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| ECEPT Student Teacher Message for 10/18/00 |
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posted by Rod
on Thursday October 19, @04:42PM
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Turley writes "
ECEPT Student Teacher Message for 10/18/00
Here are five more items I use for evaluating student teachers.
Once again, I need your feedback on each of these items in two different ways each.
First — click on the "Post a Comment" button. This gets you to the correct page to have your comments visible so others can react to them.
Second - describe what you think this item means. Include a situation in your classroom that illustrates the item. This situation might be real or hypothetical.
Fourth — Do this for all five items. Make sure to let us all know which item you’re talking about.
Fifth — Post your responses to the items all in one lump. It’s actually easier that way!
Thanx a bunch. Your input is valuable in evaluating teaching.
Here are the items:
Item 6. The lesson involved fundamental concepts of the subject.
Item 7. The lesson promoted strongly coherent conceptual understanding.
Item 8. The teacher had a solid grasp of the subject matter content inherent in the lesson.
Item 9. Elements of abstraction (i.e., symbolic representations, theory building) were encouraged when apprpriate to do so.
Item 10. Connections with other content disciplines and/or real world phenomena were explored and
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The Fine Print:
The following comments are owned by whoever posted them.
We are not responsible for them in any way.
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by
MChicci
on Sunday November 05, @01:58PM
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Item 6: I think this item refers to the basics. Are you teaching the basic information in a way that the students can extrapolate the general ideas and principles necessary for them to understand the concept and how it applies to them, the world, the topic (whether it be biology, chem./physics, chemistry, etc.). A good example of the fundamentals could be seen in a hypothetical chem./physics class at MPHS. The teacher is going to give a lesson on mass today. A good way to get this concept across would be to first (I think) give a definition of the term mass. This term should be followed by visual examples and even hands on examples of the term mass. Since most high school students tune the teacher out after about 10 minutes of hearing your voice, it would be in the best interest of their learning capabilities to use as many visual stimulations as you can. Using such stimulation will keep the students active in the lesson and they will be more likely to remember the examples later on for the test.
Item 7: I think that this item refers to how well the teacher instructed the lesson and also tests to see if the teacher made sure that each student understood what the lesson was all about. Like the EEI model directs us as teachers to do, check for understanding. Again, with the example of the mass lesson, the teacher can give a worksheet to determine if the whole class understood what was being taught. The teacher can do a verbal check to determine if the students understood the lesson. What is important is feedback, and students - especially high school students - dislike participating in the classroom (from personal experience).
Item 8: From personal experience, this is important. This item means that the teacher has to be a master at what they are trying to teach. If the teacher does not know a great deal about what they are teaching then the students will pick up on this and will not let the teacher live it down and they will lose respect for that teacher. A good example of this is my teaching experience. There are parts of biology that I am very rusty on and I did not polish up on them like I should of. I received my BS in Biology in December of 1998 and I am student teaching the subject some two years later. I have forgotten some of the material and in one particular instance, the students caught me on it. But, since that instance, I have not let myself falter and have quelled their comments about me being a bad teacher and such by showing them that I am a master of the material.
Item 9: This item I am not familiar with. I have heard of theory building but have never been given any formal instruction on how to do it. This item I am lost on.
Item 10: This item I feel is important. I have gotten several questions from some students as to why biology is important and why should they have to take this course. Why? Well, tying this course and its material in with world phenomena and other contents such as math, journalism, criminal justice studies, psychology, chemistry, and maybe even English, we as teachers can eliminate such questions as to why. It seems to me that students today would like nothing more than to breeze through high school without having to lift a finger. I am not keen on this idea and work hard against it. I think that showing that the subject the teacher is instructing is important in the society and the world will help the students respect the subject more and help them change their mindset about it and its importance to them.
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by
Anonymous
on Monday October 23, @10:05AM
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Item 6. The lesson involved fundamental concepts of the subject.
