Observation Assignment 3

The Met School, Providence, RI

When I arrived for my assignment the students were already in their room.  Time was 12:30 and I believe that had just returned from lunch.  The room was very warm.  So you have a very warm room with 15 teenagers that have all just eaten which normally equals to someone falling asleep. The students were sitting at a long oval conference table. The table is actually several smaller tables put together so that all may sit together as one group.  The teacher who goes by the name “Ed” shakes my hand and tells me to take the comfortable chair near the computers.  He explained that this was a math class.  He mentioned that the class was 1.5 hours long and that he normally starts with algebra and then does geometry.

The students were sitting all with their Chrome books open working on problems online.  Fifteen students and three adults myself included and this room was silent.  Ed told them to finish up and to grab a worksheet from the folder on the wall.  Again classroom is silent.  The principal walked in for an unannounced observation.  No one skipped a beat.  His TA asks a student where another student was so I’m assuming this is their version of an attendance record.  Ed begins his lesson.  About ten (10) minutes in two (2) students arrive late and take their seats.  They’re told nothing but seemed to move like robots taking the worksheet from the folder on the wall and sitting down.

One of the students that arrived late seems to have a distraction issue.  Not only with herself but distracting other students as well.  Ed prevailed not missing a beat and he dealt with the student in a quiet manner after the class was dismissed.  While Ed taught everyone participated except for the one student with the distraction issue. 

Towards the end of the class session is the only time the class needed to be quieted down so that Ed could discuss the homework.  He collected the worksheets completed in class before the students left.  At the end, I thanked him for allowing me to sit in with this class and he explained to me that classroom management is dealt with at the first week of class and normally not dealt with again.  He said “these kids know what’s expected of them and know that if their end of the bargain isn’t kept they’re gone.”

These kids worked like a well-oiled machine.  Even though they were all sitting at one giant conference table they were still sitting with their group.  I noticed on the wall there were team leader names and then other students under those names.  I asked Ed about that at the end of the session and he said they all sit with their groups and help each other out with homework, group work or if one of them is asked a question by a teacher and don’t know the answer.  They encourage group effort.  Teaches them how to work with others which is important once they get out into the real world.

pH River Assessment

DO NOT WRITE ON THIS QUIZ

Part 1: Short Answers (10 points total, 2 points each) – A couple of words to 1 sentence in length

Read the questions carefully and answer on the answer sheet provided.

1.      Why are acids important to humans?

2.      What is an acid?

3.      What is an acid-base reaction?

4.      Water generally is not thought of as being acid or ________________, but __________________.

5.      What happens when lime comes in contact with water in the soil?

Part 2: Multiple Choice (10 points total, 2 points each)

Read the questions carefully and record the letter with the correct number on the answer sheet provided.

1.      By weight, ocean water is about what percent salt?

a.       5%

b.      8%

c.       13%

d.      3%

2.      C₆H₈O₆ is?

a.       Carbonic acid

b.      Formic acid

c.       Ascorbic acid

d.      Mandelic acid

3.      A buffer is a substance capable of maintaining a constant pH even when small amounts of acid or base are added to the solution.  What solution has a constant pH of 7.4 due to having buffers?

a.       Juice

b.      Rain water

c.       Blood

d.      Rubbing alcohol

4.      Ca(OH)₂ can be found where?

a.       Brick mortar

b.      Antacid

c.       Aspirin

d.      Bee sting

5.      The higher the pH number, the more __________________ is a liquid.

Strong bases have a pH number of _____, _______ or ________.

Pure, unpolluted water should have a pH number of ______.

The lower the pH number, the more _______________ is a liquid.

Name: KEY

Date: _______________

Class: _____________________

Score: ______/20 points

Answer Sheet

Part 1: Short Answers (10 points total, 2 points each) – A couple of words to 1 sentence in length

Record your answer below.

1.      B/c they digest food

2.      Acid:  a substance that produces one or more hydronium ion in water.

3.      Neutralization

4.      Alkaline, neutral

5.      Calcium hydroxide is formed

Part 2: Multiple Choice (10 points total, 2 points each)

Record the letter with the correct number below.

