The class I teach is a New York State Biology course called "The Living Environment." At the end of the year all students need to pass the New York State exam known as the "Regents Exam". In order to get my students ready for the exam it is imperitive that they become accustomed to the types of questions that they will see on that exam. Often the Regents Exam questions are at a higher level in Bloom's Taxonomy than just simple knowledge. Often the students will be expected to apply their knowledge to articles, experiments, diagrams, etc.      I find that if I do too many practice questions with them they don't try very hard and it takes a large chunk of time. So I've started creating what I call "Fast Fives." At least once a week my students will see a Fast Five on the table when they come into class. They will start working on the questions immediately. The students who get to class earlier have a little more time for the fast ...

Charlotte Danielson's 2007 Framework for Teaching  and Index of posts from BallinwithBalling.blogspot.com Domain 1 - Planning and Preparation 1a: Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy (Knowledge of content and the structure of the discipline, Knowledge of prerequisite relationship, Knowledge of content-related pedagogy) BallinwithBiology posts:      Oneonta Biology Listserve 1b: Demonstrating Knowledge of Students (Knowledge of child and adolescent development, Knowledge of the learning process, Knowledge of students’ skills, knowledge, and language proficiency, Knowledge of students’ interests and cultural heritage, Knowledge of students’ special needs) BallinwithBalling posts:       Blood Model       Protein Model made with a baby toy 1c: Setting Instructional Outcomes (Value, sequence, and alignment, Clarity, Balance, Suitability for diverse learners) BallinwithBalling posts:       Kinesthe...