Hello all,
In my last post, I shared some of the suggestions I offered my student teachers concerning the use of PowerPoint notes. Today I wanted to talk about test creation. When I create a test, I normally just pull out a previous year's test and modify it to suit this year's lecture. What I learned early on, again by trial and error, was that test creation is an important skill that each teacher needs to learn.
First of all, I never use the tests from the book. I have found that the book's tests were created for the typical student, and every teacher knows that there is no such thing. That is why I always create my own. I also encourage my student teachers to do the same.
What we found was that the tests they created were tests based on the tests they remember from college, which really aren't adequate for 8th graders. Also, what my student teachers didn't take into account was the time necessary to grade the tests. The tests were too complicated for 8th graders to figure out, and there were too many questions that required more than one answer. Also, there were too many questions that required short essay answers.
These are really great questions which will more accurately assess the knowledge of the student, but when you have over 150 students, you will be spending hours grading them. This is what one of my previous student teachers found out the hard way. Time is on commodity that is too valuable to spend on grading tests.
These are the suggestion I offered to my student teachers concerning test creation for middle schoolers:
1. Have only one correct answer for each question. If there are more than one correct answer, offer extra credit if they can name them all. For example: Name 1 of the three main tribes who were asked to move from their land during Indian Removal.
2. Unless you have a small class, I would limit your essay questions to 1 or 2 per test. Essay questions take a long time to grade. You have to read it, then determine if the information is complete, then figure out how many points to give. Believe it or not, this can be very time consuming, especially if you have to do this for 150 tests like I do.
3. Add a freebie question. I like to add what's called a brain teaser at the end of the test. It has nothing to do with the subject, but if the student gets it right, they get another point. If they get it wrong, and most of them do, it doesn't hurt them. Here's an example: Johnny's mother had four children. The first was named April, the second was named May, the third was named June. What was the fourth child's name? Email me for the answer. : ) I find these brain teasers on the web.
4. Have your first question always be: What is your name? Enough said.
5. Try and have a quiet activity for students to do should they finish the test early, because many will. My student teachers had the students copy a quote from the board and then write a little bit about it once they finished the test, and that is fine. The way I see it, however, is that the students have just racked their brains for the last 20-25 minutes answering questions on a test - let's give them a brain break. What I do is print out wordsearches and once the student is finished with the test, they will bring it to me and pick up a wordsearch. I find that everybody, even my resource students, know how to do a wordsearch. It keeps them quiet so those who are not yet finished won't be disturbed. A good site where you can create your own wordsearches is Puzzlemaker.com.
These are just a few quick test creation tips that I offer my student teachers. I'm not a big fan of tests, but since life is full of them, we have to prepare our students for them. We want the tests to be challenging, but not confusing, and at the same time we want to make it easy for us to grade them.
I welcome your comments.
Thanks,
Sam
SuccessInTheClassroom.com
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Student Teachers in the Room
Hello again,
It's been a while since I've posted, but as new teachers will find out, you will be the most busy at the start of the year.
As I mentioned earlier, I have been given the opportunity to have two student teachers in my class this month. I enjoy having student teachers, because I find their enthusiasm and their save-the-world attitude refreshing. After 22 years of teaching, I often times get frustrated with the politics of education, the lack of support from society at large, and the apathy of some parents. These new teachers, however, always seem to remind me of why I entered this profession.
I am lucky to have been assigned two young ladies who are both passionate about teaching and have chosen this career for the right reasons. I have had student teachers in the past who were looking for a career that was in their opinion "easier" than their last job. That opinion gets changed right away. This year, however, I have been fortunate to have two great student teachers.
This last week, I have seen my two student teachers learn some basic, yet essential lessons about running a class, making lesson plans, giving a lecture, creating a test, etc. I want to use the next few posts discussing some of these lessons. When I did my student teaching, I learned these lessons by trial and error. My master teacher left me in the room alone on the second day, and then she went to help out in the office. Those were fun times.
Here's one of the first lessons we learned this week: When giving a lecture using a PowerPoint presentation, and you want students to copy down what is on the screen, you want to set up your slide show to reveal one sentence or one bullet at a time. What happened in class was that the entire page was revealed and the students were told to copy it down, but we learned that the students were too busy copying down all the notes to listen to the lecture. What I do is talk about the information, then I reveal it for the students to copy.
Also, only put the important information on the screen. You can't give the students the option to paraphrase or decide which information is note-worthy. What I told my student teachers was to tell the kids to write down everything that is on the screen word-for-word. The teacher, and not the student decides what is essential. I told them to also keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Give them basic fact, and let your lecture elaborate. Don't put your elaboration on the screen. It will be too much for the kids to write.
Thanks,
More to come.
Sam
SuccessInTheClassroom.com
It's been a while since I've posted, but as new teachers will find out, you will be the most busy at the start of the year.
As I mentioned earlier, I have been given the opportunity to have two student teachers in my class this month. I enjoy having student teachers, because I find their enthusiasm and their save-the-world attitude refreshing. After 22 years of teaching, I often times get frustrated with the politics of education, the lack of support from society at large, and the apathy of some parents. These new teachers, however, always seem to remind me of why I entered this profession.
I am lucky to have been assigned two young ladies who are both passionate about teaching and have chosen this career for the right reasons. I have had student teachers in the past who were looking for a career that was in their opinion "easier" than their last job. That opinion gets changed right away. This year, however, I have been fortunate to have two great student teachers.
This last week, I have seen my two student teachers learn some basic, yet essential lessons about running a class, making lesson plans, giving a lecture, creating a test, etc. I want to use the next few posts discussing some of these lessons. When I did my student teaching, I learned these lessons by trial and error. My master teacher left me in the room alone on the second day, and then she went to help out in the office. Those were fun times.
