Chapter 14: Responsive Report Card Formats

This chapter talks about report card formats and what to do when you have differentiated instruction and the student has shown mastery but has not mastered all of the material. The grade to report is the one that shows that the student mastered what was asked of them to master, the adjusted curriculum grade. That does not compare to the other students in the class who have mastered the whole curriculum. This creates a problem because those grades do not mean the same thing even thought they are the same letter. The solution is to make a note on the report card to let parents and other teachers know that the curriculum was adjusted. This can be done with an asterisk and a note put in the student’s file. A way to show regular curriculum students’ personal growth and achievement would be to put both a letter and a number in the report card column. The A would show mastery of the material but an accompanying number such as a 3 would show an extensive amount of personal growth in the student’s knowledge. This documents exactly the achievement of the student throughout the course of the year. This affects me as a teacher by giving me the idea of a number and a letter grade. I remember earning A’s in classes when I know I did not grow. The A was easy and I was bored. This system will help me find that problem with students I will have in the future. This affects my students because I will not only know the level of their mastery but also how much their knowledge is growing.

Chapter 13: Gradebook Formats for the Differentiated Classroom

This chapter mentioned a couple different formats for grade book setup in a differentiated classroom. In essence, the idea is to be flexible and one size does not fit all for students. The label at the top that indicates what the grade represents should be the essential understanding identified at the beginning of the unit. It does not matter how the student arrived or how the student performed the mastery, all that matters is that the student mastered it, and that is what should be recorded. Also putting several grades at the top of a single assignment if the assignment fits under more than one standard helps build a more complete picture of the student’s mastery. In the end the grade book format must give an accurate and clear picture of the students’ mastery, show if there was a change in a student’s plan of learning due to differentiation, keep track of essential understandings, and be easy to use. This affects me as a teacher by simplifying how to report different methods students show their mastery. The trick is I do not have to, as long as the student mastered it, that’s all that maters. This affects my students by allowing their hard work to count for more if it covers more than the single performance task. One thing I hate as a student is busy work and if I have already shown that I have mastered the skill then I do not want to do that work over again. This will help my students avoid that extra, unnecessary work.

Chapter 12: Grading Scales

This chapter talks about the two most common grading scales, the 4-point and the 100-point scales. The chapter argued in favor of the 4-point scale over the 100-point scale because it is more subjective and a smaller scale did not allow for distortion as easily. Also on a 4-point scale it is easier to compare across classes because the 4-point scales is graded by criteria instead of which questions a student got right on a test. There is also no real reason to argue over whether a B is a high B or a low B. In the end, it really does not matter, except when it comes time to calculate GPA for the valedictorian, but the book gets on that soap box for a while. If the purpose of grades is to indicate mastery, then by assessing a problem by each of the different criteria needed, a student can get partial credit for a wrong answer. This is helpful because it shows the student exactly what he or she knows. This is the last reason mentioned in the chapter and that is it provides better feedback to both the student and the teacher. This affects me as a teacher by showing me the importance of rubrics and giving partial credit for problems is not cheating. This will help my students by showing them exactly where they are strong and which sections of their thinking they can improve.

