Video Commentary and Reflection Form

Video Commentary and Reflection Form Complete the following Video Commentary and Reflection Form about the learning outcomes and overall structure of the lesson you have selected. This lesson overview must describe the lesson you captured in the video. Each response should be complete and concise. Each response should not exceed 250 words (approximately half a page, single-spaced). For some responses, you may choose to respond in a bulleted list, in whole or in part. We suggest that you write a first draft and carefully edit before you complete each answer on this form. Once you are satisfied with the form, you may upload it along with the Teaching and Learning Context Form and the video. Quality of Learning Outcomes 1. List the learning outcomes for this lesson, in the table below, and explain (a) why the outcomes are academically rigorous and (b) how they are connected to your school and/or district priorities and Ohio’s Learning Standards or relevant national standards if Ohio’s Learning Standards do not apply. (Lesson Reflection Domain 1) List the Learning Outcomes During this lesson, students will utilize independent work as well as group work. Students will also be required to ask and answer questions. The learning outcomes for this lesson include: creating strong claims for an argumentative writing piece and choosing and citing strong textual evidence. After this lesson, students will be able to choose strong evidence, provide proper reasoning on how the textual evidence supports their claim, and create a proper counterclaim for said argument.  As a result, by the end of this lesson, students will be able to: 1. Demonstrate that they can provide strong and thorough textual evidence to support an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. (CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1)  The majority of the class (80%) will be able to select strong textual evidence. 2. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufÏcient evidence  b. Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.  c. Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both in a manner that anticipates the audience’s knowledge level and concerns. (CCSS.ELALITERACY.W.9-10.1)  Students will be able to properly fill out their claim and counterclaim/rebuttal organizer with 85% accuracy. Explain why these learning outcomes are academically rigorous Students will use and apply the knowledge learned through this lesson in order to complete the formative assessment. The following lesson provides high academic rigor for many reasons. This lesson provides differentiation for students that have been broken into three separate learning levels. Students are asked to complete the same tasks for each level, but each level has been given a different article to read and analyze. Students have been placed into each level based on data and scoring from previous formative assessments. The levels are as following: level 3: mastery or advanced, level 2: proficient or developing, and level 3: needs work. The lesson for each level asks for students to create claims and counterclaims, identify strong evidence, and provide proper explanation. Differentiating the instruction to separate the students into levels recognizes the various needs of each student therefore allowing each student to grow within this lesson. The learning outcomes will apply to each of the students no matter which level they were identified as. Providing differentiated articles allows for rigorous thinking and sets high expectations for each student. Students will be able to demonstrate the academic rigor through their levels of learning through the following examples:      Independent work Group sharing A variety of ways to share ideas (Graphic organizer, scaffolding, whole-group instruction, small-group instruction). Extra help that is regularly provided to all students through small group instruction/ conferencing and individual conferencing. Opportunities for review and individualized support that are built into the lesson through small group instruction/ conferencing. How are these learning outcomes connected to both your school and/or district priorities and Ohio’s Learning Standards or relevant national standards? The Common Core State Standards were used to create this lesson. In accordance with both the CCSS and our school curriculum guide, ninth grade students should be able to properly write an analytical/argumentative essay by the end of the year. Based on the standards/learning outcomes I expected for students to be able to write strong claims/counterclaims, and rebuttals. In addition to this, students would need to back these up with proper textual evidence as well as reasoning that properly explains how their textual evidence supports their claim/counterclaim rebuttal. Based on this, students were then expected to be able to format a formal argumentative essay. Students are required to look back at previous knowledge of learning how to form an opinion or take a stance on an argument. They must also look at this past knowledge of how to write a formal essay. They must build upon this knowledge to complete their 5-paragraph argumentative essay. Students will be expected to use these skills for the rest of their high school career as well as in college. The learning outcomes are associated with the following Ohio State Standards:   CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.9-10.1: Demonstrate that they can provide strong and thorough textual evidence to support an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufÏcient evidence. Teacher’s Knowledge of Content 2. Describe the selected lesson’s content focus and its importance to the overall content area. (Lesson Reflection Domain 2) The content focus of this lesson is: students can analyze informational texts, create claims/counterclaims, select proper textual evidence, and provide reasoning. Students also need to acknowledge and disprove the other side of an argument by providing a counterclaim, textual evidence, rebuttal and reasoning. In previous lessons, students demonstrated their knowledge of how to analyze a given text and provide the author’s purpose of the text. In this lesson, students build upon that knowledge by identifying the author’s purpose/argument in a text, then create a claim/counterclaim with relevant textual support and reasoning. When students were asked to create claims previously, they were successful. When asked to provide textual evidence and reasoning for their given claim, students struggled with providing relevant evidence and with providing proper reasoning. This hands-on activity will help support students with finding strong textual evidence directly from the article. It is also set up for students to then provide strong