Grades seem to be at the top of the totem pole when it comes to secondary education. Whether it's how we come to the number or letter, record the number or letter, or how we choose to portray that grade on the report card, they seem to be of incredibly high importance. Grades are meant to show a level of mastery of a certain subject or aspect of school, and although many have been using the same general A, B, C etc. spectrum for years, the real meaning of the grades have begun to get lost in translation from teacher to parent to student.
With the competitive nature of today's society, in particular in the collegiate domain, parent's (and often students) appear to care more about what grade is stamped on a piece of paper than exactly how much learning was done or information attained. When the point of school is to be a mark on a resume instead of a place of genuine understanding and broadening minds, then you know there's a problem with the way we're doing things. But how do we change this? The chapters offered a few thoughts and ideas on this.
Firstly there's the grades themselves. One issue discussed is how to handle a non-completed assignment. The book suggests that instead of recording a zero, that we put in 60 because it gives a truer sense of the level of understanding the student achieved. For instance, say a student had two homework assignments on the same couple of general ideas, and while they forget to complete one, they get a 99 on the other sheet. So, if you average the 99 and a 0 together you get about a 50. But does the student really having a failure to understand the subject of the homework? No. And while some will argue that students will simply decide not to do ANY work if they'll always get some sort of score, the book says this isn't so, as what is the point in bragging that you failed something?
Then there's the actual grading scale. Some states consider an 80 an A, while others consider it a B- or even a C+. But this isn't the only inconsistency. As from teacher to teacher expectations differ, kids become unsure of what an "A" paper really truly looks like. It's suggested that a 4-point scale might actually lead to more consistency, but because that's not the "traditional way" it's not certain if this will truly ever take over.
There are many ways to keep a grade book, but the most important thing that this document can do, is give a clear answer as to what your students are succeeding or struggling in. If we keep comments alongside grades we would be able to use them to determine a final overall grade as well as put the sentiments on report cards. If parents and students can see from our comments what exactly a student achieved or needs to work on, they have a fuller understanding of the grade and are less likely to question or try to fight it.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
FIAE — Ch. 7, 8, 9, 10
The nature of grades is certainly a complex one. One of the largest debates in this sector comes from the question of what are we grading when we stamp an A, B, C, D, or F on a report card? Some teachers say that we should grade students as though it is their job, which means taking into account attitude and attendance along with quality of work. Unlike a job, some teachers say you should consider whether a student has truly tried to master the material, and that if they have, they should be rewarded with a higher grade. There are also teachers who believe that the only thing that a report card grade should show is how a student did on the assessments.
The idea which most appeals to me is one in which you grade based on assessment, but have a separate grade for the behavioral aspects. I see the flaws in the single-grading system, but I also believe that whether or not a student tried on an assessment is important as well. I know that in the "real world" it doesn't matter if you "tried" if the product is bad, but as the book continues to remind me, I am working with adults-in-the-making (or as they put it "morphing", which just sounded a bit gross to be honest), who are not yet fully-developed grown-up.
Something else to consider is the fact that what is an "A" to one teacher, isn't necessarily an "A" to another. Some teachers see an "A" as having gone above and beyond, while others may see it as simply meeting all of the criteria addressed. This inconsistency leaves students at a loss; often they must interpret grades themselves. This is why putting comments on grade reports would serve a positive purpose, so students and their parents understand why they were given the grade they received.
What if a student wants to improve a grade with a re-do? I personally think re-dos are appropriate, especially because if a student asks for it— this shows initiative from them to improve themselves. But there are definitely some rules. First, be clear on when it is okay to redo things and when it is not. Second, make sure that you offer the re-do to all students no matter what grade they achieved. And third, instead of doing a grade penalty, consider having students explain why they got an answer incorrect, they must attend a review session, or say that they must stay after school, so that people who don't actually care about their grades simply won't put in the effort, while those that do, will be given the chance.
