Objectives+&+Feedback

=**Read and Reflect**=

How do you currently apply this strategy without the use of technology?

//I usually have the current objectives for the lesson on the board to remind students of what it is we will be covering. After reading them aloud, we discuss what students may already know about the subject. If there are strong clues that they can relate to prior knowledge, I also point them out. By getting students involved in the subject even before we start to build on prior knowledge seems to keep them motivated and interested.//

//If the material is entirely new, with students not having any prior background knowledge--for example, what a pedigree chart is used for, then I will start with open-ended questions dealing with something as simple as "What color eyes does your mother and father have? What color eyes do you have? Your grandparents? Your siblings?" This helps them start to see there is a connection between all family members. Eventually, they learn this information can be charted out into a visual mapping for a biological trait, called a pedigree chart.//

//Although I don't have the luxury of much available technology, I do see that students tend to understand material better when they can explain it through drawing it or charting it out. "Hands-on" acitivities always produce more understanding. Students are more interested in the material and become active learners who are more engaged in the lesson.//

What new insight did you gain from the reading?

//I realized that I don't usually ask my students for their imput on how to design a method of proving what they have learned. For example, I could have students brainstorm ideas about how they could show they understand what a pedigree chart is and what it could be used for. Some students could design a visual pedigree chart for a particular trait but video tape or photograph their family members. Some could interview family members or others who have been touched by genetic counseling. Still others could research and report orally, if there were any famous people touched by genetic traits such as colorblindness or hemophilia and what impact that had on them.//

//I need to encourage my students to become more involved in planning meaningful ways to show they understand science concepts.//

=Apply and reflect=

Provide evidence of the tool you learned.

//I generated a rubric which I could use to grade a poster on the differences between animal and plant cells. Please visit://

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How might you sue this tool in your classroom?

//This rubric would be given and discussed with the students when the project was assigned. I would also have a few sample posters for the students to view--not only the best, but perhaps a few on the lower end of the rubric, from previous students. This way, they could see not only how a poster would look if it was very good but also the ones that were not up to what was expected. Hopefully, this would motivate them to do their best. It also allows them to generate some concept of presentation and to ask questions.//

//The day the poster was due, students could grade themselves using this same rubric. They then would grade two other students' work. This would give them immediate feedback, along with being able to see other students' work. I would then grade the assignment and a compilation of all grades would be given to them the next day.//