Inquiry Project - Annotated Bibliography

Joyce and Sonya's Inquiry project!

Revised question:

How do you design differentiated lessons for students of various abilities in the high school science classroom?

Annotated Bibliography

Cornelius, K. E. (2013). Formative assessment made easy: Templates for collecting daily data in inclusive classrooms. Teaching exceptional children, 45(5), 14-21.

Some ideas for how to implement formative assessment for differentiated learning in classrooms. Focuses mostly on how to analyze students abilities and behavior individually during everyday classroom activities.

Daley, D., & Birchwood, J. (2010). ADHD and academic performance: why does ADHD impact on academic performance and what can be done to support ADHD children in the classroom?. Child: care, health and development, 36(4), 455-464. DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2214.2009.01046.x

Looks into why ADHD students have poor academic outcomes and recommends tools and methods for improving learning outcomes in students with ADHD.

DuPaul, G. J., Ervin, R. A., Hook, C. L., & McGoey, K. E. (1998). Peer tutoring for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Effects on classroom behavior and academic performance. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 31(4), 579-592. DOI: 10.1901/jaba.1998.31-579

Studied effects of Classroom Wide Peer Tutoring on the behavior and learning outcomes of students with ADHD, and it was found to be beneficial in both areas.

Gamoran, A., & Weinstein, M. (1998). Differentiation and opportunity in restructured schools. American Journal of Education, 106(3), 385-415.

Schools are getting rid of different “tracks” for students of varying disabilities. This paper examines what is best for students in these “restructured” schools and what methods to use in classrooms of varying abilities that are most successful for students.

Mastropieri, M. A., Scruggs, T. E., Norland, J. J., Berkeley, S., & al, e. (2006). Differentiated curriculum enhancement in inclusive middle school science: Effects on classroom and high-stakes tests. The Journal of Special Education, 40(3), 130-137. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/194702752?accountid=14656

Experiment testing the effectiveness of differentiated activities and peer tutoring in classroom with mixed abilities and language abilities. Applied to a grade 8 science classroom.

Moon, N. W., Todd, R. L., Morton, D. L., & Ivey, E. (2012). Accommodating students with disabilities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Atlanta, GA: Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access, Georgia Institute of Technology.
Chicago

Pg 70-84. Suggests ways to accommodate students with disability in STEM subjects and looks at the reason they are not well represented in STEM fields.

Mutch-Jones, K., Puttick, G. and Minner, D. (2012), Lesson study for accessible science: Building expertise to improve practice in inclusive science classrooms. J. Res. Sci. Teach., 49: 1012–1034. doi:10.1002/tea.21034

Good information on how to work with your special education department to develop an inclusive curriculum in science and the challenges involved with it.

Reiss, J. (2012). 120 content strategies for english language learners: Teaching for academic success in secondary school (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Lots of practical strategies for differentiation methods in classrooms with mixed language abilities.

Teaching all Students to High Standards in Mixed Ability Classrooms (2006). Gates Foundation. Retrieved from https://docs.gatesfoundation.org/documents/diff_instruction_brief.pdf

Good information on why and how to implement differentiation in the classroom. Lots of practical stuff. Has some great resources linked as well.

Tomlinson, C. A. (2001). How to differentiate in mixed-ability classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

Describes what differentiated instruction is and isn’t, and how to implement it in the classroom.

Wormeli, R. (2007). Differentiation: From planning to practice, grades 6-12. Westerville, Ohio;Portland, Me;: Stenhouse Publishers.

Book with some practical information on differentiation in classroom. Has information on what differentiation is with lots of examples in different subjects.

Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Success as a Teacher © 2005 by Anthony D. Fredericks. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

https://www.teachervision.com/special-needs/teaching-students-special-needs

Outlines the characteristics and challenges of teaching gifted students and those with disabilities.

