Impact on Student Learning Project

Impact on Student Learning Project To determine whether or not I am making an impact on student learning, I decided that I was going to start a unit on something that many high school students are concerned with, Weight Management and Body Composition. I thought that this would be a great unit to give me an understanding on the amount of information the students had on Weight Management and Body Composition, and then determine the amount of information the students received during this unit. In this health class, I have five students with high ability, three students with special needs, including one that is an ESL. My main objective for this unit was for the students to be able to determine what actions need to be taken in order to maintain a healthy body weight and body composition. When I was looking at the Indiana State Health & Wellness Standards, I found one standard that really described the information I needed as I developed this unit: HW.6.4 – Determine an effective long-term personal health plan. After I saw this standard, I decided that I would like the students to be able to describe how they are going to obtain their goals for their own personal health. I had the students determine what they believed was a realistic goal to achieve by the time they were out of high school. Some of the students said that they would like to be in the healthy weight range according to their BMI, or Body Mass Index. Other students that had a type of eating disorder said that they would like to lose their eating disorder to become healthy and achieve their goal. Healthy diets are one way of obtaining a healthy weight and maintaining body composition. A way that the students had to determine what their diet was is doing a week long food journal. The students were to record everything that they ate for a seven day period, including beverages, snacks, and meals. I then had the students describe whether or not the meal that they were eating was a way to help obtain their goal that they designed at the beginning of the unit. On the first day of the unit, the students took the pre-test. The average for the pre-test was a 32/50. High Ability students averaged a 34. Students with special needs, including an ESL, averaged a 14. After the test, we started to discuss what types of information we were going to be discussion over the unit. The students were excited to start this unit, especially the students that are on the wrestling team. When we were doing this unit, North Miami’s wrestling team was just starting to prepare for their first match. I have three wrestlers in my class, and most of them are not maintaining their weight correctly. I am hoping that this unit opened their eyes to ways to maintain weight in a healthy manner. Following the pre-test, I had the students partner up and discuss what aspects of the pre-test they feel that they needed more information on. Some of the students said that they needed more information on the types of diets of vegetarians. One group of students said that they would like to obtain more information on ways that they are able to help family members that have different eating disorders. One the second day, I had the students divide into groups, having a student with high abilities in each group. By having one of these students in each group, the small group discussions are also allowing the students who may not be as knowledgeable on some of the information are able to learn from the high ability students. The discussion that we had was about the different ways to maintain a healthy weight. One of the ways that students described to maintain a healthy weight was to follow one the different variations of the Food Pyramid or the USDA’s MyPlate. Using the MyPlate, I found a brochure that I handed out to the students that describes Eating on a Budget – The Three P’s: Plan, Purchase, and Prepare. Fad Diets and Eating Disorders were a large focus on day three. To gain student-teacher interaction, after we had a class discussion over the lesson in the chapter, I gave the students a scenario. The students were split up into the same groups from the previous day. The groups then had to understand what the problem with the individual was, choose the appropriate strategies to defeat the eating disorder, compare their findings to other groups, and evaluate which plan worked most successfully. For a homework assignment on this chapter, I had each student perform the same task for a 16 year-old female cheerleader dealing with Bulimia Nervosa. The students were very creative with their ideas and goals for the individual with an eating disorder. On the fourth day, the students were taught about different ways to obtain the right nutrition to maintain a healthy weight and body composition. Students read the chapter during the class period, taking notes over the lesson on important ideas and concepts in the lesson. Being freshman and sophomores in high school, most of the students did not take very detailed notes. This happens for different reasons, but one main reason is that they have not been required to take notes over a subject. So after the students took notes, we had a group discussion on what nutrition is, and the important factors of nutritious diet. I wanted to make sure I had time to review everything that we had discussed during the unit, so I took a day at the end of the unit to have a review day. As a class, we went through the chapter review in the book to make sure the students understood everything that had been covered in the lessons. I