FIAE Chapter 11: Six Burning Grading Issues

This chapter talks about six issues with grading that a lot of teachers have major concern with and they are: whether to record a zero or a sixty, how to grade gifted students, weighing grades, automaticity versus concept attainment, grading late work, and grading special needs students in inclusion classes. First off, recording a zero for late work gives an inaccurate picture of the student’s mastery of the content. The book suggests recording a sixty instead, it is still failing, but on a hundred point scale it brings down the average a lot less. When it comes to grading gifted students in a regular class, the teacher has to make a choice whether to grade the student according to the standards that his or her peers have or to make higher standards and hold the student to that. Either way the expectations and standards should be made clear to the student and to the parents that way everyone knows what the grades mean. This brings up the idea of weighing certain grades more heavily than others to make the fact that the student had to work harder for a grade count. The book suggests the rule, “credit proportional to achievement.” The idea of whether to count automaticity level of learning or concept attainment level depends on how long students have had to develop their understanding of the topic. A test should measure whichever the teacher believes is important to measure. If this is the first time students have been exposed to this concept then automaticity comprehension of learning is not a fair expectation for students. When it comes to grading late work, the book suggests mercy as a good rule of thumb for students who pass in late work occasionally. For the students who chronically turn in late work other adjustments should be made. Taking off a few points, will help them understand the importance of deadlines. Lastly, the chapter makes one big point about grading special needs student, communication. Communication between the special education teacher, who knows the student’s IEP and what is developmentally appropriate for the student, and the regular education teacher, who is an expert in the curriculum, is important to set standards by which the student will be assessed. Solutions to this obstacle will come through communication and reevaluating the progress of the student. This affects me as a teacher by understanding the most common areas outside of the mainstream students. What I took out of this chapter is to set standards and stick to them. From there if changes need to be made for special circumstances I know where I am starting from and I can catch myself if I stray too far. This affects my students by helping them always know what is expected of them. If also helps them realize that I will not punish them for late work if it is on occasion.

FIAE Chapter 10: Conditions for Redoing Work for Full Credit

This chapter states at the beginning that all work a student does should be allowed to be redone. However, as with any privilege it can be abused and for a teacher’s sanity the chapter gives some tips as to avoid that. One suggestion was that the parents and the students sign a contract that gives the teacher the right to withhold the privilege if abuse is suspected. After all students are growing and for the sake of integrity it may be a lesson the student needs to learn. As adults we know that sometimes life gets in way even of our best intentions and mercy is well deserved. As teachers we should not feel the need to withhold that mercy from our students, if they need a due date to be extended. To keep the communication lines open, some teachers have the parents sign the original task in order for the student to redo the assignment. Sometimes the original assignment was a huge project that was tedious and took a lot of time. It might be easier to test the student’s mastery of the material by some other form, such as an oral test. This is okay as long as the teacher communicates the change to the student well in advance. If however, part of the mastery is embedded in the process of making the project, sitting down with the student to work out a plan of attack, or how the student plans on completing the assignment on time while keeping up with current work is a good idea. When a student retakes a test, it should not be averaged with the first score. In real life that is not the case, it should not be the case in the classroom. The student knows the material now, why punish them for not knowing it before. This affects me as a teacher to know the importance of allowing students to redo work. I especially like the idea of students writing not only the correct answer when the assignment is redone but also what was the mistake they made and how they would do it differently next time. This affects my students by allowing them the opportunity to show their true level of mastery and give them the encouragement to keep trying to learn even if they do not understand the first time around.

FIAE Chapter 9: Ten Approaches to Avoid When Differentiating Assessment and Grading

This chapter lists and explains ten things to avoid when grading. Grades should not be diluted by including other factors such as behavior, attendance, or participation. Students all learn at different paces, so when a student does not do well on a test over the unit but two weeks later the student shows all the criteria of mastery for the unit, the student’s grade should be changed to reflect that mastery. Grades reflect mastery; it does not matter when that mastery occurred. Homework is practice to better understand the material. It should not be given if the students do not fully understand the lesson and it should not be graded. It is not fair to take away a percentage of a team’s points during a basketball game because the referee watched the practice the day before and the team missed the basket during practice but made it in the game. It does not even make sense. Also teachers should help students learn the material no matter where they start from in their learning. That said assessing those same students in ways that distract them from accurately portraying their mastery of the content is unfair. Getting the students so caught up in the process of making or doing the assignment and that they lose sight of the material is the last thing a teacher wants. Extra credit and bonus points serve no purpose other than to incorrectly inflate the grade. If the question has nothing to do with the topic, there is no reason to make it worth any points. If the question is pertinent to the topic it should be included in the regular test questions. Collaborative groups is a great learning tool, however team projects are shaky ground. Giving a group of students the same grade is not usually an accurate indication of each student’s mastery. All grades should be given against clear criteria and standards. This automatically rules out bell curve grading and deciding whether a student’s work is average or above average. Students should never be forced to compete against each other. These two systems are flawed in that they communicate to the students that not everyone can achieve the best and that is not the case. The last point the chapter makes is that giving zeros for missing work distorts the grade so that it does not reflect a student’s mastery. This affects me as a teacher by showing me how grades can be affected by so many different factors that have nothing to do with the student’s mastery of the content. I will try to keep my grades from being affected by those other things. This affects my students by helping them show their mastery of the content through their grade and it gives them more accurate feedback of how the student is learning in the class.