Embodied Learning Entrance Slip

I feel like visuals, movement, creation, and manipulable objects really help with learning complicated concepts, though, not being a math major, I still had a difficult time understanding a lot of what was described in the Henderson and Taimina paper. I imagine it would have been easier if I had the objects in front of me, rather than just pictures and descriptions. Things need to be seen in motion to get the full effect. But what actually does embodied learning mean? Is it any physical manipulation of objects in order to learn? If that is the case, geology lends itself to simple activities like scratching minerals and playing with magnets to see what happens. A teacher the other day moved desks around in the classroom to simulate the motion of tectonic plates. Is that embodied learning?

If we want to get into complicated concepts like those in the paper, there must be simpler ways to describe crystal geometry and melting points between solid solutions than what is traditionally done. The mathematical equations, notations, and projections onto a two-dimensional plane are difficult to understand. Can we give students manipulable models to help them understand the concepts? Or, better yet, guide them through building the models themselves?

Inquiry Project Thoughts Exit Slip

I'm still interested in Assessment as a topic, but I think that is way too big and want to wait until we have our course on assessment next session. There seems to be a lot of different philosophies regarding assessment and it comes down to whatever approach you want to take.

I've learned that it is really common for students who struggle with science to take Earth Science classes to get their science credit in order to graduate. So classes have a lot of students who struggle with what we consider "traditional" classroom settings. So how do you plan an earth science class for students with really varied abilities and learning styles? There are going to be such a huge variety of students - some of whom will be on the autism spectrum, or will have ADD or ADHD, or who have just been turned off by science for some reason. How do we create a class that can easily be tailored to each student's strengths, while still helping them improve on their weaknesses? It's going to be so important to learn, and I doubt I will get enough information in that area during my BEd degree. So, inquiry, here I come!

Discussion: Are marks accurate? (Sonya, Ashley, Leah, Brianna, Erika)

Marking from 1-100% is maybe too large a scale. Is there really a difference from 95% and 96%? And each mark should have some kind of meaning - comments associated with it.

Tests are also testing time management during tests. Is that really necessary to do in a test format? If you're going to test time management, shouldn't you teach it first? Is this really something that should be taught in a format that is already stressful?

How many questions would be a good number for a test? Having 10 questions on the same subject seems unnecessary.

Are multiple choice good for helping students who are easily confused? Maybe mixed types of questions in a test would be good - some multiple choice, some short answer, some long form problem. Should we drop their worst section from the grade since that is really testing their ability to test in that format?

Can we do some form of dynamic assessment that responds to the students needs and abilities? Change the tests based on how they perform?

How can we make a test that is helpful for students with different language and learning abilities?

Should students be required to show their work for math questions? Should they get full marks for just getting the correct answer and we assume they know the method? How much should we require?

How do we as teachers know if our assessment is accurate? How can we judge if we are getting an accurate representation of the abilities of our students?

Are tests appropriate in all subjects? Should there be tests in subjects like English?

Grades and Learning Entrance Slip

I read the Sarte and Hughes article and it really spoke to me. I never really felt that grades were that useful when I was in school - a lot of it was luck and had more to do with whether or not what you studied was even on the test. In spite of the fact that I knew grades didn't really reflect my learning, I still was very stressed about them. I wanted to get into a good university, and for that I would need the grades. This only got worse in University when I started stressing about grades to get my degree and get a job. There were some classes I barely made it through - they were mostly sources of stress in trying to get the required grades than anything else, and I have no idea what practical application they would have had.

The idea of grade competition as a motivator has me a little worried. If some people feel that good grades are just that important, what will happen to those who can't get those good grades? Who are "losing" in this competition?

When I was in high school, I took whatever classes I could. I wanted to learn pretty much everything and took more classes than could technically even fit in my schedule. But I always did well and was never too stressed about grades or tests. Other students chose classes based on what they thought would get them the grades they needed. What if we just did away with grading altogether? As long as students were required to be at school with a full course load, what would students do? Clearly, it would be strange at first, and it's not likely to happen any time soon since grades are still required for things like entrance into post-secondary institutions, but what if we were in some distant future where none of that mattered and it was just normal to go to school all day and not be graded. How would students react? How would teachers react?

It was fascinating during the reflections at the end of the paper where they said that even though they no longer felt that grading was so important, they felt they had no choice but to continue doing it. Because that is the world we are living in and that is what students are expecting. Why is this "the only way to get students attention" as they put it? How could we change that crucial part of the system?

