Daniel Toberman Field Assignment 2 10 Day Log Mr.

Linears classroom was unique because it was previously a computer lab and had some framework from the rooms previous purpose still obscurely hanging from the ceiling. Mr. Linear was previously a football coach and he had some of his accomplishments in the form of small plaques on the wall from his previous coaching experiences. The classroom faced a smart board which was mounted to the wall and windows were in the back of the classroom.

Classroom Organization

The classroom also had a projector which Mr. Linear used every day to show the class objectives. Objectives were neatly compiled in a Microsoft word file for the class and each class session usually started with a daily composition question or DCQ. Students seemed to have a great amount of respect for this teacher and Mark Johnson and I found out classroom

management was quite difficult upon our first opportunity to teach in this classroom. Tuesday: In this class session I was introduced to the class since I was absent on Monday. Mr. Linear assigned a DCQ over previous content regarding global warming. The most memorable issue from this day was there was major hostility between a female and male student regarding children and allocation of funds. Since Mr. Linear was in touch with what was going on in the students lives he used humor to dissipate a potentially hostile situation. Students main objective during this class was to read an excerpt from the book to prepare for Wednesdays vocabulary and review game. Reading included doing a few questions based off of the reading which was centered on components of climate, such as: the ozone layer, latitude, oceanic oscillation patterns, etc. A student during this class J.C. had an interesting question about music and related it to what he predicted was the end of the world in 2012. Previously Mr. Linear had discussed the main possibilities for the end of the world with his students and J.C. The question about music shifted to interest about the ozone layer and how a single component could have a tremendous impact on climate. I asked J.C. to consider all of the components of climate and after a while he figured out there was more to climate that just the sun, he figured out the importance of latitude, oceanic circulation, etc. Wednesday During this class session we had a DCQ and review game that was centered on vocabulary previously discussed.

Students were given 30 minutes to complete vocab and picture sketches. Students had to define vocabulary in their own words and draw a picture about what was being defined.

During this vocab activity students

in rows of desks. Each best picture and

best definition was rewarded with a jolly rancher. Also, students with the best answers were given extra participation points at the end of the class session. This was a really fun activity to witness because it was easy to see the difference in how each student conceived course content Many students were able to clear up misconceptions about latitude when drawing the picture of the definition in their notebooks. Several students represented latitude with vertical lines (misconception). It was important to clear up this misconception so students could understand how the distance from the equator affects temperature differences across the globe. Harrison was one of the sharpest students in the class and he completed this task in 10 minutes. From the previous class session we found out he was going to play football at the collegiate level on scholarship. After he completed his vocab activity I asked him to consider the components of climate and try to come up with an answer to which state in the U.S. would be the best for training in football. While considering this he came up with California which was an answer I wasnt surprised with. But his reasoning was the relatively moderate average temperatures that allowed for better annual outdoor training, higher incidence of sunlight, geographic location (by the ocean), and also cited the importance of being surrounded by Hollywood. Thursday

This class session was centered on a lecture and a quiz. The class was divided up into three separate groupings, one taught be me, one taught by Marc, and one taught by Mr. Linear. So each station would be allotted about 15 minutes to complete their respective task before rotating.

Mr. Linears station went over course work from the previous week or so, students could ask questions and voice concerns about grades.

Marc Johnson and I rotated between giving a short lecture about global warming and giving a group quiz between class periods. The lecture was short, four slides, and gave students notes about upcoming content.

The quiz involved key questions and students performed this task in two groups of 4. Students were supposed to answer around 4 questions per group and if they performed well they received 10 or 15 points for the quiz. If not they had to complete bookwork over content they were unprepared for, which would be graded.

Something I really liked about this teacher was group quizzes and the low stress level for students in this course. Mr. Linear still used written tests but often used multiple means of formative assessment that didnt emphasize paper and pencil. I think this really helped since these classes were lower level and many students struggled with test anxiety. Friday

During this class students were supposed to give presentations over previously assigned topics. One student would usually present every Friday for 5-10 minutes over a topic that related to the content being discussed that week.

Unfortunately the classes we observed were generally unprepared for these presentations. One student did remember his presentation, and it was about sustainability. It was extremely interesting and well done.

The remainder of the time in the class was spent doing an activity called the Progression Game. Basically this was a learning game where students in the front row of desks could answer a question first then remain in the front. After 3 seconds of a question being asked students behind the front row of desks could answer the question. Whoever answered the question correctly got to choose who remained in the front row. At the end of the class session students in the front row were given extra credit, (in a completely negligible point value).

Mr. Linear said to students, In life you know it pays to be smart or to have friends. Its even better to have both.

