SCIENCE SAMPLER back students the “Wet Jeans” question and letting them revise their first answer using a different color pen, or giving a new probe question. Students can also be given a summative assessment such as writing a story of a water molecule as it moves through the water cycle. When the weather unit is taught, the improved “Incredible Journey” will be used and the “Wet Jeans” probe will be given again to allow students an opportunity to improve/correct their first response. Classroom management, rules, consequences, and rewards! Oh, my! Conclusion You’ve got that first job, your lesson plans are ready, and your room is spotless. The anticipation of the first student walking in makes your heart race. What can a new teacher expect? Teachers must start with an organized classroom. Think through how you want your classroom arranged, how students will turn in work, and where supplies are located. Students should also be instructed how the classroom is set up and who should be retrieving supplies. Having numbered containers with supplies is a quick way to distribute materials and check that everything has been returned at the end of the period. New teachers need to develop classroom management plans that outline the following: While we have engaged in a similar process toward improving our instruction before, this was the first year to improve our instruction using weather-related concepts. It will be three years before we see if changes to the activity and instruction have carried through from fifth to eighth grade. In the meantime, we will continue to evaluate our students’ perceptions and the change in their perceptions from beginning to end of instruction in our classrooms using formative and summative assessments. References American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 2001. Atlas of science literacy. Washington, DC: AAAS and National Science Teachers Association. Henriques, L. 2000. Children’s misconceptions about weather: A review of the literature. School Science and Mathematics 102 (5): 202–15. www.csulb. edu/~lhenriqu/NARST2000.htm. Keeley, P., 2005. Science curriculum topic study. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Keeley, P., F. Eberle, and L. Farrin. 2005. Uncovering student ideas in science: 25 formative assessment probes. Vol. 1. Washington DC: National Science Teachers Association. Keeley, P., F. Eberle, and C. Dorsey. 2008. Uncovering student ideas in science: Another 25 formative assessment probes. Vol. 3. Washington, DC: National Science Teachers Association. The Watercourse, Council for Environmental Education. 1995. Project WET Water Education for Teachers. Bozeman, MT: The Watercourse and Council for Environmental Education. Susan German ([email protected]) is an eighthgrade science teacher at Hallsville Middle School and Elizabeth O’Day is a fifth-grade science teacher at Hallsville Intermediate School in Hallsville, Missouri. by Julie Dean McIntosh • Clear academic and behavioral expectations. A rationale for each rule should be included. What may not be acceptable at school may be completely acceptable at home. Students should be aware of how to behave in all settings, such as the classroom, laboratory, fire drills, and in the hallway. Part of your responsibility as a teacher is to teach appropriate behavior. • In a science classroom it is important to have clear expectations on safety procedures. At the Flinn Scientific website (www.flinnsci.com/Sections/Safety/safety. asp) you’ll find safety contracts, Material Safety Data Sheets, and other safety resources for the classroom. NSTA also has a number of free safety resources for download (see Resources). • Know when to call an incident a discipline issue. New teachers need to learn to pick their battles. If something disrupts the learning of others, then it is a discipline problem. New teachers can fall into the trap of trying to control everything in the classroom. • Have sequential consequences that include contacting a parent or guardian and some writing on the part of students. Incident-resolution forms are common in middle and high schools. They provide an instrument S u m m e r 2 009 49 SCIENCE SAMPLER for students to voice their feelings and the facts of what happened. Teachers can also complete a form to show their side of the story. These two sides can then be discussed in a one-on-one conference with the student. The resolution may give the teacher insight as to why the student behaved that way and can help the student explore alternative ways to resolve the situation at hand (see Figure 1). • Make your classroom a positive place for students. Why would students want to go to a negative room where they don’t feel safe? According to the book Whale Done! (Blanchard et al. 2002), redirecting negative behavior into a positive direction can serve a teacher well. A single positive comment to a child is worth 20 negative remarks. Research shows that students who misbehaved were three to five times more likely to get attention from the teacher (Latham 2002). Make encouraging remarks to students on paper and orally. Spotlight student work in the classroom and take time to celebrate what they are doing well. Ensure that each child in your room feels you know him/her. Questionnaires are a great tool to get to know your students, as well as just talking to them and discovering more about their dreams and goals. Find ways to communicate with parents or guardians on a regular basis. Newsletters work very well and these could be posted on your school’s website. Spotlighting student work, classroom needs, how standards are being met, and study skill tips can all be a part of these newsletters (see Figure 2). FIGURE 1 Incident resolution The student was asked to leave the classroom. Separately, the teacher and student will complete the following: Please describe the situation that occurred in the classroom: • Did the situation disrupt the teaching of the class? • What did the student gain from behaving this way? Teachers also need to take the time to get to know their students. Greeting students as they enter the classroom or