Running head: IMPACT ON STUDENT LEARNING

Impact on Student Learning

Maria Soto
November 17th, 2016
EDE 4944.001
Nicholas Catania
University of South Florida

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Criterion 1: Introduction- Connecting Theory and Practice

Introduction to Context
A concept that is usually challenging when it comes to science would be the
misconceptions that students have constructed over the years. In these specific connected
lessons students usually struggle with not knowing the difference between the properties of
texture and hardness when it comes to matter.
The standard that these lessons will cover is SC.4.P.8.1- Measure and compare objects
and materials based on their physical properties including: mass, shape, volume, color, hardness,
texture, odor, taste, attraction to magnets.
The school improvement plan includes the teachers incorporating more rigor,
engagement, and differentiation within the classroom. The connected lesson relates to the school
improvement plan because it involves a level of rigor that the school is seeking and also contains
many aspects where it engages students to the fullest extent. I made sure incorporate many ways
for the lesson to be student-centered rather than teacher-centered. Lastly, I made sure to
differentiate for those students who need enrichment, those students who need extra support,
those students who have any intellectual disabilities, as well as the english language learners
within the classroom.
Rationale
Forming effective and engaging formative assessments will help improve student
learning when it comes to measuring and comparing properties of matter. Formative assessments

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provide feedback to teachers about the progress of their students within specific subjects.
According to "Wynne Harlan", formative assessments are very valuable when used correctly and
intertwined in the content, in a way students do not even realize that they are being assessed.
Harlan also talks about how as educators we need to use formative assessments to make sure our
students are developing their ideas not just using them without understanding the meaning
behind them. Harlan specifically states in his book "Primary Science: Taking the Plunge" that,
'Whether they are developing their ideas and skills depends upon the extent to which both the
children and the teacher have identified, and are working for, progress in these aspects of
learning science.' Making sure that we keep tabs of this progress is extremely important which is
why I chose formative assessment as the best practice for my content course. My students really
enjoy hands-on activities and getting out of their chairs as much as they can. A formative
assessment that I can use could be "What stuck with you?" where students write what they
learned on a sticky note and put it up on the dry-erase board. Another formative assessment
where students get up and active could be "four corners". This is where I put up a multiplechoice question on the projector and students have to pick a corner that is either A, B, C, or D. If
any students disagree they have to talk out and make a final decision on where they want to
stand. At the end, we all talk about which answer is correct and why it is correct.
Criterion 2: Assessment- Data Collection and Analysis
Standard
SC.4.P.8.1- Measure and compare objects and materials based on their physical properties
including: mass, shape, volume, color, hardness, texture, odor, taste, attraction to magnets.

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Objectives

Students will be able to know the difference between the properties of matter, hardness and
texture, through investigation of the propertys characteristics.

Students will be able to classify objects based on the properties of matter, hardness and
texture, through their observations and investigation.

Assessment Tool

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Data and Results

Pre-Assessment

100

Test Percentage

75

50

25

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Students

According to my results of my pre-assessment I only had one student who struggled very
much with the content at hand. Many of the students were above average when taking this
assessment and five scored perfect scores. This information led me to believe that most students
have seen some of this content before in their previous grades.
Reflection
1. How is the assessment tool appropriate to determine student learning needs and aligned
with the learning objective?

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This assessment tool was appropriate to determine student learning needs because the
questions were at the right level of difficulty for their grade level. As I created this assessment
tool I made sure to be fair with the questions and the multiple choice answers as well. My goal
was not to trick the students but to see how much they truly knew about these properties of
matter. I also believed that this assessment tool aligned with the learning objective because at the
end of the day it let me know who truly understood the concepts of hardness and texture. I
constructed this assessment with two questions about the property of texture, two questions about
the property of hardness, and one question about matter. I made sure to have an equal amount of
questions for the properties being taught and in different manners.
2. What do students know and what are they able to do?
The students at this point in time are familiar with the definition of matter and how
specific properties describe these forms of matter. The students seemed to understand the term
texture better than hardness. The students were able to describe what texture is and the students
knew that you use your sense of touch to figure out the texture of an object. The students
struggled with the definition of hardness and most did not understand the concept of an object
having a level of hardness.
3. How will you differentiate this lesson based on student need?
The students need more time with the term hardness so I made sure to devote a full
lesson on hardness and how to describe the property. All of my students have different learning
styles but many respond positively to learning kinesthetically. This being said I made sure to
incorporate as much movement as I could and still keep the instruction the priority of the lesson.

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I have students who are very hard to keep on task so I made sure to keep them engaged with
attention grabbers as well as pairing them up with partners that helped keep them focus. By using
my formative assessments within my first lesson I made sure to differentiate instruction during
my second lesson for those eight students who needed extra help. I did this by letting the students
write or draw pictures on sticky notes for those who are visual learners. I also differentiated
learning based on student need by having the students work in mixed-ability partnerships.
4. Explain the ways the assessment selected will/could meet the needs of ELLS (ESOL
5.1)
The assessment selected could meet the needs of English Language Learners if
modified in a way where there was less text and more opportunities for the ELL students to
express their thinking physically like pointing to a correct answer or image. I could of added
more pictures that way students could label the texture or level of hardness seen in the picture.
Lastly, I could of made the vocabulary within the questions easier for those students to
comprehend as they read through the assessment.