decided after we went through the chapter review, I would group the students into groups of three. We would then have a small competition over some of the questions that had been covered on the quizzes and pre-test to help prepare the students for the post-test. The students were very engaged during this review activity and it showed that they had retained the information that they had learned. After the review, the students were given the post-test the next day. The students surprised me tremendously with their results. On the pre-test, the lowest score was an 18. The lowest score on the post-test was a 32. I was very impressed when I saw the large difference between the pre-test and post-test. The class average for the post-test was 44. The high ability students’ average was a 48. The students with needs average was 39. Overall, the Impact on Student Learning Project improved my ability as a teacher. When I was going through the sheet that described the project, I thought that there was no way that there would be as big of difference as there was. The results were very eye-opening. I know now how much of an impact a great teacher can improve a student’s ability to learn. This also includes uninterested and students with special needs. Pre-Test & Post-Test Scores Impact on Student Learning Project Name Pre-Test Post-Test Average Female 34 42 38 Male 18 38 28 Female 40 50 45 Male 28 38 33 Female 20 46 33 Female 34 48 41 Male 36 44 40 Male 40 50 45 Male 24 46 35 Male 32 42 37 Male 38 46 42 Male 36 46 41 Male 34 42 38 Male 36 44 40 Female 32 38 35 Female 36 46 41 Male 28 32 30 Male 34 50 42 Male 34 50 42 Male 30 46 38 Male 34 40 37 Key: Green – High Ability Blue – Special Needs Visual Representation of Pre-Test & Post-Test 60 50 48 44 39 40 34 32 Pre-Test 30 Post-Test 20 14 10 0 Class Average High Ability Average Special Needs Average Answer Sheet 1. C 2. B 3. C 4. A 5. D 6. D 7. B 8. C 9. A 10. C 11. C 12. A 13. D 14. A 15. D 16. False; lose 17. True 18. False; increase 19. True 20. True 21. True 22. False; female 23. True 24. False; more 25. True Weight Management Test Multiple Choice: Choose the best answer for the following questions: (2 Points Each) 1. Which of the following is a nutrient-dense food? a. Cheese c. Carrots b. Pretzels d. French Fries 2. What happens if you take in more calories than you burn? a. Your metabolism will increase b. Your amount of stored body fat may increase c. Your body will excrete the excess calories d. You will maintain your current weight 3. Body Composition is the ratio of body fat to: a. Muscle c. Lean body tissue b. Bone d. Cartilage and Tendons 4. One strategy in a sensible weight-management plan is: a. Keep a food journal of what and when you eat b. Planning to lose two pounds a week c. Fasting occasionally d. Weighing yourself every day 5. The number of calories a person takes in each day should be unaffected by: a. Age c. Gender b. Body Frame d. Body image 6. Drinking lots of water before and during a heavy workout because keeping hydrated: a. Helps you perspire more b. Causes an electrolyte imbalance c. Prevents you from perspiring d. Prevents an electrolyte imbalance 7. Which contributes to obesity? a. Avoiding fast food b. A sedentary lifestyle c. Having excess muscle tissue d. A balance of high-fat and low-fat foods in a person’s diet 8. Anorexia Nervosa a. Is not as serious as Bulimia b. Usually goes away on its own c. Has consequences similar to malnutrition and starvation d. Is serious, but not life threatening 9. Which of the following describes a person who is obese? a. A person with a large amount of body fat b. A person who weighs more than what is appropriate for his or her height c. A person who has excess muscle tissue d. A person who weighs less than what is appropriate for his or her height 10. Which of the following plays a role in a person’s weight? a. Occupation c. Genetic Factors b. Gender d. All the above 11. BMI stands for: a. Body Measurement Index c. Body Mass Index b. Body Mass Increase d. Body Measure Index 12. Vegetarians that eat foods of plant origin are called: a. Vegans c. Ovo Vegetarians b. Lacto Vegetarian d. Lacto-ovo Vegetarians 13. Which of the following are eating disorders? a. Anorexia c. Bulimia b. Binge Eating d. All the above 14. Which of the following is a risky weight-loss strategy? a. Fad Diets c. Vegetarianism b. Eat nutrient-dense food d. None of the above 15. Fats supply ___ calories per gram? a. 4 b. 7 c. 6 d. 9 True or False: Determine if the statement is true or false. If true, mark a “T” in the space provided. If the statement is false, place a “F” in the line, then change the italicized term(s) to make the statement correct. 16. ______ To maintain weight, the calories you consume should be less than the calories you burn. 17. ______ Fasting for more than short periods deprives your body of needed nutrients and energy. 18. ______ Being obese decreases the risk of type 2 diabetes, asthma, and some cancers. 19. ______ Whether a person needs to lose, gain, or maintain weight, physical activity should be an essential part of their plan. 20. ______ Being overweight is not a health risk in all situations. 21. ______ Nurtrient-Dense foods are a wise choice because they are high in nutrients but low in calories. 22. ______ Roughly 90 percent of those who suffer from eating disorders are male. 23. ______ Age and gender play a part in determining a person’s appropriate BMI. 24. ______ Muscle tissue weighs less than fat does. 25. ______ Eating disorders often arise from an obsession with controlling one’s weight.