ZCHS Professional Development Day 2.17.2015 - Authentic and Rigorous Assessment

WELCOME: 

Today, I would like to lead a discussion on assessment in the realm of PBL (Project Based Learning). I encourage you to post any thoughts on Twitter via #PBLChat217

Welcome Work (Read these short articles by clicking on the following links):

Most of you may be in the same "boat" as this teacher : How do I grade PBL?

Matching Traditional Grades to PBL

Matching Standards to PBL

After reading, tweet out a thought on the article/s with hashtag #PBLChat217

Let us frame our discussion: 

I don't think that there is any "silver bullet" in the pedagogical utility belt. In fact, I think a variety of techniques that allows for engagement of students in their education, where engagement means a chance to look critically and creatively at the material they are being presented. No way of teaching should be done, "just to say you did it" or without thought about the end goals. Students should have a variety of ways to summarize and take notes, analyze, compare and contrast, re-state ideas in their own words, and apply that information in new ways. Essentially taking the ideas of Marzano,  9 High Yield Instructional Strategies, as linked to a nice summary by Palm Beach Public Schools, and embedding them in the teaching strategy that works well with your personality and that of your audience. However, it is important to stretch yourself from time-to-time and grow as an educator - this will allow for more growth for your students as well!

Why PBL? I believe that PBL is a great method to help teach 21st Century Skills (also known as the 4 C's, NEA) 

1. Creativity

2. Collaboration

3. Critical Thinking

4. Communication

Personally, I think that creativity is the least taught in our schools. Which could be because of 2 reasons (as I see it). 

1. A lack of understanding about what creativity is and how to teach it

2. A lack of tools to reinforce creativity in a culture that expects "right and wrong" answers - or a lack of clear grading systems to promote creativity. 

1st: What is Creativity? Some would argue that there is no such thing as a creative idea. This may be true, but one way to frame creativity is to take the whole sum of your knowledge and experiences and apply it in a different way. With this definition, it may be more apparent to see ways of encouraging and grading creative thinking. In fact, there is a whole field of robotics and artificial intelligence that focuses on creativity and how to write algorithms for creative thinking:

See: 

Clever Bot Writes a Movie

Clever Bot's Home Page

2nd: We have to be able to allow for creativity in our grading practices, ways to encourage students who take positive risks in how they relate to and apply their learning. I think students are generally timid about taking risks (being creative) because they fear being wrong (i.e. get a bad grade) and failing. Failure of a task, shouldn't be an automatic failure of a grade. However, this is something that I am still working on and adjusting in my current practice. 

An Introduction to PBL: Show and Tell 

How do I implement Project Based Learning, grading practices, checkpoints? How do I mix in more traditional units and drill and skill practice? 

Build a Speaker Project (ICP) 

Hand Warmer Project (Advanced Chemistry)

Biofuel Project (Advanced Chemistry)

States of Matter (Chemistry) 

Final Thoughts and discussion #PBLchat217

Further Reading:

What is PBL?

PBL Resource Page

Mr. Gentry's Youtube Page

AP Chem Balanced Equations and Chemical Reactions

AP Chemistry

Equations and Balancing Equations

Homework and Discussions for the week of 3. 

1. Further Reading Into Chemical Equations   

2. Explanation by Kahn Academy, Balancing Equation 

3. Practice Game 

4.   Another Practice Game

Concepts to review and answer as you go through this material:

Reviewing Concepts

1. Identify the reactants and products in each chemical reaction.
   1. In photosynthesis, carbon dioxide and water react to form glucose and oxygen.
   2. Magnesium oxide forms when magnesium is exposed to oxygen gas.
2. What is the relationship between an equal sign and a yield sign?
3. Write sentences that completely describe the chemical reactions shown in the skeleton equations below.
   1. 
   2. 
   3. 
4. How many atoms of each element are represented by the following combinations of coefficients and chemical formulas?
   1. 5Br₂
   2. 2NH₃
   3. 4(NH₄)₂SO₄
   4. 2CH₃COOH
   5. 3Fe(NO₃)₃
   6. 2K₃PO₄
5. The skeleton equation for the reaction of nitrogen gas with oxygen gas to form dinitrogen monoxide is shown below. Explain why the equation below is not a correctly balanced equation for this reaction.

