Proposition Three - Reflection on commitment to student learning
When students enter FACS class for the first time in the 6th grade, most of the students are experiencing the content and lessons for the first time. As an introductory class, many of the overall lesson objectives fall into the Knowledge, Comprehension, and Application levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. Higher level thinking is applied with targeted questions throughout the lessons and activities. While units are repeated in each quarter within the year, I review and revise lessons and activities for effectiveness and engagement.
Since the middle level employs one teacher for three grade levels of elective classes, I have the opportunity to tailor my units and content to support the progression from sixth to seventh grade and from seventh to eighth grade. The South Dakota FACS standards are not broken down into individual grade levels; rather, there is a set of standards for the entire middle school level. If a student’s entire middle school career is at Simmons, I am responsible for ensuring their mastery of FACS concepts by the end of their 8th grade year. This can prove to be complicated when students transfer into the later years from a school that does not have a FACS program. In order to help these students to progress, I conduct interviews on their background knowledge of FACS concepts.
Another challenge that I face is regression. It is possible for a student to be slotted into FACS class in the first quarter of their sixth grade year, and then not again until the fourth quarter of their seventh grade year. The same issue applies to the transition from seventh to eighth grade as well. For this reason, a review of concepts from the previous year is needed. This review allows for those students who would benefit from extra review to have an opportunity to catch up on potentially lost content.
FACS content is expanded in the seventh and eighth grades, and the level of involvement and complexity advances with each grade. Seventh FACS, a nine week class, has units on sewing, kitchen safety and food preparation, and adds self-concept and basic nutrition. The eighth graders spend a trimester, 12 weeks, in FACS class. The extra time allows for more complex sewing unit, and multiday food preparation lessons, career exploration and a detailed unit on nutrition.
The transition of FACS students from the middle level to the high school is on an individual basis. FACS is elective in the eighth grade, and continues to be a purely elective class at the high school. It is possible for a student to be slotted into FACS first quarter of their seventh grade year, and then not elect to participate in FACS in the eighth grade. Once a student moves to the high school, the choice to participate in FACS is solely on the student. Classes at the high school are more focused and are specifically structured around one particular content area. Many of the higher level FACS classes require participation in a prerequisite class. Here again regression can be an issue. If a student has not participated in FACS since their seventh grade year, and then elect to participate in FACS when they are sophomores, there is a large potential for lost content knowledge.
The nature and structure of FACS class allows for a variety of instructional techniques to be utilized. One instructional method that I use frequently is demonstration. Whether it is a step in a sewing project, knife techniques or the preparation of a recipe, demonstrating skills to the student in live time, allowing for questions and clarification is beneficial. A drawback of demonstrating labs and project is the cost of supplies. To help alleviate this concern, I have utilized a document camera to record certain parts of demonstrations that typically need to be repeated.
The use of demonstration can also tie into direct-instruction. There are tasks students do in the food lab and in sewing lessons that require specific step-by-step instructions. The process of threading the sewing machine is very specific, incorrect threading can generate knots in the thread and damage fabric. Understanding the step-by-step process is essential not only for the benefit of the project, but the overall success of the student’s experience.
In all three grades, students create a variety of projects ranging from various dishes in foods lab, visual displays, and a tiered sewing project. When the lessons have ended, the students have a tangible item, something they have created with their own hands. The use of projects allows for a student driven atmosphere where ownership of the learning moves from the teacher to the students. When using projects in FACS I provide options for students to express their personal individuality. Students can choose the format of their visual displays, the design and print of the fabric for projects, and in some cases, the recipe used for lab.
Middle school students are social creatures. Students seek out friends in class and are quick to partner up when the option arises. The use of cooperative learning in FACS class is not only important, it is essential. Students work in groups for every lab. On their desks are a series of different shapes in 6 different colors. Groups are randomly generated by naming a shape, and then finding the classmates who have the matching color. During sewing, each student is partnered with a classmate. Not only will each pair share the use of a sewing machine, but the students work with each other on the steps of the project. If a pair runs into trouble with a step, they can turn to a neighboring pair of students for assistance.
