Sheri's+Action+Plan

// An Action Plan is a plan for making a teaching change that will enhance your students understanding of mathematics. // [|Sheri Edwards]
 * Action Plan **
 * Describe your teaching situation **

[|Nespelem School]

//Teaching assignment//: Grade 8 Reading and Grades 5-8 Writing --- Writing Wikis: [|5-8] [|Collaborative with Memphis, Tennessee], [|Reporters] [|Assignments] [|Lessons] (8 -- others linked on this page)

//Describe your student population (approximate number, ethnicity, language, etc):// I teach in a rural public school on the Colville Indian Reservation. My inquisitive and fairly tech-savvy students are mostly Native American (English-speaking with hints of Grandma's native language in their English phrasing). Our classes are small, from 10-20 students per class. I should have about 60-65 students this year.

// What teaching change (instruction, assessment, materials) you like to improve? Explain how your teaching change will improve your students’ ability to learn mathematics. Also, describe possible ways that technology might assist you in making your teaching change. //
 * Describe your teaching change **

I plan to assist students in writing class with the writing activities of their math and science classes. If students need a report in science, we will learn report writing, including data explanations. If students need to learn math or science vocabulary, the prewriting research can include clarifying that understanding. For math and science, we can read and respond to online or hard copy texts rich in data and information so that students can internalize the concepts through real world discussion and analysis, using writing as a process in that clarification. Of course, I'll need to maintain the requirements of my content area.

If students read, discuss, reflect, and write about the concepts of their math and science classes, students should become more fluent in their use of vocabulary and more certain of their concept understanding.

// Identify at least two teaching goals (measurable accomplishment that if met would enable your students to learn mathematics more effectively). //
 * Set Teaching Goals **

I would like to start with a science/math activity once per month related to the students' studies in those classes.

To improve concept and vocabulary development: 1) Coordinate reflective blogs with the science/math content areas to help determine projects for writing class. 2) With the science/math science teachers, we'll determine an activity each month for writing class to complement the concepts in the content classes. The activity will enhance the learning from the other classes. The specific goal will be determined by the science/math teachers.

// Describe at least two things you are going to do as a teacher to accomplish your teaching goals. These actions may or may not use technology but if they do not use technology, explain why technology is or is not the best teaching tool for your teaching change. //
 * Describe Teaching Actions **

1) Establish the blogs, blogging protocols, and safety practices for students. 2) Search for vocabulary and conceptual visuals as we used in our conference (Angie, Sharon) to help students tell the "stories" of math/science in written form. 3) Connect the strategies and vocabulary of science/ math to writing -- for example the problem-solving (thinking) strategies of math correlates to [|writing strategies].

// Identify how you are going to assess each of your teaching goals (simple method of collecting information to see if your teach goals was met). //
 * Assess Teaching Goals **

1) Vocabulary/Concept: As students blog about math/science, does the vocabulary useage and comprehension improve over the year? -- Create checklist of vocabulary useage in blog and in content class (do students use vocabulary more frequently and more accurately).

2) Writing Connections: The math/science/writing teachers will develop the rubric or checklist and feedback strategy (to us and to students) that will assess student progress as a result of the monthly activities.

// Outline a general timeline that identifies when you are going to use your actions, collect your assessment data //
 * Timeline **

Monthly: Activity Development, Implementation, Assessment

Write a reflection on the results of your action plan. What was difficult? What worked well? How did your students react to the changes you made? What was the impact on student learning?
 * Reflection **