ASSIGNMENT
Observation guides provide a way for learners to know how to engage text. For this assignment, you will design an observation guide as an example for students to use when reading a text selection within your discipline.
EVERYTHING IS IN REFERANCE TO YOU AS A MATH TEACHER
- Create a Word document for your response.
- Use APA format for the title page, references page, and in-text citations for your observation guide.
- Compose an introduction and conclusion for the observation guide
Design an observation guide as an example for students to use when reading a text selection within THE FIELD OF MATHEMATICS . “Distribute” (pretend to) for student use, taking annotations of their behavior while using the guide. Discuss with students the effectiveness of this approach, connecting content with a literacy strategy. Analyze the overall effectiveness of the process.
Step 1. Design an observation guide.
- Determine the essential components required for a selected reading (article, textbook, brochure, webpage, etc.).
- Create an appropriate layout for the guide which students will use.
Step 2. Distribute to students.
- Direct students to use the guide as they read the selection.
- Observe student behaviors while completing the guide.
- Take annotated records to use as documentation.
Step 3. Lead a discussion.
- Develop 3-5 questions to guide a class discussion about the effectiveness of the observation guide when used. Avoid questions with a yes/no or short answer response.
- Engage students in an evaluation of the guide which may require establishing criteria for measurement.
Step 4. Analyze the results.
- Identify positive and negative characteristics of using an observation guide as a strategy.
- Suggest improvements or recommendations for future use.
Example Resources
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell, https://www.teachervision.com/literature/printable/6116.htmlLinks to an external site.
Additional Material:
Reading Guides, http://www.adlit.org/strategies/22733/Links to an external site.
Reading Rockets, http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/reading_guideLinks to an external site.
Reading Educator, Three-Level Guide, http://www.readingeducator.com/strategies/three.htmLinks to an external site.
BELOW IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THE ASSIGNMENT SHOULD LOOK LIKE. NO SPECIFIC LENGTH.
Evaluating an Observation Guide: Module 1 Analysis
SCHOOL NAME
COURSE NAME
PROFESSOR NAME
Introduction
As a social studies teacher, a core component of our standards and lessons are the analysis and understanding of primary and secondary source readings. Particularly with primary sources, students often have trouble staying focused and understanding what the reading is talking about considering anachronistic vocabulary and sentencing structuring that is used in historical sources. For this assignment, I was tasked with formulating an observation guide for students to use as a companion for a primary source reading. Given my personal experience with students struggling to understand primary sources and my struggle to find a good method to facilitate that learning effectively, I was eager to try out this new method and get feedback from my students on it. The observation guide provided was a companion to our primary source The Declaration of Independence and students were able to work in groups to help each other interpret the source and answer the questions in the guide. Our class prior to this listened to The Olive Branch Petition as it was narrated by myself and answered questions on the spot only vocally. Therefore, in addition to a discussion and analysis of the effectiveness of this observation guide, we also compared its effectiveness to our previous method and talked about our preferences.
Observations
The observation guides were distributed to two classes. One class had 3 students and the other had 20 students. After a bell ringer opening discussion about the purpose of government, students were given the same instructions; Complete the observation guide in groups of 2 or 3 for our reading on The Declaration of Independence. Afterwards, we would have a review on the reading and on the guide. My first observations were done with the class of 3 (as they were my first block). While their discussion on the bell ringer was good and open, once they became a group of 3, their communication with their partners about the material and their confidence in their answers began to dwindle. For the first 5 minutes grouped together, the students were confused as to where to start and hesitant to begin answering questions. After maybe 10 minutes of working together on their questions, one student I noticed was doing all the talking and discussing regarding the answers, while the other two were completely silent. Eventually, their group split up and they began working on the assignment individually. From there, the class worked in silence, completed their assignment, and then we discussed the answers with each other with only 2 out of the 3 students willing to provide answers. This in comparison to our previous class where I read the document out loud and asked them questions was not very effective at all.
The second class of 20 students (which is featured in the recording) responded well to the beginning discussion of the bell ringer. Students quickly split into groups and began working on their guide. In contrast to the first class, each group was very talkative about the source, asking each other questions and interacting with each other’s documents, highlighting key terms and sentences that stood out to them. I noticed that not every group was on the same pacing level as others. However, this worked out well as each group was able to complete the assignment at their own pace and (based on the closing discussion we had) was still able to understand the meaning of the document as well as the other students. Later on in the day, I got the chance to sit down and talk to one group that had finished the assignment and what their opinion on it was. “I really enjoyed being able to work with others to help me understand the document,” said one student. She continued to talk about our previous class and how being read to at a much faster pace than she was used to and then having questions thrown at her was “overwhelming” and “put her on the spot.” The guide, in her opinion, allowed her to work at her own pace and not get too overwhelmed.
