For the duration of the remaining 2019-2020 school year, I will increase vocabulary development/engagement by using a GoogleForm exit ticket to monitor student use of terminology in procedure. I will make an online math word compilation (of words students used) and track student growth. I will also use the data to make small groups each week. 

I predict a slower beginning with students needing access to learning (distance learning). Whole group and small group feedback will be helpful in modifying exit tickets (the last question on the exit ticket will ask students to rate and comment on the form). I will update the online math word wall weekly. 

Observations:

Modifying exit ticket with math cohort after evaluating data and feedback.

11/2020

2020-2021, I’ve changed the GoogleForm exit ticket to a one problem exit ticket on GoogleSlides students do in groups of 2-3 heterogenous groups. Students are in zoom break out rooms and once they finish, we check in to discuss steps and accuracy.

This school year has been a learning experience in itself due to Covid and 100% distance learning. We moved from 8 hr school day to a 3 hr one. We went from seeing each other and other classes on campus to 100% seeing each other solely. I’ve noticed 0 behavioral concerns, even from students with prior records. It was a little disheartening to see the limited amount of social interactions students have day to day and you can see how it impacted student engagement and social joys. So I pitched an idea for Friday’s last block to be a Community Power Hour and have students in my class engage in short games (mafia/among us, number game, etc) to increase positive social interactions. I also pitched every Wednesday I will host a zoom lunch. So after class, students can join my zoom room to talk while we eat. Some of us do a muk-bang style and show off what we’re making for the hour, just to find little ways to connect and chat. These intentional hours have been enjoyable and helpful in being that opening door to having class culture and school community while being apart from one another.

By the end of the 2020-2021 school year, I would like to have morning meetings as a set part of my routine. These will help me build rapport while simply connecting math (by matching games/ etc). Building this classroom rapport through sharing out stories and interests will show an increase of engagement and knowledge of math language.

Start trimester 2 (Jan 2021), I have updated my small groups to reflect shorter activities rather than a longer activity to engage the middle school classroom. Distance learning has changed the way we view the news. Students have shared their fears about reading or watching the news. We’ve since then implemented a 10 minute block daily to watch CNN10 together as a class. Afterwards, we break out into discussion groups to talk about new learnings, share various opinions on happenings of our nation. Students expressed their admiration for keeping up with current news/ issues in their community as well. We plan to incorporate projects in the future that tie in current events and research based strategies for students to produce writing and debate. The discussions after news have also helped our English learners gain a comprehensive understanding of topics presented.

My goal is to push and incorporate a way to keep my subject matter knowledge current. I hope to strengthen my knowledge foundation so that I can provide students more real-world examples to better connect them to the content in the classroom. 

By the end of the 2020-2021 school year, I will implement strategies from my new readings “make it stick” by Peter Brown and “Deeper Reading” by Kelly Gallagher. The intended impact I hope to see is a percentage growth in turn of asynchronous assignments and increases in their initial IAB exam, taken in December 2020.

05/2021

By June 15, 2021, I will have planned 3 socratic seminars that prompt students to reflect and devise a thesis upon reading a text / picture and present the findings. Students will be asked to submit notes to justify and support their thinking. 

My intended impact is to have students think critically about topics discussed / introduced/ read in class. It also creates the space for students to build off one another and address the varying opinions in the classroom.

So far (04/19/2021), I’ve introduced the layout, grading, structure of socratic seminars. Students had opportunities to ask questions to gauge what it is and what it isn’t and we created a table of “What Socratic looks/sounds like” v “What Socratic isn’t”. Students had several rounds of mini-socratics using the lens of Art history: they observed a painting and discussed the implications, a black and white photograph of the Great Depression and discussed observable challenges and hope. Students spent time analyzing a short poem and the implications of racism. Today students were given a full passage to analyze and annotate on Learning Styles. We identified the inner circle and outer circle and students participated in a “real” practice round of Socratics. At the end, students shared how much more they enjoyed it than they had originally thought. Others shared how the awkward silences pushed them to think critically and they liked inviting others to the table they haven’t heard from yet (great citizenship!) We will continue to do a few more rounds of practice before the first official Socratic Seminar for grading (in a week). I’ve observed 14/21 students participate today. A handful of students private messaged me during the Socratic telling me how they feel shy and a little scared to begin, which I prompted with secondary questions for them to alleviate the feeling. 2 students felt empowered by the redirection and were able to contribute to the conversation. I will use the observed data to plan for the future practice seminars.

(05/03/2021) We have started SBAC testing and will be testing for the next 3 weeks. 

However the weeks prior to this, we’ve had 3 full socratic seminars where students were provided text and/ media to analyze for 24 hrs before discussion. Students came prepared with notes and talking points. It was a blessing to observe students share their thoughts and even encourage the quieter voices in the classroom to speak. After the discussion, we had our closing statements and students shared feeling jittery and nervous, yet exhilarating at the same time because they felt they were really connecting with their peers and varying ideas. Students also shared how it was a lot more fun than they had originally expected during the objectives conversation. Students brought up how finding ways to rephrase what they were going to say to make it socratic-friendly was challenging, but in a good growing kind of way. I plan to use this energy to shift into debates after SBAC season. 

(05/10/2021) Since SBAC testing has started, I thought I’d use my CTSP 6.6 goals for self care to inspire my last block with students. We’ve been doing a fitness activity together the last block for a week. In the beginning I had many groans, but I noticed that by Thursday-Friday many students came prepared with their yoga mats or curated space with water ready to go. They turned their cameras on and it truly felt like a gym day, reminiscent of school days pre-covid. Their participation seemed more at ease as I noted hearing from students I don’t usually hear from!

10/2021

By January 15, 2022, I will have finished 2 cycles of Writer’s Workshop involving students in self-assessment, goal-setting, and monitoring progress using a rubric for each component that the class has co-created. Students will be provided regular feedback weekly.

My intended impact is to have students practice self-assessment while engaging with feedback cycles. 

(10/24/2021) What revisions can you make based on the next steps you identified in Assignment 4?

What artifacts might you attach that demonstrates evidence of your work?

(This is a speech rubric my students created with me. Their first time providing input and discussing with peers how they would liked to be assessed for their learning.)

(10/28/2021) Post a summary + reflection of your research that includes the links, articles, or videos you used.