I was a little sad that they didn't have a control group for this study. I would have loved to see what the difference was between the classes that de-emphasized tests and grades and a regular class. Clearly there is still much more work to be done in this area! 

Role Models Exit Slip

We all need role models to encourage us. When I was working in Geology, it was the experienced women who took me under their wing and guided me in the industry - they understood what I was going through. Even when I wasn't working with them, knowing that there were women in the industry was encouraging for me. It's not just women who need role models, but people from different cultures, with different abilities, learning styles, and different classes as well.
I'm not great with media, but I can see how much potential there could be to make a more welcoming class. I visited the Emerging Media lab in the Scarfe basement and they had great educational VR programs with little to know language involved - it's super accessible to anyone comfortable with the VR system. I also really love the idea of having skype meetings with people all over the world, including geologists in the field, or scientists in other countries to discuss their work. We could invite people to speak who don't fit the stereotypical characteristics of anyone in the field. I would even love to "share" a classroom with another group somewhere else - having the students around the world teach and learn from one another. Not sure how realistic any of this is, but I would love to see connections like that made - make the world feel just a little bit smaller for my students.

Students should be encouraged to add their own personalities to their projects and work - make it their own and relevant to themselves somehow. Everything from their personal style to their learning style should be made as personalized as possible

Overall, I think we as teachers have an obligation to examine our classroom in every way to be sure it is accessible and welcoming to as many different students as possible. 

Tolerance Vs Embracing in Earth and Space Science/General Science

I was always encouraged to study science in my home and never overtly made to feel unwelcome, but there were few women role models for me in the field of geology. The big names were always men - not just men, but white men. It made me feel out of place. There seems to be a preference for celebrating white men in science fields, and it would help students feel more welcome to have a variety of role models. For example, I only learned about Watson and Crick when we were studying the structure of DNA in biology, never Rosalind Franklin. I try now, when discussing space exploration with students, to show and discuss work being done all over the world, by people of diverse backgrounds. There are interesting astronauts and space scientists from all over the world, but few people in Canada know of the amazing work being done in places like India, China, or the United Arab Emirates.

I also think that teaching in ways that are accessible to people from different backgrounds and cultures is very important, but I still have a lot to learn in this area. I was raised and educated in Canada, and school has always been a familiar and relatively comfortable environment for me. I see now that maybe it wasn't so for everyone in my classes. So how can I make a science class welcoming for everyone? Role models are definitely not enough. Clearly not putting them down is important, and listening to their concerns, but how can I be more proactive? The students should have agency and choice in how they learn, but how can I support that kind of diversity in a large classroom?

Garden Experience Exit Slip

I learned a lot in the garden today. I was lucky enough to be raised in a somewhat rural setting and we had an orchard. Vegetable gardens were something we always had at our place while I was going up. This was so normal to me that I missed gardens and couldn't wait to live somewhere I could grow my own. It hadn't really occurred to me that not everyone has had that kind of experience. It was fun walking around with my classmates and helping them identify plants that they use every day.

I noticed people were very distracted in the garden as well, but I think that is a good thing. It shows how interested they were in their surroundings, how immersed in the experience. They were as excited and in love with the garden as I always have been!

One of the biggest surprises for me was doing the braiding dance. I hadn't thought of gardens as places to learn dance and math, let alone a place to combine these things. But there are plenty of chances to study math in a garden - fractals in a carrot leaf, golden ratios in plant leaves, angles and curves and symmetry everywhere. And you can't be more immersed in a subject than when you are surrounded by it!

Multicultural School Gardens Entrance Slip

Since I first heard of having school gardens, I have always loved the idea, but have had a difficult idea visualizing how I would implement it as a teacher. The things that come to mind are simply learning about the carbon cycle and the growth of plants. This paper by Amy Cutter-Mackenzie was very inspiring and informative.

I had never considered that different cultures would have different relationships with gardens. Food is such a central part of our lives, no matter who we are or where we come from. There is not only great variety in what we eat and how we cook it, but also the social customs around food and eating. A garden is a great way to open a conversation around those different customs, and that conversation can then be expanded to include other cultural differences. It's an opportunity for everyone to increase their understanding; this includes the students, but also the teacher.

