Reflection: Accuracy and Use in Future Teaching

Using a MC Diagnostic Test for AP Language and Composition, it became clear that students struggled with a timed performance and the content.  So, we went to work.  Students were taught MC Strategies to utilize.  The bracketing strategy coaches students to find the direct correlating part of the passage that it would take to answer the question correctly. Another method to benefit students are multiple choice language stems.  This teaches students to look at the question and not be distracted by the answer choices.  This emphasizes focus and provides confidence for students to attempt to answer or formulate an answer without being tempted by the choices, yet. We also completed 10 practice passages with multiple choice questions using different formats, but mostly under timed circumstances.  Also, students practiced with a partner in order to collaborate, eliminate, and discuss answer choices.

AP Language and Composition students struggle with proof and polish in their writing.  Using a mature voice that has sophisticated language and flare is a recommendation for the timed writes, and one that students struggle to find.  In order to improve, students received a NoRedInk account and were assigned lessons.  Also, students built a Sentence Improvement Card that they are able to have out when completing timed writes.  This allows students a database of self constructed help sentences to improve.  Further, students completed Sentence Composing exercises, both individually and as a class, in order to construct ways to add sentence sophistication to their writing.  I have used the JR U-S-A view to track the progress of this area.

One of the standards that my CP English 12 students were struggling with is
Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning. 
In order to see improvement in this area, I planned lessons intentionally and created formative assessment exercises to enhance the summative response.  In the unit, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nite-Time, I asked students to deconstruct their understanding of the main character in order to enhance comprehension of his character traits and apply them to plot events.  This aided students in understanding how the character was evolving and changing in order to deal with conflict; thus a back door understanding to how the plot makes larger meaning.  Asking students to track the smaller plot pieces and then evaluate the larger theme and scope allows students to utilize the text evidence as support.

The final area of needed growth is for AP Language and Composition is to incorporate the writing feedback for maximum growth.  After the first timed writes, I collected student feedback to gain an understanding on student struggles.  For the rhetorical analysis unit, I had students complete a close reading of Of Mice and Men in order to formatively assess their progress before the summative writing assignment.  This allowed students to practice the analysis portion of this writing task.  Next, students worked in a supported environment to craft their draft of a rhetorical analysis to the prompt.  After feedback and examples were presented from the teacher, I made the trending comments available to students and then they were able to revise.  This process slowed down and tweaked, makes the sped up process more beneficial.