Reflective Blog 1

ED 640

This week in ED 640 we learned about Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction (DI) which are both approaches to teaching and learning that help educators create student engagement by offering teachers choice in how to impart knowledge and offering students multiple ways to express what they have learned. In my own classroom, it is important to me to have variations in teaching and learning - without it we would all be quite bored!

One of the most dreaded (read: boring) learning tasks in middle school science is vocabulary. Teachers generally don’t like teaching it and students don’t enjoy learning it. As an experienced 7th-8th grade science teacher, I know that my students are expected to master 1000+ new vocabulary words per year in each of my classes, so I have developed my own methods over the years to vary instruction and keep my students engaged, or at the very least awake during my vocabulary lessons. According in Young (2005), “Without a clear understanding of the language of the science content, students will certainly experience difficulty and a lack of interest with their science content area material”. Vocabulary instruction is a vital part of our students’ success in science classes and as educators it is our responsibility to help our students become more engaged with the content.

I often vary the way in which I teach vocabulary throughout the school year. Occasionally I teach vocabulary through a traditional lecture on the Smart Board, however, I find students are more successful if I try strategies that involve more activity. A vocabulary assignment that both my students and I enjoy is making foldables, and the more intricate and colorful, the more my students appear to be engaged with the task. I also allow my students to make online review materials such as Quizlets. This makes preparing for vocabulary assessments easier, too because we can play Quizlet Live to test our knowledge. Another group activity we enjoy is vocabulary activities on the Smart Board. The Smart Board is great for matching and sorting vocabulary activities, as well as “Jeopardy” type review sessions. By constantly trying different ways to teach my students vocabulary, I find that my students are more willing to learn and earn better scored on vocabulary assessments.

I also vary the ways in which I assess vocabulary in my classes. Students are exposed to paper and pencil tasks such as matching, multiple choice, and fill-in-the-blank. Sometimes, I make these mundane vocabulary tasks more interesting by making a virtual quiz on Google Forms. Another main component of science vocabulary assessment is labeling scientific diagrams. Whether that is an electrical circuit or an animal cell, students need to know which vocabulary word is attributed to a specific structure. To that end, we draw pictures, cut and paste pictures, and label diagrams online to display knowledge of this vocabulary task. Writing short answers is another way students can show what vocabulary they have learned. Recently, my 7th graders were assigned to write a persuasive paragraph about which body system (of the 10 we learned about) was the most important in the human body and why. Students had to have a good grasp of science vocabulary presented in the unit to perform well on the task. As you can see, I offer many methods of assessment when it comes to vocabulary instruction in my classes. It is my hope that by varying how I teach and how my students are assessed that they are more engaged with the vocabulary, and thus the content of my class.

References

Young, E. (2005). The Language of Science The Language of Students: Bridging the Gap With Engaged Learning Vocabulary Strategies [Abstract]. Science Activities Vol 2 No 42, p 12-17