. But we didn't see any inherent error in the test. So is it ok to just weigh the section that yielded the worst grades less than the other? Is that accurate? And how do you get grades in if students dont perform well on tests? I know its not all about grades, but they have to be reported at some point. There has to be a tangible reflection of performance.

Sigh. We are done with our simple machines unit! On one hand, hallelujah. On the other, Im going to miss that class, even though they were a little out of control. On another hand, I've got a lot of work to do before becoming a graduating and teaching my own class.

I can definitely say that as our unit progressed, Wezi and I started to notice more and more deficiencies in our own teaching skills. Or at least I did, I can't really speak for anyone else. Thursday was supposed to be a review day, but we were going over their note sheets- an activity that we thought would take about 10 minutes- and ended up spending almost our whole hour on it because there were some kids that just didnt get it. So we saved the concept mapping review idea for the next day and set about making a test.

At this point, I had the most significant revelation of our entire unit. We were getting ready to put together our unit test when we realized how broad a range of abilities our students had, and how difficult it was going to be to ensure that we tested them all fairly. We had a group of students that caught on fast, knew everything after we told them the first time, and took teir own notes on it. Then we had some who just didnt seem to grasp anything the whole week. Then there were some who understood and could explain it to us, but when we told them to write down what they had said, they couldnt make the brain-to-paper connection and they froze. So how do you go about making sure the test is validly testing their knowledge of simple machines, and that the child isnt just being hindered by their reading level or ability to write? I left feeling really overwhelmed and kind of afraid, because the achievement gap is a real thing and differentiation is necessary. I just havent been trained how to do that yet, and it scares me a lot.

Friday, we gave a written and an oral test. We had everything worked out timewise, until the school had a fire drill, so we had to rush to finish up the oral exams. Wezi and I havent sat down to grade the tests yet, but I know we will have to discuss the rubric for the oral exam based on how the kids did overall. Test making is hard work. Teaching is hard work. I would be scared, but I know this is what I am supposed to be doing, so I know I can. Im just...feeling unprepared to spend a semester student teaching. Does all this go away with student teaching?

Add to the list of concerns time management. We didn't finish up on time during the last lesson, and we didnt finish it up today either. Ugh. How do teachers do this?
Today we reviewed and finished up centers, then introduced the inclinedplane series (wedge and screw), and had every intention of doing centers again. But we ran over, and that rendered us backed up. We also found out that next week is spring break, meaning we have 2 more days to teach and we need to assess. Oh my. Its kind of scary to think that this teacher is going to use the assessments we give for actual grades. We plan on reviewing and finishing up, but I dont know- I cant help but feel annoyed at rushing because i know the kids dont understand as well as they do with extra time and hands on activities, and when those get cut...We will see! but so far, so good!

After the last lesson and the comprehensional (is that a word?) fiasco that it was, Wezi and I had a new plan of attack. Today we taught on the lever series (levers, pulley, and wheel & axle), and I think we did a great job. We reviewed energy and the ideas from last lesson to clarify, and then jumped into levers with demos that really drew the kids in and helped them grasp the concepts. We then divided the class into two groups and we went into centers, where Wezi and I both taught one and had hands-on activities so students could experience both pulleys and wheel & axles. The students constructed each type, and in constructing them, were able to see exactly how they workd and why. We also provided notes sheets for them to fill out, but they seemed to have a hard time doing that right after or along with the activity, so I reviewed after. We only got to one station, though, so we will have to finish up next time.

Today was our first lesson on simple machines in third grade, and I have decided that simple machines are a lot more complicated than I originally thought. We had to begin with energy and work, and then connect those to simple machines. The students didnt really seem to grasp what we were saying, and thats because I am not used to thinking on a student level. While planning, everything made sense in my college brain: point A connects to point B and that is that. However, its like these students need to see every single connection and be walked through it, so they need to be walked from point A to A1/2 to B. There cant be any gray areas at all.
Luckily, Jen was observing today and was able to help us debreif about what went wrong. This was the first day, so we have a lot to think about in planning out the next lesson, but I think it is really helpful to have this feedback before we teach 4 more lessons rather than after.

Wezi and I begin teaching our unit on Friday, so we thought it necessary to observe a content lesson before we actually taught one. We arrived at the beginning of social studies, and the class was preparing for the field trip to Monticello tomorrow by watching a video on Thomas Jefferson and his various building projects. The class was moderately entertained for the first few minutes, but quickly (and understandably) lost interest shortly.
Everything was alright since we were only observing them watch a video, until the substitute who was in for F for the afternoon had to run out for an undisclosed amount of time to handle a situation. I realized it was just Wezi and I in the classroom with these 18 students, and even though they are fewer in number than many classes, I have a feeling they are going to be a handful. From what I have seen, there is a lot of potential for behavior management issues. As long as we keep them busy, they will be fine. I think. I guess we will see Friday!

Today we went into the classroom for another observation, and I noted the groups of students as they were seated. The table up at the front left seems to be students who are well behaved, but who need some extra help and explanation. The table next to them, also up front, is just about the same, but there is a child who cannot seem to stay still or on task, and sometimes just gets up to sharpen a pencil or throw something away in the middle of a lesson. The teacher often has to say his name and that seems to bring him back. The back left is a group of very smart boys who don't need extra help, and excel in independent work. The back right table has the two whiners and two really well behaved girls.
In thinking about this seating, I wonder if it helps at all. I mean, I understand that when you have a class that is composed of many needy children, then its hard to spread them out evenly and arrange your classroom in a way to counter it. But containing the smart boys in the back- do they get bored with the work and then cause problems by entertaining themselves, or is it kind of a containment atmosphere where she can differentiate and give them different work to challenge them, or engage them in deeper conversation, without the rest of the class holding them back? And is it better to keep the whiney girls in the back to contain them so they can be dealt with at the same time, or does that just amplify the problem?Classroom management is definitely a concern here.

I also picked up a text book so we can get some ideas about the depth our lessons should go into. Text books have gotten so much cooler since I went to school.