1) Students will be adding their first reflection this week to their eportfolios. They will be selecting one assignment that they have completed this year, creating a response about what they gained from the assignment, and then writing about what could be done to improve/revise the piece. Students will then create a final draft that incorporates their ideas for improvement. These three documents will be posted to their website, and they will receive their first homework grade for the 3rd marking period.
Some students have asked "why are we creating these" or said "I don't know why we are doing this". I have described the eportfolios to them as more professional alternatives to Facebook. I have also invited students to think of them as a sort of virtual resume - a way to show themselves to the world (including potential employers and universities). It is a place for them to display and reflect upon the things of which they are proud (i.e. activities, achievements, and assignments). I believe that the students are going to experience real educational and personal gains through the use of their eportfolios. It will also be a way for them to share the data that they collect as part of their research projects.
Earth Science students are working on a 25-question multiple choice homework assignment on www.castlelearning.com (all past regents questions). The due date is Tuesday 1/25, and the topic is astronomy and the universe. I am friends with 48/71 Earth Science students on facebook, and I invited them all to the homework assignment as an "event". Maybe that will impact the homework completion rate?
2. I used the Oreo cookie method to teach moon phases to the Earth Science students. I used the document camera to review the 8 phases of the moon diagram. Then each group was given 8 oreo cookies, a plastic untensil, and a a paper plate. They then had to twist open the oreos, and scrape off the cream filling to create the 8 phases, and then place them in the correct sequence on their paper plates. This was a good concrete learning experience for my students. I have also been using a toy constellation projector to remind students that polaris tends to stay in about the same spot in the sky, while the other stars apear to move in circular paths around it. Maybe they just like having the lights off, but the students seem to enjoy the classroom as 'planetarium' experience.
There is a popular rap artist by the name of Lil' Wayne. During the moon phase lessons, I made constant reference to Lil' Wayne. When the light is on the left, the moon is getting little (waning). The moon is little wayneing. 99% of my students will remember this.
3. The Oreo mooon phase lab took a little bit longer that I had anticipated, and two classes did not finish answering the analysis questions. Students spent a lot of time getting the phases exactly correct, and often had to go back to their 'reservoirs' of scraped cream to make repairs to their moons. It was actually a good thing though that students made mistakes, and then corrected them - it facilitated a real learning process for them and gave them a sense of self-efficacy by the end.
4. I went ice-fishing for the first time last weekend. We set tip-ups for northern pikes, and jigged for perch. I caught about 10 small perch, but returned them all to the lake. My big catch was a 29-inch long pike. My neighbor grew up near Oneida Lake, and has a lot of experience ice-fishing. He helped me fillet the fish, and then we fried up the fillets for dinner last night. It tasted great, and it gave me a sense of self-efficacy to provide a nutritious meal for my family with my "own bare hands".
5. "That word foci is so cute" - student in reference to the vocab word meaning the two central points of an ellipse. My classes refer to this as the "f-word".
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