Formative assessments and coming up with good reviews....

WHAT AM I DOING TO HELP KIDS ACHIEVE?

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE THERE?

WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE?

     Exit tickets.  They are a nice way to quickly find out where the kids are at.  I gave each student a post it note.  I told them that they could write down one thing that they were "clear" about or one "question".  They did not have to put their name on it but they had to either post it on the "clear" paper or the "question" paper by the door as they leave.

     At the end of the day I had six papers (3 bells) covered with post it notes.  It was very clear what the "questions" were.  The majority of the students were struggling with predicting reactions that involved certain decomposition reactions.

     And here lies the problem...I have the data....I know what the students are struggling with.....and I have less than 24 hours to come up with a meaningful review assignment that adequately addresses their misconceptions.  It is tough but I know that I have to try...so I come some problems as quickly as possible over a difficult concept.  It is not perfect but it is better than nothing.  We do the problems and it is good first bell but better second bell.

     So what could I have done differently?  I have this idea.  Maybe there is a way to efficiently use technology to differentiate instruction.  Here is the idea...maybe I could come up problems that are "hard", "medium" and "easy" in google drive.  Then, I could click "send" to each class based on the questions and problems that they are having.  It would take some planning but I think it is possible.

Vocabulary, Formative Assessment and Front Loading

WHAT AM I DOING TO HELP KIDS ACHIEVE?

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE THERE?

WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE?

     O.K.....I know that I swore to keep away from edubable but here goes.  It took me about a quarter to figure out my academic kids.  I know good teaching is good teaching but every group of kids has their own way of doing thing and I need to be aware of that.

     So here is what I have tried and it seems to work well.  First...vocabulary.  I know that I am not the best at it in the past and I know that it is important.  During my summer work in a lab at Miami I knew that if I did not learn a whole new set of vocabulary, I never would have been able to get past day one.  So first, I made a list, put it in google docs and shared it with the students  (check out this link).

     Students are given a vocabulary list and assignment.   The rule is that they have to define the term and they must have an example, picture or analogy.  They can (and often do) cut copy and paste the definition but the example, picture or analogy forces students to do a bit more thinking.

    Next, there is a quizlet link.  Finally, there is a google survey  .  I tell students to take this survey as fast as possible.  They see each word and simply put down a 1 or 5 based on how well they think they know the word.  Finally, I can see the results and go over the "top 5" that confuse students.  I tried it with the "Classification of Matter".  I quickly discovered that the two top words the students struggled with were "intensive properties" and "extensive properties".   I can do a quick assessment with the clickers.  I will see how this goes on the next chapter (the periodic table) and report back.

Slow but sure...

WHAT AM I DOING TO HELP KIDS ACHIEVE?

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE THERE?

WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE?

     Students came in set for lab.  I controlled the balances.  They received a known hydrate and test tube.  They had to predict the exact mass of the anhydrous salt and test tube before they weighed it and I controlled the scales.  Most teams came within 5 %.  They then had to find the ratio of salt to water in an unknown hydrate and they could only ask one question (what is the molar mass of the unknown).  Again, most students did well but struggled in the lab write up to explain the story of the experiment.  

     In Academic we did the classification of matter activity from Flinn ( an excellent activity).  First, they saw models of mixtures, elements and compounds on the board.  Next, they made a variety of models with paper clips and had to I.D. them (nice formative assessment).  Third, they identified and classified the models on paper and then were able to begin to classify reactions going from model to model.

    Overall, I was happy with academic.  I had the chance to go to table to table, ask about their models and if they could classify them.  The Flinn elearning series is some of the best chemical education around.  It is the best of the best.  Still working on the lab format with the tri folds.  I feel as if kids are going through the motions in most cases.

    Next week we are doing reactions in Accelerated.  I have a reactivity of metals lab but I found a great simulation from Greenbowe on reactivity of metals.  Research says that simulations do not replace labs, but they do enhance labs.  I plan on doing the simulation first and then the lab.  I will keep you posted....

Moles, Moles and more Moles.....

WHAT AM I DOING TO HELP KIDS ACHIEVE?

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE THERE?

WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE?

    Here is the deal...with both Academic and Accelerated...no matter what I do I feel like when we hit real math applications in chemistry, either the kids get it or they do not.  Both classes were tested on moles...there were either A's or D's and F's but little in between.  So now what?  Keep going and try to not do the same thing twice if it does not work.

     On another note, I hope to do  bit of an inquiry lab.  On day one students are going to be given copper(II)sulfate.  They can have the mass of the test tube and hydrate.  They will have to show me the calculations and predict what the mass of the anhydrous salt is.  On day two they will be given an unknown.  They are allowed to ask me one question that will allow them to calculate the mole to mole ratio of the salt to water (what is the formula does not count).

     So what do I do when some kids don't get it????  Go to twitter, ask for help on teaching moles and keep trying.