Home | Goal 1 | Goal 2 | Goal 3 | Goal 4 | Goal 5 | Goal 6
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Needs Assessment Survey Multicultural Concept Map Learning to think inductively Reading your Science Textbook PowerPoint
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I have chosen 4 artifacts to show that I have met goal #2. I feel that I have a strong understanding of how students learn, and I am able to apply that knowledge. As a science teacher, I strongly believe that demonstrations, examples and hands on learning are an important part of my teaching strategy. Although they are an important part, I do not think they should be used alone, as a sole determining factor for the understanding of scientific knowledge. At some point, these students need to be able to solve mathematical problems, answer essay questions, and understand scientific vocabulary. My first artifact is a needs assessment survey. I presented this survey to my Physical Science students to give me a better understanding of what they knew about tablet computers, and what they wanted to know. I think it is important to communicate with your students and ask them questions. We shouldn’t always assume that we already know what they don’t understand, we need to ask the students themselves. My overall goal for this survey was to understand exactly where my students were in terms of the new technology that was offered to them. Once I knew where to start, we could work together to create a paperless classroom where all assignments would be submitted through WebCT. My second artifact is a Multicultural Concept Map. I chose this artifact because it demonstrates my belief that learning involves more than just a student and a teacher. Many different factors influence a students learning process. As teachers we need to understand where our students are coming from and be able to apply that knowledge to help them learn the necessary material. All students learn differently, so we need to continue to adjust our teaching strategies to meet the needs of each individual student. Learning to think inductively was a lesson that I created for graduate school to show one strategy for helping students learn information. If the student develops their own understanding of a topic through a trial and error process, they will remember the theory better than if we just tell them what the answer is. By answering their own questions throughout the process of an inductive lesson, students remember the information better. This artifact shows that I have an understanding of how students learn information in the science classroom. For my fourth artifact, I chose my presentation on how to read a science textbook. Many students struggle with understanding the information in a science textbook, so I created a PowerPoint that I presented to my students to demonstrate a few of the strategies to reading a science textbook. Throughout my research into this topic, I discovered strategies that I was not currently using with my students. I believe my students were more comfortable reading their textbook this year than they have been in the past. This artifact definitely shows growth in the area of understanding how my students learn. Overall, I have done extensive research into the area of understanding how students learn and I feel this has helped me become a better teacher.
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