Problems

6. Balance each of the following equations.
   1. KClO₃ → KCl + O₂
   2. Ca(OH)₂ + HBr → CaBr₂ + H₂O
   3. C₄H₁₀ + O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O
   4. NH₃ + CuO → Cu + N₂ + H₂O
7. Write and balance chemical equations for each of the following word equations.
   1. sodium carbonate → sodium oxide + carbon dioxide
   2. tetraphosphorus decoxide + water → phosphoric acid
   3. lead + nitrogen → lead(II) nitride
   4. ammonium carbonate → ammonia + water + carbon dioxide
8. Write and balance chemical equations from the following descriptions. Include symbols for the physical states of each reaction component.
   1. Solid barium oxide is reacted with water and forms aqueous barium hydroxide.
   2. Aqueous lithium phosphate reacts with aqueous iron(III) nitrate to form aqueous lithium nitrate and solid iron(III) phosphate.
   3. Aluminum metal is reacted with an aqueous solution of zinc chloride to form aqueous aluminum chloride and solid zinc.
   4. Iron(III) oxide solid reacts with carbon monoxide gas to produce iron and carbon dioxide gas.
9. The following equations are incorrect in some way. Identify and correct each error, and then balance the corrected equation.
   1. K + O₂ → KO₂
   2. Ag₂O → Ag₂ + O
   3. NaCl + F₂ → NaF₂ + Cl 
   
   
   

   Reviewing Concepts

10. Write a general reaction for each reaction type below.
    1. double-replacement
    2. decomposition
    3. single-replacement
    4. combination
11. Which type of reaction generally takes place only between substances in aqueous solution?
12. What do all combustion reactions have in common?
13. Where on an activity series are the most reactive elements located?
14. Classify the following reactions according to the five basic reaction types.
    1. Cd(s) + H₂SO₄(aq) → CdSO₄(aq) + H₂(g)
    2. 2Fe(s) + 3Cl₂(g) → 2FeCl₃(s)
    3. C₇H₈(l) + 9O₂(g) → 7CO₂(g) + 4H₂O(g)
    4. 2NH₄NO₃(s) → 2N₂(g) + O₂(g) + 4H₂O(g)
    5. 2CoCl₃(aq) + 3Pb(NO₃)₂(aq) → 2Co(NO₃)₃(aq) + 3PbCl₂(s)

Problems

15. Write balanced chemical equations for the following combination reactions.

6. 1. Sr(s) + S(s) →
   2. Zn(s) + O₂(g) →
   3. Li₂O(s) + H₂O(l) →
7. Write balanced chemical equations for the following decomposition reactions.
   1. 
   2. 
   3. 
   4. 
8. Use the activity series to write a balanced chemical equation for the following single-replacement reactions. Write NR if no reaction occurs.
   1. Cl₂(g) + NaF(aq) →
   2. Ca(s) + H₂O(l) →
   3. Pt(s) + H₂SO₄(aq) →
   4. Al(s) + NiBr₂(aq) →
9. Write balanced chemical equations for the following double-replacement reactions.
   1. Ca(NO₃)₂(aq) + K₃PO₄(aq) → (calcium phosphate precipitates)
   2. HI(aq) + Mg(OH)₂(aq) →
   3. FeS(s) + HCl(aq) → (aqueous iron(II) chloride is one product)
   4. CuBr₂(aq) + KOH(aq) → (copper(II) hydroxide precipitates)
   5. 20.Write balanced equations for the combustion of the following compounds.
   1. ethyne (C₂H₂)
   2. acetic acid (CH₃COOH)
   3. hexane (C₆H₁₄)

What would an Ideal School Look Like?: 

Inspired by Rethinking High School – by Daniels, Bizar, & Zemelman 2000

 

“From a kid’s-eye view, looked at as a place where a young person might grow and develop, they are usually boring, frequently a waste of time – and sometimes a danger. We are brought to the sad but inevitable conclusion: America’s high schools are failing all of our kids some of the time and some of our kids all of the time.”

