Inquiry Project Entrance Slip

1) Is there a better way for teachers to assess students to help them feel more of a progression experience in classes, rather than an experience where they feel like if they perform poorly once then the grades are lost forever.

Current assessment methods have not been updated yet society has changed its standards in workplace ethic, performance, and as a social environment. Societal values have changed, yet the way students are accessed have not changed. I think this is a project that can really change the way I view my classroom. It would be ideal to have students not have to feel dread entering my classroom environment the day after an exam.

2) Before I would like to investigate about what different methods of grading, I would like to reiterate some points from my last blog. Academic performance is usually what is measured and what students get anxiety from. This percentage grade is vague and inaccurate as it cannot separate two students with the same/similar grades. There is evidence that a students culture can even effect their grade in class more so than what the grades mean, so really it depends what a teacher wants the grade to mean. So I would like to propose different ways, or maybe suggest a progression kind of grading system. For now, I will look into cooperative learning strategies as cooperative learning is more commonly done in practice during a persons career. Different learning strategies require different grading methods, so I would like to begin there.

A) Team based assessment, iRAT and TRAT: These kinds of quizzing methods still have a large independent section to them. I believe the time between the iRAT and TRAT is where a lot of learning to occur. There are some pros and cons, for example some students forfeiting their view just because someone told them they were sure about one of the answers when really they could be correct.

B) I would like to read more into indigenous learning styles. As Moshie Renert stated in a previous paper, there is such a thing as number sense. Having a gauge of the theoretical allows us physicists to look an our numerical answers and think "this answer sounds reasonable". There are many indigenous learning styles, so I believe there must be a different method of evaluation. It is more framed by a community based participation learning experience. This could harbor a physics classroom with more hands on, when appropriate, experience.

C) Learning by teaching. I am curious if there is a way that a teacher could evaluate classrooms by how well a student can explain or analyze a problem and teach it to their classmates. This could also be similar to a think, pair, share and how well students could teach a problem they completed. Marina introduced to us the idea of  a "Lesson Play", which was a scene that is written by us, the teachers, about how students may approach a problem. If students can explain how a problem can be interpreted incorrectly, then they could have a better understanding then just being able to do the problem. To be able to explain in different angles how problems or theories can be misinterpreted is challenging as it promotes to think outside the box of their regular thinking. If students could be in groups and write different ways they misinterpreted the problem and share how it could be interpreted this way and why it is incorrect, it would be a good way to reflect on themselves and their classmates thought processes.

Exit Slip, are marks accurate?

I do not believe marks are accurate, but I think they could be. Marks are associated with only the success but does not gauge a students work ethic, passion, mentality, ability, or the willingness for that student to try again. So I believe the idea is what should grades indicate as a measure and can this measure affect the performance of the students once it is observed.

Currently, grades are interpreted for academic performance, but nothing else. If two students were to both score 90%, there is no way someone that were to look at this grade would be able to tell the two students apart. It cannot describe whether the student was challenged by the course content, or worked really hard to improve their performance through the year. Personal struggles are not included, socioeconomic struggles cant be measured, and personality traits that society values such as being a great leader or team player does not scale with academic performance either. So in essence, grades are not accurate because they are not really relevant to what society values. A written unit test that is worth 8% of a students overall grade cannot measure improvements.

I think a teacher that helps a student that accidentally reveals that they have not done the work may leave the impression that the student is lazy which may create a bias. Any kinds of biases teachers have affect their academic performance which is partially why I do not believe marks can be accurate.

What I would like to do for the Inquiry project is to study is what could grade indicate as a measure and if this could be effective. If the anxiety and stress to strive for better grades can affect their performance (in negative and positive ways) what can teachers do to ease and change the meaning of grades so students could see it as a form of progression, instead of something that is permanently lost.

grAdes: Entrance slip Oct 16

I do believe grades are really important, but I do not agree with how they are done. I am a strong believer of learning from mistakes and being able to benefit fixing them. Of course, there exists some tests that do not allow for correction (Alberta Diploma Exams), and at some extent I agree with standardized testing when it is important to evaluate students applying internationally. If there is a better way to evaluate a students success for administration to post secondary, I would be completely for it. However, it requires a lot of participation from other countries which I would hope they would agree with. 

Assigning letter grades and percentages are terrifying, and I agree that they do cause a unnecessary stress, but I believe the evaluation process is important. I believe that grades do not indicate a students work ethic, it does not (and should not) dictate any future success. I think most of us teachers would agree that grades do have merit, but we dislike the anxiety and stress that follow. Darrel Bradford states "its like the uncertainty principle in Physics, the act of measuring something can change it", which really resonates with me. Checking grades is a make-or-break moments that can dictate how I approach the week. Grades are too simple to measure the complexity of a being. 

Grades don't show struggle, they don't show diversity, care, personality, or passion. So the next part I follow with is how can we evaluate students without having the emotional stress that comes with it? And if we do evaluate without a grade, how do we ensure that students will care to study for tests or do their own research? If the grade does not matter, why should the student try hard? It would be ideal for students to be motivated to pursue knowledge independently, but I think this motivation has to come from the educators. I am unsure in the method, engagement, or if it is even measurable. But it can come from a teacher that a student enjoys learning from. 