Some schools are doing away with grades all together, and you know what? It's great. Students are less stressed, and are more focused on truly learning instead of earning a grade on a report card. The students who are given graded report cards are struggling in comparison. On page 94 Alfie Kohn says: "To read the available research on grading is to notice three robust findings: students who are given grades, or for whom grades are made particularly salient, tend to (1) display less interest in what they are doing, (2) fare worse on meaningful measures of learning, and (3) avoid more difficult tasks when given the opportunity— as compared with those in non-graded comparison group."
The idea which most appeals to me is one in which you grade based on assessment, but have a separate grade for the behavioral aspects. I see the flaws in the single-grading system, but I also believe that whether or not a student tried on an assessment is important as well. I know that in the "real world" it doesn't matter if you "tried" if the product is bad, but as the book continues to remind me, I am working with adults-in-the-making (or as they put it "morphing", which just sounded a bit gross to be honest), who are not yet fully-developed grown-up.
Something else to consider is the fact that what is an "A" to one teacher, isn't necessarily an "A" to another. Some teachers see an "A" as having gone above and beyond, while others may see it as simply meeting all of the criteria addressed. This inconsistency leaves students at a loss; often they must interpret grades themselves. This is why putting comments on grade reports would serve a positive purpose, so students and their parents understand why they were given the grade they received.
What if a student wants to improve a grade with a re-do? I personally think re-dos are appropriate, especially because if a student asks for it— this shows initiative from them to improve themselves. But there are definitely some rules. First, be clear on when it is okay to redo things and when it is not. Second, make sure that you offer the re-do to all students no matter what grade they achieved. And third, instead of doing a grade penalty, consider having students explain why they got an answer incorrect, they must attend a review session, or say that they must stay after school, so that people who don't actually care about their grades simply won't put in the effort, while those that do, will be given the chance.
Some schools are doing away with grades all together, and you know what? It's great. Students are less stressed, and are more focused on truly learning instead of earning a grade on a report card. The students who are given graded report cards are struggling in comparison. On page 94 Alfie Kohn says: "To read the available research on grading is to notice three robust findings: students who are given grades, or for whom grades are made particularly salient, tend to (1) display less interest in what they are doing, (2) fare worse on meaningful measures of learning, and (3) avoid more difficult tasks when given the opportunity— as compared with those in non-graded comparison group."
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
UbD Ch.8, Mi Ch. 8, 11, 12
MI Theory as used in special education shares many of the same perspectives of "best practice" rules for general education. The idea of focusing on what one does best and cultivating it, instead of concentrating on a struggle, has been a philosophy of special education departments for years, who even have developed an almost new vocabulary to be more encouraging with their students. Something to realize about these special needs students is that while it's true they have different needs from some of their peers, this doesn't mean that they don't still possess many of those same eight intelligences we've been reading about. In fact, a list of high-achieving people facing personal challenges includes Edgar Allen Poe, Agatha Christie, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Thomas Edison, Ludwig van Beethoven and many others. If they had been put into an environment that didn't encourage their special talents, they may never have cultivated them. Yet, it seems like in many classrooms we DON'T cultivate all of these proclivities and talents because we're so focused on teaching "to the test" and such. This statement is even more true when it comes to special education, if we don't allow these students to try new experiences and let them do things things that interest them, we are doing them a great disservice. What if Agatha Christie had been in a classroom where she was never allowed to write freely because her teachers or parents didn't think her learning disability would allow it? Think of the great British novels we wouldn't have.
Teachers can be discouraging to students in other ways as well, including their style of grading. It's suggested that perhaps we as teachers shouldn't be grading students on so many things, and putting it behind one letter. Teachers will normally take into consideration grades on tests and homework, behavior, amount of improvement, etc. and squash all of that information into one grade. So really, a student could be doing perfectly on his tests and papers, but because he hasn't "improved" or simply doesn't have a great attitude, his entire grade for the class suffers. The argument is that these things are not truly cumulative, and are so different that putting them together doesn't make much sense. The suggestion stands that perhaps separate grades for separate things would be more appropriate. Yes, it's important for students to have a good work ethic, but is that one the same level as how highly they score on a test? In my opinion, I believe in the "one score fits all" theory, but this is probably because I was always that kid who could get by if they at least showed they were trying. I once wrote a song about radian circles on my ukulele for class and got 3 extra points on my final grade, because the teacher saw I was trying so hard to understand, and that I was putting time into this class. I put a very high value on trying, and while I will never put it as high as the actual academic grade earned, it will always be a consideration.