Within FACS, there is an element of discovery applied to the concepts. Some of my most engaging lessons are ones in which the students are not aware of the final result until the end of class. By having the students make their own discoveries within the lesson, I encourage their innate sense of curiosity and fuel a desire to learn about the concept in depth.
While is not formal, state mandated test for FACS, assessment is still a necessary part of the learning process for both the teacher and the student. Assessment in FACS can take on a variety of forms. I use formal assessment strategies such as testing and rubrics to provide a concrete representation of student progress and growth. A written exam is utilized for kitchen safety and must be passed with an 80% or better before a student is permitted in the foods lab. Students who do not score above an 80% receive remediation and after school help to reinforce concepts. I use rubrics to evaluated visual displays and sewing projects. Students have access to the rubric, and therefore the expectations, throughout their working time, and are directed to refer to the rubric frequently.
I utilize informal assessment on a daily basis. A quick check for understanding that is unobtrusive is thumb up, thumb down. It takes a few seconds and is an effective way of gauging understanding. Because it requires no preparation, special equipment or detailed explanation this method can utilized frequently throughout a lesson.
A 3-2-1 chart takes a little preparation to be truly effective. Students need to be instructed on the method and technique of this particular assessment. At the end of a lesson, students reflect on three things they have learned in the lesson, 2 things they found interesting and one question they still have regarding the lesson. This method is highly useful as it gauges the student attentiveness to the lesson and allows for student to raise questions regard potentially confusing concepts. As part of the introduction to the follow day’s lesson, I answer take a few moments to answer some of the students’ questions. If a majority of the students have raised the same question, then I know what content needs to be reinforced.
Another method I employ is a ticket out the door. Near the end of the class period, I post a question that all students must answer, “I don’t know” is not an acceptable response. Since the students are not permitted to leave the class without turning in a response, participation is 100%. I can quickly glance through the responses and immediately know if the objectives for the lesson were met.
Learning is a lifelong process; formal education is only a small part of that process. What and how students learn in the classroom creates a foundation for future learning experiences. By appealing to curiosity and creativity with engaging and active lessons, I hope to help instill a desire to learn in my students that will last for their lifetime.
Since the middle level employs one teacher for three grade levels of elective classes, I have the opportunity to tailor my units and content to support the progression from sixth to seventh grade and from seventh to eighth grade. The South Dakota FACS standards are not broken down into individual grade levels; rather, there is a set of standards for the entire middle school level. If a student’s entire middle school career is at Simmons, I am responsible for ensuring their mastery of FACS concepts by the end of their 8th grade year. This can prove to be complicated when students transfer into the later years from a school that does not have a FACS program. In order to help these students to progress, I conduct interviews on their background knowledge of FACS concepts.
Another challenge that I face is regression. It is possible for a student to be slotted into FACS class in the first quarter of their sixth grade year, and then not again until the fourth quarter of their seventh grade year. The same issue applies to the transition from seventh to eighth grade as well. For this reason, a review of concepts from the previous year is needed. This review allows for those students who would benefit from extra review to have an opportunity to catch up on potentially lost content.
FACS content is expanded in the seventh and eighth grades, and the level of involvement and complexity advances with each grade. Seventh FACS, a nine week class, has units on sewing, kitchen safety and food preparation, and adds self-concept and basic nutrition. The eighth graders spend a trimester, 12 weeks, in FACS class. The extra time allows for more complex sewing unit, and multiday food preparation lessons, career exploration and a detailed unit on nutrition.
The transition of FACS students from the middle level to the high school is on an individual basis. FACS is elective in the eighth grade, and continues to be a purely elective class at the high school. It is possible for a student to be slotted into FACS first quarter of their seventh grade year, and then not elect to participate in FACS in the eighth grade. Once a student moves to the high school, the choice to participate in FACS is solely on the student. Classes at the high school are more focused and are specifically structured around one particular content area. Many of the higher level FACS classes require participation in a prerequisite class. Here again regression can be an issue. If a student has not participated in FACS since their seventh grade year, and then elect to participate in FACS when they are sophomores, there is a large potential for lost content knowledge.
