TE 802: Unit Reflection

Name: Hannah Schrauben

In this assignment you will reflect on how your unit went. You should use specific
examples from your teaching and student work to support your claims. You should write
about 2-3 paragraphs for each question. You may be able to pull some ideas from your
analysis of student work assignment, but this assignment should move beyond that
you should also use stories of what happened in the classroom.
1. What science did you teach during this unit? What is difficult to understand about
the science? Why do you think so?
I taught ecology during my unit. This included succession, biomes, climate
change, and biodiversity. As you can see, during 2 weeks this is a lot of content,
especially if you consider that 3 of the days consisted of either a movie or a homework
quiz. We go really quickly over everything and the students take notes then do a practice
worksheet then we move on.
I think the difference between primary and secondary succession was the hardest
part of this unit for my students. In general, the succession section on the test is where
students did the worst overall. I think it is hard for students to visualize in their minds that
a completely unpioneered piece of land exists. They are so far removed from a volcano,
which is the most classic example of primary succession, and they cant imagine that
there is no soil there and something has to break down the rock to make soil. I think
having soil is just such a normal part of their lives, which makes it hard to understand that
there are places that have never been colonized by lichens. I think it was also difficult for
the students to think about this topic on such a large scale. Succession happens so slow,
so that might have been hard for them to understand.
2. How did your unit unfold in relation to your original plan? Did you need to
change anything your teaching during this unit? Why or why not?
My unit changed from my original plan. I had decided to do a mini ambitious unit
that spanned a couple of days with the topic of succession. I would have them draw
models, then we would do the normal stuff that my teacher wanted me to do (notes,
worksheets, and a movie), and then we would do a model revision to show the change
in their thinking. So the plan was to infuse a little ambition with what I was given.
However, the day before I wanted to do models, my teacher said that we wouldnt have
time for it, maybe 5 minutes. That is where I changed my plan and had then draw mini
models on printer paper in pairs. Since I was so rushed, I didnt scaffold it as much as I
should have, but at least they got a tiny bit of exposure. We didnt get to talk about
them or revise them but it was a start.

We did have an unexpected, but good conversation in both first and second hour
after the movie we watched. It was called Life After People; it was made by the
Discovery Channel and showed what would happen to the earth and its inhabitants if
humans just disappeared from earth. They made predictions about what would happen
before the movie and then we talked about their thoughts and feelings after the movie.
We werent really expecting much of a conversation because both of the classes had
never shown much interest in talking in a whole group setting. Because of that, we had
a whole lesson planned for the rest of the hour after the movie but we didnt get to
most of it because almost everyone wanted to share their thoughts, whether they were
agreeing or being skeptical of the movie. It wasnt in the original plan, but it was an
amazing opportunity to have to students share.
3. Describe the science activities during the unit what did students do, and how did
you structure their learning opportunities? What might you do differently next
time, and why?
I mentioned before that the majority of what we did during my unit was notes and
worksheets. I tried to add bits of ambition by trying to encourage more talk and
prediction making before activities. I did the best I could to structure learning
opportunities, but I think I failed miserably. Every topic we went over felt very rushed
and unimportant.
I would do many things differently next time. While we were going through this
unit, I thought of an ecology phenomenon. I am not sure exactly how it would work
out, but I was trying to think about something that would encompass all the topics
covered in an ecology unit. But my idea is to take a natural disaster, or something like
Chernobyl and make that the anchoring phenomena. You could look at the ecology of
the land before, during and after the event. The before could encompass all of the
predator/prey, food web and trophic level stuff. The during and after parts would
address succession. You could talk about biodiversity the whole time and how it
changes and what causes those changes. I would have to think a little bit more on how
to fit biomes and climate change into this phenomenon but it was just an idea I had
while this unit was unfolding.
4. What assessments did you use during the unit (both formative and summative)?
Did the assessments allow students to show you their understanding of science?
How? What might you change about how you assessed students? Why?
During the unit we had 2 summative presentations, 2 homework quizzes and then
1 unit test, and 1 BA. We didnt really do any formative assessment that showed us
what the students were thinking. The wolf case study was probably the only more
opened ended formative assessment that we used.
The formative assessment showed me more than just their understanding of
science. It showed me a lot of things I need to work on with them. For example, I will
have to show them how to use evidence to back up a claim, or how to not rely so

heavily on other resources and that they can think critically and that they have good
ideas. Before I would change the assessment, I would have made sure to scaffold my
instructions better. It was clear that I didnt know the needs of my students. Then I
would have tailored the questions a little bit better as well. My students need to walk
before they can run, and I think this formative assessment was asking them to do
something they honestly didnt know how to do.
The summative assessments showed that my students memorized facts. There was
a short answer portion on the BA that all my students did exceptionally well on, which
was really exciting! I dont think the multiple-choice tests that the students took show
their understanding. They could have gotten the right answer, but I have no way of
knowing if they actually understand the science. They could have guessed and got the
right answer. The thing that does tell me about student understanding is when we go
over what they got wrong on the tests and quizzes. Every time we hand them back
students have a bunch of questions on why what they chose was the wrong answer.
And every time, students want to explain why it is. I think that is really cool to see!
Something I need to work on with them is how not to be mean about explaining a
wrong answer to a peer. But it is good to see them invested in their learning. I would
like to change the assessment to a short answer test that involves the students providing
explanations and evidence.

5. What are you reflecting about your teaching and students ideas now that the unit
is over? Why?
Myteachingneedstobebetter.IfeellikeIexpectedmystudentstoknowcertain
thingsorknowhowtodocertainthingsthattheyreallydidntknowhowto.Ineedto
makemyinstructionmoreclearandscaffolded.IfIwantmystudentstodorigorous
work,Ineedtoshowthemhowtodoit.TheproblemisIamnotexactlysurehowtodo
that.IalsoamnotsurehowtochangetheresourcesIhaveintosomethingambitious.I
finditsohardtopressthemontheirthinkingwhenalltheyhadtodowasgolookintheir
notesorthebookfortheexactanswertheywrotedown.TheseareallproblemsIhave
foundwithmyteachingduringGLT1andevenafteritended.Mybiggestlessonlearned
isthatIreallyneedtohaveanambitiousclassroomtosurviveteachingtherestofmylife.
Mystudentshavegoodideasbuttheyareneverwillingtoshare.Evenwhenitis
oneoftheworksheetsthattheycanfindtheanswersverbatiminthebook!Theystill
dontvolunteertoshare.Iwanttohearsomanymoreofmystudentsideas.Thewaythe
classroomissetup,itfeelslikeIamtheonlyonewhocansharetheanswers.Thisis
anotherthingthatIamstrugglingwithknowinghowtodo;createasafeclassroom
communitywhereeveryonewillfreelysharetheirideas.Ineedtofigureouthowtodo
thissomyGLT2andLTnextsemesterwillbesuccessful.