The ideas in this book remind me of what Lorraine Monroe described in her book, Nothing’s Impossible, where she wrote about how her and a few other “crazy and creative” teachers would ponder what they would do if they got to start their own school or if they got to run one themselves. This is something that still drives me to this day, "what if?" I am still working on developing my own “Best Practice High School” that I want to take to the neighborhood where I started my teaching career and one that captured my heart – the Fountain Square Neighborhood.

Even in our better urban public schools, they are afflicted by the ails of violence, high mobility, low engagement, and a lack of success on standardized testing due to the lack of essential, basic skills of the students. What if we could be one of those insane educators-turned-entrepreneurs? What if we could take the chance to make a positive change in American education, especially for those who have been under served and under motivated? That is something I have been working toward doing and something that the authors of this book has done. In the process, they took a chance and come up with a school with a very (horrible) suitable name.

Formulating a Great Curriculum:

Part of what the school curriculum and purpose was based on was the call for a kind of learning depicted in the national curriculum standards: Student Centered; Experiential; Holistic; Authentic; Expressive; Reflective; Social; Collaborative; Democratic; Cognitive; Developmental; Constructivist; & Challenging. The application of these ideals is in the research and models that make up any great school. The founders of Best Practice looked for ways to implement these ideals and found some help in the guiding principles as laid out by the Coalition of Essential Schools and their view of the purpose of schools: Intellectual development; studying a few subjects deeply; high expectations; personalized learning environments; students involved in constructing meaning; Teachers acting as coaches and guides; students ability not test scores; families are essential to school life; teach kids not subjects; schools as model democracies; schools may need to omit some other functions to obtain these goals. 

We could all learn from these dreamers and think, "What if?"

 

Evolution of Technology in the Classroom Part II

This post is to continue the conversation about uses of technology in the classroom that I started a little over a month ago and, now, have had the chance to offer to my colleagues and students:


The questions related to technology, especially as it relates to education and teaching, should be "WHAT do we want to accomplish?" , not "how do we want to do it?" The former will be the guide for the latter. However, schools often get caught in the mire of buying "cool" new toys that look fun or engaging, without the the guidance of the purpose in mind.


SO, what do we want to accomplish with technology? That is my question for my fellow educators. Of course, I have my own thoughts. It may be easier to start with what we shouldn't be doing:

1. We shouldn't be using technology as a replacement for more reliable technology - for example, using computers to write notes would be a replacement use. The pencil and paper has a much lower fail rate than computers.

2. Technology shouldn't be used to just pacify or to isolate. The grand part of technology is the ability to share ideas and communicate at a quicker and more efficient rate AND with a broader audience.


SO, What would YOU like to accomplish? What would you like your students to be doing?

Here are some links to a school that has been touted as a national model for technology integration. Mooresville (not Indiana), North Carolina has developed a K-12 model for 1:1 and technology curriculum education:

READ: PBS NEWSHOUR - Mooresville, NC
READ: NY Times - Mooresville, NC

Homework Week of 9.17.2012

This week we will be going (QUICKLY) through Carbon and Nitrogen Cycle! We will be doing some activities that focus on what happens to a Carbon Molecule as it travels through the cycle, starting with Carbon Dioxide gas.

Quiz #4 - We will take on Wednesday 9/19  and Thursday 9/20

Complete Homework by Tuesday Night!!!!






HOMEWORK: (CLICK ON THE LINKS)

READ: CARBON CYCLE  AND  NITROGEN CYCLE  Make sure to go through the practice exercises after reading.

WATCH: NITROGEN CYCLE VIDEO  AND CARBON CYCLE VIDEO





ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: 

Describe the role of each of the following in the carbon cycle:

1. photosynthesis
2. respiration
3. diffusion
4. decomposition
5. combustion
6. sedimentation
7. volcanism
8. weathering 

Describe the role of each of the following in the nitrogen cycle:

1. nitrogen fixation
2. nitrification
3. uptake
4. decomposition and excretion
5. ammonification
6. denitrification
7. weathering 

HONORS BIOLOGY (Below is for Honors Biology ONLY)

Be Prepared for your Socratic Seminar on Friday!!  Read Your Article and Answer the Questions!

