Post #5

ETA: Sorry, you are probably reading this post well after the fact...I guess I typed it up and hit save as draft instead of publish post... :(

GRADES ARE OUT! Oh man, are those words chaos in Mr. Roush's class....He is pretty flexible about turning in papers and as long as they are in by the end of the six weeks, he seems ok with that. It would seem that makes for a very busy week though! The last minute rush of papers coming in and students inquiring about what they havent turned in has really made me start thinking about Marzano and the chapter on feedback. The most important part of the homework and grading process is the feedback it provides to the students. Mr. Roush has a policy that he never gives homework papers back, he just publishes the grade on EDLINE and then keeps all the papers until the end of the year. He said he has had problems with students in the past saying they turned something in that they didnt, and by keeping the papers...he knows who turned in and who didn't. I don't think this policy is very helpful, especially in a classroom where they dont take home their textbooks (there are not enough for the entire 10th grade class). They need those papers for future homework and studying. I also think the feedback provided on those papers is key for the student to improve and know what they did right vs just a number on a computer screen. I talked with Mr. Roush about it and he said I could play around in EDLINE to see if there was anywhere I could find to post feedback about particular assignments (he doesnt seem to want to budge on actually giving them back their handed in assignments). After poking around in EDLINE, I figured out a way to do it! I showed him how to do it and he seemed excited about it too. The past two assignments the students have turned in, I posted their scores in edline and what I agreed with/ what they missed or where lacking. I told the students to check their EDLINE that night and the next morning they were excited too! They were very happy to know not just their score, but the feedback provided as well. From what I gathered from the students, this doesnt seem to happen often in their other classes. I can understand why, because it is somewhat time consuming...but I think the benefit could be well worth the time! I hope Mr. Roush keeps it up after I leave...

Post #4

So, Ive been teaching two different mods of 10th grade English for the past few weeks. It is so amazing to me how the classroom dynamics of the two are so different! Its like night and day...so I really struggle with my first class. I feel like they don't want to talk to me, they don't want to talk to each other. I'm not really sure they can talk. They can write very well. So I thought about Marzano and how could I bring this class out of its shell. I began to think about the chapter on "Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition" and I thought that maybe I could help. The problem with this class is not that they don't know the material. When they write their ideas on paper, they are mostly all great. They know what we are discussing. Ive determined they lack self-esteem. I thought that maybe by providing them recognition and reinforcing the effort they put into their writing, maybe I could boost their self-esteem a little. I started taking up their papers and finding the key ideas (very similar to what we do in class) and reading it aloud the next day in class and providing recognition to that person. The people that I did that for started volunteering their ideas. Its been great, and I'm getting more discussion in class without feeling like I'm mandating their involvement.

Post #3

Ok, its only Tuesday but its already been a long week. I think I need spring break as much as the kids do. I felt I should probably post about today's class activity. Mr. Roush used graphic organizers in the 11th grade Literature class, a first since I have been observing his classroom. We are getting ready to begin "To Kill a Mockingbird" and we are discussing the concept of Utopia. This graphic organizer had a bubble in the middle and we had the students write the word Utopia in the center and define what they thought it meant (after a lengthy classroom discussion on it)! Then on both sides we had 5 horizontal lines, one for positive effects and one for negative effects. After using this graphic organizer to prewrite their thoughts. Students were to write an essay on how they envisioned a totally equal society and how they would create that equality overcoming the obstacles that currently set individual members of society apart. I really enjoyed this assignment and I can see myself modifying it for many assignments in my own classroom.

Post #2

Well, I'm well into my clinical experience and I'm actually starting to teach the classes. Mr. Roush has been helping me a lot and we usually sit down and work out our lesson plans together. I'm going to discuss how we are incorporating 'Cooperative Learning' as a teaching strategy into our lesson plans for the next few weeks. We are working on reading "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde in class and also incorporating multi-genre writing into it just to change pace a bit. We just finished a unit on Julius Caesar so the kids seem to be really excited about something different and fun. Since we only have one classroom set of the books and we have about 5 different mods doing this same unit, we have to read the play in class. I have been devoting the first 20-25 minutes of classroom time to that, then I use the last half of class to work on creative writing. I am using cooperative learning groups for most of these creative writing assignments. I am trying to be creative about how I break up the groups. The first time we did it, I noticed that some students seemed uncomfortable finding a partner or joining others in a group and I don't want that to ever happen. So now I'm using random ways to divide them in groups. I have had them number off, I have grouped them by their favorite color. That seems to be a fun and neat way to get them talking to each other. I like Marzano's pet suggestion. I may have to use that for my next creative writing project- letters to the editor from the point of view of Jack or Algernon :)

thanks for stopping by...

Post #1

Well, I have now successfully completed a week of observation at Huntington High School in both 10th and 11th grade English classes....and what a learning experience it has been. I have been amazed at how many of Marzano's learning strategies are incorporated into most days lessons in Mr. Roush's classroom. I have chosen to discuss Mr. Roush's ability to set objectives and provide feedback. He provides his class with written weekly objectives and writes these on a board at the beginning of the week. Coming into the class, the students already know the expectations as far as learning and assignments for the week. During classroom discussion, he provides group feedback and during quiet working hours, he provides individual feedback for the assignment they are working on. The students seem to really excel when given feedback because they know he cares, and that he respects their work and the effort they have put into it! So far, Im really impressed with the manner in which Mr. Roush has incorporated this Marzano strategy into his teaching and lesson planning.