The nature and structure of FACS class allows for a variety of instructional techniques to be utilized. One instructional method that I use frequently is demonstration. Whether it is a step in a sewing project, knife techniques or the preparation of a recipe, demonstrating skills to the student in live time, allowing for questions and clarification is beneficial. A drawback of demonstrating labs and project is the cost of supplies. To help alleviate this concern, I have utilized a document camera to record certain parts of demonstrations that typically need to be repeated.
The use of demonstration can also tie into direct-instruction. There are tasks students do in the food lab and in sewing lessons that require specific step-by-step instructions. The process of threading the sewing machine is very specific, incorrect threading can generate knots in the thread and damage fabric. Understanding the step-by-step process is essential not only for the benefit of the project, but the overall success of the student’s experience.
In all three grades, students create a variety of projects ranging from various dishes in foods lab, visual displays, and a tiered sewing project. When the lessons have ended, the students have a tangible item, something they have created with their own hands. The use of projects allows for a student driven atmosphere where ownership of the learning moves from the teacher to the students. When using projects in FACS I provide options for students to express their personal individuality. Students can choose the format of their visual displays, the design and print of the fabric for projects, and in some cases, the recipe used for lab.
Middle school students are social creatures. Students seek out friends in class and are quick to partner up when the option arises. The use of cooperative learning in FACS class is not only important, it is essential. Students work in groups for every lab. On their desks are a series of different shapes in 6 different colors. Groups are randomly generated by naming a shape, and then finding the classmates who have the matching color. During sewing, each student is partnered with a classmate. Not only will each pair share the use of a sewing machine, but the students work with each other on the steps of the project. If a pair runs into trouble with a step, they can turn to a neighboring pair of students for assistance.
Within FACS, there is an element of discovery applied to the concepts. Some of my most engaging lessons are ones in which the students are not aware of the final result until the end of class. By having the students make their own discoveries within the lesson, I encourage their innate sense of curiosity and fuel a desire to learn about the concept in depth.
While is not formal, state mandated test for FACS, assessment is still a necessary part of the learning process for both the teacher and the student. Assessment in FACS can take on a variety of forms. I use formal assessment strategies such as testing and rubrics to provide a concrete representation of student progress and growth. A written exam is utilized for kitchen safety and must be passed with an 80% or better before a student is permitted in the foods lab. Students who do not score above an 80% receive remediation and after school help to reinforce concepts. I use rubrics to evaluated visual displays and sewing projects. Students have access to the rubric, and therefore the expectations, throughout their working time, and are directed to refer to the rubric frequently.
I utilize informal assessment on a daily basis. A quick check for understanding that is unobtrusive is thumb up, thumb down. It takes a few seconds and is an effective way of gauging understanding. Because it requires no preparation, special equipment or detailed explanation this method can utilized frequently throughout a lesson.
A 3-2-1 chart takes a little preparation to be truly effective. Students need to be instructed on the method and technique of this particular assessment. At the end of a lesson, students reflect on three things they have learned in the lesson, 2 things they found interesting and one question they still have regarding the lesson. This method is highly useful as it gauges the student attentiveness to the lesson and allows for student to raise questions regard potentially confusing concepts. As part of the introduction to the follow day’s lesson, I answer take a few moments to answer some of the students’ questions. If a majority of the students have raised the same question, then I know what content needs to be reinforced.
Another method I employ is a ticket out the door. Near the end of the class period, I post a question that all students must answer, “I don’t know” is not an acceptable response. Since the students are not permitted to leave the class without turning in a response, participation is 100%. I can quickly glance through the responses and immediately know if the objectives for the lesson were met.
Learning is a lifelong process; formal education is only a small part of that process. What and how students learn in the classroom creates a foundation for future learning experiences. By appealing to curiosity and creativity with engaging and active lessons, I hope to help instill a desire to learn in my students that will last for their lifetime.