Supervisor - Science Department
Science Department:
As your fellow teacher and supervisor it has come to my attention through readings and discussions with other administrators, teachers and supervisors that there are some changes we can make as a department to continue to strengthen our already strong department.
The first thing that I would like us to consider is more communication among teachers teaching the same subject. For instance, once a cycle (every 6 days) all the biology teachers (C&A to Advanced Biology) would get together and discuss where they are in the curriculum, what activities and labs they are planning on doing, what videos they are planning on showing, etc... I think that this would strengthen our department and provide more continuity horizontally through our department. It will also enable us to share our ideas and hopefully gain creative teaching ideas from each other. I recently read: “If we leave virtually every instructional choice up to individual teachers who work alone, then inferior practices will dominate in most schools. (Haycook, 2005) I think that working together will enable us all to continue to make our department competitive with other science departments in comparable schools. I know that not every activity or lab will work for every teacher but, hearing ideas and sharing ideas is what makes a department successful.
Secondly, I recently read a quote that stood out to me and made me think about some of the measures we can take in order to continue to prepare our students for college. The quote was from the book Results Now by Mike Schmoker, the quote read: "Lack of academic preparation, not financial need, is the chief reason for college failure. It should therefore disturb us that only 32 percent of our college-bound students are academically prepared for college (Cavanaugh, 2004a, p.1). Of those wishing to attend college, 78 percent will struggle in writing, biology and algebra (Cavanaugh, 2004b, p5). According to Naomi Housman, coordinator of the National High School Alliance, "Everyone is really beginning to realize the major leaks throughout the system" (Gervais, 2004, p.3) (20-1). They specifically sight biology as a subject that students are unprepared for and that worries me as a science supervisor. I believe that we need to help change that, not only in our biology classes but, in all of our science classes. I am open to any suggestions that you may have but, I have put together a list of things that we may consider trying as a department in order to help our students prepare for college science, writing and math. Some of my suggestions include: daily "Do Nows" and daily "Wrap Ups" where the students are required to answer some questions based on either the previous day's lesson, the current lesson or any work done in the class throughout the year. The students should be required to answer the questions in full sentences, this will enable us to reach their scientific understanding but also help to improve their writing skills. In chemistry and physics these practices can be either writing or mathematical and then we will also be hitting the algebraic skills as well. This is one change on my list that I would ask you to consider as a change in our department.
Lastly, "Adolescents entering the adult world in the 21st century will read and write more than at any other time in human history. They will need advanced levels of literacy to perform their jobs, run their households, act as citizens, and conduct their personal lives." (Schmoker, 51) Although, we feel as if we do not have time to institute reading and writing in class one of the things I am going to ask you to try is to have your students read aloud the introductions to lab activities and then when you are done have one student sum it all up in his or her own words. Also, having the students read and take notes for homework is not a bad idea, this will help them to read critically and pick out the information that is important in a section of work. I suggest starting with small amounts and then increasing as they get better. If you are worried about them actually completing the work as your "Do Now" the next day tell the students that they can only use their notes from their homework to answer the following questions and walk around the room to make sure that they are using those notes while they complete the questions. We are then, as a department, working in reading, writing, taking notes and recalling scientific information, a lot of skills are being hit upon.
I know that many of you are employing some of these strategies already but, I ask that if you aren't to at least give it a try. If it works for you great! If not try and make it your own or change it in a way you can use it, then tell us about it! Maybe we will want to try it your way too! Thank you for your time and consideration for the suggestions that I have made to improve our already strong department.
Sincerely,
Sally Casper
Science Supervisor
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3 comments:
I liked how you focussed in on he writing piece. Our student write, but it is usually texting or fragments. The more academic and audience appropriate writing we can have them do, the better they will be for it.
I really liked your idea of having departmental meetings just to discuss what’s going on in class. It was not as intense as a critical friends group, but more a way to see what everyone’s doing. It also provides a more relaxed atmosphere in which teachers could ask one another for advice without it being a judgment scenario. I also thought your other suggestions were meaningful. By giving the students mini-assignments, like a ‘do-now,’ it bridges the divide between yesterday’s learning and today’s. That connection allows students to see how their learning is continuous, not just broken-up, 45 minute blocks which begin and end. Classes should flow from one to the next. And the idea that note-taking as a homework assignment was good. You would just have to implement a way to assess ‘good’ note taking, and maybe spend some time in class on how to take effective notes.
I like that you branch out and ask your teachers to incorporate writing and reading into their day-to-day lessons. We don't always think of that as a component in science class but it is a vital one, and the more areas students can gain in-class reading and writing, the better. As a future English teacer, I know I will be focused on literacy but it is imperative that other subject areas take note of the impact they could make if they too do little things like you suggest with the note taking and reading.
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