July 7: GED Predictor

On July 7, I didn't assist with any teaching. Instead, I assisted Wynne in proctoring the science, reading, and writing (parts 1 & 2) sections of the GED predictor for the students. 

Of the 30 students in the CYAP GED class, 20 are expected to pass the GED and two are boarder line based on the predictor exam. This is a total of 22 possible success stories from the program. The other eight students, because of attendance, participation, and poor GED predictor score, will not be allowed to take the GED exam. Basically, we expect approximately 73% of the students to pass. I am proud to have been part of the transformative process in these burgeoning lives.

I thought the grading process would have been a little more tedious but it was streamline and, therefore, was executed quickly. At least, this was the case for the multiple-choice sections. The essay section was slightly more grueling, both more enjoyable. I was able to see clearly how the essay and composition workshops conducted improved the writing of many students.

The minimum score needed to pass the writing section of the exam is a 2 and the maximum is a 4. Wynne and I graded the each essay and averaged out scores. Most of the time we were within .5 to 1 point range. To get the final score we did an average. This was an interesting process for me because I had to account for all the components of the GED Essay Scoring Rubric. This includes the following criteria: 

1.     Response to the prompt. This simply answering the question with a clearly focused main idea (including the thesis statement and supporting examples.)

2.     Organization. The essay must establish clear and logical organization (sequencing of ideas).

3.     Development and Details. The essay should be coherent and developed with specific and relevant details and examples.

4.     Follow Conventions of EAE. The essay should demonstrate consistent sentence structure and the conventions of Edited American English (EAE).

5.     Word Choice. The essay should exhibit varied and precise word choice.

I felt my scoring of the essays were a little lenient when I began because I’d focus on specific aspects, but after I discussed it with Wynne I became more conscience about identifying if the essay met all the GED requirements.

Lesson 3: Reflection

Lesson three wasn't as successful as I thought it would have been. My intentions for the lesson were to use side shadowing and peer review activities to engage the students in composing their final essay for the course. During the first half of the class, from 9:15 AM to about 10:45 AM students worked on composing an essay about public health. First, we did a group brainstorm about the concept of public health and used that to guide us in the composition process. Wynne and I decided to time them on the first draft. This would create a pseudo exam environment and to help them mentally prepare for the GED predictor the following week.

For this lesson, I'd have a visitor: Prof. Gleason, the L & L department chair. Honestly, I was a little nervous to have her in the class. I felt like everything would do awry as they always do when one is being intently observed. Things did not do as expected and having an "outsider" in the class provided a different P.O.V.  I think I had good classroom presence and engaging activities, but classroom control and focus during the activity was an issue based on the critique of Prof. Gleason who visited the class that day.

I wanted to try teaching side shadowing and peer review as Wynne had in previous classes (without my being present) to see if I could use the same technique in the fall when I would be teaching freshman composition. This lesson also built on essay writing and editing skills along with peer-review and group work skills.

The warm-up activity could have been improved. Based on Prof. Gleason’s feedback 9 out of 10 students were not doing the activity. I was uncertain about this because many of the students had written answers on the activity sheet. Perhaps the activity was too simple or familiar so they were about to complete it quickly. This might have been why they were talking before the allotted activity was complete.

Prof. Gleason suggested making the activity more of a “challenge” in order to keep them focused on the activity. For example, I could have had the students write nonstop for 5 minutes and if they did not know what to write, they could write “I don’t know what to write” until the session was complete.  I think this is a good strategy and will utilize it in the fall.

The class was not as focused during this lesson. As Prof. Gleason noted, the students weren’t engaged with the activities. She even had to point out that a couple students had headphones on in class (even if they weren’t listening to the music).

Wynne and I did followed our usual protocol of walking around the class and helping the students, but Prof. Gleason thought I should have been more vigilant at the front of the class instead.  That had not been our style during the semester and I am still not sure if that would work with this group of students.

I learned from Prof. Gleason’s visit that every instructor has a different method.  In time, I too would have my own methods, techniques, and strategies in classroom management.

Lesson 3: Planning Documents

Public Health Essay Side Shadowing & Peer Review


This is a continuation of the previous public health lesson. Students will write an essay about public health and then participate in side shadowing and peer review/critique to continue building on their composition skills. 


Below is the link to the Lesson 3 lesson plan. It includes the plan breakdown and the side shadowing and peer review activities. 


https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1pP87MCppd7z0yiNfcimt5SK8sA6AdERp4SPelOKoNGs&hl=en&authkey=CNnX2pAH


Enjoy, 
~Stace

Please add a comment in the title section . . .

Stacy, please add a one sentence explanation of the purpose of this blog in the title section of this blog, and add your name there too. Thanks. --Barbara

Lesson 2: GED Essay Scoring Rubric Analysis

To continue the discussion on essay composition, Wynne suggested that I facilitate a lesson that encapsulates the purpose behind our in class essay practice by having the students review, analyze, and create their own opinion of the GED Essay Scoring Rubric.  This will help them to frame how they need to improve their writing to meet GED standards.  The accompanying lesson plan and activities are below.

Note: I selected the soccer/football "scoring" image because it relates to the theme, "GED Essay Scoring Rubric," and because of the World Cup. : )

Lesson Plan 2

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AaaDL3cIrNTAZGdmNm54bTNfMTNmNzZ3YjZ2dA&hl=en

Sample Essay #1

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AaaDL3cIrNTAZGdmNm54bTNfMTRnemttcXRwZA&hl=en

Sample Essay #2

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AaaDL3cIrNTAZGdmNm54bTNfMTVkd3Bzd3pkYg&hl=en

Classroom Activity

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AaaDL3cIrNTAZGdmNm54bTNfMjFjOGI4d3Rmdw&hl=en&authkey=CNOf85kL


Cheers,
~Stace 

June 9: One-on-One Reflection

I neglected to discuss how the afternoon one-on-one conferencing session with the students went, so I am going to do it now. 

After I taught my first lesson, Wynne decided that conducting one-on-one conferences with each student would be beneficial. I agreed with her because it would allow the students to look at their writing as it relates to the lesson taught about capitalization, commas, and transitional phrases. We decided to split the afternoon session into two groups: the first section would review the math quiz from the previous week and the second section would do one-on-one conferences. We were going to take turns doing this, but I wasn't comfortable leading out in the math section. In the end, I focused on the one-on-one essay conferences with the students.

I found the experience to be very fulfilling because it reminded me of the pleasures of tutoring. Each student had a different issue with their essay. I began each session by asking students to tell me what their thesis statement is. Some were able to clearly and concisely explain their ideas while others struggled. In most instances, the ones who could explain their thesis had the "better" essays. After this, I read each essay aloud with each student. I used this tactic to help them edit their papers and identify where things were unclear and where they could improve the overall structure or transition. I thought the students I worked with found this the most helpful based on their reactions to my reading their essays aloud. I advised them to do the same after writing an essay to ensure they are clearly supporting the thesis statement.

One thing I could have improved during the one-on-one process was my overall efficiency with each student. In 45-60 minutes, I was only able to meet with approximately 5 students. I planned on spending 10 minutes with each student, but ending up spending about 20 minutes with each. I learned from this experience that I need to strive more to stick with alloted time as to not prevent other students from being assisted.

Team-Teaching: Essay Reflection Part 1

Hi Prof. Gleason and Wynne-

Here is the link to the first part of my portfolio reflection essay.

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AaaDL3cIrNTAZGdmNm54bTNfMTJnNDhxNGg0cQ&hl=en

Please read and let me know what you think.

Cheers,
~Stace