FIAE Chapter 8: Why Do We Grade, and What About Effort, Attendance, and Behavior?

This chapter focuses on what grades should be and what the purpose of grades should not be. Grades should represent the students’ mastery of the material and the purpose is to communicate that mastery to the students and their parents and for instructional changes for the teacher. Grading should not include participation. Participation is the route that leads to mastery and if mastery is what counts, it does not matter how the student arrived there. Feedback should be given for participation, but it will distort the grade if it is included and the grade will be an inaccurate account of the students’ mastery. Also including behavior or effort in the grade will distort the grade. Students’ behavior and effort are important, after all school is the place where students grow and find themselves, and teaching those skills is necessary. However, they should not be included in the grade. Those factors contribute to what grade the student earns but they should be recorded in a column separate from the grade. This will affect me as a teacher by convincing me not to grade participation. I have had a lot of teachers grade participation and it motivated me to speak during class. But a lot of the time I spent the entire class thinking of something to say so I could get my points and as soon as I said my piece, I did not bother to pay attention anymore. This affects my students by allowing them the free will to speak. It will not punish any students’ grade if they have a bad week and are just generally unpleasant and misbehave.

FIAE Chapter 7: The Relative Nature of Grades and Their Definitions

This chapter talked about the ambiguity of grades; what they represent or what they mean. Unfortunately, grades do not mean the same for everyone. An ‘A’ in one class could be a B or even a C. And if we tried to extend the comparison across schools, the variation would be enormous. There are two types of teachers, ones that hold the curriculum truths to be self evident and unyielding, and the teachers who believe that we serve the students first and then the curriculum so a little mercy is in order on the behalf of the student. This is where differentiation comes in; after all isn’t the point to have the students learn the material. However, if the student’s work isn’t to par with what is an A, but the student works really hard, does that change the grade? Grades should represent mastery of the material. They should be given against clear standards and criteria so students know what constitutes an A. This chapter also talks about what a D or an F means. It makes the suggestion that A, B, C and I, for incomplete, should be the grades given. The last few points are that students should never be compared to each other to determine grades, feedback should be constructive (what’s the point of a frowning face?), and telling students they have an A in the class as long as they do not mess up is a lot of pressure. This affects me as a teacher by exploring questions and thought about grading that I had never had to consider. I am so used to the A, B, C, D, F standard that I did not think that there could be anything else. I like the idea of incomplete or not done yet approach, because that really puts the focus of school as the student’s mastery of the content. This will affect my student by not letting them squeeze out of my class with a D so they can just move on to the next class. That is actually doing the student a disservice because if the student did not have the skills to perform in my class, how will they succeed in the next level.

Chapte 12: MI and Cognitive Skills

This chapter reminds us how much research has gone into the cognitive capabilities of children and how they think. Three areas this research can improve students’ performance in schools are memory, problem solving, and christopherian encounters. Some student seem like they can not remember all the information teachers feel they should be able to. The problem lies in the children having weak memories in the logical or linguistic areas. With this knowledge we can help students tap into their good memories in their other intelligences. Problem solving at first appears to be a logical intelligence and that only. However, upon review and after taking a look at how other famous problem solvers in history thought about their solutions that is not the case. Mozart said he heard the whole composition at as a whole piece and Lyndon Johnson would problem solve using intrapersonal tactics. Teacher should promote christopherian encounters; in other words, encourage students to think beyond what exists in to what could possibly be. People thought the world was flat, but Christopher Columbus dared to sail over the edge of the earth. This higher order to of thinking is described in Bloom’s taxonomy. MI development in all of the stages of the taxonomy is perfectly possible and should be reached for. This affects me as a teacher by showing me how the MI theory can help me help my students think in the many different intelligences deeply. This affects my students by helping them develop those other levels of cognition in different areas of intelligences.

