Instruction

Welcome back everyone!

Today's post is all about the actual instruction in the classroom. To start out a lesson, Mr. M. hands out a note packet to every student that is full of slides from his power point presentation. In each slide in the packet, there are a few words missing that the students must fill in by following along with the presentation. This method works well for Mr. M., as it engages the students and allows them to grasp the concepts better by writing them down. During the actual presentation, Mr. M. projects his slide show on a smart board so he can draw on diagrams to help explain difficult concepts. 

Muscle Systems note packet 

 More muscle notes

To end a lesson, Mr. M. reviews the slides with the students once again and answers any questions they may have. I have noticed that Mr. M. is really good at connecting his lessons to real life examples, especially related to the human body. With thirteen years experience teaching as well as experience testing blood, Mr. M. has plenty of stories for nearly every part of the body! 

To monitor understanding, Mr. M. has a quiz the class after each lesson. Having quizzes in this manner allows students the opportunity to study their notes and come back with any questions they might have thought of after the initial lesson. These quizzes also allow Mr. M. a chance to see what works and what doesn't work in terms of the way he teaches certain lessons. 

                                                  

Muscle Tissues quiz

Mr. M. also has tests at the end of each unit to monitor understanding. Now these tests kind of confuse me in the way they work. It is a school-wide policy at this specific school that each test given must come with a retest, in which the final grade will be an average of the original and the retest. I personally do not think this is the best practice, as some of the students dont even study or try on the first test because they know they can just take it again. Mr. M. said that many of his students receive zeros on their first test, only to take the retest and score a passing grade. However, averaged with the zero from the first test, the grade is still considered failing. If students were only given one opportunity to take a test, it is my opinion they would take it more seriously and would study harder and receive better grades. 

Cardiovascular System test

What do you think of the retest policy?

Danielle