CED0540 Week 3

I've been considering how to use surveys in my future classroom. I've been reading a book called Science Formative Assessment: 75 Practical Strategies for Linking Assessment, Instruction, and Learning by Page Keeley. I just read of a formative assessment strategy that Keeley calls Student Evaluation of Learning Gains. The strategy includes statements that the student reacts to using a 3 to 5 point scale in the areas of student interest, content knowledge, and skills. The purpose of the strategy is to gather data for the teacher to use to gain feedback on student perceptions of a given unit.

It strikes me that knowledge of how to design a survey would come in useful when using the assessment strategy. If the survey is designed correctly, the teacher should be able to walk away with a good sense of how students feel about a unit and then be able to determine next steps.

CED0540 Week 2

Well I finally figured out what I did incorrectly with my work last week and now I feel like I've got a better handle on things. While we're not being required to calculate the skew for our assignments, my father loaned me a stats good and I think I'll try to figure out the skew as well. I tend to be a problem solver and I want to extend my learning in this area.

I think once I have a better understanding of stats I'll be able to appreciate any information containing statistics in a better way. That's also why I like science. Once you have a basic understanding, the world makes a whole lot more sense.

CED0540 Week 1

OK I'm gonna come right out with it - I think I could really dig statistics. I last had statistics by Sophomore year of college. I allowed myself to be overwhelmed by it. Now I'm at a point when I can appreciate it.

I started working on calculating standard deviations by hand. I then went to the computer to check my work using a standard deviation function in Excel. I'm not coming up with the same answer. Hmmmm. I think I'm not using the function correctly (at least I hope that's the case!) I'll spend tonight going back over it and figure out where I went wrong.

I've had occasion in past courses to review some meta-analysis data. After getting a better background in statistics, I'll feel much more comfortable in appreciating educational studies.

Science Learning Profile

I've begun work on learning how to use technology in differentiation. The learning profile below is based upon the work of Gayle H. Gregory and Elizabeth Hammerman in their book Differentiated Instructional Strategies for Science: Grades K-8.

CED0530 Week 5

I'm thrilled that we're reviewing rubrics this week and that one of our assignments is to make one. I used rubrics when I taught previously and really started to really like them. It's been awhile since I've had to design one so I'm glad to get some practice. I reviewed Kathy Schrock's website and was happy to see "A Rubric to Evaluate a Rubric." That's exactly what I need!

When I first started teaching I didn't think about how I was going to review student work until I sat down to do so. It wasn't until my second semester that I realized how ridiculous that was! I finally figured out that giving students rubrics produced better student products and made grades easier to justify. Sitting down to those papers wasn't quite as scary anymore.

While I'm primarily interested in Science related rubrics, I want to look at as many rubrics as I can possibly find in any subject! I'd like to learn more about using rubrics within the Math classroom. If anyone out there in the intermediate/middle school grades would be willing to share their most successful rubrics - I'd really appreciate it.

CED0530 Week 4

I have seen a couple of the presentations from the book done in real time. For example the Shift Happens presentation. The presentation made an impression upon me. Now I understand a little better why it did so. The presentation employs the principals introduced in Presentation Zen. The slides don't utilize bullet points, they have high contrast and the pictures contribute to the message of the presentation.

I liked the examples of Prezi. As the presenter mentions it definitely has a "Wow" factor. This delivery type might capture a few students attention just because it is a little different. At this point I've created my account but haven't played around with it yet. It would be interesting to take my recent "Zen Redo" into a Prezi and see how it changes.

CED0530 Week Three

Reading Chapter Six of Presentation Zen has made me aware of how much design thought is really put into Reynolds' presentations. Nothing is done by accident. I spend some time reflecting on the use of the big four principles within my current presentations.

1. Contrast- I've tried to use contrast between the background color and font color but that's really as far as it went.

2. Repetition - I've used repetition through choosing a background template. I hadn't considered using a unifying element such as the red note and paperclip in the example presentation.

3. Alignment - I've used alignment with text, either centered or right justified. Easy but boring.

4. Proximity - I believe that I've used good proximity, but I definitely wasn't thinking consciencely about it at the time.

My presentations could stand to have a lot of improvement.