Chapter 11: MI and Special Education

The main point of this chapter is to make sure that teachers focus on what a student can do as opposed to what they have difficulties with. The “Pygmalion effect” is the idea that a teacher’s outlook of a student’s future inherently effects the investment the teacher makes in the student and the student’s effort. If a student struggles with reading then putting that student in a separate room, with a separate teacher, and drilling him or her in linguistic worksheets and papers is just going to discourage the student. The chapter suggests allowing the student to stay in the regular classroom and learn the material through other means, such as an audio recording, and participate in class activities and discussions. The student can work on reading separately while also participating in the class. The ideas of this chapter could revolutionize the normal course of an IEP. This affects me as a classroom teacher if I implement more of the multiple intelligences in my classroom there will be fewer referrals to special education. This affects the students by allowing them to stay with their peers and avoid the isolation that is too often times a part of special education. This will also change the role of a special education teacher. That special education teacher will become a partner to the classroom teacher and will only help the student improve his or her weak areas while having the student learn the content in the student’s strong intelligences.

Chapter 8: MI and Classroom Management

This chapter discussed ways of getting and maintaining classroom control. It suggested using the multiple intelligences to get student attention instead of just standing at the front of the class, screaming for quiet. Also an idea that was suggested was familiarizing students with some type of cue for a class transition. Communicating class rules using the multiple intelligences and assigning groups at the beginning of the year will help cut down on confusion and save time. The chapter also broke down individual strategies to use with a particular student for each MI. This affects me as a teacher by offering other ways to manage a classroom. I particularly like the idea of the transition cue. That way the students automatically know what to do and where to go. This affects my students by communicating what is expected through the avenue which they learn best.

Chapter 8: Grading and Reporting Achievement

Most teachers can see the need for differentiated instruction but when it comes time to dole out grades, questions arise. The biggest question is, “How does a single letter describe what the student has mastered or even the progress the student has made?” The answer is that it does not. This chapter answers the next question which is, “well, what do we do about that fact?” To understand how to move forward is also to understand that grades and assessment are not the same thing. Assessment is gathering information about what the students have mastered and using that information to improve the students’ learning. A grade is an end judgment of achievement. The purpose of grades is to effectively communicate a student’s achievement, growth, and mastery. Students’ achievement should be based on the specified, clearly outlined, and criterion based standards, that measure what we want it to measure. It should not matter when the student master the material. Penalizing a student for not learning the material in the time frame that we designate as appropriate does not help anyone. With that in mind, how functional is a zero in the grade book? The only thing it proves is that the student did not turn the work in on time or did not understand the material in time for the test. When the student eventually learns the material, the zero should change to reflect the mastery, too often it does not. A student’s work habits are important, but they should be reported separate from the achievement grade. If a student knows the material, but just has a hard time turning in papers on time, it should not affect the grade. The main point of this chapter is that grades should be reported in three segments, one to show the achievement or mastery of the material, another to show a student’s progress toward the goal, and the last to show a student’s work habits. Too often these are combined together in one grade and can lower a grade, which is an unfair representation of the student’s knowledge. This affects me as a teacher by making clear the problem with the current grade system. In the future, I plan to submit the single grade that the administration expects but also to include an attachment that elaborates on the student’s progress and work habits. This affects my students by their grades more accurately reflecting their mastery, progress, and work habits.