reasoning of the textual evidence. It is important for students to understand how to create and use valid evidence to support a claim/counterclaim and reasoning. Students need to be able to properly explain how their textual evidence supports their claim/counterclaim. Students will use this knowledge for the remainder of high school and beyond as well as on the ELA 2 state test where students will be asked to read a given text, analyze it, and answer various questions while referring back to the text. 3. Describe the prior knowledge and skills (including general language skills and academic language skills) students must have in order to achieve the learning outcomes for this lesson. Be sure to demonstrate your knowledge of how important concepts in the discipline relate to one another and your understanding of prerequisite relationships among topics and concepts that students need in order to understand the focus of this lesson. (Lesson Reflection Domain 2) According to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), students begin analyzing texts and forming opinions/claims on a given topic starting as early as 5th grade. Since then, students have built upon this knowledge. Each year they will deepen their knowledge of a claim, evidence, and reasoning. In alignment with CCSS, in ninth grade students are expected to be able to create their own claim (or argument) that is supported by using strong evidence and efÏcient reasoning. Students have knowledge of what a claim is as well as what textual evidence is. They must also use their previous knowledge of how to analyze a given text and form an argument to create their claim. Students have a solid understanding of what a claim is, what textual evidence is, and what reasoning is. They are still building upon how to connect the three together, what proper textual evidence is and how to properly explain how the textual evidence supports and is relevant to the said claim. They will be required to look back to the following previous knowledge from the CCSS in order to properly complete this lesson:  CCSS.ELA-LITERACY. RI. 8.5  CCSS. ELA-LITERACY. RI. 8.6  CCSS. ELA-LITERACY. W. 8. 1. B  CCSS. ELA. –LITERACY. W. 8. 2 Based on the formative assessment results, from this lesson, it will show if students have yet mastered this standard and are prepared to complete the summative assessment, of completing a full analytical essay over their given article and the claim created. Teacher’s Knowledge of Content – Video Describe anything that happened in your classroom just prior to the selected video segment that you believe will help the assessor understand the context. (“Just prior” means that it occurred in the minutes before the segment you have chosen begins or, in the case of a segment that shows the beginning of the class, the day before this class.) This response is provided as context for the assessment of your analyses below. This critical information will help assessors understand and interpret the parts of the submission that are the focus of evaluative feedback. (Not scored) The videotaping happened during eighth period (1:26-2:16PM) There are nine periods in the school day. The day before this lesson, I used a scaffolding technique to show students how they would need to prove their understanding of claims/counterclaims, evidence, and reasoning while using their given organizer. I started class on the day of this lesson by recapping what we did the previous day and why we were learning about claims, counterclaims, textual evidence, and reasoning. I then passed out and went through a refresher of the “Claim/Counterclaim, Evidence, Reasoning” organizer, explaining what students should be writing in each section of it. I informed them they would be in one of three groups based on the article that they received. I reviewed the standards that we would be covering during this unit and what the students should aim for by the end of the day. Students then individually read their assigned article and completed the “Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning” side of their paper. Students were to raise their hand once they were completed to have my co-teacher or myself check their work. I also questioned students on what they were expected to write in each section to refresh their memory and check their understanding of the formative assessment. I then broke students up into one of three level groups based on how they had demonstrated their understanding the previous day. 4. What aspect of the content focus of this lesson is illustrated in the video segment? Why is this aspect of the content focus important? Be sure that you point out how the content focus of the video illustrates relationships among important concepts in the discipline and how your understanding of prerequisite relationships among topics and concepts in the discipline is demonstrated in this segment. (Lesson Reflection Domain 2) The video segment begins with students finishing the first formative assessment: the “claim organizer.” Students then move on to their second formative assessment: “counterclaim, reasoning, evidence, and rebuttal.” Students create a counterclaim for their argument, as they do this I circulate the room checking counterclaims and assisting students that need it. Students were to use their prior knowledge of a claim and how to properly find textual support to complete the counterclaim organizer. I asked them questions to help refresh their memories and to check that they were ready to move to the next step. This all helped build students’ confidence before they began working in groups. Students then participated in small group share/discussion where they shared their claim as well as their reason. I circulated the room going to each group to check in with them on their understanding of their first group task. Using group sharing and small-group instruction, students proved their understanding of claims and reasoning. Once completed, students moved on to their second group task of using group work and discussion to complete the counterclaim organizer. I was able to formatively assess students by circulating and joining each group’s discussion. In a class discussion, students reviewed what a rebuttal was and how to write a rebuttal for their topic. I checked students' understanding through group sharing as well as individual conferencing as I walked around the room. Students showed their understanding through references back to the text as well as completing their counterclaim/rebuttal organizer. Formative Assessment Strategy 5. Describe the specific method of formative assessment you used to assess student progress toward the learning outcomes for this lesson. Why is this method useful as a check-in point for student progress toward the learning outcomes of this lesson? (Lesson