Read Chapter 2 and answer the following questions.
1. We have used the 5E Learning Cycle with iDiscovery. What are some differences you see between the 5E and SAIL Cycles?
2. During which SAIL stage do you see FACTs as being most useful to you and why?
Remember to post a response by Friday and then respond to one or two colleagues' comments by the following Monday.
Thanks!
In looking over the 5E's compared to the SAIL Cycle, there are a lot of similarities and just a few differences. For example, at the very end, Reflection and Self-Assessment part, the students can give the teacher feedback that will help future classes learn more effectively. It also allows students to revisit their ideas and compare that to what they thought previously.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the most useful part of the SAIL stage would be the Engagement and Readiness. I know it is the first step, but the way I see it, if you can get a judgment on how the students think about the topic, then you can adjust your lesson plan to either capture their attention,(if they are not too enthusiastic about the lesson) or if they are really interested in the subject matter, you can create a lesson plan that will allow them to go beyond their academic abilities. (push them to a higher level)
I like your thoughts on using the formative assessment to prepare an engagement tool instead of just judging understanding. I get my best questions from the kids on days when they have been sucked into the material. I love those days!
DeleteThe two main differences I see with SAIL as compared to the 5Es is that SAIL elicits prior knowledge in some way, and allows students to do a reflection and self-assessment at the end of the topic. I think this is more accurate with what we are doing and/or trying to do with our pre-assessments, learning targets, formative assessments, and revisiting the learning targets along the way and at the end of the unit. This allows much more opportunity for the students to be involved with their own knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI think the most useful stage in the SAIL model is eliciting prior knowledge. When I gave my formative assessment asking students to quickly draw and label an atom, I could easily see who came with correct prior knowledge, who came with misconceptions about atoms, and who had clearly not studied atoms at all. This allowed me to adjust my groupings to differentiate the amount of help I was giving to students with different levels of knowledge.
I was surprised with the variance of preconceptions/misconceptions observed on my students drawings. Very helpful formative assessment that was simple and quick to look over and identifying those who need more support. I would love to use similar FA's in the future. You really get a good glimpse into their minds when they put their thoughts into drawing.
Delete5E and SAIL are very similar. The reflection and self-assessment piece in the SAIL model allows students to think about how their ideas have changed. Most stages in the SAIL model are formative assessments and assessed often.
ReplyDeleteOne section I found interesting was the section on Encourage Continous Reflection. I have students revisit Learning Targets just before assessments. I think I will try to have them revisit more often. "Revisiting their initial response to a FACT and comparing it to where they are in their current understanding is a powerful way to recognize and reinforce learning."
Another interesting note discussed how grouping in pairs, small collaborative groups or whole class and making students justify their answers develops deeper understanding. When you walk around our building how much of the learning do you see as teacher-led and percentage is student directed? We need to get away from teachers being the lime light.
I agree that we need to get the students into the drivers seat of their own education. If we are going to successfully prepare the students to become critical thinkers they need to be doing it ALL of the time!
DeleteI think a lot of subjects/teachers would be surprised at how little we actually stand up and "teach" or do the talking in our classes. Walking around first bell, I hear a lot of teacher voices coming from the classrooms. When our students were working in pairs on Friday and doing task cards around the room about elements, I heard some really great conversations and (polite) arguing. Also, the activity cleared up some incorrect thinking the kids were having about the periodic table. If we don't let kids be the drivers of their learning, they won't have the opportunity to know if they are getting it or not!
DeleteAlong the lines of your 2nd paragraph....After taking the summative test on atoms and periodic table this upcoming Tuesday, I plan on having my students look at their original checks on the "I can" statements which assessed prior knowledge prior to beginning the unit. I may have them use a colored pencil and re-mark where they are in current understanding (make a key on the side indicating pre or post unit checks). Maybe even have them reflect / write on the back about their new learning.
DeleteI like to have them check before they take the summative test. It would be a good IDE to then have them recheck after they get their test grade back to see if they really understood the learning target at the depth we want them to.
DeleteThat is probably a good idea of having the kids continuously revisit the learning targets. In doing that, I am hoping that they will be able to understand the learning target, or at the very least get an general idea as to what the learning target is asking.
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ReplyDeleteI think the 5E cycle and the SAIL cycle are very closely related but the SAIL cycle focuses more on the student's understanding of his/ her own learning instead of just placing the students on a spectrum. I think the SAIL method is a bit more detailed and I like the fact that there are specific examples provided of what the teachers and students would be seen doing at each section of the cycle.
ReplyDeleteI think the use of FACTs could be beneficial at the early stage of eliciting prior knowledge and then again after the discovery phase, as long as these two phases are going to be completed on different days within the classroom.
The use of a formative assessment early in activating prior knowledge will not only give the teacher some insight into the current thoughts of the students within the classroom, it can also be used a tool to bring that prior knowledge to the front of the students' mind so they are ready to call upon it when needed.
The use of a formative assessment again after the discovery phase will help the teacher judge the growth or misconceptions that may still exist.
I agree with the before and after assessments. I mean, how else will we be able to judge if the students are picking up on the material. It is true on the prior knowledge, but I am curious to know what your percentage of prior knowledge is for your students from last year compared to our students from last year. In other words, three last year teacher's for 7th grade science compared to 8? science teachers from 6th grade. More chance of gaps?
DeleteI observe a difference between ENGAGE (5E) and the Engagement and Readiness / Eliciting Prior Knowledge steps in SAIL. Observations or data collected during the first two stages of SAIL, in my opinion, would give a teacher much more background on student interests, ideas, and skills related to the topic. While the 5E Engage calls for a creative hook to peak student interest , with attempts to discover conceptions or misconceptions... SAIL seems to place more emphasis on discovering what students "bring to the table". SAIL also provides more opportunity for students to learn introspective thinking skills (metacognition), allowing them to assess their learning and address/resolve misconceptions in a personal way they will buy in to. The Evaluate of 5E seems to give students a less active role of self-assessing, with the teacher determining how well students understand the concepts.
ReplyDeleteI would place high importance on FACTS during the Eliciting Prior Knowledge stage. There seems to be variance year to year as to what concepts students struggle with when they enter my classroom. Maybe this is a product of recent curriculum changes or prior classroom learning experiences. I can’t take for granted that students are ready and willing to learn a pre-fabricated lesson that can be used for the next decade. Information during this stage would guide in designing or modifying lessons that best serves and motivates this year’s group.