Colton Spearman

Self-Study of Instruction and Student Learning

Doane University

Classroom Context
For my Self-Study of Instruction and student learning, I used my second period
Personal Finance class, which has 14 students, ranging from 10 th grade to 12th
grade. The students attend Horizon High School in Millard Public Schools.
NAME

GENDER

RACE

Flores, Alivia

female

African American

Fulkerson, James

male

Caucasian American

Gano, Gage

male

Caucasian American

Gruhn, Kyle

male

Caucasian American

Koraleski, Nick

male

Caucasian American

Latham, Nick

male

Caucasian American

Lienemann, Kyler

male

Caucasian American

McQuinn, Dillon

male

Caucasian American

Molina, Teddy

male

Hispanic American

Morales, Damien

male

Caucasian American

Newton, Stephanie

female

Caucasian American

Reibold, Evy

female

Caucasian American

Westman, Spencer

male

Caucasian American

Zuniga, LilliAnna

female

Hispanic American

In this class, I have a very interesting mix of students. Some students are very high
functioning, while a couple are a little lower. Horizon High School is the alternate
school in Millard, and the biggest issue with these students is engagement. Some
students have been using drugs since elementary school, some students stay up
into the early hours of the morning playing video games, while some students either
have to play parent to younger siblings, or because of their living situation, they
find it hard to focus on school. That said, I wanted to set up a unit that these
students would be able to find interesting. Some of these students are planning on
going to college, while some are not, so I wanted to set up my first unit of Education
and Earning Potential in a way that spoke to every student, college bound or not.
Finally, I had to design a unit around the required post-assessment that Millard
requires from Personal Finance teachers. We use a online module website called
EverFi which has a post-assessment. So, my test is a mix of those required
questions, and my own questions, combined. The students go through a 40-minute
module before taking the post-assessment. Then, I give students the second half of
their test, from our notes. Finally, we dont give homework at our school, since it
usually wont come back to school, so sometimes my lesson plans get pushed back,

Colton Spearman

Self-Study of Instruction and Student Learning

Doane University

like in this unit, which is blocked for four days. However, I had to make it five days,
due to the students work completion speed.

Colton Spearman

Self-Study of Instruction and Student Learning

Doane University

Overall Reflection of Teaching Experience

Day 1: Introduce Education and Earning Potential
I start everyday with a journal question that revolves around the topic of the
day. My question today was: Even if you HAVE to take this class for credit, take a
moment, and explain to me in your own words why Personal Finance will be
important for YOU. Students responded really well to this question, and we were
able to have some great discussion on the topic. Students gave generic answers like
to use money better, while others went deeper and said so understand how to
use money and credit to be successful in life. After that, I gave my students guided
skeleton notes. A lot of teachers at my school talked to me about using guided
notes, and that having students take full notes just doesnt work, because they
wont participate. The students did a great job filling out the notes, and we were
able to have great discussion about jobs and careers. I took the opportunity to have
students come up to the whiteboard and write down their definition of a job and a
career. The answers sparked great conversation about the difference between the
two. After the notes, I showed a TED talk about what people do after they graduate.
Students took their own notes and wrote down two questions they had. They
seemed to enjoy the TED Talk. Finally, with the remaining time, I gave them a career
cluster survey. They went through 16 different careers, checking interests in each.
They tallied up their points and listed their top three careers. Finally, I had them fill
out an exit ticket, which I asked what is the difference between a job and career?
Day 2: Earning Potential and Education Continued
My journal question of the day was: What do you plan on doing after you
graduate high school? Be specific in your answer. This started the day with great
conversation! Students shared their dreams after graduation, which also helps me
build relationships with them. I had some kids talk about being mechanics, so in the
future, I can use mechanic examples when talking about the future, to keep them
engaged. I then showed them a infographic I found on Pinterest that showed the
earning potential of each degree they could earn, as well as some different college
majors they could enter into. After that, we played Kahoot, which reviewed the
notes we had taken from the previous day. They loved Kahoot! The post report that
Kahoot gives me also helps me see who is struggling with what. It also shows me
who was participating and who was not. All my students that were here today did a
great job of answering the Kahoot questions. Out of 15 questions, the most missed
was six by any individual. Finally, I had students pull out their Career Cluster survey
and fill out a worksheet that asked questions about each of their top three careers.
The activity required them to get a computer, and research their career cluster. It
asked them to find: different jobs in the field, majors related to that career cluster,
how much money they could make in that career cluster, and the skills needed to
be successful in that career. The students loved investigating these careers, and
some even found jobs they didnt think existed, like video game design. A lot of my
students loved hearing that that was an actual job. The lesson went really well
today.