Here's one of the first lessons we learned this week: When giving a lecture using a PowerPoint presentation, and you want students to copy down what is on the screen, you want to set up your slide show to reveal one sentence or one bullet at a time. What happened in class was that the entire page was revealed and the students were told to copy it down, but we learned that the students were too busy copying down all the notes to listen to the lecture. What I do is talk about the information, then I reveal it for the students to copy.
Also, only put the important information on the screen. You can't give the students the option to paraphrase or decide which information is note-worthy. What I told my student teachers was to tell the kids to write down everything that is on the screen word-for-word. The teacher, and not the student decides what is essential. I told them to also keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Give them basic fact, and let your lecture elaborate. Don't put your elaboration on the screen. It will be too much for the kids to write.
Thanks,
More to come.
Sam
SuccessInTheClassroom.com
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Student Teachers
Hello all,
I guess the powers that be have seen me fit enough to be a Master teacher for a couple of student teachers this month. I've never had two student teachers in my class at the same time. It's especially complicated, because I happen to be in one of the smallest classrooms on campus. Our first challenge was trying to find a place for all of us to sit. This week, they are just observing, but next week they begin giving lessons. I gave them the opportunity to introduce themselves to the class, and right away I noticed that they had the confidence and presence to do well in front of a bunch of 8th graders. I want to document their progress in this blog. I always learn something new when I have student teachers in my class. Their energy and enthusiasm is so refreshing. I can't wait to see what they do. Stay tuned.
Today's Tip for New Teachers: When lecturing or giving information to the class, ask questions like, "Has anybody here...?", "How many here have...?" etc. My student teachers did this when they gave their introduction speeches. They talked about their travels, then asked the question, "How many have been...?" It engaged the students and included them in the talk. I would keep my questions to those that can be answered with just a raising of the hands. Otherwise, you may have a question answered with a long time-consuming story, and most students are that good at telling stories.
Talk to you soon.
Sam Rangel
www.SuccessInTheClassroom.com
I guess the powers that be have seen me fit enough to be a Master teacher for a couple of student teachers this month. I've never had two student teachers in my class at the same time. It's especially complicated, because I happen to be in one of the smallest classrooms on campus. Our first challenge was trying to find a place for all of us to sit. This week, they are just observing, but next week they begin giving lessons. I gave them the opportunity to introduce themselves to the class, and right away I noticed that they had the confidence and presence to do well in front of a bunch of 8th graders. I want to document their progress in this blog. I always learn something new when I have student teachers in my class. Their energy and enthusiasm is so refreshing. I can't wait to see what they do. Stay tuned.
Today's Tip for New Teachers: When lecturing or giving information to the class, ask questions like, "Has anybody here...?", "How many here have...?" etc. My student teachers did this when they gave their introduction speeches. They talked about their travels, then asked the question, "How many have been...?" It engaged the students and included them in the talk. I would keep my questions to those that can be answered with just a raising of the hands. Otherwise, you may have a question answered with a long time-consuming story, and most students are that good at telling stories.
Talk to you soon.
Sam Rangel
www.SuccessInTheClassroom.com
Monday, July 5, 2010
End of the Year Gift
Hello again,
Every year my students bring me gifts of appreciation, and I am very grateful to those parents who go and spend their hard earned money to say thank you to me. It means a lot. I normally get a lot of Starbucks gift cards, which I use throughout the year. This year, however, perhaps a sign of the times, I only received three gifts. One was a gift of homemade chocolate chip cookies, which were delicious. Another student gave me a Starbucks gift card, and my last gift came from a student who was in my Newspaper class, so I was able to spend more time with him. During the year, we were able to talk about topics other than school, and I was able to offer a little advice and apparently he was listening. Along with a gift card to Barnes and Noble, was this note from his mother: (I'm omitting the student's name to protect his privacy.)
Mr. Rangel, I just wanted to tell you how much you are appreciated as a teacher and mentor to D! You made Jr. High so much easier for him, which made D enjoy all his other accomplishments. After losing his dad, he felt so alone and when he realized how much he looked up to you (he would everyday come home and say how much he liked you.) for guidance he began to feel like he could accomplish anything he put his mind to - it was your positive attitude toward him and your compliments that fueled his desire to learn and please others. I have so much respect for you and can't thank you enough! You will always be a cherished name in our home. Thank you.
This was the best end-of-the-year gift I have ever received. It served to remind me of why I became a teacher.
Every year my students bring me gifts of appreciation, and I am very grateful to those parents who go and spend their hard earned money to say thank you to me. It means a lot. I normally get a lot of Starbucks gift cards, which I use throughout the year. This year, however, perhaps a sign of the times, I only received three gifts. One was a gift of homemade chocolate chip cookies, which were delicious. Another student gave me a Starbucks gift card, and my last gift came from a student who was in my Newspaper class, so I was able to spend more time with him. During the year, we were able to talk about topics other than school, and I was able to offer a little advice and apparently he was listening. Along with a gift card to Barnes and Noble, was this note from his mother: (I'm omitting the student's name to protect his privacy.)
Mr. Rangel, I just wanted to tell you how much you are appreciated as a teacher and mentor to D! You made Jr. High so much easier for him, which made D enjoy all his other accomplishments. After losing his dad, he felt so alone and when he realized how much he looked up to you (he would everyday come home and say how much he liked you.) for guidance he began to feel like he could accomplish anything he put his mind to - it was your positive attitude toward him and your compliments that fueled his desire to learn and please others. I have so much respect for you and can't thank you enough! You will always be a cherished name in our home. Thank you.
This was the best end-of-the-year gift I have ever received. It served to remind me of why I became a teacher.
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