The following is a showcase of various pieces of work I have completed while completing my Masters of Arts in Education at Michigan State University. Each piece of work includes a description of the piece of work as well as a link to the piece of work. Each piece of work has been broken down into two categories: Checking for Students' Science Understanding or Examples of Using Technology. Please click on the pictures for direct links to each piece of work. Again, if you have any questions for me, please refer to my homepage and fill-out the form to contact me.
Examples of Checking for Students' Science Understanding
Water Cycle Formative Assessment:
In my Teaching for Science Understanding class, we had to create a series of formative assessments for a topic we taught within our classrooms and collect the data from the students. The topic I chose was the water cycle since I would be teaching this topic in the same time frame as this project. The powerpoint covers a description of the topic, the targeted learning goals, common misconceptions, a description of each formative assessment used, results of each formative assessment, and a final reflection and conclusion on the formative assessments.
In my Teaching for Science Understanding class, we had to create a series of formative assessments for a topic we taught within our classrooms and collect the data from the students. The topic I chose was the water cycle since I would be teaching this topic in the same time frame as this project. The powerpoint covers a description of the topic, the targeted learning goals, common misconceptions, a description of each formative assessment used, results of each formative assessment, and a final reflection and conclusion on the formative assessments.
Action Research Project:
In my Action Research class, we had to propose a full action research project based upon the content we teach. I currently teach 7th grade science, so I created an action research project for a 7th grade classroom. The purpose of the action research is to see if predict, observe, explain activities or POEs effect the students' understanding of condensation in regards to the water cycle. I chose the topic of condensation in regards to the water cycle because the results I got from my formative assessments project, shown above, showed that the students had difficulty with this concept. |
Student Interview:
In my Psychology of Learning in Schools course, we had discussed that students bring in prior knowledge of topics into your classroom. In this interview, I ask a student questions to probe their prior understanding of the concept of condensation. I use condensation on a pop can as a launching point for this conversation. After the conversation, I make note that this particular student obviously produced misconceptions about condensation from their prior experiences from another place such as the community, their home, or elsewhere and that it is obvious that this student is trying to incorporate both past learning and learning from the classroom instead of truly re-writing their understanding of condensation.
In my Psychology of Learning in Schools course, we had discussed that students bring in prior knowledge of topics into your classroom. In this interview, I ask a student questions to probe their prior understanding of the concept of condensation. I use condensation on a pop can as a launching point for this conversation. After the conversation, I make note that this particular student obviously produced misconceptions about condensation from their prior experiences from another place such as the community, their home, or elsewhere and that it is obvious that this student is trying to incorporate both past learning and learning from the classroom instead of truly re-writing their understanding of condensation.
Examples of Using Technology
Capstone Portfolio:
In my Capstone, I was given the opportunity to review my journey through Michigan State University's Masters of Arts in Education program. I was able to review my courses by creating an annotated transcript. I was also able to review the work I've created by creating a showcase of this work. I updated my resume to reflect my current education experiences and I also created three essays that allowed me to reflect upon initial goals when I started my masters, my plans to continue my education after my masters, and all of the things I've learned along the journey of my
masters. All of this review was compiled together in an online portfolio.
In my Capstone, I was given the opportunity to review my journey through Michigan State University's Masters of Arts in Education program. I was able to review my courses by creating an annotated transcript. I was also able to review the work I've created by creating a showcase of this work. I updated my resume to reflect my current education experiences and I also created three essays that allowed me to reflect upon initial goals when I started my masters, my plans to continue my education after my masters, and all of the things I've learned along the journey of my
masters. All of this review was compiled together in an online portfolio.
Digital Story Project:
In my Teaching Subject Matter with Technology course, I was given a unique experience to create a digital story. A digital story is a short piece of digital media that either tells a story or presents an idea. In my digital story, I use a number of pictures and text screens in a slideshow fashion to help bring my narration about electromagnetic waves to life. In the narration, I briefly explain what an electromagnetic wave is and give a brief summary of each electromagnetic wave in order of the spectrum. This topic was chosen because I teach waves in my 7th grade science class and it was relevant to my class at the time of its creation.
In my Teaching Subject Matter with Technology course, I was given a unique experience to create a digital story. A digital story is a short piece of digital media that either tells a story or presents an idea. In my digital story, I use a number of pictures and text screens in a slideshow fashion to help bring my narration about electromagnetic waves to life. In the narration, I briefly explain what an electromagnetic wave is and give a brief summary of each electromagnetic wave in order of the spectrum. This topic was chosen because I teach waves in my 7th grade science class and it was relevant to my class at the time of its creation.
Re-purposed Lesson Plan:
Again in my Teaching Subject Matter with Technology course, I had an opportunity to incorporate a new piece of technology into a lesson. The piece of technology I incorporated was Socrative. Socrative is a web-based tool that allows you to poll your students. During a weather lesson, I
was able to receive instant feedback on how well the students were picking up on the content.
Not only was this a positive, but I found out that the students really enjoyed using it as well. They
said that it kept them more focused in the lesson and it was great personal feedback on how well
they were understanding the material.
Again in my Teaching Subject Matter with Technology course, I had an opportunity to incorporate a new piece of technology into a lesson. The piece of technology I incorporated was Socrative. Socrative is a web-based tool that allows you to poll your students. During a weather lesson, I
was able to receive instant feedback on how well the students were picking up on the content.
Not only was this a positive, but I found out that the students really enjoyed using it as well. They
said that it kept them more focused in the lesson and it was great personal feedback on how well
they were understanding the material.