Self Evaluation for Dan Erlandson

October 2009
I would like to say at the beginning of this document that this process of the mini substantial was a
useful exercise. It was enjoyable to have Von, Rich, Nancy and Don visit my classes and useful for me to
discuss and/or read their feedback on the class. Additionally, the task of going over the student
evaluations of the teacher/class in a very specific and formal manner did allow me more insight into the
evaluations than what I glean from the brief overview I might give them from year to year. Since I had
the evaluations handy from the past 2 years, I went ahead and tabulated both years (I like data analysis!).
It has been some time since I sat down and reflected formally on my teaching and career at
Newark Academy. There was a period where I would write down goals for the upcoming year, and then
assess my progress towards those goals at the end of the academic year. It was a good exercise in my
opinion and although I have wandered from it in the formal written mechanism that I once practiced, it is
indeed something I continue to do on a more informal basis. Later in this document I will list some of my
goals from the past few years and address some of my successes and shortcomings.
I believe I have a good relationship with my students, that I challenge them to think for themselves,
teach the material in an engaging manner and push them to do their very best. I truly enjoy working with
the students, and quite possibly my favorite activity is extra help time in Chemistry! I enjoy teaching both
disciplines, and in fact this year I had a student ask me which one I prefer to teach. This was a tough
question to answer, and one that I evaded by saying that I could not imagine a year where I did not teach
both Chemistry and Enviro.
I believe that both Von and Rich raised good points for me to reflect on in my teaching. I have
developed over time into a very teacher centered style of teaching. It has not always been this way with
me, and I do think that the goal of getting through the content has driven this. I believe that the teachercentered classroom is probably the more efficient way of getting through the material, at least at the skill
and age level I teach. It is an issue for me to grapple with and a way for me to consider incorporating
other teaching techniques. Vons comment about my predominately male interaction with the students
was an interesting observation and one I should keep an eye on in the type of class he observed, a vocal
male component and a relatively quiet female component. It is interesting to note that my other section
of Enviro might almost be the exact opposite, and I wonder if I am carried along too much by the vocal
component of the class.
Listed below are some goals I have had for myself over the past few years. I would like to spend
some time discussing these.
Interactive, web based drill and practice for Chemistry
Learning to use Java and/or Flash for web based visuals
Incorporation of new labs and demonstrations into Chemistry and Environmental Science
An improved turnaround time for the grading of Environmental lab reports
Increase in the AP Environmental test grade average
Continued improvement of my skills and use of the STELLA modeling software
Learning to use Applescript with an eye toward its use in iCal
Interactive, web based drill and practice for Chemistry. I have been very happy with the Quia
(www.quia.com) web site that I discovered last year and as far as I can tell the students are very pleased
with it as well. I initially used the site as a trial member and once I was satisfied that it could do the types
of things I wanted it to do then I asked Nancy Celente to have the department cover the $49/year
subscription cost. There are essentially 2 types of drill and practice that I have used so far on the Quia
site, one is electronic flashcards that works to help students practice certain types of skills (chemical
formula writing, basic mathematical work in Chemistry, vocabulary practice), the second is a web based
multiple choice quiz. Both are teacher generated and can thus be tailored to the unit tests throughout
the year, additionally the web based quiz (not for credit) can tell me who logged on, how long they

spent on the questions and what their success rate was. There are levels of feedback to the student that I
have not yet worked with that will in my opinion add to the usefulness and learning capabilities of this
web site. The one thing it does not have is the ability to display and work with more sophisticated visuals,
i.e. chemical reactions, bonding of molecules, drawings This is where Java and Flash come in and I have
to admit that I have not made progress on this goal. There are many web-based simulations that I use in
class, and there is great potential for this medium but it requires that I learn the programming language.
I have spoken to Debbie Dixler about this since she has some experience in the area; I just need to find the
time to move forward with this.
Incorporation of new labs and demonstrations into Chemistry and Environmental Science. I believe
the key is to develop labs that are solid in principle, quantitative in nature and have the ability to be
performed successfully by students. In Chemistry I have striven to run labs that require students to
collect and analyze data. This can be a challenge in some aspects of the course where the topics are more
abstract, i.e. configuration of electrons in atoms and so demonstrations take the lead in those areas
(chemical luminescence is a great example of configuration of electrons in atoms). In collecting and
analyzing data I push the Chemistry students to use Logger Pro and the data collection probes that we
have available to us in the department. From thermocouples to pressure sensors to pH probes, my
Chemistry students are trained and guided in collecting and analyzing data. I think I have done this well
and continue to look for better and more engaging labs and demonstrations. One of the unique aspects
of the IB lab program is that they require student-planned labs. Thus a challenge I have is to provide the
students (in a one year period of time) with experience on soundly based labs that they can learn from
and use as a model in designing their own labs. There is no lab program for neither AP nor IB Enviro, so
these are labs of my own construction. Within this area of IB Enviro labs lies my nemesis: the grading of
IB style lab reports. The reality is that there are times during the year when I struggle with the 1 cycle
turn around time on these and there are times when it is easier and I return them after a weekend. The
student evaluations (done in either late December or early January) reflect a sense that I can improve in
this area. I note this every year and strive to meet that goal during the winter and spring, and I do. The
reality of my schedule and the IB Enviro schedule is though that the busiest times for both of these
coincide with the fall months. This will probably always be my crunch time.
Increase in the AP Environmental test grade average. I hope last years results are the beginning of
a trend! I was a little lucky in the way the exam was written and how it meshed with the topics we had
covered during the year. I also think that I pushed the AP students to really be prepared for the
calculation part of the exam (which does not always show up). The issue in the past has been mainly with
seniors for whom this exam is quite possibly their only AP, and where they walked into the exam did little
or no work, and left early on part II. My best guess is that there were relatively few surprises on the part
I, multiple choice section and then when part II came and they found that the questions looked familiar
and even do-able, then they persevered. Bravo to them! In the end my only 1 was a junior who maybe
just had a bad day. I will spin this tale to the current crop of AP Enviro candidates, inspire them, teach
them, prepare them as best as I can and have confidence that they too will persevere.
Continued improvement of my skills and use of the STELLA modeling software. In essence STELLA is
a piece of software that allows the user to mathematically and conceptually model a working system. It is
perfect for use in AP/IB Enviro, and I continue to hear from graduates of NA who tell me that when they
take Enviro in college they are masters at it and at the top of the class in this area. The area that I try to
work on from year to year is in the type of systems and accuracy of the model that I choose to apply
STELLA to. The line I walk is in keeping the model appropriate for the high school level and yet allowing
the user to see the powerful predictive nature of the software. I went to a conference in Vermont this
past summer where I gained quite a few insights into ways I might do this better. The task I now have is
to apply these skills and make my past assignments better. I do believe that I will make some progress on
that this year.
Learning to use Applescript with an eye toward its use in iCal. Early this year I had one of those
epiphanies where I suddenly realized what the Applescript language could do and how it could make all
the data I am sitting on at the end of the scheduling process appear in iCal. I think it is a pretty cool

application and creates a neat little interface in iCal for NA users to be able to see both the cycle days and
their daily schedule over the entire year. There are people in each department using it and I hope that I
can bring more users into the iCal realm next year. Personally I find it indispensible in my planning of my
pace through the material over the course of the year. Ideally the file would be available to faculty in
August, before the onset of faculty meetings.
I find NA to be a wonderful place to work with both colleagues and students who challenge me to
do my best. Keeping myself on track in terms of grading and finding the time to make progress on
projects are perhaps the two areas my future efforts should focus on.