Phase II: Reflections on Micro Lessons Implementation - 2. Assessment of Learning

Because I ran out of time, I don't know how well they actually learned the material. They seemed engaged and in their feedback on my lesson, many mentioned how they had learned something new. Here was one exuberant reaction to the information I presented. 

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  I personally enjoy the "...you will be an amazing teacher!!" comment. Thank you to whoever that was. I definitely appreciate the suggestions on how to split up the powerpoint and create smaller lessons. I definitely agree with the fact that I had too much content. It was just too much!!! 

 What I think was still great was the notetaking. I think for a fourth grade class, having that as part of the assessment so you can see how they are taking notes and whether or not they understand the importance of note taking. I think this is really important for a teacher to be aware of and to be ready to teach their students if it turns out that they still need that skill. I think that when it became apparent that I needed to teach them this skill, I would take my time with it. Then I would reinforce it with other assignments so they can see how it is applicable to many different aspects of school.



When I ran out of time, I hadn't even gotten to the review session with the "students". This leads me pretty clueless as to what they actually learned. I only had time to get them to answer one question using pollanywhere.com. My "student's" seemed to like the novelty of the assessment. It was something new that I don't think they had seen before. Here is a snapshot of the one question they were able to answer.

Of course there was 7 "student's" and only three of them decided to answer. I really enjoyed using this even if it wasn't my first choice. I wish I had gotten them to do all of the review questions and then design their own creature in its own habitat. I think the student's would get a lot out of being able to create an animal and then its habitat because they would have to refer to their notes, ask their partners questions, and all of it is applying what they just learned to the assignment which is really an assessment. I wouldn't be assessing how they created their picture, how straight the lines are. I would just be assessing their explanation of the animal, of the adaptations they gave it and why these adaptations would help this animal in its habitat that they chose. It also adds some fun to the lesson! Who doesn't like drawing or painting? I was really bummed out that the end part didn't happen.

So in a concise manner, if I were to use this lesson in the future:

1. I would break it down into two lessons. One would be about the habitats first, and the other would be the adaptations
2. I WILL test each one out on a group of friends so I can see how long it takes or what kinks to work...again....
3. I would have it where the students would explore the presentations at their leisure (maybe each group does 1 habitat and then each group does a different adaptation and we all regroup for them to tell us about it and fill in our notes)
4. I would keep the note taking! 
5. At the end of habitats I would have them choose one and create a drawing of it. When we then learn about adaptations, they will create an animal that would "survive" in their habitat. They will write an explanation of why those adaptations will work.
6. Perhaps for the clickers, I would use that as review for like the day after.