Instruction Commentary Template



TASK 2: INSTRUCTION COMMENTARY

Respond to the prompts below (no more than 7 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing your responses within the brackets following each prompt. Do not delete or alter the prompts. Commentary pages exceeding the maximum will not be scored. You may insert no more than 2 additional pages of supporting documentation at the end of this file. These pages may include graphics, texts, or images that are not clearly visible in the video or a transcript for occasionally inaudible portions. These pages do not count toward your page total.

1. Which lesson or lessons are shown in the video clips? Identify the lesson(s) by lesson plan number.

[The lesson shown in video clip 1 is Lesson 1: Snail and Elodea Part 1. The lesson in video clip 2 is Lesson 2: Snail and Elodea Part 2. Clip 1 was filmed first and clip 2 was filmed 2 days later, in the same week.]

2. Promoting a Positive Learning Environment

Refer to scenes in the video clips where you provided a positive learning environment.

a. How did you demonstrate mutual respect for, rapport with, and responsiveness to students with varied needs and backgrounds, and challenge students to engage in learning?

[I have very good rapport with my students. In both of these clips, I demonstrated mutual respect by consistently smiling, actively listening to student questions and concerns, and maintaining a positive and enthusiastic expression when engaging in dialogue with them. Being an honor’s class, the students are fairly well behaved and treat each other with dignity and respect as they work on challenging inquiry labs in groups.

Although this honor’s class consists of all gifted students, there are several students with varied backgrounds. Through observation and experience of the student’s learning patterns, I have identified several students who require extra explanation and directions and have responded appropriately to their needs. In clip 1 beginning at 0:00, Student 1 is one of those students I have identified. I like to check his understanding regularly throughout the class. In this case, Student 1 needed clarification on the directions to make his experimental predictions. I used his personal work to guide him through the process of making predictions and explaining the lab procedures. I explained the directions again in an enthusiastic and non-demeaning way so that he felt confident to take over once I checked for his understanding. For our more advanced gifted students, I still like to check their understanding but in a more casual way. Student 4 in Clip 1 @ 8:07 is a student who likes to dig deeper into the content we are learning. He tends to ask answer questions quickly and with confidence, as seen in the clip. Rather than hover over him like I did with Student 1, a casual walk-by conversation was more appropriate for him.

In order to challenge the entire class, I circulate during class and asking stimulating questions such as “why are we doing this lab?” and “what are our variables?” I also like to model an authentic enthusiasm for Science in hopes that they will become enthusiastic and engaged as well. To build rapport with my students, I like to ask them questions that relate to their lives (as seen in Clip 1 @ 9:26) such as how science relates to their personal lives. I also like to joke around with them and use casual expressions to make them smile as I bring them back on task, such as in Clip 1 @ 1:20 when I tell a student he can tell me a joke “only if it’s referring to science”, and @ 3:20 when I tell a student I will not be checking homework so he is “getting away with it today.”]

b. If relevant, describe what you did to ensure safety during the inquiry seen in the video clips.

[This course begins with a list of safety procedures and requires a student to sign a safety contract before participating in any of the labs. Therefore, we do not need to review basic safety procedures unless the lab is particularly dangerous (ie involves fire, safety glasses or gloves are needed). This lab was not particularly dangerous so clear directions of procedures (Clip 1 @ 5:22) and reminding students to be gentle with living organisms (Clip 1 @ 6:04) was all that was necessary.]

3. Engaging Students in Learning

Refer to examples from the video clips in your responses to the prompts.

a. Describe your strategies to elicit student expression of their understanding of the learning target(s) and why they are important. (Evidence may be provided in the student self-reflections in Assessment Task 3 or by responding to this prompt.)

[ At the beginning of class, each student was asked to record the daily learning targets in their lab notebooks. Throughout the class period, I asked several students what their understanding of the learning target was by asking “why are we doing this lab?” in which case they explained the learning goal in their own words or referred to the one we had written as a class. (Clip 1 @ 1:57, 7:03, 8:04). Student 2 @ 1:57 reads her learning target that she has recorded in her notebook. I further assess her understanding by asking her to rate her understanding of it. Student 3 @7:03 uses her own words to describe why they are doing the experiment as I direct her with targeted questions. Student 4 @ 8:04 is similar to Student 1 in that he simply reads the learning target from his notebook. Although these students do not verbalize the learning targets in their own words, the most important part is that they can actually perform the learning targets to standard, which in this case both of them did by discussing and writing the processes of cellular respiration and photosynthesis. ]

b. What was the process by which students selected or collected evidence and/or data to support evidence-based explanations of or predictions about the real-world phenomenon being investigated?