Colton Spearman

Self-Study of Instruction and Student Learning

Doane University

Day 3: Scholarships and Loans

My opening journal question today was: Aside from your parents paying for
college, what are some other ways students can pay for college? A lot of students
listed scholarships, but didnt know the process in obtaining scholarships. Some
students listed loans, but also said they didnt want to get loans. This created a
great discussion about different ways students can pay for college. Most students
were amazed by the fact that after college you dont pay your lump sum of the loan
back, and that you instead pay month by month in smaller installments. After my
journal, we moved into another TED Talk about ways to pay for college. My students
really seem to gravitate towards these TED talks, as long as they are not too long.
So far, I have found they can focus on a TED talk that is 15 minutes or less. To close
out the day, we looked at some cool infographics about 11 of the weirdest
scholarships. They also had a follow along guide so they would stay engaged while
we looked over the infographic. My exit ticket of the day was: What were your top
three favorite scholarships you learned about today?
Day 4: FAFSA and Test Review
My journal question of the day today was: Where do you go to get loans for
college, aside from finding Grants and Scholarships? Students were unaware of the
FAFSA, which created a great day of engaged discussion! After my journal question,
I handed out guided notes that I created on a infographic I found that talks about
the FAFSA. Students filled out the follow along guide about the FAFSA. The most
difficult concept for them was Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans. We spent a little
more time on that, to make sure students understood the difference. Then, I walked
them through a real FAFSA sheet, showing them things they would need to fill out,
how it works, and then I showed them an example reward letter. Finally, since this is
the last day in the unit before the test, we played a very fun review game called
Attack! The students break off into three even teams. They draw a castle on the
white board (three castles) and have eight hit points. Teams go in order and
answer questions I ask them that had to do with all the notes, infographics, and
discussions we have had. If a team gets an answer right, they can attack on of the
other teams. If a team is wrong, another team can steal the answer. The students
love this game, and a lot of strategy is involved, as teams bargain with other teams,
trying to team up against one another, or strike deals with one another. I have great
participation and have gotten great feedback on Attack!
Day 5: Test
Today is test day. Students logged onto EverFi, joined my class, and started
the Education and Earning Potential Module. The module is a 40-minute module,
and has students relearn some of the material we covered. At the end, it has a test,
which Millard requires Personal Finance students to take. After they have taken that

Colton Spearman

Self-Study of Instruction and Student Learning

Doane University

final test and I have a score, they come up and grab my paper test that revolves
around other questions I created that range from True/False, multiple choice, and
short answers.

Unit Reflection
I think this unit went over really well. My school breaks their semesters up
into quarters since we have block schedule, with each class every day. So, we are
able to put four semesters into one nine month school year. I have taught this unit
before, and this was the second time I was teaching it. I feel like I was more
comfortable with the material the second time around, which really helped my
students out as well with understanding. While some of my students plan on
attending some type of college after they graduate, some students arent planning
on going to college, or dont think they can afford it. So, I was always a little weary
about starting off with this unit. I was worried about the type of engagement I would
get from students who didnt want to go to college after high school. So, I decided
to always start my day telling students remember, this could be for you after high
school, this could be for you five years from now, this could be for you ten years
from now, or even for you 20 to 30 years from now. It is still important information
to know, even if college isnt in your immediate future. This seemed to pull other
students into our conversations. My students are never the biggest fans of
PowerPoints and notes, but they do alright with the skeleton guided notes. The first
time I taught this unit, I just had students fill in the notes with no accountability. This
time around, I had students turn in their notes for participation points, to ensure
they actually filled out the notes fully. I then returned the notes the next day. It
holds them accountable, and it keeps them engaged. My students also really liked
the TED talks. In my first unit, I only showed one TED talk on life after college, but I
had such positive reviews from students on the TED talks, that this semester I
added another one on scholarships and loans. It seems to really captivate them and
after the talk, it usually sparks great conversation. So I am encouraged to continue
using them. My students always enjoy the career cluster project. It seems like a lot
at first, but after I explain the idea of the project, it gets students more engaged and
interested. I tell them that it can show them a career they never thought of before,
which gets them interested. I didnt have students struggle with things like Kahoot
or Attack, which made me confident in those review games. When students took the
final test, they took half of it online, on EverFi, and half of it from our notes and
discussions we had. I found that students performed much better on the test that I
wrote, then they did on the required Everfi assessment. The Everfi module asks
some questions that I cover in our notes and discussions, but it also asked questions
that have to do with the module they went through. Since my students struggle with
engagement, I believe what happens is that they get bored while going through the