Chapter 9: Bringing it all Together: Curriculum and Instruction through the Lens of UBD and DI

This chapter re-outlined the goals of understanding by design and differentiated instruction at the beginning. It then gave an example of a lesson plan using the backwards design model to show what instructional planning might look like. This type of planning focuses on goal clarity and flexibility of the methods used to arrive at that goal. After, it described about how to differentiate to fit the instruction to the learners. It stated that differentiate instruction is more fluid, I guess that fits with the need to be flexible. While teaching a differentiated lesson it is important to work in the reverse way than the backwards design model. Where as you would start at the goals and work to the activities in UbD, while teaching a teacher has to consider where the students are already and work towards the goal. It then gave several examples of differentiated parts of a lesson. The chapter closed with a list of indicators that would show in a classroom that uses these two methods. This affects me as a teacher by reiterating and showing in a concise list all the things I have read about in the book. The main points that I took from this is always keep the goal in mind and in the minds of the students and be flexible. This affects my students by being in an environment with a curriculum and a teacher that all promote learning.

Chapter 14: MI and Existential Intelligence

This chapter discusses the possible new intelligence that Howard Gardiner is considering adding to the intelligences. It is important to take this in consideration because a student in my class might exhibit these characteristics. This last intelligence is called existential intelligence and it is concerned with the deep philosophical questions. Teachers might be afraid to address this kind of thinking because it could step over into the religious realm and cause controversy in the community. However, students should have opportunities to think about what they believe and science is a good opportunity to introduce those kinds of ideas. This affects me as a teacher by giving my students the opportunity to think about controversial issues. This will help my students formulate their own opinions about matters that in the future they will have to decide on.

Chapter 13: Other Applications of MI Theory

There are other applications of the MI theory other than its use in the classroom. Those are computer technology, cultural diversity, and career counseling. Computer technology can use the MI theory because different software and the internet can target all of the intelligences. It is not limited to the mathematical-logical intelligences. To be honest this book was written a while ago if it feels it needs to make that point. Different cultures add to the classroom not only the content of what is taught but also the process of how they think. When different cultures are taught in the classroom it is important to talk about what they think, but also how they think and which intelligences that culture values. However, stereotyping such as Asians are mathematical-logical should be avoided. Career counseling can use the multiple intelligences by helping students select jobs that use their strongest intelligence. It is just another way to help students choose a career they will enjoy and have the skills for. This affects me as a teacher by keeping in mind how useful technology is to reach each of the intelligences. This affects my students by helping them in their future career choice.

Chapter 7: MI and the Classroom Environment

As a teacher, being aware of what is going on in the classroom is imperative. This chapter is about checking classroom ecology or the environment using the multiple intelligences. In other words, making sure the classroom is friendly to all of the multiple intelligences, so each can learn. This chapter gives questions, categorized by each intelligence, to consider about the classroom. It also suggests activity centers that focus on different intelligences. This affects me as a teacher by stressing the importance of maintaining a classroom environment that is conducive to learning by all students. This affects my students by making learning easier for them.

Chapter 10: Abstract and Reflection

Abstract
The theory of multiple intelligences is a great way to teach material to students. However using the theory in assessing students is also the best way to capture their understanding of the material. Unfortunately, education for the most part, is still stuck in the rut of standardized testing. The two best ways to assess students is through direct observation and documentation. There are a few communities, schools, or organizations that have attempted to change over. Some examples at different levels in the educational journey are Project Spectrum, for preschoolers, PIFS programs, for middle school, and the Arts PROPEL in high school. The Key Learning Community is a kindergarten through graduation school district that documents students’ progressive learning through video tapes. Along with video tapes, the chapter also suggests several other ways best suited to document student learning. Those ways would be through the use of student self assessment, rubrics, and portfolios. A method of grading portfolios is by the Five C’s of Portfolio Development: celebration, cognition, communication, cooperation, and competency. All of these methods allow for the assessment of the two most important types of learning, competency and ipsative. Competency measures how much the student learned and ipsative compares the student’s learning or progression of learning against the student’s own work. These are the most effective forms of assessment using the MI theory according to this chapter.

Reflection
As a class we found the Huck Finn examples especially relevant and helpful. The difference between the standardized test way of assessing the students’ knowledge of Huck Finn and the MI way of assessing is so stark that the reader draws conclusions about the usefulness of MI assessments almost instantly. The need to assess students through the MI theory was agreed upon by everyone in the class. However, standardized tests are still a reality and informally administering parts of standardized tests can help students get over test anxiety.