Homework Week of 9.12.2012

ALL BIOLOGY CLASSES

This week we are going to be focusing on how to graphically organize organisms in an ecosystem based on their ecological role (niche) and their feeding level (trophic) level. Our goal will be to understand why their are more producers in an ecosystem, but fewer top-level carnivores. So read about and watch the video on ecological pyramids!

 The plan is (weather permitting) to go on a nature walk this Wednesday and Thursday and exploring the role of microscopic producers and decomposers in the food web.

READ: Trophic Levels

WATCH: Ecological Pyramids

Answer Questions:

1. What is a trophic level?

2. Draw a terrestrial food chain that includes four trophic levels. Identify the trophic level of each organism in the food chain.

3. Explain how energy limits the number of trophic levels in a food chain or web. 

4. How much energy is transferred and lost from one trophic level to the next?

5. What happens to most of the energy at each trophic level?

HONORS ONLY HOMEWORK: 

PREPARE FOR OUR NEXT SOCRATIC SEMINAR - Friday September 28th

READ: "Why Big Fierce Animals Are Rare: An Ecologist's Perspective" by Paul Colinvaux

Answer Content Questions - 1-10 (Post Answers on Blog Comments - Question and answer) by Thursday, September 19th for 10 points.

Prepare answers to share and discuss from the Application Questions (1&2) and the Discussion Questions (1-4) This will replace your quiz grade for that week!

Homework Week of 9.4.2012

Homework for the week of 9.4.2012:

We will be focusing on Energy flow this week, studying how energy flows through ecosystems via food chains and food webs. This week, we will want to learn the ecological roles (niches) and how to draw those relationships in a food web. Also, we will be having our 3rd Quiz which will cover everything Ecology, so far.

READ: FLOW OF ENERGY IN AN ECOSYSTEM

Watch: Energy Flow

Answer These 5 Questions:

1. Describe the role of autotrophs.
2. Is energy recycled?
3. What is the role of photosynthesis?
4. What is biomass?
5. How much energy is lost at each trophic level? 

Remember: Links to Quiz page, online textbook, GPS Facebook, and Blog is found on my homepage!Mr. Gentry's Mad Science Home

Homework for 8.27 & 8.28

ALL BIOLOGY:

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ6VtduDSyY

Read: http://www.ck12.org/concept/Ecosystems/

1. Define biotic and abiotic factors of the environment. Give an example of each.

2. How do ecologists define the term ecosystem?

3. State the competitive exclusion principle.

4. Compare and contrast the ecosystem concepts of niche and habitat.

HONORS BIOLOGY: Socratic Seminar this Friday over Interdependence - Guiding Questions "How do non-living things shape the living things of an ecosystem?" & "How do the living things shape the non-living things in an ecosystem?" 

Proud Teacher

I wanted to share a story with you about a student of mine who reminded me why I am a teacher and why I am glad it only took being in two jobs before finding a career that I hope to have the privilege of retiring from. I met Brandon 4 years ago at my first teaching assignment at The Fountain Square Academy. Brandon was a smart, quiet child who was not motivated to come to school, often talked about dropping out to get a job so he could support his newborn child and the 15 year old mother. . He should have been a high school drop out, he should have been another statistic, but he wasn’t.  It took a lot of work to convince him should use the talents he was born with and finish high school and he finished near the top of his class and took the ASVAB (getting the highest score possible) and joined the Marine Corp. He is now 19 years old and in his second year as a Marine. Here is the message I received in my email today:

Subject: Brandon Hargrave from Indianapolis, IN just gave to your project

Patrick, Horray! Brandon Hargrave from Indianapolis, IN just gave to Flip My Class! - Using Technology to Extend the Learning Day and wrote: "I gave because Mr. Gentry is a fantastic teacher and I rather enjoyed his class when I went to Fountain Square Academy. My favorite project we had the pleasure to take part in was only possible because of this website, and I felt that his new students should have an opportunity to do something as fun as our speaker project." P.S. If you know the donor, thank your friend on Facebook using the @ symbol. Ex. "Thank you @Brandon Hargrave from Indianapolis, IN for supporting my classroom project! http://www.donorschoose.org/mr.gentry" (?)