I loved the idea of turning a garden into an intergenerational educational experience - giving students the opportunity to help their families and other community members learn and practice English. This would help them (the families) feel part of a larger community, when language may have been isolating them. Even if they don't speak much English, gardens are very physical places and language learning would be done in context at whatever pace is comfortable for them. It reminds me of the preschools I have seen in care homes. Everyone benefits!

The use of students as reporters was inspiring as well. There is no reason the students can't do the work to design and evaluate a garden that is meant for them! I was glad to see the degree to which the students seemed to appreciate the garden. They may not have learned much about the plants themselves to begin with, but I can see how just small changes could help the students focus on what they are growing and eating. They clearly have benefited from the garden even without knowing what they grew.

Praise, blame, mindset and engagement Exit Slip

It seems like the way students react to praise is really variable, depending on the quality of the praise. Praise aimed at referring to something the student is, for example saying that they are kind or smart, makes them less likely to show those traits. Perhaps they are afraid of losing that status as smart or kind in the eyes of the person praising them. It probably causes them to develop more of a “fixed” mindset, giving them the belief that they either are or are not the kind of person who is capable of being “kind” or “smart”. If, instead, we aim our praise at specific events – for example acknowledging how much research or work they put into a given project, or how much they have learned on a given topic – this might encourage more of a “growth” mindset. They will see themselves as being able to improve and grow, that who they are isn’t fixed in place, but fluid and changeable with the right work and effort.

Praise could also be aimed at letting students know what their actions mean. Have they grown as a student/learner? Have they done something to help the people around them? Have they made a difference somehow?

I loved watching the students engaged in the “multi-dimensional” classroom. They discussed what they were doing and what they thought about the problem. They discussed the pros and cons of a given approach and were engaged in the subject. Each person got to see their contribution to the problem and see how each step worked along the way. And, best of all, they learned from each other, seeing themselves as capable and having valid input. The teacher raised the students up without using praise at all, so maybe we need to get away from praise entirely.

Teachers' Practical Knowing-in-Action Entrance Slip

Teachers have to make little decisions all day long. Going in to our practicum, we are going to have a difficult time with just basic everyday tasks that together are needed to manage a classroom. When we are new at something like teaching, we need to reflect on each and every little decision we make, each and every little action. We are going to be sensitive to everything that doesn't work and will spend a lot of time wondering how we could do it better and observing someone with more experience.

Moving back and forth between trying out teaching for ourselves and watching a more seasoned teacher in action will help us pick up on where we need a little work and what we can do to improve our own methods. But trial and error on our own will also help. If something doesn't work, we will have little reason to try it a second time and will probably have lots of situations in which we could employ new methods and tactics.

Once we know what works, it will become more like a reflex. We will subconsciously be able to read the situation and know what action is appropriate, just by our experience in the classroom. Until we encounter new situations that throw us once more out of our comfort zone and give us reasons to reflect on what we could do better.

No matter how well things are working though, there will always be ways to do them better. New ways to include students that may be left out in our well-practiced or instinctive teaching methods. Maybe students with disabilities or from different cultural backgrounds would require different actions in different situations to achieve the same goal. As teachers, we need to take time to reflect on these situations - developing and expanding our "instincts" to make classrooms more inclusive and comfortable for all students, not just the students who do what we expect every time.

Flipped Classroom Exit Slip

The concept of the flipped classroom clearly has a lot of positives and is great, with or without a little tweaking. I love the idea of being able to think about these objects for some time before coming to class. I love the concept, as a teacher, of building on things they have already seen and have at least a minor amount of experience with, even if they are not yet proficient.

Using fellow students as tutors in the classroom is also great. When I was a student, I learned the most when I had to teach someone else. And I think those students learned more comfortably from me because we were at the same level. It was less intimidating for them than asking the teacher and I spoke their "language".

I also know that a good friend of mine on the autism spectrum is more comfortable in an impersonal setting and watching videos/reading articles is the best way for him to learn.