As a class we had a lot to say about how MI assessment will affect us as teachers and how it will affect our students. In general this changed the way we previously thought about assessment and how we plan on assessing in the future. Apparently this chapter laid out quite a persuasive argument because it convinced the whole class. A main component to this persuasion was the fact that assessing this way is so much fairer to students. We all can remember the teacher that gave the test which covered material we had never seen before and we can all remember how that felt. The concept of assessing how the information was taught seems to be obvious but so many teachers do not do that. This theory also gives the students the opportunity to choose how they want to be assessed. By giving the students choices on how they want to show their mastery of the material, this involves them in their own education. This can either allow the students’ to practice more than one of their intelligences or allow them to use their strongest intelligence. This makes the assessment more about what the students’ know and understand than whether the student can figure out what the teacher wanted. The class found that the MI portfolio idea is worth lifting from this book. This portfolio is helpful not only to show the students what they learned but also to teachers the students will have in the future. Lastly, a consensus was reached that the MI theory will help students think more deeply and more creatively than by using standard assessment practices.

Chapter 6: MI and Teaching Strategies

This chapter was about different teaching styles keeping the theory of multiple intelligences in mind. The chapter listed each theory and then categorized teaching strategies under which intelligence it would most likely target. A few examples of each will be listed. Linguistics: storytelling, tape recording, and journal writing. Logical- Mathematical: calculations, categorizing, and science thinking. Spatial: visualization, picture metaphors, and graphics. Bodily-Kinesthetic: reenactments, hands-on thinking, and charades. Musical: raps, chants, actual songs, and mood music. Interpersonal: peer sharing, collaborative groups, and simulations. Intrapersonal: personal connections, goal setting sessions, and reflections. Naturalistic: nature walks, plants as props, and pets in the classroom. This impacts my classroom by giving me specific examples of different ways I can teach to reach the multiple intelligences in my classroom. This affects my students because I will help them learn more effectively and by offering variety, will keep class interesting.

Chapter 5: MI and Curriculum Development

This chapter is about designing a curriculum to teach to all of the multiple intelligences. The idea is that any lesson can be taught eight different ways. A teacher does not have to teach a whole lesson 8 different times. The point is that the teacher should take a topic and brain storm how each intelligence would learn best about that topic. Then figure out how to incorporate a piece of each intelligence into one lesson. Try to keep the order of a normal lesson plan while incorporating the different intelligences. The last thought of this chapter is to include real life examples or applications. This affects me as a teacher when I build my lessons. If I brain stormed about how to teach the lesson to all the different intelligences before I created the lesson, I would have much more success in keeping my students engaged. This affects my students by creating more meaning for them in the content. The students will understand the importance of material more if they can connect it to real life or their own lives.

Chapter 7: Teaching for Understanding in Academically Diverse Classrooms

The idea of teaching in general is not to simply get through a textbook in a given year, just to say that the students finished it. In real teaching the idea is for students to discover the important truths hidden in the material. That takes time. Using the essential questions from a unit plan to probe students’ minds to start thinking on their own is a good way to introduce a new topic. Open ended questions, with which students can make up their own opinions and draw their own conclusions, helps jump start students’ thinking. By the end of the unit, the students’ understanding and “answer” to the essential questions should have evolved much deeper than the first time the question was posed. The six facets of thinking can tie in here and help deepen students’ understanding. Students do not always need to master the basic skills of a subject before they start theorizing or become involved in higher order thinking. This all affects me as a teacher because I have to plan how all of this will fit into a unit plan. There is a solution to this problem in the WHERETO model. Each letter stands for one step to remember while designing how to teach the students. This will impact my students because they will be forced not only to “cover” the material in the subject but “uncover” the deeper meanings and understandings within the information. Higher level thinking and understanding of the important meanings will help them in their future.