Discussion
Our discussion on the observation guide had three questions. 1. “In our class yesterday, I narrated the Olive Branch Petition and you answered questions as we read vocally. Today, you were in groups and answered guided questions. Which method of reading primary sources did you prefer and why?” 2. “If you were to change or improve something about this reading guide, what would it be and why?” And 3.”What was the hardest part about completing the guide?” In general however, I was willing to take any feedback the students wanted to give during our discussion.
In regards to the first question, almost all students preferred the observation guide over a narration. Many responses included enjoying the group work aspect of the guide, and being able to go at their own pace. They also appreciated being able to formulate their answers and then be prepared for our discussion over it at the end of class. As mentioned earlier, some students hated being put on the spot while we were reading and some would even fall asleep as it didn’t feel interactive to them. One last comment that I appreciated was from one student who said that he felt like he understood the source better because the guide forced him to read over it over and over again in more detail each time. He felt like the repetition really helped him. On the other hand, a few students actually preferred the oral narration of the primary source rather than an observation guide. While they appreciated being able to work in groups, they felt like they were not able to interpret the source correctly on their own as they couldn’t understand the sentences to begin with, even with the guide adding some assistance to break down the source. They enjoyed my narration, particularly when I would re-word sentences or go over certain paragraphs and interpret them into much simpler terms. From this, they felt like they understood The Olive Branch Petition, but not The Declaration of Independence.
The last question in regards to the hardest part of the assignment was what I call the MIS or the “most important sentence.” For this question, students have to identify one sentence or statement they think really brings the purpose of the document home or summarizes it well. Many students found this to be the most difficult portion of the assignment as it was hard for them to choose and/or recognize which one is truly the most important. However, from what I gathered from their responses, they did a really good job on the question considering it was their first time. I am going to continue giving them this question given their performance and to keep challenging them on future readings.
Reflection
All in all, the observation guide did not work well for the small class. Students were discouraged to speak out loud with their partners, potentially because there were so few people in the room and maybe they felt self-conscious about their answers and there was little to no discussion between the students and the teacher during the assignment. On the other hand, the large classroom performed exceptionally well on the observation guide and was eager to work with each other. There was lots of discussion going on about the assignment and students would periodically discuss potential answers with me as I walked around the room. When it came down to our discussion about the assignment, clearly the students who were in the larger class understood the document better than the smaller class and were much more alert and eager to participate.
Overall, this observation guide was excellent and I am so thankful for this assignment as I was looking for a better way to introduce primary sources to students in a fun and interactive way. The students overall seemed so happy as they completed this assignment and looked as if they had a breath of fresh air in comparison to me narrating to them. We will be reading parts of the Constitution next and for once I feel confident about introducing a primary source to my students.
References
Jefferson, T, et al. U.S. Declaration of Independence, entire document, (July 4th, 1776)
(Source used for assignment)
Constitutional Rights Foundation. (2003). Lesson One: Declaration of Independence.
(Inspiration and some questions used from this source)
Montgomery Kyschools. (N/A). The Declaration of Independence Study Questions.
(Inspiration and some question used from this source)
Appendix
Declaration of Independence Observation Guide
Bell Ringer Questions:
What would happen if suddenly, our government was completely removed and we didn’t have one? What do you think would happen? What do you think society would be like?
Based on what you answered, what is the purpose of a government?
To what end, in your opinion, do you think a government should be replaced?
Analyze: Team up with a partner and read through the Declaration of Independence. As you read through it, discuss with your partner and answer the questions below
- What type of source is this text? Primary or Secondary? Who or whom wrote this text?
- Who is this text addressed to? What audience is expected to read it?
- As you read through the Declaration of Independence, Draw brackets for each category below. Give a one sentence description as to what each major part talks about.
Introduction/Preamble:
Paragraph 2:
List of Grievances:
Conclusion:
- List two key ideas about our government that are expressed in this text and explain them.
- From the list of grievances, what are two reasons for declaring independence that stand out to you in this text? How do they correlate to events we learned in class?
- What were the unalienable rights mentioned in the declaration of independence?
- For our bell ringer, we asked to what end you believed a government should be
replaced… When does Thomas Jefferson believe a government should be replaced?
- According to the declaration of independence, what have the colonists done to try and make amends with England?
- Most Important Sentence: Highlight what you believe is the most important sentence of this document. This can be a sentence that you believe summarizes the document, has the most impact, or stands out to you the most. Be sure to explain your reasoning
Observation Guide Review Questions:
- In our class yesterday, I narrated the Olive Branch Petition and you answered questions as we read vocally. Today, you were in groups and answered guided questions. Which method of reading primary sources did you prefer? Explain
your answer
- If you were to change or improve something about this reading guide, what would it be? Why and how would you change it?
- What was the hardest part about completing this guide?
- How do you feel about your ability to retain information with this method vs. the olive branch petitions method?
