I
want to have open contact with parents and guardians and you will be
receiving calls from me through out the school year, especially before
report cards (when a difference can still be made), or when there is a
problem to be reported or compliment that needs to be made. Since I do
not visit my web mail as often as I should, and often miss calls left
on school message system. I will be giving you my personal number so
you may contact me, at any reasonable time (before 10 at night), if you
have concerns or questions.
Grading
Policy
Different students have
different strengths in
assessment. Some are very organized and get every assignment in, others
are better at written expression and excel in lab reports. Still
others are better on tests and quizzes. My tests have compare and
contrast questions ( written expression), true/false (simple
recall), multiple choice (concept understanding), fill in (vocabulary)
and short answer (concept attainment) giving a student every
opportunity
to show me what they know. I weigh each, homework, labs, quizzes
and tests equally, 25% of the grade. So,, a student may not do well in
one or two areas but still may attain a passing grade if success
is shown in the other areas. Make no mistake it will require continued
work and organization in order to pass. Homework is given almost every
night, weekly lab reports are required and attention and work in class
is expected. Major unit tests are usually 3 to 4 pages long and require
studying and effort well before the night before it is given.
Don't leave
studies till last minute
Home
Work!!
Homework completion is very important, it not only gives students
needed exposure to material, but also reinforces or prepares them for
material presented in class. Important skills in reading,
comprehension, written expression and critical thinking are also
practiced here.
This is my favorite part of
class. Here is where the all important "Scientific Method" is
practiced and performed. This is where students work in groups carrying
out interesting observations or experiments related to the concepts and
material presented in class. Students are able to see, discover and
learn through hands on activities the many interesting applications of
science.
At the beginning of lab students are given a lab sheet which
gives
title, purpose, materials needed, method or procedure of lab (what to
do), data and observation (what data or other observations should be
recorded for further analysis) and questions exploring outcomes and
observations.
I go over and review the concepts the lab will be exploring that day.
I then walk threw the lab with them step by step, explaining proper use
of materials, safety precautions, procedures to be followed and
data to be collected. At this point students are asked to begin and
complete lab. I walk threw the room, giving help and answering
questions and monitoring progress.
Students are expected to complete lab and fill out data sections on lab
sheet and answer any questions related to the lab that might be asked
there. Then near the end of the lab period I hold a "debriefing" where
we discuss individual group data and observations. I relate this to
concepts and vocabulary they must discuss in the conclusion
of their lab report.
Students are given one week to complete a lab report.
Having it typed and handed in on time is a requirement for best grade
possible. 10 points are deducted for each day late after this week.
Students absent or unable to complete lab have one week upon
there return to schedule an after school retake and one week after
completing lab to have it turned in.
Lab reports are really quite easy to do, when full lab report is
required students must simply list title, purpose, (hypothesis if
needed), materials, methods and procedures along with the data
collected. All this is given on the lab sheet or collected during lab.
Students may need to analyze and arrange data in tables or graphs as
well
The "Conclusion", is the most important part of the lab
report, here student will restate the purpose of the lab, review
hypothesis (if needed), discuss independent and dependent variables of
the experiment (not in observation labs) and then discuss what was
learned during the lab. Here students will discuss important vocabulary
and concepts the lab presented and discuss important observations or
discoveries. Finally the conclusion is ended with a discussion of
important things to watch out for in doing lab, things that could go
wrong and how they would influence lab outcomes. Here also students
discuss what went wrong in their lab and why desired results were not
obtained. Even if a group of students totally mess up their lab and
everything goes wrong, if discussed and explained it will not effect
their grade in the slightest. After all some of the most amazing
discoveries were found out by accidents in the labs.
70% of Lab Grade
is based on Conclusion
Tests and Quizzes
As
stated in my grading policy my tests and quizzes include assessments in
many different forms. Included are: compare and
contrast questions ( written expression) , true/false (simple
recall), multiple choice (concept understanding), fill in the
blank (vocabulary)
and short answer (concept attainment) giving a student every
opportunity
to show me what they know.
Everyone has a bad day or circumstances that prevent them from doing
their best on test day. With this in mind I offer all students the
opportunity to do a retake on a similar test. This should not be taken
lightly, only one, retake will be allowed and the final
grade will be the average of the two, under certain circumstances I
will take the higher of the two. This privilege,
may not be offered to students who continually do not have homework
done, do not turn in lab reports, refuse to do work on class work or to
students who continually do not study and who rely on or take advantage
of this policy.
