Tables Turned: Marking

It's still news to me that tables have turned. All the way till the end of my B.Ed, I've always been anxious to know how much I got on my papers, assignments, and tests. I've always cared about the marks I received as I would reflect back on the amount of effort I had put forth in completing the task. During this practicum, I realized that this time I would not be the one waiting for a mark, but rather giving a mark to all the students.

Since I taught two units - Math (Cylinders) and Language (Poetry) in a grade 8 class, I got a lot of practice in creating different types of assessment measures as well as giving a numerical value. I used both formative and summative forms of assessments. I observed the students level of participation, how productive/on-task students were during work periods, and group participation, as well as developed quizzes, certain worksheets, a final unit test or final culminating task.

MATH: I felt it was much easier and less time-consuming to grade Math because it was less subjective and most of the time there was only one answer to each question.

POETRY: I felt it was more time-consuming to grade language because there were varied answers/responses. Additionally, although I placed more emphasis on fulfilling the requirements (length, number of poems, structure, etc), there was still a level of subjectivity (clarity and creativity) which I had to be very careful so that I would grade fairly and appropriately.

For the majority, both the grade 8 classes did wonderful. One of my most exciting moment was when a boy who struggled in Math throughout the year ended up with a 100% in my unit! It was remarkable to see (and he was definitely moved too as he instantly took a picture of his final grade and texted it to his mom) [Nope, I did not take the phone away from him!]

While grading though, I did not forget the anxiety and anticipation I've had during my whole schooling life, hence I made sure I'd fulfill what I wanted to see in my own teachers:

• graded it as soon as possible
• level of expectations were fair and clear
• provided descriptive feedback
• gave out stickers (yup, they students still love them)/ remarks (Well done!)
• gave opportunities for improvement
• met with students that struggled and ensured they corrected their mistakes (next time)

Co-Teaching Experience

I had the opportunity to do another co-teaching session with my associate teacher (AT) in a grade 8 class, organized by OISE. It was a great experience as I had already done a co-teaching session in my previous practicum. The co-teaching session was on a Math lesson which expanded on the circles and cylinders unit. This lesson took place closer to the end of my practicum, hence I had already taught major concepts, formulas, and strategies to solve word problems.

The lesson was focused on the theme of curling. During the planning, my AT had read upon an article about the best curling stones being made of Blue Granite, which was found in large amounts in Scotland. However, since the area where granite was found was also a Bird Conservatory, companies had to abide by the strict regulations of how much granite they could extract. Hence, my AT thought it was a good idea to base a lesson on granite and curling. We created word problems which looked at the different parts of the curling stone and it also touched upon radius, diameter, area & circumference of a circle as well as volume & surface area of a cylinder. It encompassed the entire unit really well. The word problems required higher level thinking as it required for understanding and applications of various formulas, relating it to previous units (comparison to volume of cubes & rectangular prisms, mass, and percentages).

The lesson was structured in a 3 part lesson:

• For the minds on, my AT and I showed a short video clip on YouTube on Top 10 curling shots to create interest and introduce the topic to the students.
• For action, we had split the class into groups of 4 (a mix of students with high and low strength in Math). They had to read the background information about the blue granite from Scotland, used to make curing stones. Then on chart paper, they solved 7 questions (which were ordered from simple to difficult). During that time, my AT and I observed the students' thinking and took note on the ways they solved the problems. We also assisted them if they were stuck or had any doubts.
• For consolidation, we created a bancho of all their work in front of the class. Students explained how they solved the word problems, while I scribed the highlights/summary of the lesson (major concepts covered through the word problems). They also explained any assumptions they made when solving the problems such as the curling stone being perfectly cylindrical and having no handles during the manufacturing process.

We had extended this activity to the next day, where they were to create their own curling house (target) by using large construction paper and calculate the area of each circles (and compare the difference between the areas in a percentage).

It was a really interesting and fulfilling experience because the students really had a good time solving these word problems and made better connections because of the background information. It also touched upon geography (limited natural resources: granite) and science (Water seeps into concrete as it's more porous, and during winter, freezing temperatures transform water into ice. Hence it expands and breaks down concrete - example: our sidewalks. Hence they use blue granite which is less porous and can be long-lasting - necessary for curling stones). There were observers from other schools and TDSB math board members as well. We all discussed the lesson together and examined all the students' works.