In a way, we are currently learning with a flipped classroom model - reading articles at home and then discussing them in class. And I am definitely learning a lot. It saves time and allows me to read at my own pace, re-reading passages that were more complicated, or that didn't fully sink in the first time around because I was daydreaming. And the more times we go over concepts with students, the more chances they have for it to sink in.

I love leaving the classroom as a place for them to think, talk among themselves, and explore the concepts, more than a place to just drill information into their brains.

Entrance Slip: Grant and Zeichner

The Grant and Zeichner article "On Becoming a Reflective Teacher" definitely struck me as relevant.  Especially so with the new changes to the BC curriculum. I feel that teachers are going to have to think even more about how they are teaching, as opposed to what they are teaching.  In a way, this almost makes parts of the article irrelevant - teachers will not necessarily have to worry about the "culture" of a school discouraging them from reflecting on best practices. If the new curriculum works as planned, teachers will be expected to be reflective in their methods, not discouraged from it. That is a big "if" though.

What we teach includes what Grant and Zeichner referred to as the "hidden curriculum". We need to teach students to be kind, fair and understanding. And also reflective. We can best achieve this if we lead by example. Students will look to us as role models, which is an incredible responsibility that should not be taken lightly.

We as teachers always need to be growing and developing, and always reflecting on our practices. We need to judge what the students are really getting out of what we do, not just what we want them to get out of it. The two may not always be equal.

Exit Slip - Frank McCourt

I love the idea of learning from your students and going along with them - they have their own culture and you need to be humble enough to admit you know little or nothing about their interests, feelings, and relationships with each other. That being said, we still need to encourage them. But how much is appropriate? How much do you talk about yourself and become buddies with your students, vs how much should we keep ourselves "professional" and an authority figure to the students?

No matter how much we reveal about ourselves, I loved how Frank McCourt talked about following the students interests. In my experience, the most animated discussions in groups of students can be completely off-topic. That doesn't mean they aren't useful or educational - these may be the times they learn the most! But how do we walk the line between following their interests and making sure they learn all the curriculum?

I would really like to see the film he speaks of "The Blackboard Jungle" and also to read his book "Teacher Man".

Entrance Slip - Inquiry Topic Possibilities

Right now, I am really interested in how to use tests in the classroom. When are tests effective? What format should they take? Should we even use "tests" in the traditional way, or there other options? How can you apply tests in the Earth Science classroom?

When is best to do geology field trips? Before a topic? After? In the middle? And what are the best field trips for geology? Mines? Outcrops? City rocks? Natural history museums? All of the above? How should we manage geology field trips? Point and explain? Give the students time to look at the outcrop/building and make their own observations? Are guided tours good learning experiences? Should the students be a part of the decision of what field trips to take?

Is it better to be on a first name basis with your students? I'm not a fan of gendered references, and had most of my teachers in high school known by their first names. I also don't like the fact that our titles for women depend on our relationship to a man via marriage. I'd like to look into research on the topic - whether the relationship with the student changes depending on the title (or lack thereof) used for their teacher.

Edit - refined ideas after discussion:

How to use tests/homework to bridge the gap between student and adult? How to bring large topics like geology into a classroom setting to test?

Some women instructors get sexual advances from students, so maybe more familiar names are not a great idea. Is this the case?

How should we approach controversial topics in the classroom? Especially earth science related - mining, extreme weather and climate change, renewable resources, alternative energy, nuclear. How do we encourage environmental awareness while teaching Earth Science?

How can we incorporate indigenous knowledge into science curriculum, especially earth science topics?

Exit Slip Sept 7: Controversial Statements About Math Education.

It's incredibly how much controversy there can be in teaching a subject that seems as straightforward superficially as mathematics. There seem to be as many different approaches as there are teachers. Overall, a balance needs to be struck - this includes balance between time management and encouraging students to work their own way through problems, between coming up with correct answers and delving into mistakes to learn more, between memorizing tools and learning where they come from.

It had not occurred to me before how math education could be usedone as a tool of oppression and it is important that we as educator and role models try to dismantle these tools of oppression in as many ways as possible - even in math.

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