[To investigate the real-world phenomenon of cellular respiration and photosynthesis, I divided students into lab groups of 4 to explore different organisms in different conditions. The “light” groups put together test tubes of only snails, only elodea, both snail and elodea, and a control with nothing. The “dark” groups put together the same test tubes but blocked out the light variable using tinfoil around the tubes. I made sure students knew how photosynthesis and respiration is related to us by reminding them that the plants we eat undergo photosynthesis to provide us with oxygen, and cellular respiration is the process that our cells undergo to give us energy from that oxygen (Clip 2 @ 8:49). Clip 1 shows students making predictions based on their prior knowledge of cellular processes and the indicator Bromothymol Blue (BTB). The then gain understanding of the lab procedures as they begin putting together their assigned test tubes. Clip 2 (48 hours later), shows them collecting evidence (color changes) to prove that photosynthesis, cellular respiration, or both were occurring in the test tubes. The data was collected by group observations, and then reviewed as a class and published in individual data charts. ]

c. Explain how you engaged students during a scientific inquiry in

0. using evidence and/or data and science concepts to construct an evidence-based explanation of or prediction about a real-world phenomenon and

0. supporting or refuting explanations or predictions.

[The previous unit we did as a class was all about cells, organelles, and the cell membrane. Students know from the knowledge obtained in this unit that cells are the “building blocks of life”, or in other words are essential to life. Students have been assessed on their understanding of plant and animal cells and understand that humans are made up of cells and must consume other cells to live. In Clip 1, I lead students in a deeper look at cellular processes by introducing cellular respiration and photosynthesis and writing equations for each. Students are familiar with the chemical compounds in the equations but have not led an experiment to prove the processes. Based on this knowledge, I ensure students understand that the snails are our models for animal cell processes, and elodea are our models for plant cell processes. For each test tube condition, I have students predict if there will be a color change indicating whether or not the real-world phenomena of cellular respiration and photosynthesis are taking place.

After the experiment, in Clip 2, I allow students to investigate their results by observing the actual color changes in their test tubes. They have preconceived predictions that respiration only occurs in animal cells, but the experiment demonstrates evidence for respiration at the cellular level for both plants and animals. As they discuss and review their lab back ground information, they get to see firsthand how Carbon Dioxide is produced in cellular respiration in both plant and animal cells, which in turn makes the solution acidic and turn green or yellow. I have students compare their predictions to their actual results and begin explaining them in terms of the cellular processes taking place. They support or refute their predictions by comparing the actual color change to the color they expected. This leads them to link the cycle of cellular respiration and photosynthesis by observing and explaining why the tubes with both plant and animals cells appear to have no color change (Clip 2 @ 3:43). Throughout our discussions, we also point out several possible sources of error that may have led to alternative results and why they are important to mention in a formal lab report (Clip 2 @ 6:18, 7:43). ]

d. Describe how your instruction linked students’ prior academic learning and personal, cultural, or community assets with new learning.

[For this freshman class, I make a point of relating familiar topics from middle school into their new high school investigations (Clip 1 @ 1:47). Not only does this link prior knowledge, but it also it creates a familiar environment of learning that empowers them to adjust better to their new school. In Clip 2 @ 0:31, I am shown linking prior academic learning of cellular organelles to the new cellular processes being investigated in order to explain why plant cells also undergo cellular respiration. To link personal assets to new learning, I like to talk about how the science may be present in their own personal lives, such as when I listen to students talk about their experiences with the indicator BTB, and describe to me some of the experiments they performed in the past while using it (Clip 1 @ 9:37). I asked students if they had fish tanks at home and whether or not the fish tank had elodea in it to connect their learning to their personal lives further. Their new learning was linked to community assets simply by assigning them diverse lab groups; ones that included different cultures and students from different middle schools. Their diverse backgrounds and experiences allowed them to gain a broader perspective on cellular processes through the group work and discussion. ]

4. Deepening Student Learning during Instruction

Refer to examples from the video clips in your explanations.

a. Explain how you elicited and built on student responses to promote thinking and develop understandings of science concepts, scientific practices through inquiry, and the phenomenon being investigated.

