School Year 2021-2022
Reflection on Student Engagement General levels of student engagement were lower this school year. Every year, I reflect on what "worked" and what didn't in all areas. This year I am focusing solely on student engagement which is critical in the cyber setting for academic success. Because of a new classroom platform, I had to try new instruction delivery methods because the functionality of the classroom was not as robust as the previous platform. |
Educator SIP Related Goal 2021-2022
Based upon SIP Challenge
Almost 24% of science students are not engaging in constructed response items.
By the last Common Assessment, 80% of students will successfully complete the Constructed Response.
Students will be provided more direct instruction in the CER format for writing in Science starting in September. CER writing support will continue throughout the year including practice writing time and student evaluation of writing samples to determine what good and bad CER answers look like. Additionally, the Science Syllabus, will announce an extra credit incentive for successfully completing constructed response questions (see below).
Almost 24% of science students are not engaging in constructed response items.
By the last Common Assessment, 80% of students will successfully complete the Constructed Response.
Students will be provided more direct instruction in the CER format for writing in Science starting in September. CER writing support will continue throughout the year including practice writing time and student evaluation of writing samples to determine what good and bad CER answers look like. Additionally, the Science Syllabus, will announce an extra credit incentive for successfully completing constructed response questions (see below).
- Extra Credit Opportunity: If your ATTEMPT at the CER Constructed Response has a claim, evidence, and reasoning, you will earn ONE point of extra credit even if your content is not correct.
SIP Goal Data, Summary, and Conclusion
Data
Quarter - % completed the CR on the CA … Students Who Earned the Extra Credit for CER use
Q1 – 74.7% …Unit 1: 23 completed CR with CER answer earning extra credit point
Q2 – 71.3% …Unit 2*: 3 completed CR with CER answer earning extra credit point
(not in quarter data)… Unit 3: 28 completed CR with CER answer earning extra credit point
Q3 – 78.7% … Unit 4: 15 completed CR with CER answer earning extra credit point
Changed systems for Q4 – no link, only an email reminders sending them to ClassLink for LinkIt
Q4 - 73.5% … Unit 5: 31 completed CR with CER answer earning extra credit point
(not in quarter data)… Unit 6: 27 completed CR with CER answer earning extra credit point
Average for the Year: 75%
Summary
*Unit 2 – CR Question asked students to give 2 similarities and 2 differences of plant and animal cells. Most students did not state a claim in their answers.
Use of the Extra Credit:
- There was inconsistency in use of CER format in answers despite the extra credit opportunity provided.
Conclusion:
I did not make the 80% completion rate of the SIP Goal.
Use of the Extra Credit:
- This could be used again as an incentive.
- Students need more scaffolded practice in CER writing and feedback on CER writing to increase their confidence in writing out their answers.
- Three email reminders - one with the Week at a Glance email (sent to all students with the week's calendar that includes assigned/due/end dates of assignments) and two direct emails that stated the assessment was not completed (#1: at the end of the day assigned and #2: two days before the end date)
- Daily reminders in class when reviewing the Week at a Glance calendar
- Class Announcement posted on the landing page of the course
- Phone calls home during the session for students not logged into the assessment at that time.
Plans for the Future to Increase Overall Student Engagement
- New Welcome to Science lesson – to start year and for incoming students (first extra credit) - Nearpod presentation
- Focus on Student Action to be Successful
- What to Expect
- Where to Find Materials
- Syllabus
- “How to” Instructions
- First Extra Credit
- Reuse Welcome slides – individually as class opening slides (cycle through each month)
- Use OneNote Class Notebook – This program will allow students to enter answers on documents which can be seen by the teacher in real-time which will allow immediate feedback.
- Collaborative Space
- Whole Group Lab Data
- Would You Rather Board
- Spiderweb Discussion Results
https://www.edutopia.org/article/8-strategies-improve-participation-your-virtual-classroom
- Content Library
- Syllabus
- Welcome to Life Science (in PDF with Nearpod link)
- Classroom Community
- Community Standards (Rules/Expectations)
- Digital Spirit Week
- Digital Bookshelf
- Class Bulletin Board
- Announcements
- House/Team Data
- Shout Outs
- Class Posters: PDF/Graphics to support content
- Flashcards: links to online flashcards for each unit/sub-unit
- Student Notebooks
- Class Notes
- All About You Page - A place for students to provide the teacher information about themselves.