This was a game that many students enjoyed but also many students didnt. It sounded like this was the third time this activity took place in class but it was a unique way to get students thinking about content. Monday

This was Mark Johnsons and my first day teaching at Winton Woods. We gave a brief presentation about Polar Bears then did a learning game about the destruction of polar bears habitat.

In the learning game students were introduced to how global warming impacts polar bears the destruction of ice sheets. In this game students

learned about statistics of survival when having to find new resources then compete with species over their resources. They also were introduced to the idea of environmental niches. Tuesday This class session was used for multiple purposes and Mark and my second day instructing. The topic of the day was, what does it mean to be sustainable world? This was a unique opportunity for Mark and me to bring some really cool interactive technology into the classroom. The first thing Mark and I did was introduce a website called breathingearth.net. This website is awesome and displays birth rate vs. death rate, CO2 expenditures, and much more. It is highly interactive and a great learning tool for students to see how rapidly population and pollution occurs. It also is a great tool to introduce concepts such as exponential growth. When introducing this website we asks students to explain what they saw then gave them the opportunity as a full class to scroll over countries and explore what was going on. Here is a picture of what the site looks like:

Our next activity took place in the computer lab and utilized this website
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/

This is a really unique site that allows students the chance to explore their carbon footprint

in the U.S. I was worried about giving students huge freedoms and having them perform this activity in the computer lab but it was extremely successful. This online content performs like a videogame. After you enter in all of your individual information such as living accommodations, daily intake, travel habits, etc, the online generator shows you how many worlds it would take to support each human being if they lived just like you. It also lists several other interesting statistics. Here is a photo of this online activity:

 Students were asked to consider the implications of how they lived. Also, students who finished early were asked to explore other countries and also redo the activity to figure out ways they could reduce their carbon footprint. I had a student in this class whose name was Jamal who could not understand why his lifestyle was so bad for earth. He explained to me he lived a simple lifestyle that didnt pollute very much at all. I asked Jamal to research before next class about how much meat consumption differs in energy requirements when compared to a vegan diet. The next class Jamal reported to me that he was stunned with how much energy it took to support livestock. He also mentioned he would continue eating hamburgers because they were delicious. Wednesday With the high level of success Mark and I experienced in the previous day we decided to once again revisit the computer lab. In this class session students were primed for pre-requisites for Thursdays debate activity. Mark and I prepared a PowerPoint to guide students on the topics that were being debated and some information to guide their research.

After this students were sent to the computer lab to research their individual teams topic. Students had to have 2 pages of notes in their notebook and were given points for this at the end of the session. Also students were required to have at least four sources.

The claim being argued in this debate was the meat industry produces more greenhouse gas than all SUVs, trucks, cars, planes, and ships in the world combined. Students were divided into four groups and had to argue on behalf of their group titles. Those titles were: o Meatatarain o Vegetarian o Environmentalist o Meat Industry Worker

We were happy with the work that was done during this class period. Students later in the day discovered PETA and McDonalds processed chicken nuggets pictures. Lots of arguments ensued between students and we were really excited to see what would occur during Thursdays debate.

Thursday: During this class period students had the debate. The class was allowed some time before the debate to prepare their key points. Then each group presented their key points then had their rebuttals. Extra credit was allotted to winning teams. This day went extremely well and our lower performing classes were better prepared than are higher performing classes. One group actually brought in pictures which they used to argue about the nutritional value of having meat in your diet! I was really excited to see this and upon questioning

after class I found out one student wanted to be a chef and go to culinary school. He knew more about food then anyone I have ever spoken with and it was awesome for him to have the opportunity to discuss his interests in the debate and sway the audience with his vast knowledge of nutrition. Friday This class was centered on student presentations and working forward into a new unit. In this week, almost all students were prepared for their presentations which were really good to see. Students were assigned a small amount of questions to complete in between student presentations. Students were to be given credit for their work during the next class period. Monday: This was my makeup day and Mr. Linear and I split up the class during the activity for the day. In the beginning of the class students had a DCQ which was completed in the first five minutes. After this I manned a group quiz station while Mr. Linear had a station which discussed the previous weeks work. During one of the group quizzes I got to complement a student Luis on his awesome performance at a school

play which Rachel and I got to see. Luis made a point about the proximity in our ages and was really appreciative that I would take the time to see his play. The quiz and learning activity went well during this class and I was really upset to go in for the last time ever!

