Meeting #5

Meeting #5: Full Day Observation of Science LEsson

Outcomes

• Create a List of likely responses (indicators) by students to the lesson
• Identify student data to collect for analysis
• Create a clear plan for the observation of the research session.
• Determine group observation norms.
• Observe student progress toward the Student Development and Student Learning Goals.
• Analyze student work, taking a close look at English Learner progress
• Provide constructive feedback on the lesson’s impact on student learning.
• Record ideas for revising the lesson.

Agenda (6.0 hours)

• Meeting Introduction (5 minutes)
• Review Lesson Plan and Discuss Evidence Statements (30 minutes)
• Discuss Indicators (30 minutes)
• Assign In-Person Observation Roles: (10 minutes)
• Observation Norms: (10 minutes
• Observation: (60 minutes)
• Lunch (45 minutes)
• Debrief the observation: (60 minutes)
• Analyze Student Work: (1 hour 20 minutes)
• Reflections and Next Steps (10 minutes)

1. Meeting Introduction (5 minutes)

1. Facilitator reminds all members about meeting roles.
2. All team members are able to get online and find the necessary documents
   • Meeting Minutes/Reflections
   • Consider Your Context
   • Team ESP 5E Lesson Plan
3. Review outcomes and timing for meeting.

2. Review Lesson Plan (30 minutes)

1. Team reads through 3-Dimensional Student Learning Goal, Language for Use Goal and the 5E Lesson Plan.
2. Use the NGSS Evidence Statements for the SEP that is in your Learning Sequence.
   • What are all of the observable features that you see evident in your learning sequence?
   • Are there any adjustments you would like to make?
3. Recall that you will need to collect data that will help you understand how students are making progress toward each of these.
   • Identify what student work will be analyzed.
4. Make any needed changes to the lesson based on new understandings

3. Discuss Student Indicators (30 Minutes)

1. Select ONE person to make a copy of the ESP Lesson Study Observation Plan and then add it to your team google folder.
2. For each lesson goal, generate a list of indicators that you will be able to observe as students make progress toward these goals. Remember you need four sets of indicators- Student Language for Use Goal and Student 3-Dimensional Learning Goal - SEP, DCI and CCC.
   • Indicators are observable behaviors including: speech, nonverbal communication and written work that allow observers to determine student thinking.
   • The major goal of generating indicators is to focus the research lesson observation so that data collected will shed light on how students are learning and developing skills specific to the student goals.
3. Review the example indicators.
4. Reflect on each of these questions as you generate indicators:
   • Are the indicators observable (e.g. students speech, student behaviors)?
   • How does our lesson provide an opportunity for our students to demonstrate indicator?
   • Does the lesson provide prompting questions for students that will elicit how they understand the targeted concepts and skills?
5. Create quick codes to help you take notes quickly (e.g S12=student 12, D-Discourse, T=teacher, X=experiment…)

4. Assign In-Person Observation Roles: (10 minutes)

1. The presenting teacher for the in-person observation shares the context of their classroom. Answers the following questions with the help of the group:
   • Who are the students in your classroom?
   • How would you like to group them for the lesson?
   • Based on your indicators and goals, which students will be observed?
   • Who will be observing your case study students?
2. Review the Example Observation Plans.
3. Choose an observation plan for your team and record in your "Observation Plan" Google Doc

5. Observation Norms (10 minutes)

1. Review the Observation Guidelines (scroll down)
2. Discuss what types of questions and comments are acceptable to the presenting teacher.
   • Are there any comments that are acceptable to the presenting teacher.
   • Are there particular students that require a different approach?
3. Record your group’s norms in your "Observation Plan" Google Doc
4. Remember:
   • You will not be critiquing the teacher of the lesson.
   • During your observations, do not teach the students and resist the urge to assist them. Clarifying questions (e.g., can you repeat what you said?) are okay.
   • You are an observer, not a participant in the lesson.

6. Observation (60 minutes)

1. Remember your indicators!
2. Take detailed notes (clipboards are helpful!)

7. Debrief the Observation (60 minutes)

1. Select ONE person to make a copy of the Analysis of Observation form. Add the form to your team google folder.
2. Individual debrief
   • All members individually complete the Analysis of Observation form (at the same time).
     • *Note: You can also fill this form out by hand. Just make sure you bring hard copies of page 1.
   • If you have suggested changes to the lesson, make a note for yourself and hold those suggestions until after we analyze the written work.
3. Prepare for group debrief
   • Review team norms (on your meeting/minutes form)
   • Members should withhold comments as each teacher debriefs.
   • Remember to analyze the effectiveness of your indicators as well as the student learning you observed.
   • For example: “The students seemed really engaged to me, but our indicator of counting the number of raised hands didn’t reflect how I feel the lesson went. By brainstorming a new indicator, we might be able to better reflect the learning we observed.”
   • Recorder should record notes from this session on the Google Doc Analysis of Observation Form.
4. Presenting Teacher Shares (5 minutes)
   • The teacher of the lesson has the first opportunity to comment on:
     • his/her reaction to the lesson
     • what was in his/her observation notes
     • how did the case study students interact with the lesson?
     • student development goal
     • student learning goal
     • other category
     • any other thoughts he/she might have
5. Other Team Members Share (5 minutes each, up to 30 minutes)
   • Other team members comment on:
     • his/her reaction to the lesson
     • what was in his/her observation notes
     • how did the case study students interact with the lesson?
     • student development goal
     • student learning goal
     • other category
     • any other thoughts he/she might have
   • avoid repetition of details that other members have already shared.
6. Other Observers (up to 10 minutes)
   • Others who observed the lesson (school principal, other teachers from the school, team facilitator, faculty) are provided the opportunity to share their thoughts and reactions in a similar format.