- Weekly Quiz Note Documents
- Accountability Chart - work completion and class engagement checklist
- CER Writing (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning)
- CER rough draft templates and rubrics
- Practice space for writing during live instruction
- sample CER responses for the week’s notes CER write
- Samples for self-grading CER writing during live instruction
- Choice Boards
- Virtual Labs
- Data Table Documents
- Handbooks/Field Guides
- Student Conducted Labs
- Directions
- Materials Lists
- Data Collection Documents
- Class Notes
- Collaborative Space
- In Newrow ... Live Class Sessions
- Continue to use BreakoutEDU Escape Rooms – try to add more
- Spam the Chat for Correct Answers: spell out a word one letter at a time when student has a correct answer in a series of answers during note completion.
- 3 answers: Yes, Yep, Yup …or unit related or other term, like DNA, egg, ebb, emu, sod, wry, yew
- 4 answers: Yeah …or unit related or other term, like Cell, know, lynx, keen, ooze, jolt, wren, lung, epic, yolk, spry
- 5 answers: Oh Yeah …or unit related or other term, like Genes, panic, karst, venom, cycad, labor, lymph, vague
- 6 answers: Oh Yeah …or unit related or other term, like Energy, snazzy, sphere, dactyl, walrus, orchid, ocelot
- Digital Office Hours
- Flip the Classroom:
- Flip to Write
- READ the article for homework
- Review the article in class
- Build up to Read and Review Article for Homework
- Write in class
- Flipped Fridays
- Common Assessment (CA) for Homework: open CA Thursday at 4pm
- If CA is complete at the start of class – go to Choice Board, Enrichment Activity, Gizmo Lab
- If CA is not complete – complete CA during class session
- Common Assessment (CA) for Homework: open CA Thursday at 4pm
- Half Day Wednesday Flipped
- Virtual Lab (VL) for Homework: open VL Google form (Gf) the day before at 4pm
- If VL Gf is complete at start of class – go to support for and Extra Credit
- Afternoon off
- If VL Gf is not complete – complete VL Gf
- Complete VL and Extra Credit in afternoon
- If VL Gf is complete at start of class – go to support for and Extra Credit
- Virtual Lab (VL) for Homework: open VL Google form (Gf) the day before at 4pm
- Flip to Write
- House or Team by Section – earn Team Points/get Individual Rewards … cross team competition (Teacher 1 vs. Teacher 2)
- Hive/Team Name – selected at the start of the year
- Rules of Encouragement – BEE Positive & follow the Community Rules and Expectations every day!
- If you are negative to a classmate, your teacher, or yourself: your team loses a point
- If you are negative to a classmate, your teacher, or yourself: your team loses a point
- How to Earn TEAM POINTS
- 1 Team Point for Perfect Attendance and Work Completion for EACH person who accomplishes this for the week
- 5 Team Points for most completed tasks during class – the day assigned/in class or assigned as ASYNCH
- Exit Tickets
- Virtual labs
- Quizzes
- Common Assessments
- CER Writing Samples
- Exit Tickets
- 10 Team Points for highest class average on quizzes and common assessments
- 2 Team Points for most complete graphic from a Spider Web Discussion (class generated during class)
- 1 Team Point for Perfect Attendance and Work Completion for EACH person who accomplishes this for the week
- Individual REWARDS for Team with the most points
- For the class with the most points each week – 1-point personal extra credit that week
- For the class with most points each Quarter – 3 points personal extra credit for that quarter
- For the class with most points in the Year – 5 points personal extra credit on Quarter 4
- For the class with the most points each week – 1-point personal extra credit that week
- Hive/Team Name – selected at the start of the year
- Gamification –
CHOICE: option to do extra credit
REWARD: reinforce concepts and/or expanding knowledge and extra credit toward grade- Mini-Project with rubric
- Make a model
- Drawings
- Public Service Announcement on a shirt
- Virtual Lab Options:
- Analysis Question/CER response
- Multiple Choice
- CER Writing Sample from Notes via Textbox Submission
- Audio Book with Analysis Question/CER Response
- Mini-Project with rubric
Photo by Tammy Barger,
Hemingway's House, Key West, FL
Hemingway's House, Key West, FL
"Imagination is more important than knowledge.
For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution."
For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution."
-Albert Einstein, What Life Means to Einstein (1929)