SCIENCE:
JOYCE KONG
INQUIRY RESULTS, 2013..............................................................................................
Millennium High School
New York, NY |
Joyce Kong is a Science Teacher at Millennium H.S. in lower Manhattan; a small, public, college prep school of aprox. 600.
jkong at millenniumhs.org |
Inquiry Title:
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Increasing Self-Reflection through Inquiry
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Inquiry Questions:
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How will regular student self-assessments affect the development of critical thinking, analysis and writing skills in an integrated biology and chemistry classroom?
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Contextual Information..................................................................................................
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What I did:
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Special Resources utilized in this inquiry
(i.e. websites, apps, books, etc.): |
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Data Evidence Plan
Data Sources |
Central Content Ideas Measured |
Measurement Tools |
November 2012 Lab #5 – Individual Lab Report (Baseline)
November 2012 Student Self-Assessment January 2013 Lab: Microscope & Cell Structure with student self-assessment February 2013 Lab: Beaks of Finches with student self-assessment March 2013 Lab: Enzymes with student self-assessment April 2013 On Demand Writing Prompt #2 |
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Summary of Results..........................................................................................................
Results of student inquiry in
terms of my learning goals: |
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Evidence that was most useful to me in this
inquiry and what it reveals to me: |
Students who’s self-assessments most closely matched the teacher’s evaluation are more independent learners.
Independent of whether or not students self-assessment was higher or lower compared to the teacher’s evaluation: Demonstrated greater skills in asking questions Asked clarifying questions Asked probing questions Rarely or never ask, “Is this right?” or “Can you check this for me?” |
What my results suggest about
my initial inquiry question(s): |
the class as a check-out and included a self-assessment on it.
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Samples of Student Work...................................................................................................
Inquiry Results Presentation & Handout
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Example of Student Work
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Quotes From Students
About What They Learned |
Reflections: Backwards Look and Forwards Look........................................................
What I have learned about Inquiry:
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It takes a lot of time, effort and energy to support students to be able to be independent inquirers. However, once students have developed the basic skills in questioning, gathering evidence, analysis, and communication, they begin to feel more confident in developing these skills on their own. Students who have weaker skills often ask for and rely on more check-ins from the teacher. The weakest students may have become more discouraged by the self-assessments, and may not have taken the feedback as seriously as the higher performing students in the class. I am still interested in developing more strategies to support the lowest performing students in my class.
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What's next for my students and my teaching approach:
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It is particularly important to provide extra support to the lowest performing students. Sometimes repeating information is not enough, but as the teacher, we need to figure out new ways to support these students so that they feel successful. I have become more mindful of how I phrase questions in class and also how I respond to students’ questions to help them develop the necessary skills.
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How I plan to share my results with the community:
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I can share the results with other 9th grade teachers at my school during staff meetings. It also connects to the discussions we have been having about Danielson’s Framework.
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