Career Day: Student Engagement and Assesment

Entry #5:

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 21, 2017, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (3 hours)

Task/Activity: Since it was “Career Day” during Spirit Week, it should be noted that students were rather “hyped up” and class was rather leisurely in anticipation of the upcoming schoolwide events taking place both that day and later in the week. As a result, both classes worked on their “Summative Assessment” packets handed out the day before. Students worked independently to read each passage and answer its corresponding multiple choice and/or open-ended questions. After students completed the packet, they then worked on an independent writing assignment on MyAccess covering the topic of their future career, considering the fact that it was “Career Day.”

Accommodations/Modifications: The only accommodation/modification that can be suggested was that Mrs. Lanza provided students with an easy day in response to their heightened energy due to the fact that it was Spirit Week.
Teaching Methods: Perhaps the only teaching method that was used by Mrs. Lanza during this class period was the programmed instruction method. Students were given packets to work on independently at their own pace. The students worked through the material by themselves, and while the specific reading selections may have been new, the overall PARCC preparation activity was not. As a result, students essentially followed a method of self-instruction in order to complete their classwork.
Difficulties: Overall, students did not express that they had any difficulty with their classwork. The “Summative Assessment” packet was standard PARCC preparation material, and students were already extremely familiar with this type of work. As a result, they were able to work independently without any issues. Furthermore, the writing assignment was comparable to a “free write” activity, so it did not cause any difficulties for students.
Other Personnel: There were no other personnel who interacted with the students that day.
Observer Interactions: My only interaction with students was when I asked individual students who were dressed up in “Career Day” outfits what their future aspirations were.
Instructional Practices for Students with Language/Cultural Differences: Once again, all of the students in both of Mrs. Lanza’s classes were proficient in English and rather homogeneous in terms of culture. The only instructional practice for students with language and/or cultural differences that was used is perhaps in relation to the “Summative Assessment” packet. This packet contained a reading titled “The Little Thief,” which had the potential of exposing students to a type of society that students may not have been aware of. Although fictional, the society presented could very well parallel specific societies found throughout human history. Furthermore, a second reading titled “Justice,” had the potential to expose students to Christianity, which some students may not necessarily be familiar with. While they don’t promote international cultural diversity per se, these two readings can still expose students to a society/culture different from their own.
Conclusion: In conclusion, I was rather surprised to discover that students would only be working independently on two separate activities during this class period.

However, given the heightened level of excitement, I can understand why Mrs. Lanza implemented an easy day for her students. In fact, if Mrs. Lanza would have insisted on having a serious class day, she would have had to fight for her students’ attention amid the enthusiasm for the rest of the school day and week. Furthermore, I also feel that it was essential that students take a bit of a break considering the fact that the PARCC exam was less than two weeks away. Personally, I feel that if PARCC preparation was pushed onto students it would have only tired them out, especially during Spirit Week. It is only logical to expect that the week before the PARCC exam would be spent completing intensive preparation activities, so I feel that this break was the best move the could have been made in order to prevent student exhaustion. Overall, the only complaint that I have regarding this visit was that both classes did get a bit out of hand at some points. However, this is only expected due to their excitement and enthusiasm, and is well deserved considering how hard they had been working on PARCC exam preparation

materials.