Week 3 Blog

Week 3



This week in SCED 330 I took my fifth-grade science practice exam. I must say I was surprised at my results. I scored better than I thought I would. I scored well in biology and life science. Where I didn't do well was earth science and weather. I drew a blank on questions with Jetstream, El' Nina, El' Nino, and air pressure changes. I must admit it wasn't a simple test like I thought it would be. I do remember my fifth-grade class and it was very heave science and social studies. Based upon my results I need to brush up on my science for my students benefit. This activity would tie into the NCPTS Standard 3: Teachers Know the Content They Teach. As a teacher, I need to know not only the content I teach but beyond it. I must teach a deeper level on learning and challenge myself as well as my students. I also plan to do my "Science Through My Lens" this week. I have so many things that I could take a picture of on my property it’s hard to choose just one.  I plan on catching an animal in motion or feeding. I missed my opportunity this weekend, when I came across a deer eating outside my window. I'm hoping to catch a shot of her this weekend since she frequently visits my house. This week’s clinical experience was very insightful. On Friday, my students as well as the entire 3rd grade had a math assessment. When I returned this week, I learned that many students had little to no knowledge of place value. All the 3rd grade instructors met together to form a plan to help the students reach the appropriate math grade level. Their plan was to separate the students based on ability. The students who mastered place value and addition/subtraction would move to one class. Students who had some knowledge of place value and composing tens to another. The third group who had little to no comprehension of place value to our class. It was our job to teach them the basics of place value. I worked with several students and found that some had no concept of numbers. It was a struggle and frustrating for them. For example, a student was asked how many digits is number five (5)? That student was unable to answer. When asked to identify how many ones again unable to answer. Its is possible that the student was nervous or unsure of themselves. Once we moved to a different student we had a similar situation. We used a chart to break up the hundreds, tens, ones and slowly help student come to understand what each represented. Again, for some this was quite difficult. Some of the students were so intimidated by the numbers that they frequently asked for breaks. I allowed the first break but asked if they could just work through this part first before breaking again. Our group was made up of all different ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. It appeared to me that something may have gone really wrong in second grade. How could we miss so many students struggling? I had asked my CE about this later in private. She told me that many of the teachers were using unapproved methods and they also have a very high turnover rate at this school. What she told me next impressed me very much. "We need to work really hard to get them where they need to be, no matter what." I think it’s going to take a bit to get there, but I think we can do it. I think it’s so important to advocate for your students, so our work here won’t be done when they reach grade level. Once they are at grade level we need to make sure that the lower grades are using the same methods that we are. it’s important for everyone to work together. I have to say this was a big eye opener this week. This situation could happen in my own class. It makes me really think hard about assessment, strategies, and collaborating with others. I'm going to really need to work hard in my Math Methods class this semester. I'm going to need as many tools as possible to help my students.  This experience touches on almost all the teaching standards. In Standard 1: Teachers Demonstrate Leadership it talks of advocating for change and student learning. As a teacher, I would like to advocate for a change in the way teachers’ methods are being monitored. This situation may have been preventable if the school administration was made aware some teachers weren't following protocol.

This tweet is a microburst that occurred in California. Its phenomena up close and personal.

This next tweet is of water evaporating over time.

The above tweet is a great article about breaking out of intergenerational poverty.