ReflectionandSelfEvaluation

Studentsweremostsuccessfulinlearninggoalone:mappingsamplespacesandusing
thebasicformulaforprobability.Apossiblereasonforthisisthattheymayhaveseensomeof
theseskillsinpreviousclasses.Studentsenteredtheunitwithsomeintuitionforprobability.
Whenaskedtheprobabilityofgettingheadsortails,theyknew.Whenaskedtheprobabilityof
gettingacertainnumberonasixsideddie,theyknew.Allthatwasneededwasformetostep
inandgivethemalittlemorestructurethatbuiltuponandconnectedtheintuitiontheyalready
had.Theexceptionforthisistheyprobablydidnothavesignificantintuitionorexperiencewith
mappingsamplespaces.Studentsprobablyachievedsohighlyonthislearninggoalbecause
therewereasignificantnumberofopportunitiesforthemtobeexposedtothisgoal.Mapping
samplespaceswasthefoundationofnearlyalloftheotherskillsusedintheunit.The
significantnumberofmeaningfulexposureswouldseemtohaveresultedinhighstudent
achievement.
Studentswereleastsuccessfulinlearninggoaltwo,theadditionrule.Thoughthey
receivedasignificantnumberofexposurestothislearninggoal,Ihadintendedthatthemost
significantunderstandingandpersonaldevelopmentwouldcomefromthescreencastscriptand
project.Ofthefourstudentswhosuccessfullyturnedinascriptandmadethevideobythedue
dateallofthemdemonstratedcompleteunderstandingoftheadditionruleonthequiz.Four
otherstudentswhodemonstratedmasteryoftheadditionruleonthequizhadmadesignificant
progressontheirscreencastscripts,butnotturnedinthevideoyet.Onestudentwhohad
shownnoprogressonthescriptorvideodemonstratedcompleteunderstandingonthequiz.
Thetwelvestudentswhohadyettodoeitherthescriptorthevideo,wereunabletoshowafull
understanding,thoughmostofthosestudentsshowedapartialunderstanding.Forthisreason,
itwouldseemthereasonmanystudentsdidnotfullymeetthisgoalisbecausemanyofthe
studentsdidnotdotheprerequisitework.Asignificantamountofnuancedmisconceptions
revealthemselveswhenyouaskstudentstocreatetheirownmathproblemandteachanother
personhowtodoit.Thosestudentswhoparticipatedhadtheirownnuancedmisconceptions
dealtwiththeotherstudentsdidnot.Tocounterthisissue,Icouldhavegiveninclasswork
timetomakesurestudentswereheadedintherightdirectionandhadastarttotheirproject.I
createdmaterialstoaidthemandexplainhowthescriptandscreencastshouldbecreated.
Anotherpossiblereasonforstudentslowperformanceonlearninggoaltwoispoor
instruction.ThoughItriedtohelpstudentspersonallyidentifytheneedfortheadditionruleand
thesolutiontoit,itispossibleweshouldhavedonemoreexplicitexamplestogether.The
amountofteachertalkinaclassroommakesmefeelconcerned,andshowingexplicitexamples
demandstheysitandwatch.Maybethereisawaytoshowexplicitexamples,
without
them
sittingandwatchingmetalk.MaybeIcouldhavegivenoneexample,setthemlooseona
worksheet,buthavepostedavideoortwowhereIworkthroughseveralmoreexamplessothey
canreceiveasmuchdirectinstructionastheydlikewithoutbeingforcedtositthroughitifthey
dontneedit.Thishastheaddedbonusofintegratingtechnology,butthedrawbackthatnotall
studentshavetheiriPadsallthetime,andsomestudentsdonthaveaccesstotheinternet.In
thefuture,thissoundslikeanappropriatemethodtotry.