4 Lessons

1. Goal; Understand the importance of science as a human endeavor with its relation to climate change. How it was Begun: Students were given a DCQ which asked, is our concern with saving the polar bears merely ethical? Procedures: A short presentation was given and then a learning game was performed. For details about the learning game please refer to the powerpoint presentation. Student Processing: The learning game was probably our least successful activity of the week. We were able to clearly relay and uncover some statistical advantages of having an environmental niche and not having to compete with other polar bears for space. It was difficult to keep students engaged during this activity. Adaptations Made: After the first bell Mark and I decided it would be wise to sit

and discuss content with the greenhouse gas group while the remaining polar bears in the learning activity competed. After we did this we had much less management issues with the class. Also this was a unique opportunity to truly cater to student interests and discuss other animals whose habitats were being depleted in Ohio. 2. Goal; Understand what it truly means to live in a sustainable world. How it was Begun: Students were shown the breathing earth website and made inferences about how it related to sustainability and previous course content. Procedures: Students went to the computer lab and did an online interactive quiz where they learned about their individual carbon footprint. Student Processing: The results of the quiz were sometimes hard to understand but after walking students through the data they were able to grasp what was going on. Several students worked ahead and explored the sites many features such as finding out what their footprint would be if they lived in China and utilized the same resources. Adaptations Made: Students who finished early were asked to retake the online quiz in a different country and/or go back and figure out how they could reduce their carbon footprint.

3. Goal; Conduct online research for the debate How it was Begun: Students were given a short introduction to the activity via PowerPoint and introduced to the theme for the debate. Students were then cut out to the computer lab to do research.

Procedures: For the research students worked to find four online sources and wrote two notebook pages of notes for the debate. Students were divided into four separate groups and had to argue on behalf of their group. Those groups were: Vegetarian, Meatatarian, Meat Industry Worker, Environmentalist

Student Processing: Some students struggled with staying on task. But for the most part since points were involved with the activity students worked diligently to complete their two paged of notes in their notebook. Adaptations Made: Several students finished early so we had those students explore things a previous class discovered regarding food preparation at McDonalds. This also provided fuel later for one of the groups during the debate in the next class session. 4. Goal; Discovering Sustainability might not be a goal we can currently obtain but one we could work toward How it was Begun: Students were given 5-10 minutes to prepare for the class debate. Procedures: Each group was given five minutes to argue at least three main points they want to discuss. After both teams made their points two minutes were allowed to discuss rebuttals and two minutes were given for rebuttals. For organization and clarity meatatarians argued against vegetarians and meat industry argued against environmentalist. (Although meatatarians and meat industry/ Vegetarians and environmentalists were encouraged to collaborate). Student Processing: Students were extremely engaged in the debate. This was our most successful class activity of the week and we were surprised at how many people were involved in each class.

Adaptations Made: Time allotments were often varied in accordance to materials prepared for each team.

Reflection I dont even know where to begin when it comes to assessing my growth as a teacher after these first two field experiences. Honestly, originally I didnt think this would be a very challenging experience. I thought I would be able to easily get by and was surprised when faced with adversity during my first field experience and truly caught off guard. It was humbling to say the least, but I think it was necessary and set me up for success in my second field experience. Walking down the hall for the first time at Pleasant Run Middle School was one of the craziest experiences I have had in the last four years of my life. I have chased tornados, completed ironmans, surfed ten foot waves, and done numerous crazy adventurous things but this was by far the most nerve racking! Walking down that hallway I came to the realization that I was going to be a teacher and up until then I was caught up in so many other things I forgot about that. My biggest challenge after this and something I need to work on is trying to keep everyone happy. This field experience for me was a necessary pre-requisite to teaching and understanding that you are a guest in someone elses classroom when student teaching. While you can contribute to whats going on that respective teacher does still run the show and finding that middle ground is integral to having a successful relationship. I really felt like Mark and I found that middle ground and never spoke in class unless addressed to, etc. While I followed

those same manners I think noticing and being more aware of my surroundings in the second field placement sharpened everything slightly and made it easier to have extremely positive and respectful interactions with my cooperating teachers. Honestly with that said I have been shot down several times even by educators at Miami when asked the question of what you do if youre not happy with you principal/school. Honestly I believe there is no point in working in a school system in which you dont believe you can be successful. I think adversity is essential in terms of enjoying your job and I would love to teach in a low performing school. But, I refuse to work for an administrator that doesnt share the same goals as I do and rather be unemployed than unhappy. Overall, I was really pleased with my overall field experience. It was fun to experiment with different styles and methods of teaching to see what did and did not work in the classroom. I cant wait for student teaching next year and hope to step it up to the next level and do some really unique things in the classroom. I originally got into the idea of becoming a teacher after my senior year of high school because of the tremendous sacrifice and investment one teacher made for me. He kept me pointed in the right direction and I truly believe its my duty to repay that in the form of helping future students. I think thats what makes teaching so special and I hope to have the opportunity to have that kind of impact in the following years.

Never Stop Dreaming,

Daniel Toberman