[In clip 2, I promoted thinking and developed understandings of scientific concepts, scientific practices through inquiry, and the phenomenon being investigated by asking students to discuss their results. I asked each group to look at each of their test tubes and attempt to explain what they see. This allowed students to think for themselves and inquire about scientific processes before I debriefed with them in the form of direct instruction. In order to keep students on track, I circulated and asked stimulating questions to guide them in their discussions. For example, I asked students “Are your results what you expected?” (Clip 2 @ 0:06) and “Do your results make sense?” (Clip 2 @ 1:57) in order to promote deeper thinking. During circulation time, I also made a point of clarifying misconceptions about cellular respiration (Clip 1 @ 7:28). Most students think only animal cells undergo this process. When Student 2 answered me with “the snail” I prompted her to add to her answer by saying “and…” to ensure she understood that both the snail and elodea undergo cellular respiration. In all of my feedback, I tend to give the students praise for their answers and find a way to link it to the ultimate correct answer.

In both Clip 1 @ 3:09 and Clip 2 @ 2:19 I am shown using a facilitated socratic discussion format to bounce ideas from one student to another in order to build on their ideas. This format encourages students to explain and teach the class their understanding of a scientific process. For example, in Clip 2 @ 3:43, Student 4 is shown expressing his understanding of the cycle of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. I directed the class’ attention (@ 3:55) to Student 4 by emphasizing the importance and quality of explanation he was about to give.

b. Explain how your instruction supported students to use science concepts, consider the quality of evidence and/or data (e.g., missing data, inconsistent results), and/or apply scientific practices while they are organizing and analyzing evidence and/or data during a scientific inquiry.

[Clip 2 begins with lab groups observing their results and beginning to explain the scientific processes that explain them. I encouraged students to discuss their results (@ 0:00, 1:49, 1:57, 2:19) within their lab groups by asking them “do your results make sense?” and “were your predictions correct?” In this way, I am encouraging real life scientific practices by imitating discussions within scientific communities before publishing results. Some groups had missing data and I reminded them to discuss this in their reports as a source of error (Clip 1 @ 1:46). As we filled in the class data chart to imitate “publishing” our data, I asked each separate group their results (@ 3:27, 4:42)) before deciding which was the most probable. For inconsistent results (@6:18, 7:43) we discussed as a class some of the errors that may have led to a different result for a certain group. Gifted students tend to have difficulties coming up with sources of error, so as we discuss I like to give them a few ideas to include in their lab reports (Clip 2 @ 9:43). ]

5. Analyzing Teaching

Refer to examples from the video clips in your responses to the prompts.

a. What changes would you make to your instruction—for the whole class and/or for students who need greater support or challenge—to better support student learning of the central focus (e.g., missed opportunities)?

Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/support (such as students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students).

[A part of being a good educator is continually looking for ways to improve, and that is why I have analyzed my video clips and chosen some key moments that I could improve on. First of all, I would have liked to give students a little more freedom to inquire and create an experiment on their own. However, gifted students tend to have difficulties coming up with their own instructions, as they are used to determining the exact procedures and requirements from their teacher. Rather than give the students a data sheet with an outline of test tube ingredients (as referred to several times in Clip 1), I could have given them a list of ingredients to design an appropriate experiment to test photosynthesis and cellular respiration. The down side to this would be having students waste costly materials. A good balance good be to have them design an experiment and have it approved by the teacher before performing it.

Although this course is classified as a class strictly for gifted students, there is some diversity in the level of comprehension of students. I have determined several students that require more one-on-one direction that I continually check in with (Clip 1 @ 0:00 is one of those students). I have found that by giving the entire class directions first and then approaching those students that need extra clarification is a good strategy to keep everyone on task. However, I could have done some more class-wide informal assessments to continue to pinpoint learners than needed individualized instruction by having students rate their understanding using their fingers. I also could have differentiated even more by giving greater challenges to the highest achievers (such as student 3 in Clip 1 @ 8:04). A way to do this would be to give him the option to come up with another variable to test for and to design an experiment accordingly. I could have him (and possibly other high achievers) present their data to the class at the end for an extra interesting twist to the lesson.