Throughmysurvey,Ifoundthatmoststudentsfeltcomfortableaskingquestionsina
wholeclasssituation,andevenmorestudentsfeltcomfortableaskingquestionsoneonone
withmemytwolowestscoresIreceivedonthisfeedbackwastwothrees.Theclasswassplit
betweengiving3sand5sontheusefulnessoftheRemindapp.Someofthemeven
commentedonitlaterinthesurveytosayhowusefulitwasforthem.Iknowitwasusefulfor
metocontactstudentsandsomeofushadsomeveryinformativeconversationsaboutthe
maththroughit.Moststudentsreportedthattheyfeltawareoftheresourcesavailabletothem,
andslightlyfewerreportedmakinguseofthoseresources.
SomeofthethingsstudentsreportedIshoulddoorincludeagainifIweretoteachthe
unitasecondtimeincluded:contactingstudentsforoneononeinterventions,adiceactivity
thatstartedtheunit,thewebsitefortheunit,doublecheckingwithstudentstomakesurethey
weredoingwhattheyweresupposedtobedoing,makinggooduseoftheiPads,theLego
activitythatconcludedtheunit,theRemindapp,mypositivehighenergy,andthetoolkits.
SomeofthethingsstudentssaidIshouldchangeincluded:providemoredetailson
things,dontdoascreencast,spendinglessclasstimewithafewstudentstoensureIvisitallof
them,lesshomework,morelessons,moreindividualwork.Mostofthesesuggestionsfor
changearereasonable.IdontthinkIwouldbeinterestedinassigninglesshomework,there
wasnotasignificantamountandthosethatdidthehomeworkperformedhigher.Ialsowould
liketohavemorelessonsonprobabilitywiththem.Atfirst,Ifeltunwillingtobudgeonthe
screencastbutIseenoreasonIcouldnotreplaceitwithanother,equallyinvolvedproduct.
Ofthefifteenstudentswhotooktheexitsurvey,sixtypercent(nine)ofthemreported
thattheyusedtheclasswebsite.Thoseninestudentsmusthavemadedecentuseofitasthe
website,overthethreeweeks,receivedover800pageviews.Themostpopularwerethe
agendaandassignmentspage,followedbytheskillresourcespage.Thisdataissupportedby
studentsselfreports,sayingthatthefeaturestheyusedmostonthewebsiteweretheagenda
andassignmentspage,andtheskillresourcespage.
Oneofmyprofessionallearninggoalsistolearnhowtobetterinvolveparentsinthe
educationprocess.Ihadverylittlecommunicationwithparentsoverthesemester.Theyarea
valuableassetandIwanttoknowhowtheycanbeutilizedtobestsupportstudentlearning.To
advancemyunderstandinginthisareaIwillinvestigatestrategiestoimproveinteractionwith
parentsbyreadingavarietyofarticlesorbooks.Icanalsoattendconferencesandnetworkwith
otherprofessionalstolearnhowothersarecommunicatingwithandinvolvingparentswiththeir
childrenseducation.
AnotherprofessionallearninggoalIhaveistolearntomoreefficientlyincorporate
differentiatingactivitiesintolessons.IconsidertheextensionsIcreatedtobesuccessful.They
wereappropriatelychallenging,itallowedstudentstohavechoicetopursuewhattheywere
mostinterestedin,andtheywereeasilyaccessible.However,inclass,moststudentshada
similarexperience.Differentiationissuchanimportant,populartopicthatIknowIcanfind
professionaldevelopmentforthisgoalatanyeducationalconference.Certainly,therearealsoa
plethoraofarticlesonvettededucationalwebsitesandpeerreviewedjournals.
Overall,Iwouldsaytheunitwasasuccess.Thegrowththatstudentsshowfromtheir
pretopostunitresultsclearlydemonstratesthatasignificantamountoflearninghappened.
However,somethingscouldhavegonebetter.Onthefirstday,the2diceactivity,where

studentswerejuststartingtolearnaboutprobability,wentwell.Wecoveredalotofsmallpieces
ofmaterialthatday.Theadditionruleprobablycouldhaveusedtwodaysinsteadofone.
Maybe,italsowouldhavemadesensetocompletelydoVenndiagramsbeforedoingthe
additionrule.ImadetheassumptionthatstudentswouldbefamiliarenoughwithVenn
diagramstobeabletomakeuseoftheirstructurewhenattemptingtolearntheadditionrule,
eveniftheydidnotfullyunderstandhowtoappropriatelymapasamplespaceusingVenn
diagrams.IthinkthatIgaveallstudentsanopportunitytoachieveashighastheywantedto.
Knowingthatthisunitwasonlyforthreeweeks,Iworkedtirelesslyprovidingsignificant
feedbacktostudentsandcommunicatingwiththemthroughRemindatanytime.Lookingat
studentachievementasawhole,especiallyforthosewhodidallofthework,theresultsindicate
asuccessfuldesignofinstruction.Itshouldcomeasnosurprisethatifstudentsdonotcomplete
therequisiteworkthentheywillnotachievethedesiredresults.Soitwouldseemthelasting
questionis:howcanIimprovestudentworkcompletion.
Iputallassignmentsandprojectinformationonthewebsite.Strangelyenough,the
studentswhoreportedthewebsitewasmostusefulforseeingwhatthehomeworkwaswereall
studentswhoIdidnotreceivescreencastscriptsorscreencastsfrom.Sowhydidthose
studentsnotcompletetheassignment?Apathy?Confusion?Whydidnttheyaskmequestions?
DidtheyknowhowtosendmemessagesonRemind?Theyreportedbeingcomfortableasking
questionsoneonone.Ievenreachedouttostudentsindividuallywhohadnotcompleted
assignmentsbutoftentonoavail.Theywouldoftenbereceptivetothisandstartworkingonthe
assignmentbutitnevermadeittome.Isthisjustalackofexecutivefunctioningskills?Ibelieve
thattheheartofmyprogressasaneducatorwillinvolvehowtoprovidequalitystudent
feedback,andhowtomakesurethatstudentsarecompletingassignments.