Teachers can be discouraging to students in other ways as well, including their style of grading. It's suggested that perhaps we as teachers shouldn't be grading students on so many things, and putting it behind one letter. Teachers will normally take into consideration grades on tests and homework, behavior, amount of improvement, etc. and squash all of that information into one grade. So really, a student could be doing perfectly on his tests and papers, but because he hasn't "improved" or simply doesn't have a great attitude, his entire grade for the class suffers. The argument is that these things are not truly cumulative, and are so different that putting them together doesn't make much sense. The suggestion stands that perhaps separate grades for separate things would be more appropriate. Yes, it's important for students to have a good work ethic, but is that one the same level as how highly they score on a test? In my opinion, I believe in the "one score fits all" theory, but this is probably because I was always that kid who could get by if they at least showed they were trying. I once wrote a song about radian circles on my ukulele for class and got 3 extra points on my final grade, because the teacher saw I was trying so hard to understand, and that I was putting time into this class. I put a very high value on trying, and while I will never put it as high as the actual academic grade earned, it will always be a consideration.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
MI Ch. 7, 9, 13, and 14
Multiple intelligences shouldn't just be catered to through the curriculum, making your classroom MI friendly is also a great step towards helping kids learn better and feel more comfortable. One of the ideas which most interested me, was to have four centers in your room of activity centers. The activity centers are either permanently or temporarily (changing, unchanging) time-based, or open-ended or topic-specific in subject. By mixing the two kinds subjects and time-based permanency, you have lots of options, and not only will students have options that they can depend on to be unchanging and which they are used to, they will also be stimulated with new things as well. The idea is to put each of these sections in the four corners of your room, but depending on the size or style of your classroom this may prove difficult. I personally think this is more appropriate for younger classrooms than the ones I plan to teach in.
The whole school can also help accommodate these intelligences. Schoolwide themes are suggested as a way to encourage schools to do something fun for the kids, while also giving teachers ideas to plan new projects around to incorporate the theme. There is also the idea of having mixed-aged grouping, which can give students the ability to work with people at various education levels from them. Another idea is of a whole room devoted to the intelligences, featuring games and activities called a "flow room", which can help students develop their lesser-used or lesser-attuned intelligences in a stress-free environment, or simply continue to strengthen their other ones.
A few different staff positions are also something to consider. An assessment specialist is suggested, along with a student-curriculum and school-community broker. The assessment specialist would be in charge of creating a sort of portfolio or record of sorts that tracks every student's strengths, limitations, and interests in all eight intelligences. This information is made available to, and can be helpful to, the students, future and current teachers, as well as the student's parents. (We have to be careful not to stress too much importance on these though, as we don't want kids to stifle one intelligence and not work on it, simply because they're currently "limited" in that intelligence.) The brokers jobs would be to serve as bridges, the first between students gifts or abilities and the available resources the school has to offer. Basically, they make sure if the school have a tool a student can use to learn more deeply, that it's offered to them or they're aware of it's existence. School-community brokers are the link between student's intelligences and what the community around them has to offer.
Some things that you may not immediately associate with MI theory include computer technology, career counseling and cultural diversity. All of these things can be added to your curriculum and used as a means to implement the eight intelligences. When it comes to cultural diversity, there is something to be careful of, involving the possible ninth intelligence. While spirituality (the ninth possible intelligence) can be integrated through your curriculum, it's often not done because of cultural differences and hence religious differences between students. Because I don't want to offend anyone, I will try to keep my use of religion minimal or fact-based if possible.