Another change I would like to make is to have students write the learning targets in their own words. I could have had students read the lab introduction and decide for themselves an appropriate learning target. This would have assessed their understanding of the lab while promoting student voice when I asked them “what is the learning target for today?” (Clip 1 @ 1:57, 7:03, 8:04).

In Clip 2 @ 2:55, I am shown leading a discussion by asking each lab group what their predictions and actual results were. In order to further stimulate a real life scientific endeavor, I could have had the groups with the same variables get together to form scientific communities and come to a consensus on their results before we “published” our data onto the class chart. This would have allowed them to determine which results make the most sense based on their understanding of cellular processes. To further stimulate a real life scientific process I should have also made it mandatory for students to explain their own data, even if it was an alternative result, rather than giving them the option as I did in Clip 2 @ 6:42. ]

b. Why do you think these changes would improve student learning? Support your explanation with evidence of student learning AND principles from theory and/or research.

[Inquiry science has been a push led by new learning standards and much research. A way to promote inquiry is by allowing students to designing their own experiments. According to research led by Rivera Maulucci et al., allowing students to design their own experiment promotes better and deeper learning by allowing students to act as “experts” on their experimental procedures and gain knowledge through scientific discourse and problem solving (2014). Furthermore, when students feel in control of their learning, they are more likely to engage and take away knowledge from an activity (Fay & Funk, 1995). By allowing students to design experiments, I allow students at different levels to investigate at different levels of detail. For example, Student 1 in Clip 1 does well with very clear directions and only a little room to be creative (@ 0:00). This is shown by the way I have to clear tell him exactly how to word his predictions. On the other hand, Student 4 in Clip 1, a more advanced student, learns by asking deep questions. He could have been allowed more freedom to investigate an experiment of his design, as shown by the way he thrives with very little intervention by a teacher (@ 8:07).

Informal self-assessments would allow me to further differentiate my instruction by identifying the students that need extra support. This strategy was proven effective when I asked Student 2 in Clip 1 how she felt with the learning target. This focused her in on the meaning of the learning target and allowed her to practice self-analysis. A great strategy to use for the entire class in further lessons would be to have each student rate their understanding of the learning target out of five by holding up their fingers so the teacher can see them. This process of questioning by the teacher and self-assessing by the student is informative for the teacher and motivating for the student (McMillan & Hearn, (2008).

Another way I could have further analyzed the students’ understanding of the learning target is by having them create and write a personal goal or daily learning target for themselves rather than just recording the one I wrote on the board. In an article by Jacobs (2002), she expresses the importance of writing as a tool to better understanding and recall. Simply stated, the act of paraphrasing and writing enhances a student’s ability to learn. If I were to have students paraphrase the learning goal, I would also be assessing their understanding of it at the same time. Students that do not understand the learning target would formulate a learning target that did not match the actual purpose of the lesson. However, students that do understand the learning target would be able to formulate a learning goal that makes sense to the teacher and themselves, as seen in Clip 1 @ 7:03 when Student 3 verbalizes the learning target flawlessly.

Lastly, modeling a real-life scientific community in the classroom has been well researched and supports greater level of understanding by students (Herrenkohl et al., 2000). This modeling involves grouping students together to talk about their theories and the evidence that supports them. Not only does it benefit the students individually, but it also benefits the class as whole as they are presented with only the logical theories that have stood the test of a scientific discussion group. It also allows them to form explanations for their observations rather than stating or memorizing a few facts (Herrenkohl et al., 2000). I led a discussion that weeded ou improbable data (Clip 2@ 6:18), but students could benefit even more by being directly involved in the process. ]

Fay, J. & Funk, D. (1995). Teaching with love and logic. Golden, CO: The Love and Logic Press.

Herrenkohl, L. R., Palincsar, A. S., DeWater, L. S., & Kawasaki, K. (1999). Developing scientific communities in classrooms: A sociocognitive approach.Journal of the Learning Sciences, 8(3-4), 451-493.

Jacobs, V. A. (2002). Reading, writing, and understanding. Educational Leadership, 60(3), 58-62.

McMillan, J. H., & Hearn, J. (2008). Student self-assessment: The key to stronger student motivation and higher achievement. Educational Horizons, 40-49.

Rivera Maulucci, M.S., Brown, B.A., Grey, S.T., & Sullican, S. (2014). Urban middle school students’ reflections on authentic scientific inquiry. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 51(9), 1119-1149.

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