Signature Assessment: Reflection on Unit and Lesson Plan

Maika Nagata

Chaminade University of Honolulu

EDUC 623 Teaching Strategies Secondary

Spring 2016
1. Describe how are your targeted understandings based on transferable, big

ideas at the heart of your discipline.

Data is constantly being thrown at us in our daily lives. Often times we may not

fully understand what the data is telling us or how the organizer was able to get the

data. My unit plan works at teaching the students a basic level of understanding of

statistics, how to calculate it and how to translate what it means. The unit plans goals

are to teach the definition of mean, median, mode and when it would be appropriate to

use each one. These different types of averages will be used consistently as the

students progress through high school and try to traverse life. It is also useful for the

students to gain this understanding so that they can gain insight into what these

numbers mean when the encounter them in their everyday life.

2. How do your essential questions spark meaningful connections and provoke

genuine inquiry and deep thought?

My essential questions act as a foil for the students to start to question how the

world around them works. It is true that there can be a difference in wages between a

female and male employee who are doing the same job. The students have to start to

be the change that they want to see in the world so that by the time they are of age to

have a job they can fight for equal pay. I think my second EQ, What is the best way to

ensure equal pay for men and women, has the best opportunity for the students to

think outside the box and come up with some of their own solutions. There are plenty

of resources out there that says one way or the other on solutions to equal pay. The

students will have to look at those resources and choose the one that best fits their

needs in the profession and careers that they are researching. Also, my last EQ, Does
 statistics always tell the truth, is a good example of a deep thinking and far reaching

question. The students have to realize that statistics can be manipulated to tell

different stories depending on the agendas of the researchers who are doing the study.

This would hopefully get the students to think about all of the statistics that they here

and not to take any one statistic for granted. They have to look at who did the study,

what does other studies say, and what agenda the study might have or try to push. One

of the best examples of this is a book that my AP statistics teacher gave me after

graduating from high school it was called, How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff.

3. Why did you choose the knowledge and skills you identified in this unit?

How do they enable the desired understandings you set forth in the unit plan?

The knowledge that I chose was for the students to learn about the different types

of averages and the time and place to use them. Again I am trying to show the

students how they can navigate their lives with statistics. I also wanted the students to

learn about different industries and careers and which industries are balanced with

equal pay and which are not. The skills that I chose relate to the Hawaii State and

Common Core Standards. I wanted the students to be able to work their way through

a graph and be able to interpret the data that is presented to them. I also wanted my

students to practice researching their possible career opportunities. They have to

realize how much money they would make with their dream jobs and whether or not

that amount of money could support their lifestyle. This has real world application for

the students for when they graduate from high school and college and start looking for

a real world job. By learning about the different types of averages the students will be

able to understand the differences and uses of the different types of averages. Looking
 at income inequality will be a real world example of the use of averages. It will also

act as a tool for students to gain a better understanding of how jobs and career works.

By learning the skills of interpreting data the students gain an understanding of how

to discern what is being told to them and what is actually true. They will be able to

compare the data between the different jobs and be able to tell which jobs are equal in

pay.

4. Describe your units main performance task and explain how this provides

evidence of deep understanding of the unit goals.

The main performance task will be a presentation of their findings. The students

will have to find their dream job and do research on the average salary and on whether

there is a wage gap between males and females. They will present their findings to the

class using some sort of visual aid and clear descriptions of their finding. The class

will collaborate and combine all of the data and research on the causes on the wage

gap and put forth possible solutions. This will be based off of their research but can be

something along the lines of their findings. A good example of this is if jobs that

require a college degree have fewer differentials in the wage then increase funding for

scholarships for women. Another example is if women waitress gets paid more then

male waiters a pool tip system could be put in place and the pros and cons of such a

system. Groups of students with similar careers will work together and present their

final findings to their local congressman, or business leaders demanding changes for

all of the workers. This can include wages and benefits for the workers. The students

will be assessed on their presentation and the participation that they have in the group

project.
5. Provide an overview of your units multiple methods of assessment and

discuss how these supplements the evidence provided by the performance task.

In addition to the presentation there will be other methods of assessment. The

participation and research done during class time will be acknowledged and awarded.

Also, the students will be tested on their understanding of statistics using examples

and graphs similar to the ones that the students produced for the project. The test will

have similar format to the questions and information that the students presented.

6. In what ways are student self-assessment and reflection an integral part of

the unit assessment plan?

The students will do a self-reflection and a group reflection on what they learned

from this unit and how they felt they did with the presentation. They will also reflect

on the usefulness of this unit in learning about their future jobs and in learning about

income inequality. Finally, they well self assess the work that they did with the group

and the work that they felt the other participants in the group did.

7. Discuss what makes your lesson plan effective, engaging, and tailored to the

interests and learning styles of your students.

My lesson plan aims to teach math in a fun and engaging way. Instead of just

lecturing in front of the students are regurgitating the textbook I am actively talking

and discussing with my students. This creates a classroom that is a lot more fun to

learn in and helps the students to reach a deeper level of understanding. The students

all have to learn about averages and this way makes sure to incorporate how they

would see it in their daily lives. Instead of just reading examples out of a textbook

using made up statistics or data I am actually using data from the real world that
 affects the students, the pay of their dream job in Hawaii. My classroom is giving

them the opportunity to prepare for the next steps in life by making the classroom a

place where the students attain content, skill, and social targets (Larson & Keiper,

2013, Location 2063). This helps to develop a student who is not only good at math

but also skilled at working in a social environment with their peers.

8. Why was the lesson plan organized and sequenced as it was? How does this

maximize engagement and effectiveness?

The lesson plan was organized to allow the students to be actively engaged with

the lecture. There are several points during the lecture where the students are

encouraged to think, pair, share some of the mathematical problems and real world

connections. The PowerPoint also acts as a hook to draw in the students with the

different salaries of the lawyers in Hawaii because everybody loves money and

talking about money. Also, since this lesson has real world application the students

find the immediate usefulness of what they are learning and the application of that

usefulness. Also, since the students will be in groups they can use each other to gain a

better mastery of the material and help each other if there are any questions or

concerns.

9. Reflect on the overall coherence of your unit design. How are the elements of

each stage aligned? How will the learning experiences encourage student

engagement? How will you ensure student understanding?

Each stage leads into the next stage. The students start with learning the basic

types of different types of averages. They then start to do research on a profession

that interests them. They will present their findings to the class and then be placed
 into groups to draw larger comparisons between the groups of professions. Some

might find that there is not a large disparity in wages for a certain type of job and

another group may find that there are really large discrepancies. I like that the unit

plan starts small and then builds on itself until the students would be presenting to

local businessmen or congressmen. The students will be engaged because of the

difference then what they would have in a normal mathematics classroom. Since

this is not just a lecture classroom the students will be engaged by working with

their fellow classmates. Since it is a group project and they will be self rate how

they did and how their classmates did in the project the students will have

incentive to keep working. The students understanding will be tested by their

presentation and the coherence of their facts. Also, the students will have a

traditional test that uses the examples that they came up with. This will ensure that

the students have a firm understanding of the material and are able to comprehend

it well.

Work Cited
Larson, B.E. & Keiper, T.A. (2013). Instructional strategies for middle and high
school. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.