There are different methods of learning and evaluation such as iRAT(Individual Readiness Assurance Test), and the TRAT ( Team Readiness Assurance Test) which I would love to try out. In terms of assessment, oral assessment is what I would value most. In this case, students will write a iRAT, and converse about the questions and rethink the answers. Then, students will be evaluated again as a team with a TRAT. The time between the iRAT and the TRAT is where students get to discuss ideas and be "orally assessed" by their colleagues though an informal debate. 

Testing, testing: How will measurement change in the future of education? | Darrell Bradford

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDUKyjIR2Hg

Team Based Learning: iRAT and TRAT information! 

http://www.teambasedlearning.org/definition/

Oct 9, Entrance slip

A bodily experience is an experience, so I could definitely be a learning opportunity for a classroom. Using your arms as a gesture for increasing and decreasing sections of a velocity-time graph can help students associate the graph with simulations which builds confidence that the simulations are trustworthy. Today during a presentation, TC's expressed how resistance can be taught by having students jump from point to point with large gaps in between, analogous to a wire with high resistance. They were tired from jumping from point to point, there was difficulty moving down the line. By adding spots in between where  they could jump then resistance is decreased, and they felt less tired when they finished. Students that experience these analogous activities will benefit the most, the more participation the better the comprehension. Other students that do not participate may get confused or not understand the activity, so I could see that this kind of teaching may not be for every student. 

Its interesting that having students sit and cram through problems and lectures is the standard teaching method can change, and activity could be the next level of learning. It requires commitment and dedication, but I believe it could be done. The level of engagement is higher but to learn how to keep the activity and the content relevant is the goal. 

This is a figure I came across a website one day, and I think it could be used as a learning tool for some students. Though it would be out of my comfort zone to teach this kind of material to students, but it would be fun to eventually incorporate it with the right class. During a school visit this week, a student refused to do his physics worksheet and said he would do it at home. He had confidence that he could do it so I asked him to answer a graphing problem by using his arms to explain what happens to the slope of a distance-time graph as the velocity increases and decreases. He laughed, his friends laughed and I was able to see that his kinematics knowledge. We were able to have a conversation through action about his understanding about physics and it will become a memorable teaching moment for me.

PS. As for sensory experiences and taste, even minor events such as Pi day can excite students about math. It just has to begin somewhere

Exit slip, Oct 3

I am willing to try any kind of lecture that differs from a look/listen/lecture style classroom. For braiding specifically I could only think of activities that could be done with the braids such as applying forces to untwisted vs twisted materials. If we were to try this with the wet grass vs dry grass, which of these would be stronger? The intrinsic properties of materials could also help explain bonds and why it is stronger to interweave and spin material together then to keep it straight.

As for drawbacks, I could see how some students would be focused on what is in their hands and the objective of making the braid as a learning experience over the content of the lesson. Some students may not be able to split their focus into braiding and learning physics, or if the lesson is too difficult they may give up in the moment and do what is simpler to then which would be braiding. It could almost be counter intuitive to provide an easier/engaging activity while being in lecture. However, if students are finished the provided assignment, lab, or homework then I do believe this would be a really great use of their time.

Entrance slip to the garden, Oct 2

I will begin reflecting on the "Where did this come from? Who made or grew it?", which is my favorite question to bring up with students. Students should know more about their environments, and this process can begin with a question. Tracking what goods are made of is a great way to begin linking how one idea can lead to the next. For example the food cycles or water cycles can be connected by thinking of that comes before, and after. With materialistic goods, there are potential environmental impacts in each step of the making, and that could start a chain reaction of "Yikes". For me, it is slightly analogous to the "follow the breadcrumb" kind of thinking, where it encourages different levels of thinking. . This may be a exercise to develop a group of students thinking skills.

"The empowerment which comes from being able to opt out of the consumer paradigm, even for one small item, creates a heightened sense of self-esteem for the skills learned. "

I feel that society has really become out of touch with making things, whether it is to express themselves creatively or even making something for every day use. There is a disconnect with nature  between gaining the skills to make something we have pride in, and now buying these kinds of goods. Today, people have so much extra time the more material goods that they buy. There is no importance of having any kind of craftsmanship and spending thousands of hours being a blacksmith, a leather worker, or even a gardener which is easily accessible within our own homes. This quote made me realize that people are leaving these gaps of time that were, in the past, used to developing skills. There is more of a need for people to be proactive about life today then I would like to think there was in the past. They did not need the constant reminders to get motivated or to be motivating since live is to be active. "I could just go and buy it and it would be ten times better then I could make it", should not be an excuse to not learn a new skill, but I find it funny that even I would use this excuse.

The 7 strand double braid looked the most interesting to me, and definitely the most challenging. I have not braided anything since my out door school in the fifth grade, so the beginning of the video had me confused before I started. Ill be looking forward to try some braiding tomorrow!

A1 through A4 all look great to me, at least applicable in sciences. B1 would be nice as well, I have never had the chance to make a rope before.