Week 10 Reflection

What a crazy busy week this has been! I got to experience my first end-of the grading period week this week! It has been really tough trying to catch everyone up and finalize grades with 8-9 students absent every class period because they are sick! It's a miracle that I haven't come down with something yet! Overall I have learned a lot this week about being prepared to go with the flow and flexibility with lessons. Most of my plans have taken longer than anticipated and i've had to make some adjustments.
I am very pleased with forensics this week because I decided to tackle the topic of forensic anthropology. I put together an inquiry-based research project for the students to do, which I should be able to use as part of my action research data. It is different from the other inquiry-projects this semester because it is not really a hands-on lab but more of a technology-based research project. They are researching a specific topic in forensic anthropology that I assigned and putting together a PowerPoint presentation that they will use to teach the rest of the class. Most of the students got really excited about it and really put a lot of time into the lesson during computer lab time. They found all sorts of pictures, videos, and case studies to use to support their descriptions. It was great to see them read about the topics for the first time and get excited to tell somebody about it. It was also a good way to use alternative assessment because some students are very good with art and PowerPoint and were able to show off their talents. Some students are also great speakers and will enjoy actually giving the presentations. This showed me a lot about how important it is to provide opportunities for all different types of learners and personalities.
I had a success with the anatomy class today that I am also quite proud of. I came up with a skeletal system review game that we played to help them memorize the bones of the axial and appendicular skeleton. It is also Halloween weekend so I wanted something fun but relevant. They really got into the race of figuring out the correct answers and I think it'll help them a lot when they see these again on the test. While I wanted to give them a "fun" game, my host teacher pointed out how important it is to make sure that it is still the Best way to help them review the material. I am interested to see if it makes a difference on their Monday test. I'll report back about that next week.