8. Analyze Student Work (ASW) (1:20 minutes)

1. Context for Student Work (5 minutes) This will form the lens for evaluating this student work.
   • Student Grade Level
     • Presenting teacher (teacher whose student work samples you will be reviewing) describes context and goals.
   • Topic of Lesson
   • Goal Being Investigated
     • Review the Student Learning Goal:
     • Element of the Science and Engineering Practice
     • Element of the Disciplinary Core Idea
     • Element of the Cross Cutting Concept
   • Section of Student Work to Analyze: Describe which portion of the work samples should be evaluated against the lesson goal. For example, you may choose to evaluate only the conclusion section of a lab report.
     • Claim, Evidence, Reasoning Writing Piece
     • Specific model or part of a model
     • Calculations and Explanations
   • Case Study Students: Take note of the teacher's case study students.

2. Trends in Student Understanding/Conceptions Review student work samples (15 minutes)

• Each teacher should grab two pieces of work samples. Place the rest of the work in the middle of the table.
  • Read the relevant section of each student work sample.
  • Each teacher should read as many samples as they can in 10 minutes..
• As you read, make a sticky note describing what you notice about how the student is thinking.
• ONE CONCEPTION for ONE STICKY NOTE. Guiding questions:
  • What concepts and practices are students drawing on?
  • What underdeveloped ideas are present?
  • What distracting concepts or ideas are misleading students??
  • Remember that not all trends will be inaccuracies- some students may have conceptions that agree with current science!
  • Don’t forget the SEPs and CCCs!
• When you notice a work sample with similar thinking already noted on a sticky, add that student’s name or number to the sticky (Very Important).
• Note student names or number of particularly good examples of each trend on the sticky note.
  • Make a special notation for case study students.
• Shift stacks to next reviewer. If you are waiting for a reviewer to finish reviewing or get back a sample that you’ve already seen, you may grab a sample from the pile. Continue identifying student conceptions.
• After each teacher has reviewed for at least 10 minutes, place all work samples in the middle of the table.

3. Complete Table 1: Trends in Student Understanding on your “Analysis of Student Work” Google Document (10 minutes)

• Discuss the trends in the student work samples.
  • Trends should be relevant to the goal defined in step 1.
• To ensure equity of voice, ask each team member to share one (and only one!) trend and write each idea on chart paper. Share trends that are common across students. You may stop going around the circle once you reach trends that tend to be only 1-2 students.
• Members who noticed the same trend should pass their sticky note with that trend to the person who shared it.
• As members gather sticky notes, count how many students fit in each trend.
• Identify 3-5 trends that reflect a majority of the student work samples. There may be a few that don’t fit into the categories you choose, but attempt to choose categories that are inclusive of the range of student ideas. Some work samples may fit in 2 or more categories.
• Each group member chooses one category and finds a piece of student work that is representative of that category. Make sure at least one person is looking for an example of each category.

4. Complete Table 2: Describe an Individual Work Sample (20 minutes)

• In pairs, review one sample per category. Write the number of the category(ies) that describe this work and answer the following questions on Table 2: Individual Work Samples Sheet:
  • How does this student understand the big ideas and/or processes related to our goal?
  • What questions would you ask the students about their work if you had the opportunity?
  • What feedback and instructional scaffolds would you provide to the student to help shift his conception toward the lesson goal?
• Repeat the process for the case study students (if they have not been represented above).

5. Debrief your analysis (15 minutes)

• How would you change the assignment to make it more useful to you as a teacher for the purpose of uncovering student ideas or meet the needs of ELLs?
• What did our work reveal about students and how they learn these particular concepts?
• How would you change the instructional sequence?
• What was easy/hard/useful about describing how our students understand these concepts?

6. Key Findings (10 minutes)

• As a group discuss this question and record in your "Analysis of Observation Form":
  • What are the key findings from the evidence collected and analyzed today (observation and student work?

7. Path Forward (5 minutes)

• Discuss possible next steps, which could include:
  • One team member compiles the group’s data into charts for analysis
  • Evaluate how well the assessment measured the student gains
  • Identify possible ways to differentiate the lesson
  • Identify potential challenges in the next classroom to use the lesson and developing ways to meet those challenges
  • Identify the key areas for revision
  • Modify your team's ESP 5E Lesson Plan

9. Reflection and Next Steps (10 minutes)

At the end of each meeting, you will record your individual reflections on your Meeting Minutes/Reflections shared Google document.

Next Steps:

• Revise and add to your Consider Your Context document and add any pertinent information that you discover.
• Think about how your own case study students experience your 5E learning sequence.
• Prepare to teach the team's modified 5E Learning Sequence
• Bring student work to analyze for the next meeting.