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Criterion 3: Connected Lessons- Data Driven Instruction

Day One Lesson
CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL LESSON PLAN

I was able to use the assessment to plan my lesson to fit the students needs. I made sure
to touch on the topic of hardness for a longer period of time due to the fact that most of
my students missed one or both questions on the pre-assessment correlating with
hardness. Throughout this lesson I formatively assessed my students by asking what the
difference between hardness and texture was and roamed the classroom to hear their
discussion. As I roamed the classroom listening to their responses I wrote down the
students class number down on my clipboard to keep tabs on who needed assistance and
who needed enrichment. At the end of the lesson I had the students make a t-chart in their
science journals describing hardness and texture. During lunch I read everyones response
and I once again jotted down those students numbers that would need extra support for
day twos lesson. Through these formative assessments I could see that most of my class
knew the concept of texture very well.
My instructional decisions addressed my students needs due to the fact that I realized that
many understood how to classify an object by the property of texture. On the other hand,
most of my students needed guidance when it came to hardness which I took into
consideration when I modified day twos lesson plan. Through my assessments I made
sure to keep what was beneficial for the students such as rigor and engagement.

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Day Two Lesson

CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL LESSON PLAN

Going off of my data from day ones lesson I made sure to start my lesson with a review
over the content. I modified this lesson plan by adding an activity that would endorse
student engagement. Not only would it engage the students but serve as an useful
formative assessment. The students wrote descriptors of texture and hardness on sticky
notes and stuck them on their team poster boards, the students participated in a gallery
walk, as they walked around I was able to see who was understanding how descriptors
help us classify matter. Next, the students classified materials under different descriptors
of each property which served as formative assessment. I used these to see if the students
truly were understanding the objective. After roaming around the class listening to
discussion, having conversations with the students, and grading their summative
assessments I came to the conclusion that most of the students accomplished both
objectives of the two lesson plans.
My instructional decisions were beneficial to my students learning needs because I made
sure to keep their learning styles in mind when creating this lesson plan. Especially when
it comes to science many students love participating in investigations so I made sure to
add an informative one to help the students grasp the content.
Using a Variety of Assessments for ELLs
I would use the sticky note formative assessment with the English Language Learners as
well because it involved writing down one word responses which depending on the ELL

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student, they could succeed with this activity. I would also include a summative
assessment with more pictures for ELL students so they are able to distinguish the
difference between multiple descriptors for the property of texture. Lastly, I would use the
formative assessment of having the student classify material with a partner to see if they
understand how to classify using the properties.

Criterion 4: Reflection on Student Learning and Teaching Practice

Comparing Formative and Summative Data

Pre-Assesment

100

Post-Assessment

Test Percentage

75

50

25

10

Students

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

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Learning Statements
I learned that pre-assessments need to be designed to test what students truly already
know or do not know. If a certain question is too difficult and not a single person is able to
answer correctly that could skew the results of the test scores. When I originally created the
assessment tool I made one of the questions too difficult which I was fortunate enough to catch
my mistake before handing out the pre-assessment. My collaborative teacher helped figure out
how to create an effective pre-assessment. I strongly believe when assessments are made to trick
rather than assess it could have a negative impact on students when it comes to their views of
exams.
I learned that formative assessments are essential to a great lesson. Throughout this whole
process formative assessments made it easier for me as an educator to know exactly who knew
what and how fast I should go with the lesson. But, I learned specifically that your assessments
need to be time efficient because throughout my video I tried many formative assessments that
wasted valuable instruction time.
Reflection
1.

What were the most powerful adjustments you made during the planning process? What

do you believe would be the most beneficial changes you could make next to improve student
learning?

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The most powerful adjustments were made on day twos lesson when I added the portion
of the sticky note activity that made the lesson more engaging for all of my students. This was
extremely beneficial because some of my students have a problem focusing in class. The most
beneficial changes that I could make next to improve student learning would be learning how to
manage my time better throughout a lesson. I found myself dragging on discussions and not
teaching enough content which I believe effected the students test scores. I caught myself giving
the students more time for specific activities then they truly needed or not giving them enough
time.
2.

What have you learned about using data as a part of your teaching? What did you learn

by evaluating data with your teaching peers?

Data is extremely important when it comes to molding lessons throughout the year. Data
helps educators see exactly where their students are and how far they have come. I learned that
when you actually evaluate your data that is when it becomes valuable to your everyday teaching
life. Without evaluating the data it is pointless to collect, you must analyze to see how you can
make a lesson better or how you could possibly differentiate to meet all of the students needs.
3.

What new wonderings do you have?

A new wondering that I have would be How can I integrate technology to make my

lesson more time efficient?. Another wondering I have would be How could I use technology
to make it more interactive and engaging for those students who need help focusing?.