talking with them informally during the day can help build rapport. Attending extracurricular activities and discussing them briefly in class can help teachers connect with students. Use “Getting to Know You” forms to find out what students are interested in and use this information to engage in informal conversations or within lessons as examples. Daily strategies New teachers need to have organized, engaging lessons plans. They also need to establish clear learning goals and share them with students (Marzano and Marzano 2003). Teachers who start class immediately and interact with students throughout the class period are more effective (Latham 2002). One 16-year study of 252 schools in 50 states found that teachers who were able to teach expectations, keep students on task, have positive interactions with students, and emphasize outcomes were more successful. These teachers had more time on FIGURE 2 Biology I Just a reminder: Students will have homework two to three times per week. Homework is posted under the homework tab by week. Biology projects Students should be keeping a journal of observations of a tree that they have been observing throughout the year. A leaf collection will be submitted by November 15. This month in biology Biology Student of the Month is Suzy Q. Suzy has done an exceptional job on all of her labs and goes out of her way to help others in class. Homework Keep checking Progress Book to see weekly listing of homework assignments • What did the student lose from behaving this way? • What could the student have done instead of the chosen behavior? • What can the teacher do to help? The student and teacher should meet separately after completing this form to discuss a plan to be proactive with future situations. 50 SCIENCE SCOPE Sample newsletter items Upcoming events: State testing is March 17–23 Study skill tips Reviewing biology vocabulary terms with your son or daughter can be helpful. It is also helpful to go through labs and explain the concept that each lab taught. www.how-to-study.com is a great website to help you study! SCIENCE SAMPLER task and made more positive comments to students during the class period. Negative interactions with students had a drastic impact on time on task and ultimately the learning of all students in the course (Latham 2002). Overall, first-year teachers are quick to point out that building rapport with students is the best way to manage the classroom. A meta-analysis of 100 studies found that teacherstudent relationships were at the root of all successful classroom management efforts (Marzano and Marzano 2003). New teachers, however, may struggle with finding the line between teacher and friend. Teacher-student relationships should not be defined by whether students consider the teacher a friend, but rather if the teacher is in charge, appropriate levels of respect and cooperation are exhibited, and teachers are aware of high-needs students. The teacher needs to share a clear purpose and have clear expectations. Again, the classroom management plan outlined previously can help teachers define what is important in explaining and supporting. These rules and procedures should be clearly communicated and be backed up by consequences, such as moving closer in proximity to the student, using verbal cues to get back on task without distracting the class, recognizing good behavior, and using group contingency policies that hold each member of the group responsible. Teachers should also use assertive body language and watch their tone, volume, and cadence to get the message across. Developing a plan for managing the classroom behavior, stating clear expectations, being organized, making lessons active and engaging, and having a positive classroom can make a difference for student success and a classroom teacher’s sanity! References Blanchard, K., T. Lacinak, C. Tompkins, and J. Ballard. 2002. Whale done! New York: Free Press. Latham, G.I. 2002. Behind the schoolhouse door: Managing chaos with science, skills and strategies. North Logan, UT: P & T Ink. Marzano, R.J., and J.S. Marzano. 2003. The key to classroom management. Educational Leadership 61 (1): 6–13. Resources Flinn Scientific safety contract—www.flinnsci.com/ Sections/Safety/safety.asp NSTA position statement: Safety and school science instruction—www.nsta.org/about/positions/safety.aspx Julie Dean McIntosh ([email protected]) is an associate professor in the College of Education at The University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio. No excuses by Rachael Wilkinson Parr I truly believe the primar y obstacle to student academic achievement is the low expectations of their teachers. I have one rule for my seventh-grade students: “No Excuses.” It is the motto I have adopted in my classroom. When students enter my class for the first time, they see this printed in bold letters across the board. They recite this ever y day, until they know it well. They say it until they believe that they can do anything, because anything else is just an excuse. I start the year by telling students the stor y of Kyle Maynard. Kyle is a courageous young man, born with a rare disorder called congenital amputation. Kyle has no forearms and shortened legs, and he stands only four feet tall, yet he has never allowed his disabilities to get in the way of achieving his dreams. One such dream was to become an accomplished athlete. Through his determination and the support of his family and coach, he was able to achieve what many might have felt was impossible and became one of the top high school wrestlers in the state of Georgia. Kyle’s book, No Excuses (Maynard 2005), is truly an inspirational stor y that shows how a positive attitude can lead to great achievements, even when against the odds. Each day for the first week of school I read excerpts of Kyle’s book to my students in hopes that they will adopt the same life philosophy Kyle has. Teachers can purchase No Excuses from a bookstore, or order it online from any of the numerous bookstore websites. When I first read Kyle’s stor y, I knew it was one I wanted to share S u m m e r 2 009 51