Metaphors, analogies, and cooperative learning

I want to start by saying how much I enjoy being in the classroom. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to learn student names, but with the help of a seating chart I now know everyone’s name, even when they sit elsewhere. I’m pleased that students ask me for help even when my supervisor is in the classroom, and I’m really proud that several of my student’s have improved their grades and their behavior, specifically by believing that they are capable of academic success. Since much of chemistry involves abstract ideas, much of the instructional time involves describing ideas with the use of metaphors and analogies (Marzano chapter 2). For instance, we are currently studying atomic theory, specifically the behavior of electrons. When talking about Hund’s rule, which states that every orbital within an energy sublevel receives one electron before any orbital gets a second electron, my supervisor says that it’s life a family dinner where everyone gets served before anyone gets seconds. I compare Hund’s rule to dealing cards, where you give every player one card before giving any player a second card. The periodic table is an important tool for learning electron and positional configurations, because it allows students to see relationships among elements both in rows and in columns. Student’s keep asking me why they have to learn this information, and I tell them bluntly that they have to know this in order to understand chemical bonding and chemical reactions, which I will be teaching them soon. They know I’m excited about teaching them, so they roll their eyes and then give me a greater effort in learning atomic configurations. Ideas form Marzano’s chapter 6 are also evidenced in class, specifically by the use of models and pictures to explain atomic orbitals. I only wish there were enough models so that the students could manipulate models rather than watching the instructor. Models and pictures are used as illustrations of verbally presented material. Patterns are evidenced within the periodic table, and students are given blank periodic tables in which they fill in the positional configuration of each element. Cooperative learning (Marzano chapter 7) can also be evidenced in our chemistry classroom, both by laboratory groups of two-to-three students and small student formed groups used for working on assignments. There is one girl in our classroom with an IEP and at the beginning of my student teaching I attempted to work with her one-on-one but she had no interest in learning, didn’t care about daily application of knowledge, and had a low tolerance for frustration. Over time she has begun to include herself in groups to work on assignments, and she comes to me for clarification when she doesn’t understand something. After I explain things to her, she usually goes and explains it to her group. I cannot relay how pleased I am that she has begun to exhibit an interest in learning, and her grades this 6weeks reflect her improved effort. For our last lab experiment, her partner was absent and she allowed me to work with her. I recorded data while she actually performed the lab, and I explained how to work the problems associated with the lab, although I made her actually plug the numbers in the calculator. This lab assignment my supervisor collected and graded, and returned those that showed errors. She was surprised that she didn’t get hers back, and my supervisor told her (in front of the whole class) that she had performed her experiment and manipulated the data successfully. I love it when people learn new stuff.