Homeostasis Homework for 8/22 and 8/23

We are beginning to explore the meaning of homeostasis and how cells work together to help your body keep you alive. In fact, if you are interested in a career in medicine, you are essentially interested in the study of a body's ability or ,in the case of disease, inability to maintain homeostasis. Your next homework assignment for 8/22 and 8/23 is as follows:




Read:http://www.ck12.org/concept/Homeostasis/#artifact_title



Watch:
1. (Overview) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kxsviCkS40/
2. (Diabetes and Glucose Homeostasis) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqPeAMF60nE


Answer these questions and go through the practice exercises:

1. What is homeostasis?
2. Describe the reason for shivering.
3. What is negative feedback?
4. Why can homeostasis be compared to temperature regulation in a house?
5. Describe how organ systems work together to maintain homeostasis. 

Important Vocabulary for this concept:

• endocrine system: Organ system of glands that release hormones into the blood.
• homeostasis: The process of maintaining a stable environment inside a cell or an entire organism.
• hormone: a chemical messenger molecule
• nervous system: Organ system that carries electrical messages throughout the body. 

Evolution of Technology in Education

I am going to be writing a series on how to use technology tools in the classroom (with a focus on science, of course)

To wet your appetite, I would like to turn you on to the idea of using QR (Quick Response) codes, usually square looking bar code thingys.  to engage your students and allow them to use their mobile devices/netbooks/ or anything with a webcam to access your content. See the following links to get more information on these devices. 

<https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AclS3lrlFkCIZGhuMnZjdjVfNzY1aHNkdzV4Y3I>

<http://www.edutopia.org/blog/qr-codes-education-mary-beth-hertz>

<http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2012/04/qr-codes-explained-and-ideas-for.html>

QR Code Example:

 

Biochemistry of Cooking

A biochemist and cook explains that cooking is all about chemistry and knowing some facts can help chefs understand why recipes go wrong. Because cooking is essentially a series of chemical reactions, it is helpful to know some basics. For example, plunging asparagus into boiling water causes the cells to pop and result in a brighter green. Longer cooking, however, causes the plant's cell walls to shrink and releases an acid. This turns the asparagus an unappetizing shade of grey.

<http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2009/0112-chemistry_of_cooking.htm>

 

Waiting for Superman...

What does it take for one person to change the world? How about not waiting and start doing.

New Species Discovered

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110804105854.htm

Excited about my new beginning at the Ninth Grade Center!

 I am excited to be taking the position as the new Science Teacher in the GPS Academy at the NGC (Ben Davis)! I look forward to meeting my new students and getting a chance to challenge the students of MSD Wayne Township! 

My students should come prepared for a challenging and rewarding experience. We will be studying Biology, the study of life, and we will be surveying many concepts in the field: cells, genetics, development, the environment, evolution, and ecology. My class incorporates Project Based Learning, which asks you to take the information you learn in my class and apply it to overcoming a challenge or making a product. The process asks you to use team work, critical thinking, and creativity to complete your assignments.

As well as the supply list that is provided by the NGC, you should have a dedicated notebook for my class, such as the composition notebook below (see picture), and it can be left in my classroom in your dedicated crate.




How do cells travel through their environment?: tips from amoeba
 

Reflections on a Third Year of Teaching

Last night, my school hosted its Student Project Exposition. This was an event designed to be an open house/ chance for students to show off its work. Show off, my students did. We put up some of student work, showed their presentations, slideshows of pictures from their activities and performances. Despite the limitation of our "best work only" clause, we were limited on space for the diplays. In a lot of ways, this year has been a success.
The evening highlight was a slam poetry reading by some of our students in another teacher's creative writing class. I must admit that I never thought that I would be moved by the words of a teenager, but I was moved by a couple of poems.

