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$Grade 5 Math Instructional Materials 2009 - RPDP$

Teacher Highlights Secondary Science Elementary Science Jenelle Hopkins Centennial High School Earth Science Teacher Cherri Luna Steven G. Schorr Elementary School Science Specialist 1 - 5 Jenelle Hopkins started teaching for the Clark County School District in 1993 after working in industry as a mine geologist.In addition to being a super teacher at Centennial High School, she has been a leader in many professional organizations, including the Southern Nevada Science Teachers Association (SNSTA), Nevada State Science Teachers Association (NSSTA), and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), serving as past-president for both SNSTA and NSSTA. To hone her teaching skills and keeping abreast of the latest Earth Science research, Jenelle has participated in many professional development experiences, including a summer workshop in Costa Rica and two summers working as a Research Assistant at UNLV’s Engineering Geophysics Lab. In addition to teaching, Jenelle has worked as a Science Curriculum Specialist for CCSD and was an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator, working for one school year as a Fellow in the Directorate for Geosciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Washington, D.C. She currently is the education co-chair for the Nevada Earthquake Safety Council and a committee member for the Education and Outreach Steering Committee of the NSF Earthscope Program. She has been involved in revision of CCSD science curriculum, has written questions for the Nevada High School Science Proficiency Test and the GED, and has been on the College Board’s re-design commission for the AP environmental science exam. In 2007, Jenelle was selected by the American Geophysical Union to attend a climate change conference in Vienna, Austria. To cap things off, Jenelle became Nationally Board Certified in Earth Science at the Adolescence and Young Adulthood level. Currently she is an instructor for <strong>RPDP</strong> and also conducts Earth Science workshops where she shares the many different ideas and resources she has learned from her various workshop opportunities. This is Cherri’s 7 th year teaching in the Clark County School District, and her first year as a Science Specialist. Before she began discovering science with her kids this year, she taught first and third grades. She graduated from UNLV and received her Masters in Special Education from NOVA South Eastern University. Prior to UNLV her education specialized in Animal Science; she minored in Horse Science. She’s been happily married for over twenty years and is proud to have two very talented and wonderful children. Cherri has had many people influence her life in education. First and foremost, she has to consider her grandmother. Cherri describes her as “a wonderfully kind and patient woman who took the time to get to know everyone who has come into and out of her life.” Cherri is in awe of the blessings her grandmother counts daily, even at the ripe young age of 94. Most recently Cherri has to thank her daughter’s first and third grade teacher. She can remember helping out in the classroom, finding herself drawn into the excitement she had for learning, and how she was able to pass that love of learning to her students. One would be amazed, from the days of studying places like China and France to every bug, salamander, spider, rock and space theater – learning was an adventure. Cherri’s goal is to instill this love of learning to all her students. Although her family is number one on her list, the children she sees everyday are a very close second. The community she shares at Schorr Elementary School is very special. She enjoys every part of her life there; starting with greeting everyone at the door, discovering the wonders of science, getting her hands dirty, sitting on the floor reading a great book, investigating, asking questions and listening to the ideas of her students, watching the expressions on their faces as the “light-bulb” goes on in their heads – “I get it!”, and closing her day with a “Thanks Mrs. Luna, hope you have a great day!” Life is good and Cherri feels very fortunate to be able to spend her days doing what she enjoys - discovering the wonders of learning with her students.
Formative Assessment in Elementary Science When you hear the word “formative” assessment, does the thought of portfolio management come to mind? How about checklists that get shuffled around the top of your desk, or the backseat of your car because you just can’t figure out what to do with the information that you’ve gathered? It doesn’t have to be that way! By spending some time with your students, asking some thought-provoking questions, and listening to them talk about what they are doing in class, you can gain a very clear picture about what your students understand. Assessment “for” learning vs. assessment “of” learning - the distinction between the two is pivotal. Assessment for learning happens while learning is still underway. It isn’t about grades, but about getting better. “Effective use of formative assessment includes using assessment results to plan instruction, using assessment information and materials to involve students in their own assessment, and communicating assessment results clearly and in a way tailored to the user’s needs.” (Stiggins et al., 2004, 2006) According to Stiggins et al., the student’s role in formative assessment is to self-assess and keep track of progress, set goals, and act on assessment results. “Self-assessment by pupils, far from being a luxury, is in fact an essential component of formative assessment.” (Black & William, 1998) Something as seemingly simple as having students restate the problem or the question can lead to creativity and self-confidence. By allowing our students to talk about their solutions or their thoughts, by allowing them to talk with others, and even more powerful, if they can spend time talking with their teacher, students get immediate feedback and make connections that will in turn, facilitate future decision making. Science notebooks can be a part of ongoing formative assessment in the classroom. The writing contained in these notebooks can allow the teacher to see what students understand, how they approach problem solving, and what misconceptions they have. Before you start thinking that the use of notebooks in class means yet another thing for you to grade, they aren’t for that purpose. Formative assessment is not to be graded, but for getting better, remember? Science notebooks are more likely to be a learning tool if students feel safe to express what they know and to show how they know. When students are actively engaged in using notebooks, these notebooks have an important role in improving expository writing, vocabulary development, understanding the nature of science and math, and improving student learning and achievement. That’s a lot of bang for a small notebook. Based on brain research, teachers may be accidentally impeding thinking, intelligence and brain growth, and ultimately creating “slow learners” by the lack of feedback and the large lag time we have built into the typical learning environment. How often do classroom teachers meet with students and actually spend time talking with them? A conversation with students could be a handy proactive tool instead of being faced with re-teaching after discovering that half of the class can’t apply the math concepts needed for the constructed response. When students talk deliberately, purposefully, and perceptively, learning and thinking increase dramatically. The better the quality of the questions that we ask our students, the more their brain is challenged to think. A challenge to think should bring about disequilibrium – when we are feeling perplexed or unsure or even confused about
Page 1 and 2: Shop TALK Vol. 4 No. 3 Getting Stud
Page 3 and 4: Listen and Learn by Sue DeFrancesco
Page 5 and 6: Administrator Highlights Kenneth Wr
Page 7 and 8: “…we live in the Age of InfoWhe
Page 9 and 10: Beatty Elementary School Rural Tech
Page 11 and 12: Locally, I have used the digital vi
Page 13 and 14: “We want to be thermostats, not t
Page 15 and 16: What Students Need to Know and Do W
Page 17 and 18: what they have written to the expec
Page 19 and 20: More Than Just Multiple Choice! by
Page 21: Technology’s Influence on Formati
Page 25 and 26: Getting Students to Think Scientifi
Page 27: Professional Development Secondary

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