Chapter 6: Responsive Teaching with UBD in Academically Diverse Classrooms

This chapter was about how to teach to a group of academically diverse students. All students need practice thinking at high levels and real life applications. A lot of the time, teachers are caught up teaching the basic skills and never allow the students to use those skills in a real life situation. A way to help implement this idea is to share the goal of the unit with your students. Classroom elements such as time, space, resources, student groupings, and others when used in a flexible way will help your quest as a teacher to differentiate. Another suggestion to ease the differentiating process in your classroom is to group the needs of different learners in to categories to be addressed more efficiently. Also stable classroom management is key to differentiated learning, as the teacher will be spending more time with individuals and small groups. The end note of this chapter was that today is the day to start differentiating in the classroom. This impacts me as a teacher to model the different functions of being a teacher, direct instructor, facilitator, and coach. I will start teaching in a differentiated style that way I will not have to change over later in my career. This will impact my student by increasing the depth of their learning and will have a positive impact on their success later in life.

Growing Up Poor

The condition of poverty in rural areas is not well known or well studied. Most of the studies on poverty are conducted in urban areas. This presentation was about poverty in rural western Maine and how it can affect the academic performance of adolescents. Knowing this information as a future teacher is important because roughly 36% of my future students will live in this economic condition. Humans develop physically, cognitively, and emotionally or socially during adolescence and poverty can affect that development in a variety of ways. A few ways that were mentioned are late onset of puberty, sex at a younger age, increased or more likely abuse of alcohol and drugs, poor school performance, cognitive delays, delays in brain development, aggression, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and parent and adolescent conflicts. Three theories of development that were covered were nature vs nurture, family stress model, and Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model. The nature vs nurture argument stresses that a student's genes predispose that person to developing certain characteristics. The nurture or environment is an activator to whether or not those genes are expressed. The family stress model states three things happen in a chain reaction to one another, financial strain= disrupted parenting= negative outcomes. Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model basically says that everything in a student's life interacts and affects the other ones. The student has separate environments such as home, after school programs, school, or work and what happens in one effects how the student acts in the others. Along with this a student's personal history affects their present but also their future. This is a lot to understand about just one of my future students. Also with so many things affecting a student, how can a teacher impact positive change when school is only one environment a student occupies? The teacher just has to try to make an impact in another environment in a student's life. Another idea to consider is Phenomenology, which is ones own reality. What may seem to be a small problem to me, an outsider, could be the biggest deal for a student. As a teacher, I have to be sensitive to that.

The main things I learned from this presentation was to consider the whole student when I look at any issue, even if it seems to be strictly school related. Like a student who did not do his or her homework. The presenter gave an example of a student who did not do it because he did not have a pen at his house and had no way of going out and getting one. Another thing I learned is to look for other environments in a student's life that I can positively effect. Lastly, I should always ask myself, what is a student's reality? If I know where a student is coming from and how they perceive things I can better understand him or her.

Chapter 10: MI and Assessment

The MI theory suggests a fundamentally new way for teachers to teach the students but that theory would be useless if teachers continued to assess students with the same methods that have always been used. Again observation and documentation of a student’s work will show true understanding. A few schools or programs that have implemented a system using the MI theory are project spectrum, the Key learning community, and Arts PROPEL. The chapter also suggests the idea that the way the student learned the material should be taken into consideration when assessing the student’s understanding. If the student learned the material by graphs and pictures and the test had neither of those, only a written explanation of what the graphs would show, the student would not do as well. The chapter ends reiterating the importance of portfolios to document students’ progress of learning. Assessing portfolios should assess two types of learning; competency, how much the student learned, and ipsative, comparing a student’s learning against his or her own work. This affects me as a teacher by affecting the way I assess. It offers many ways in which I can assess my students’ learning. Besides if a student can use multiple intelligences to communicate their understanding of a subject then that really shows that the students has learned the material. This effects my students by helping them demonstrate their learning in the way it was learned. It will also help them learn the material better if they learn it in different ways and then are assessed in those different ways as well.