1.      D

2.      C

3.      C

4.      A

5.      Alkaline

12, 13 or 14

7

Acidic

Lesson Plan Template for SED 406 part 1 = planning
Teacher Candidate: Casey E. Doyle	Subject: Chemistry	Grade(s): 10-11
Name of Lesson:  The pH of the River
Learning Objective(s), including Bloom's taxonomic level: (label A, B, C, *D) *optional Students will know the definition of acids and bases. Students will be able to distinguish between an acid and base. Students will know the meaning of neutralization and be able to give applications. Students will be able to use various indicators to determine the pH of a solution.
Student Standards (GSE or/GLE or Common Core-in draft for math/science- list which): HS-ESS2-2. Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth systems. HS-ESS2-5. Plan and conduct an investigation of the properties of water and its effects on Earth materials and surface processes.
Teacher Standards (professional society and/or NETS  and RIPTS-list which):
Rationale: Why this lesson? How does it fit into the curriculum and context?  This lesson is the first of 3 lessons and 1 field lab.
Materials/Resources needed, including technology: reading handout/worksheet on acids, bases and pH
Accommodations and Modifications (special needs and learning styles): For students that get easily distracted they will be situated in the front of the class away from the windows.  Students who have trouble writing will be allowed to give their answers orally.  These students are still expected to know the same material and answer the same questions as fully as the other students, but he/she doesn’t have to write their answers to show that they know the information. Students with reading trouble will be provided a designated reader/peer tutor. For students that have trouble seeing will be given a worksheet with large print or Braille. For the students whose native language is not English they will be provided a worksheet in their native tongue.
What content resources support this knowledge base? (list at least 2)
How confident are you in this topic as you start this lesson? I think I could teach it since all you’re doing is having the students read a handout and their answering the questions based on their reading.

(Boxes expand as you type)   Lesson Plan Template part 2 = action
Bell-ringer: How will you get students seated, and ready for academic work? (without your voice) As students walk in have a video of a river playing on projector with the sounds of a river.
Anticipatory Set: How will you introduce the material, interest the students, show relevance of topic?  Discuss acid rain and other ecological implications.
Phase (change as needed)/Time	Teacher action	Student action	Questions/Assessments
e.g. Intro/5 min.	Play video of river with sounds of river	Getting books and notebook out. Briefly watching video
Presentation or Open-ended/	Supply students with “What are Acids and Bases?” Reading handout and worksheet.  As well as “What is pH?”	Students write their names at the top of each worksheet.	In your own words, what is an acid? Describe one physical characteristic of most acids. In your own words, what is a base? Describe two physical characteristics of most bases. What is a neutralization reaction? Give two examples of a neutralization reaction. Explain the meaning of the numbers on the pH scale. Define an acid in terms of pH. Define a base in terms of pH. What pH does a neutral liquid have? What is a buffer? Liquid A has a pH = 4.7 Liquid B has a pH = 2.3 a.       Which liquid has more hydronium ions? b.      Which liquid is more acidic?
	Show students some common household materials and ask them to predict whether the materials are acids or bases. Ask students to give examples of how they have heard the terms acid or base used in everyday life?	Students answer with their predictions. Students give examples	Use the ensuing discussion to assess how much students already know about acids and bases.
Guided Practice or Convergent/
Closing/	Inform students what will be done for the remainder of the week to conclude lesson.  Inform them they need to read “Finding the pH of some common liquids”.	Students write down the name of the reading to be done before next class.
HW/Application/	List homework questions on board to be handed in at next class	Students write down homework questions to be handed in at next class.	Have students write a paragraph on one of the following questions: a.       What is an acid? b.      What is an indicator? c.       Why does acid rain occur? d.      Can rain be basic?
Review and Reflection: How will you review for students who are still having trouble?
Extension: What will you offer to students who have mastered this?  Have students experiment with making their own natural pH indicators.
*Closing: How will you review the material, and draw conclusions? (may be listed above)  Listed in homework

Heirloom and Slow Food

Massachusetts Horticultural Society

I want to start my saying I’m so thankful that I was allowed to go to this as my conference requirement.  These are the types of people that I need to network with being in agriculture.  The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, founded in 1829, is the oldest, formally organized horticultural institution in the nation.  They are dedicated to encouraging the science and practice of horticulture and developing the public’s enjoyment, appreciation and understanding of plants and the environment.  John Forti is the director of Masshort and the presenter at the Heirloom and Slow Food event. 

I won’t lie I knew a lot of the information stated at this event due to my background in farming/gardening but I’m glad to have met Mr. Forti since I’ll be seeing him next semester when I work with him to design their school garden.  Most of the discussion was on slow food which basically means the opposite of fast food.  A major principle of slow food is the National School Garden Program which I’m a big advocate for.  This program teaches the youth of America how to reconnect with their food (since most think their food comes from the grocery stores but don’t know where to go beyond that) by teaching them how to grow, cook and enjoy real food.  Once these kids are taught they then can turn around and be leaders in the slow food movement.  By becoming informed eaters, they will make a positive impact on the larger world of food and farming into the future.

This event just made my idea after I graduate more concrete.  I want an educational farm to teach exactly what Slow Food and what the National School Garden Program is doing but on a larger scale.  Not only children can benefit from this kind of knowledge.  Everyone can benefit from a garden.  They can make connections not only with the land but with their community helping others towards a greater goal.  No one should go hungry at the end of the day.