Colton Spearman

Self-Study of Instruction and Student Learning

Doane University

module, not paying as close attention to what it is telling them, and then talk the
test after. When they get to the test, they are so tired from doing the module, that it
seems like they try to go through the test as quick as possible. This makes me
consider including more information in my PowerPoints, infographics, and
discussions. I can give the students a paper version of the EverFi test, which makes
me consider teaching what is in the module, just not making students go through
the Module. However, I believe that it helps students to hear the information again,
to help them remember it better. I think I will try to find a way to incorporate the
module into my lesson in the future, but not have them go through it on test day. I
think, after two classes of Personal Finance data, that it might be better for me to
have them do the module throughout the unit, rather than in one day. Four of the
students in my class were not there on the test day, and still have yet to take the
test. One of those students has yet to show up at all this semester, one student
showed up at first but then stopped attending, and two students attend day-to-day
and still need to make up the test. The data shows that students scores on the
Everfi part of the test were all over the place, whereas the majority of students got
8-10 answer correct out of 10 on the test that I wrote. That makes me wonder if I
wrote too easy of a test, or if they just did better because they learned more
through my notes and discussions. I also found that student who had higher
participation scores, had higher scores on their test. Overall, the unit went really
well and I got more participation then I thought I would. I need to work on my
pacing yet still, as the unit is only four days long, but I had to go five days. Students
at this school work at different speeds, and since I cant send homework home, I
have days where I push back activities to the next day. I think my greatest strength
in this unit was our conversations and review games. I connected a lot of the
material to the students current lives and situations. This seemed to keep them
interested. However, I think my greatest weakness that I still need to work on is that
pacing. I am very conversational, and sometimes spend more time on discussions
then I should.
NAME
Flores, Alivia
Fulkerson,
James
Gano, Gage
Gruhn, Kyle
Koraleski, Nick
Lathem, Nick
Lienemann,
Kyler
McQuinn,
Dillon
Molina, Teddy
Morales,
Damien
Newton,

Everfi Online Test

Questions Correct
0 of 10
7
6
0
7
9

of
of
of
of
of

10
10
10
10
10

Mr. Spearman's Test

Questions Correct
0 of 10
3.5 of 10
9.5 of 10
0 of 10
5 of 10
9 of 10

5 of 10

8 of 10

3 of 10
8 of 10

9 of 10
8.5 of 10

0 of 10
6 of 10

0 of 10
10 of 10

Colton Spearman
Stephanie
Reibold, Evy
Westman,
Spencer
Zuniga,
LilliAnna

Self-Study of Instruction and Student Learning

Doane University

9 of 10

9 of 10

0 of 10

0 of 10

6 of 10

9 of 10

Final Test - 20 questions

20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0

EverFi

NAME
Flores, Alivia
Fulkerson, James
Gano, Gage
Gruhn, Kyle
Koraleski, Nick
Latham, Nick
Lienemann, Kyler
McQuinn, Dillon
Molina, Teddy
Morales, Damien
Newton, Stephanie
Reibold, Evy
Westman, Spencer
Zuniga, LilliAnna
Kahoot Results:

Earning Potential
Test
0
52
79
0
60
90
65
60
83
80
80
90
0
75

Spearman Test

Career Cluster
Project
10
0
10
0
0
10
10
10
10
0
10
10
0
10

Guided
Notes
5
2
5
5
1
5
4
4
5
3
5
3
0
5

Participati
on
25
15
25
10
15
20
20
20
25
17
25
20
0
25

Colton Spearman

Self-Study of Instruction and Student Learning

STUDENT
Stephanie
Denver "James"
Lilly
Kyler
TEDDY
Nick
dill pickle is
dill pickle

CORRECT
ANSWERS

INCORRECT
ANSWERS
11
11
11
9
9
9
6
0

OVERALL PERFORMANCE
% TOTAL CORRECT ANSWERS
% TOTAL INCORRECT ANSWERS
AVG SCORE

Doane University

89%
11%
9950

SCORE
0
0
0
2
2
1
1
2

14324
14012
13829
10698
10174
10006
6560
0