Seminar Experience
UTL 640 - Teaching in Secondary Schools (Social Studies Track)
The seminar course for UTL 640 is intended to complement the field experience of teaching in a high school social studies classroom. This course held a heavy emphasis on teaching & modeling content literacy strategies to help students learn. Additional topics included using standards, curriculum design, assessment, best practices, and using technology in the classroom. The later-half of the course was focused on reviewing for our PPR & content exams.
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Assessment Practice
One of our focus topics for the seminar course was assessment. Previous UTeach courses had us practice formative assessments, while this course focused primarily on summative assessments. As an assignment, we created a mini-assessment as practice for creating a unit test. Additionally, we write evaluation questions at the bottom of each lesson.
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This assessment is aligned to the TEKS from a curriculum unit titled "Revolution: Discontent Leads to Rebellion." The unit questions are directly aligned to the standards emphasized in the unit objectives which focus on the cause and effects of events surrounding the American Revolution. Each question also has a direct alignment to the standards. Using this assessment as a start to unit planning would be a great start to using the Understanding by Design framework to create a clearly aligned series of lessons.
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Best Practices
Pre-Write Organizers
Pre-write organizers are an organizing strategy used to help students improve their writing.
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Many students struggle with writing and are terrified of writing essays. However, students can use a pre-write organizer to put their thoughts together before they start the actual writing. Breaking down an essay into smaller components makes it less intimidating. Additionally, by organizing their evidence and key points before writing, students find themselves able to write better than they would free-writing the entire essay.
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I used this strategy in my Austin Income Inequality Lesson to help students put together their paper before writing it. My students' writing was significantly improved after forcing them to think about their arguments and evidence before they start writing. I know plan to use a pre-write organizer whenever assigning students longer writing assignments.
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Proximity
Proximity is one of my go-to classroom management strategies.
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When students start to get off task during class, one of the best ways to snap them back to focus is to just get closer to them. Pairing it with "the teacher look" shows them that you notice their behavior without saying anything. Moving around the classroom is helpful when giving instruction or asking questions to the class so you can see everyone's level of engagement. During instruction, it is beneficial to be able to walk near students rather than consistently calling students out.
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I use this in every time I teach to ensure all students are on task. It also allows students to feel more comfortable to ask questions when you are near rather than calling you over from across the room. When students are focused on the assignment, they learn are able to learn more.
Jigsaw
In a Jigsaw, a reading is divided into sections. Each member of the group takes a section and becomes an "expert" on what they read. After reading, students come together and piece together what they learn by sharing their "expertise" on their section.
In a Jigsaw, a reading is divided into sections. Each member of the group takes a section and becomes an "expert" on what they read. After reading, students come together and piece together what they learn by sharing their "expertise" on their section.
Jigsaw is a reading strategy that involves discussion among students.
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If students are intimidated by long articles or struggle with reading, a jigsaw can help break it down into easier to chew bits. In a Jigsaw, a reading is divided into sections. Each member of the group takes a section and becomes an "expert" on what they read. After reading, students come together and piece together what they learn by sharing their "expertise" on their section.
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The first time I used this with my senior economics class was in my lesson on free trade where students read a longer article on globalization. It takes some time for students to get the hang of it, but by the Business Organizations II lesson, they knew exactly what to do. The students felt more comfortable with the longer readings broken down and having the opportunity to discuss the whole article with their group. Overall, students gained more from the article by using the jigsaw strategy as they were more engaged and less overwhelmed by the assignment.