I feel that if teachers get the opportunity, they should definitely do co-teaching or at least co-planning because of these reasons:

CO-PLANNING
-a lot more ideas are put forth as two minds work together
-assess ideas/ lesson plan together in order to make it most effective
-learn strategies from one another
-get to know more online resources (to help base your lessons)

CO-TEACHING
-better class-management as there are two adults in front of the class
-while one teacher writes on the board, the other teacher can continue talking to the class (better time management)
-If anything is missed by one teacher, the other teacher pick up on it
-Better observation of student thinking and student work
-more energy in the classroom (less tiring)
-address student questions better because both teachers can give an answer
-broader perspectives in some cases if teachers think differently - hence can be less biased (*very important for social studies)

Poetry Phobia

When I was asked to teach a grade 8 language class Poetry, I couldn't hide the shock on my face. Thinking back about learning poetry myself brought a few vague memories whereby I had to recite memorized poems or read numerous poems which made absolutely no sense. I did however, recall my grade 10 English teacher who brought in some Bob Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel songs along with terminology like cacophony and iambic pentameter, whereby he'd go on his tippy-toes and say " da-dum, da-dum" to indicate change in rhythm.

Knowing that I was going to teach an entire unit on Poetry, those memories did not get me very far. First thing I did was a trip to the library and literally emptied one entire shelf. Along with the research I compiled, I asked another teacher candidate (who had an English teachable) for guidance, and he gave me plenty of ideas and encouragement to overcome my fear.

I realized poetry did not have to be simply reading poems from the classic poets and get students to decode and analyze those poems. I decided that I'd take a different approach and mix poetry and art. Hence, I'm currently working with the Art teacher at the school as well. I created a learning wall on this unit (which is still progressing) so that students could refer to the different types of poems and poetic devices discussed.

It's been a challenging experience, because I myself am learning about poetry while I'm teaching it to a class. It's been even more difficult for me to understand how I would be assessing the poems without having proper background knowledge.

In order to overcome the struggles around this unit, I chose to diversify the ways to learn poetry. Here are some of my lessons:

(1) Introduction to Poetry: A well-known and fun poet: Dr. Seuss - Green Eggs and Ham; plus reading some good old Dr.Seuss books.

(2) Observation Poetry: Walking around the school and taking photos of an appealing object (i.e: trophies, basketballs, lockers, etc) in order to create a poem

(3) City Poetry: Walking down Younge Street and noting down the urban atmosphere, setting, environment (or lack of), and people in order to create a poem

(4) Art-Inspired Poetry: Creating a poem based on a painting

(5) Rap: Looking at the rhythm and message of contemporary poetry (rap): Wavin' Flag (K'Naan), Where is the Love? (Black Eyed Peas), I Can (Nas)

It's been quite a learning experience for me as I'm slowly overcoming my poetry phobia!

A Teacher's Personality

I am doing my second practicum in a grade 8 class. It is quite different than my first practicum in a grade 6 class due to the huge jump in content, larger focus on grades, and sensing students' anxiety towards entering high school. I have been fortunate to be paired with an associate teacher (AT) who is experienced and has a great rapport with students. More than his manner of teaching, I am realizing that a teacher's personality is really fundamental to help the class function. The AT is quite balanced and ensures he hits both sides of the spectrum: he's laid back and lenient on deadlines and class rules but still holds high expectations in terms of the success criteria. Additionally, he has a passion for reading which he brings to the classroom as there are huge collections of books all over the class which cater to different level readers, different themes/topics, and for both genders. Moreover, he dedicates a whole period (~50 minutes) on Fridays to reading in which both the students and the teacher simply read.

Observing this style of teaching, I have learned a whole lot in a short period. I found the right level of discipline and leniency which suited my classroom management strategies and still made me approachable. I realized that being approachable is so important for a teacher's personality as it brings students towards you as they open up more, ask more questions, and share deeper personal experiences rather than you, as a teacher, trying to probe that out of students. I am teaching a unit on circles for Math, and it was interesting when even the 'class clown' told me that he can estimate the circumference of the hoop while we were playing basketball! As well, a simple thing like smiling, which is often forgotten among adults, really makes a huge difference. Like my AT's passion is for books, my passion is for world issues (human geography), hence many of my lessons directly or indirectly touch upon comparing resource distribution, political circumstances, and human development among 'More Economically Developed Countries' (MEDC/developed countries) and 'Less Economically Developed Countries' (LEDC/developing countries).

Two key things I've learned thus far:
(1) Be approachable (+ smile)
(2) Share your passion