"Would you love me if I weren't gay?" This was the first line of a poem, written by an African American student named Kayla, that pulled me into a reflective mood.It reminded me of how lucky I am in so many ways - I am rarely hated by anyone for who I am. It reminded me of how much I love my own children. It shocked me that a parent could look at her child and forget the baby they raised and cared for. It reminded me of how much I care about my own students. It reminded me how hard it is to teach children with so much emotional baggage. It reminded me of Nancy, our High School team member/ English Teacher, who is fighting for survival because her liver has decided to stop working. It reminded me of the student we all lost to suicide. It reminded me of why teaching is so important.

However, I could only be reflective for a moment before the next poem was being recited to the audience gathered in the science lab - turned recital hall. "I am chicken and hot sauce..." was a line from her poem about her memories growing up in Flint, Michigan. You would never know this young lady, Na'pheesa, was raised in the hood. This brave, outgoing, modest, intelligent, young lady who so gracefully recounted the trials and tribulations of growing up in her surroundings. Sometimes, it helps to remember what some students have had to overcome and what some are still dealing with when we greet our students in the morning and wish them well at the end of the day. Like the student whose father was taken away by armed men in bullet-proof vests in an early morning INS raid. Or the students who have to work to support their dead-beat mother and earn enough money to make it to school - the same girls who lost their cousin to a road with no sidewalks. The student named James, whom I had physically restrain on the floor of a hallway after he attacked a fellow student and pushed teachers out of the way - so full of rage two years after he lost both of his parents in a car accident. Or the many who wonder where they are going to live and the many more who wonder what they will eat.

It is easy to get lost in their stories. It is easy to feel sorry for them. But I shouldn't...I can't. To be their teacher is to expect them to be success stories, not stereotypes. I have to demand that my students learn, not despite their circumstances, but because of them - it is a matter of life and death. Don't think I am exagerating this to make a point. This is the hard reality of povety. The only way out is to break the cycle, to get an education.
And for every heart-wrenching sad story, there is a success story.

I have a student named Blake who will be getting paid to do research at the School of Medicine over the summer as part of Project SEED (he's only a sophomore, by-the-way). One of my students, Brittany, won a $5,000 scholoarship to the Chef's Academy to pursue her life-long passion for cooking and food. Yet another student, Charmine, is graduating early and going to Indiana State. I have started a Robotics Club, who built and programmed a robot from scratch...something I never knew I could do either!I have classes full of hard-working, friendly, creative, energetic students who just want a place to be safe and learn, and this is what brings me to work everyday.

Promoting Achievement in Science to "At-Risk" Students: Part I

First of all, let me say that I don't like the term "at risk", but that is a different post. In education, the term at-risk is prevalent and the criteria ( poverty, family role confusion, transient attendance, etc...) does fit the group of students I teach as a whole.  So, how do we promote acheivement in a group that has been shown to undersucceed? I won't restate the dogma of "high expectations", "high rigor", discipline. What I want to state, that may be understated if it is not novel, is the state of mind of the educator. What often gets missed in the discussion of high expectations and discipline is that those things can take on a hostile or (at least) punitive tone. This fits in with a state of mind that can play out as "These kids need some discipline" or "No one must have expected much from these kids before me!" Of course these statements are ridiculous, if only because EVERY kid needs discipline and OF COURSE, there have been high expectations on our students since they entered their schooling careers.

Now, I don't want to over simplify the problem with what I am going to say next. Of course student acheivement and student success is complicated and involves many things out of the control of teachers and administrators. This part is not in debate. However, teachers and administrators should not underestimate the power that they can have, for good or bad, in the success of a child. If a school is to be successful, it is in the hands (Or, I should say, the attitudes) of the teachers. The missing part of high expectations is that the teacher should actually believe as well as expect that the student can do the work. This belief is readily apparaent either way to the students. Unfortunately, the pervading belief is that "Our kids can't do this type of work".

My challenge to teachers is to reassess their reason for teaching. Do you do it because you enjoy it and enjoy the challenge?  Or do you do it because you need the money or benefits? If you are in teaching, you should do it with the core belief that each child will rise to your challenge - not that they would never be able to understand what you are asking of them!

Once you believe, this permeates your teaching - your approach, your relationships, your lessons will be at a higher level...student acheivement will be not far behind.

First Post

I hope to start a dialogue about furthering science education in the United States.