Casey E. Doyle

Observation Assignment 1

The Met School, Providence, RI

This is a story about a school that doesn’t look like your typical high school in fact it looks like a small college campus in a city setting.  The names of the buildings are strong like equality, liberty and justice.  People walking by me make eye contact, smile and mouth “hello”.  I asked a man coming out of the equality building where the justice building was and he was more than eager to show me where I was to go.  The setting of this school makes me feel like I’m in a northern New England town away from the hustle and bustle.  I find the justice building and I’m greeted by my contact Elizabeth Boucher.  As we take the stairs I noticed the mural on the walls and remembered a similar one in the equality building.  Not exactly the same but similar.

As I step onto the second floor it’s reminiscent of an office building.  Not an office where you’re in a cubicle farm more like a large foyer with offices lining the walls.  These so called offices were the classrooms.  The windows were at the very top near the ceiling and some were painted by the occupants of that particular room.  We walk into a room and I’m instantly met with a wall of heat this room was like a sauna.  But then I’m greeted by about 15 students sitting at a long oval conference table.  The table is actually several smaller tables put together so that all may sit together as one group.  The teacher who goes by the name “Ed” shakes my hand and tells me to take the comfortable chair near the computers.  He informs me that this class is an hour and thirty minutes long.  He said he starts with algebra then moves on to geometry.  The students were sitting all with their Chrome books open working on problems online.  Fifteen students and three adults myself included and this room was silent.  They had a lot of stuff on the walls.  To me it seemed cluttered but it all seemed to have a purpose.  There’s a ceiling tile in each classroom where all the students tag it, basically stating “this is our space”.  I remember the classroom I used in equality a couple years back also having this “tag”.

Beside the clutter on the walls the room seemed tight.  As if there was too much furniture in the room. I like space.  There was a definite difference between the “foyer” area of the second floor and the “offices”.  When I was at the equality building I didn’t get that vibe of “office” nor were the classrooms lacking space.  In fact, I taught in several classrooms in that building all having lots of space, walls were not cluttered, several dry erase boards, a few computers and a flat screen TV.  Perhaps the name “Justice” for this building is fitting.  It was a rather stiff and stern feeling.

But everyone was pleasant.  I mean very well mannered.  While Ed taught everyone participated except for one student that came in late.  She seemed to have a distraction issue.  Not only for herself but also distracting the class.  Ed prevailed not missing a beat and he dealt with the student in a quiet manner after the class was dismissed.  I spoke with him after class thanking him for allowing me to observe and we spoke a little about their other school in South Burlington, VT.  He encouraged me to visit there because of my background and what I intend on doing after graduating.  As I left I knew I wouldn’t be returning but perhaps I would take a look at their other location up north one day soon.

MT2 Reflection

December 5, 2015

What happened? What went well?  What was an area of weakness?  I felt everything went smoothly.  I especially liked that I didn’t have to rely on someone else to do the timing or man the video.  I think I really used all technology quite well.  The simulations were perfect on the Smart Board.  I was able to control the other technology at the front desk with my iPad and 2 iPhones.  I was able to drive home some key points by bringing in some more tangible examples that the students understood better.  In the glass panels simulation I explained how glass panels trap heat using greenhouses and cold frames as my examples.  I can’t really say that it’s a weakness but I found there was too much lull time but it was inevitable considering this was a lab.

What objectives were met? What is the evidence? Which students did not meet the objectives?  Which students exceeded objectives? Why?  Both objectives were met.  Students learned how temperature and snowfall affect the size and motion of glaciers.  They also learned that rivers and valleys were carved out by glaciers and that certain places on the earth owe their existence to glaciers.  The examples given are also the answers to 2 questions on their assessment.  With regards to the glass panels I noticed 1 student having issues grasping the concept but I was able to bring it down to a more personal level and then he grasped the topic.

What was learned from this experience?  Evidence of teacher candidate learning.  To be honest I’ve been teaching for many years just not structured.  I strongly believe some people are just natural teachers and I believe myself to be one of those people.  I did implement the waiting after asking a question but other than that I stuck to my usual teaching techniques.

How will this experience influence my professional identity?  It doesn’t.  I determine my own professional identity.  But to answer this question for the sake of a grade I was able to get better acquainted with the SmartBoard and learned the ins and outs of using a GoPro.  So my tech savviness was expanded.

How will it influence how I plan/teach/assess in the future?  I will always use technology in my classroom whether it be indoors or outside perhaps in a greenhouse.  Sooner or later we will have hologram/3D technology in the classroom and I will be there.  Students that can see, hear and touch something learn so much better rather just seeing it written on a board.  Yes there are some glitches in technology but this is just how we learn and adapt.