Reflection Domain 6) Formatively assessing what students completed the previous day allowed me to evaluate students’ comprehension of claims, evidence, and reasoning. This allowed me to check each individual's understanding to place the students in one of three groups. This also allowed for me to recognize which students would need more guided assistance. Formatively assessing students using the claim organizer, helped me gauge where each student was during individual work and readiness to move on to the counterclaim/rebuttal. My rationale for utilizing this assessment was for students to engage in their given article and show their individual knowledge and level of achievement with the learning outcome of providing strong textual evidence. Formatively assessing students using whole class discussion, small group discussion, and use of the counterclaim/rebuttal organizer, assisted in recognizing students’ ability to build upon their previous knowledge. It showed where each student was with understanding what a counterclaim and rebuttal was and how to properly use it with any given text. Formatively assessing students in their small groups allowed me to ask both individuals and groups questions to check their understanding. This allowed students to build upon each other's ideas. This is where I joined groups’ discussions to provide individual instruction as well as small group instruction. This allowed for me to both check the students’ understanding of their article, a proper claim and counterclaim for the text, and see if they were reaching mastery of the learning outcome or writing arguments to support claims. Overall Lesson Analysis 6. How successful was this entire lesson in relation to the learning outcomes stated in your lesson overview? Be specific in your answer and explain what evidence (e.g., student behaviors, responses) supports your answer. (Lesson Reflection Domain 7) The lesson’s success is seen through student behavior, engagement, and questions asked/answered. Success is seen through verbal responses and written responses on formative assessments. 1. Demonstrate they can provide strong textual evidence to support an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.  The completion selecting quotes from the text for the claim/counterclaim organizers allowed for me to check the understanding. 97% of students selected strong quotes that supported the claim or rebuttal properly.  3% of students selected evidence from the text, but it was not fully relevant to their claim. After individual discussion, these students understood why their quotes were not fully relevant and selected new ones. 2. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufÏcient evidence  b. Introduce claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.  c. Supplying evidence for claims/counterclaims while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both.  Almost all students were actively engaged in reviewing and creating claims, counterclaims, and rebuttals and in discussing these within their groups. Students were able to contribute to their group discussions while creating counterclaims and completing organizers with 95% accuracy.  Students successfully completed the organizer without support, some students required support starting or with the rebuttal explanation. Students will continue to practice rebuttals as they complete the summative assessment: analytical essay. 7. Which of your selected instructional strategies for this entire lesson was/were most successful in supporting the range of student understandings and varied learning needs of students in this class? (Lesson Reflection Domain 7) One of the beneficial aspects of this lesson was when I circled the room, checked in with each student individually to check their understanding of the organizer, and joined in the discussions of each group. Doing this allowed me to see if students were understanding the task and if they were ready to build upon this knowledge. It also allowed me to see where each student was individually before they moved into group work. The use of an organizer was also helpful for students to follow clear steps on how to follow “claim, evidence, and reasoning” as well as “counterclaim, reasoning, rebuttal, and evidence.” Allowing for first individual work allowed for students to build their own understanding and confidence. Then having small group collaboration allowed for students to build upon ideas and allowed for any struggling students to hear how their peers had answered. Grouping students based on previous formative assessments allowed for students to receive one of three articles. Based on reading comprehension skills as well as previous performance on creating claims students were placed in homogenous groups to support their learning level. This was very successful in students feeling confident in their groups while sharing and creating a learning environment that they could thrive in. The majority of students in this class have identified as benefiting from “hands-on” learning. Actively highlighting the articles and cutÝng out and pasting the evidence to the organizers helped these students thrive in this lesson. 8. Which instructional strategies, if any, would you change in re-teaching this lesson and why? Explain what you would do instead. If you would not change anything, explain why. (Lesson Reflection Domain 7) Overall the lesson was successful and data from both the formative assessments as well as the summative assessments prove this. To improve this lesson and the instructional effectiveness, I would have had some examples of proper claims and improper claims/counterclaims and have students identify which one is correct and which is incorrect rather than telling students which one is correct and which is incorrect. Students could also share out more of their claims, evidence, and reasoning as a whole class discussion before the small group discussions. I would also make a better effort to ask for answers from all students instead of the same student answering questions during the whole class discussion as well as the small group discussions. This would assist with formatively assessing students that do not speak very often in addition to the students that were speaking more frequently. In order to keep all students engaged, I would ensure that students who are grasping the material quickly and do not need additional support are able to continue moving on to the next step instead of having to wait for the whole class to move on. I would like to add an “exit ticket” for students to complete rating their mastery of the lesson. They would select a number 1-3: 1: Not comfortable/not ready to move on 2: Feeling somewhat comfortable, but not fully confident they could do it individually 3: Feeling very confident and ready to move on