Teaching the basic ideas of the subject. An example from class would be introducing the periodic table and growing on those concepts.
Item 7. The lesson promoted strongly coherent conceptual understanding.
Presenting a lesson that combines lessons already used and introducing new concepts building on the old ones. The students have already learned dimensional analysis and I was using those concepts when introducing converting from moles to grams and back to moles.
Item 8. The teacher had a solid grasp of the subject matter content inherent in the lesson.
The teacher had a good background on the information being presented and was able to give good solid examples. When I was recently teaching how to convert to moles from grams I felt very comfortable with the information I was giving my students and was able to give the endless examples.
Item 9. Elements of abstraction (i.e., symbolic representations, theory building) were
encouraged when apprpriate to do so.
This is an area that I don't feel strong with, I feel this statement means when one is able to give examples related to the topic, but are out the of the subject area.
Item 10. Connections with other content disciplines and/or real world phenomena were explored
I feel this can be connected to the statement above. When Teaching what a mole is I was relating the to 1 dozen that it is just a number.
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by
Coleen
on Friday October 20, @08:47PM
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6: The lesson involved fundamental concepts of the subject.
I believe that this means that the very basic knowledge or skill needed to understand the lesson and following lessons should be stressed. An example of this (in biology)would be a universal concept like cells/living organisms need ATP for energy. This fundamental/basic fact can and will be emphasized in many biology lessons from biological organization to photosynthesis. Other examples of recurring themes that are numerous in biology include concepts like homeostasis, cellular respiration etc.
Item 7 The lesson promoted strongly coherent conceptual understanding.
I believe that this means that lessons should be presented in such a way as to make connections between students' current understanding/life experience and the subject matter being taught. An example would be using a crowded elevator or lobby to demonstrate diffusion. How are people going to move? To an area with fewer people (lower concentration)? Another example would be referring to thylakoid cells in plants as being similar to "pancakes"---This connects students' everyday understanding to an otherwise abstract thought. In order for students to gain a thorough and conceptual understanding they need to be able to visualize it in their terms first.
Item 8 The teacher had a solid grasp of the subject matter content inherent in the lesson.
I believe that this means that a teacher should demonstrate knowledge beyond the book and beyond the students' understanding. A teacher should be able to respond to student questioning with reasonable confidence and background (albeit excluding the occasional chalkboard error made in the flurry of discussion). An example in biology would be a student asking what ATP stands for (Adenosine Triphosphate) or is cholesterol a saturated fat (no) (ATP is not discussed in some textbooks until much later and the distinction between cholesterol and saturated fat is not always clear in the text)?It is also difficult for student teachers sometimes to present new lessons for the first time and this should be taken into consideration (you may completely familiar with the content, but make mistakes when under performance pressure).
Item 9 Elements of abstraction were encouraged when appropriate to do so.
I believe that this means that teachers should use other/abstract ways to demonstrate a subject. This is similar to item 7 in that teachers need to present subjects at the students' level at times. An example of this would be using physical/kinesthetic demonstrations to demonstrate a concept like enzyme action. I might have one student represent an enzyme, and other students act as substrates and have them visually/physically act out enzyme action in front of the class.
Item 10 Connections with other content disciplines and/or real world phenomena were explored and?
I believe that this means that science teachers should incorporate assignments that are usually allocated only to certain subjects and that teachers have a responsiblity to keep kids connected to current events and real-world topics. An example might be to have students complete a creative writing assignment about organic compounds. Creative writing is usually delegated only to English, but it is a very useful tool in biology. Another example is obviously including math in biology (finding class averages on lab data etc.). An example of keeping students connected to the real world would be bringing in current news topics related to biology to discuss (the discovery of a new microscopic creature in Holland recently (www.discovery.com---the Oct. 17th news). Another example would be to bring in a real world situation to emphasize a topic (I might read an article about diabetes to tie the organic molecule glucose to an everyday medical condition in some students' lives).
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