The whole school can also help accommodate these intelligences. Schoolwide themes are suggested as a way to encourage schools to do something fun for the kids, while also giving teachers ideas to plan new projects around to incorporate the theme. There is also the idea of having mixed-aged grouping, which can give students the ability to work with people at various education levels from them. Another idea is of a whole room devoted to the intelligences, featuring games and activities called a "flow room", which can help students develop their lesser-used or lesser-attuned intelligences in a stress-free environment, or simply continue to strengthen their other ones.
A few different staff positions are also something to consider. An assessment specialist is suggested, along with a student-curriculum and school-community broker. The assessment specialist would be in charge of creating a sort of portfolio or record of sorts that tracks every student's strengths, limitations, and interests in all eight intelligences. This information is made available to, and can be helpful to, the students, future and current teachers, as well as the student's parents. (We have to be careful not to stress too much importance on these though, as we don't want kids to stifle one intelligence and not work on it, simply because they're currently "limited" in that intelligence.) The brokers jobs would be to serve as bridges, the first between students gifts or abilities and the available resources the school has to offer. Basically, they make sure if the school have a tool a student can use to learn more deeply, that it's offered to them or they're aware of it's existence. School-community brokers are the link between student's intelligences and what the community around them has to offer.
Some things that you may not immediately associate with MI theory include computer technology, career counseling and cultural diversity. All of these things can be added to your curriculum and used as a means to implement the eight intelligences. When it comes to cultural diversity, there is something to be careful of, involving the possible ninth intelligence. While spirituality (the ninth possible intelligence) can be integrated through your curriculum, it's often not done because of cultural differences and hence religious differences between students. Because I don't want to offend anyone, I will try to keep my use of religion minimal or fact-based if possible.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Chapters 6, 7 UbD/DI and Chapters 5, 6 MI
Chapter 6 of UbD discussed responsive teaching in academically diverse classrooms. A list of core beliefs about curriculum and diverse student populations stresses that students need opportunity to learn and apply the "basics" of a subject, they should consistently experience curricula that causes them to think at high levels and make meaning of information, students need to know and understand the learning goals of a unit or lesson, and students should be given a balance between student construction and teacher guidance. One of the final things this chapter stresses is to not repeat what we may have seen in past classrooms, just because your teacher from fifth grade did something, does not mean it was necessarily the "right" way to do it. We are more likely to repeat the making of less-flexible learning environments if we were taught in one. I'm lucky in that I've always been in pretty flexible learning environments, which I plan to mirror in my own classroom.
Some of the most important points from UbD chapter 7 included a reminder that the "ladder" model is flawed. Just because you have a student who hasn't mastered the beginning parts of a concept doesn't mean that you shouldn't at least introduce them to, or even just let them know that of the existence of larger concepts. If a student is forever stuck in the remedial, easy, skimming surface projects and worksheets so they can master the opening information, they will never see just how interesting and complex a subject can be.
Another idea this chapter discussed was bringing up lots of questions to keep conversations about subjects going and interesting. It keeps kids thinking. This idea is at the roots of Socratic Seminars, which is a kind of instruction I would like to use with my students.
The 5th chapter of MI discussed multiple ways to bring MI into the classroom and cater to all intelligences. One of the things it talked about was that a good MI teacher will help students use all of their intelligences, not strictly the ones they're "best" at— the teacher accomplishes this by switching between intelligence-based instructions throughout the lesson by simply moving differently, writing on the board, playing a video, and having the students move or manipulate something with their own hands. It's all part of the same lesson, just different facets. I think MI can sound daunting, but if I look at it as just differentiating and not doing the same thing over and over again, then I think it will be easier for me to teach in this style in the future.
Chapter 6 of MI suggests that linguistic intelligence is the easiest intelligence to bring into the classroom, as it's always been such a staple in schools. Despite it being easiest, the chapter gives it the same four examples of use in the classroom as the other eight intelligences. The book points out when a program or project hits multiple intelligences as well. Though I think it may take a bit more time set aside for planning, I want to try to hit multiple intelligences with single activities whenever possible.
