Guided Reading Questions for Chapter 1

Geol 405 / Bio 405

“...teaching is far more complex and difficult than most people realize.”

PREPARATION: Follow this guided reading approach to reading Chapter 1 in your textbook. Type out answers to the questions indicated with a  and bring them to class with you. These will be collected at the end of class and must be typed. Your answers do not need to be long but they must be thoughtful and well constructed. Use complete sentences and proper English and check your spelling!

Warning! This assignment should NOT be done in the hour or two right before class. It requires careful reading and thought. Plan accordingly!

Chapter Introduction - vignette

1.Read the Teaching Vignette about Mr. Clay. Before reading the remainder of the chapter, consider the following questions and jot down your responses....

List 3 particular items that you feel Mr. Clay needs to change in regards to his preparation and presentation of material to his students (for now exclude classroom management issues and focus on the teaching aspects of the lesson).
What specific suggestions would you make about how he should do things differently to correct the problems he was having with his class.
What purpose do you think Mr. Clay had for his lesson on Newton’s Laws?
Before you read the remainder of the chapter, contemplate how you think a teacher should decide on an approach to teach a science topic for the first time. Write down your ideas.

Read the remainder of the chapter and focus on what you learn about how a novice teacher approaches teaching versus how an experienced teacher approaches, planning and implementation of lessons.

The Purpose of the Lesson

Now, based on what the mentor, Mrs. Bebee, sharesMr. Clay answer again question 1d above and state what do you think should dictate how you approach introducing new materials to students?
What should be the main goals or expectations that a teacher should have for her students when beginning the presentation of new science material to students in middle and secondary grades?
What methods do you think you could use as a teacher to successfully understand where you should begin in order to help your students when you approach a new topic with your students. (In other words, how can you effectively assess your student’s prior knowledge and interest level in the subject)?

The assessment of Learning

In addition to the text section on assessment read the article An Assessment Primer at this link and answer the following questions.

What are the types, purposes, methods and timing of assessments in the classroom?
What is the most common mistake that beginning teachers make about assessment?
Why is it important the assessment be an ongoing activity in the classroom?
When do you think that assessments should occur in the classroom and why?
What are some of the purposes of assessment?

planning

Based on what you have discerned from reading the chapter section on planning lessons do the following:

For a lesson on mitosis (if a biology major) or a lesson on the hydrologic cycle (if an earth science major) jot down some ideas you have in response to the following 3 questions and be prepared to share them with the class:

note: At this time you should already be thinking ahead about how you will assess the students’ knowledge in this subject area.

What is something about the subject that you can emphasize to help students relate to the material in a meaningful way?
How will you engage your students in the learning process?
What are five major concepts that you think students should know about mitosis or the hydrologic cycle?

teaching

As this section of the chapter states, “most people consider teaching as the major activity of a teacher.” (pg. 7 in your text). After reading this chapter, do you think this is true? Why or why not?

Thinking back you your goals for your topic of mitosis or the hydrologic cycle, answer the following questions:

What possible instructional activity you can use while presenting the information to the students which will actively involve the students in the lesson.
Suggest a specific activity for your topic (and be prepared to explain why you chose the activity) which would have the effect of:

a)Drawing the students into the lesson.

b)Determining and building on student background in the subject.

c)Encouraging students to think deeply about the material.

management –

Just think about the following as you read we will discuss in detail in chapter 6. After reading this section of the chapter, jot down ideas your ideas in response to the following questions:

Do you have any ideas at this point in your teacher education that you think will help to promote a cooperative attitude among the students in the class and between your students and their teacher (you)?

Do you agree with the statement from your text that: “…classroom management has a lot more to do with making decisions about classroom procedures and routines than it does with disciplining students who misbehave.”? (pg 9 in your text)

TEACH ONE ANOTHER: Participate in classroom discussion and bring your specific examples to share.

PONDER AND PROVE:after class log onto the I-learn BLOG area and reflect on what you feel that you learned today that will affect your teaching in the future. A few ideas about how you might approach your entry are: Did you change your thinking at all? Did you learn a strategy that you want to use? Did you have previous ideas you had about teaching reinforced? What did you learn about teaching today that you had never thought of before? Are there certain situations or conditions that you want to avoid in your classroom? Do you have better ideas on how to involve students in their own learning? These questions are just suggestions for how you might approach this Blogging assignment; you are not expected to answer any of them specifically. I am looking for what you thought about and felt during the class discussion and how it might be translated into your teaching in the future. Your BLOG reflection must be completed before your next class period. I will try to give you the last 10 minutes of each class to do your blogging.

Revised Jan 2010