Some of the most important points from UbD chapter 7 included a reminder that the "ladder" model is flawed. Just because you have a student who hasn't mastered the beginning parts of a concept doesn't mean that you shouldn't at least introduce them to, or even just let them know that of the existence of larger concepts. If a student is forever stuck in the remedial, easy, skimming surface projects and worksheets so they can master the opening information, they will never see just how interesting and complex a subject can be.
Another idea this chapter discussed was bringing up lots of questions to keep conversations about subjects going and interesting. It keeps kids thinking. This idea is at the roots of Socratic Seminars, which is a kind of instruction I would like to use with my students.
The 5th chapter of MI discussed multiple ways to bring MI into the classroom and cater to all intelligences. One of the things it talked about was that a good MI teacher will help students use all of their intelligences, not strictly the ones they're "best" at— the teacher accomplishes this by switching between intelligence-based instructions throughout the lesson by simply moving differently, writing on the board, playing a video, and having the students move or manipulate something with their own hands. It's all part of the same lesson, just different facets. I think MI can sound daunting, but if I look at it as just differentiating and not doing the same thing over and over again, then I think it will be easier for me to teach in this style in the future.
Chapter 6 of MI suggests that linguistic intelligence is the easiest intelligence to bring into the classroom, as it's always been such a staple in schools. Despite it being easiest, the chapter gives it the same four examples of use in the classroom as the other eight intelligences. The book points out when a program or project hits multiple intelligences as well. Though I think it may take a bit more time set aside for planning, I want to try to hit multiple intelligences with single activities whenever possible.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Multiple Intellegences in the Classroom — Ch. 10: MI Theory and Assessment
This chapter begins explaining that it simply wouldn't make any sense to teach a curriculum through all eight intelligences and then give a test rooted only in only one intelligence. But this is so often what happens. With all good intent a teacher teaches through various ways and it's great, but when it comes time to test they'll often learn toward linguistic or logical-mathematical skills.
But are tests really that great anyway? It seems that things such as portfolios are a better gauge of how a student is doing overall. Ways to document student performances include: Anecdotal records, work samples, audio files, video, photographs, student journals, student-kept charts, sociograms, informal assessments, informal use of standardized tests, student interviews, criterion-referenced assessments, checklists and calendar records. Collecting these things ensures authentic assessment instead of the standardized testing which seems to focus largely on what a student cannot do instead of what they can.
Some projects may seem geared more specifically to one kind of intelligence, but with just a few words (build a, write a, write a song about, etc.) a project can have a completely new context and reach kids it was unable to reach previously. This returns to the idea of "changing the verb" which is something I hope to implement in my future tests and projects, so that they're not constantly being asked to only "explain". As long as students are all achieving a similar understanding of a subject and reaching the goals set out for them, the path they use to get there can be as different as they like.
MI Portfolios are a great way to show all that a student has done, and can be set up in most any way which best fits the situation. That said, the "Five C's of Portfolio Development" should be present. These include: Celebration, Cognition, Communication, Cooperation, and Competency. To quote page 147, "Ultimately, MI theory provides an assessment framework within which students can have their rich and complex lives acknowledged, celebrated, and nurtured."
But are tests really that great anyway? It seems that things such as portfolios are a better gauge of how a student is doing overall. Ways to document student performances include: Anecdotal records, work samples, audio files, video, photographs, student journals, student-kept charts, sociograms, informal assessments, informal use of standardized tests, student interviews, criterion-referenced assessments, checklists and calendar records. Collecting these things ensures authentic assessment instead of the standardized testing which seems to focus largely on what a student cannot do instead of what they can.
Some projects may seem geared more specifically to one kind of intelligence, but with just a few words (build a, write a, write a song about, etc.) a project can have a completely new context and reach kids it was unable to reach previously. This returns to the idea of "changing the verb" which is something I hope to implement in my future tests and projects, so that they're not constantly being asked to only "explain". As long as students are all achieving a similar understanding of a subject and reaching the goals set out for them, the path they use to get there can be as different as they like.
MI Portfolios are a great way to show all that a student has done, and can be set up in most any way which best fits the situation. That said, the "Five C's of Portfolio Development" should be present. These include: Celebration, Cognition, Communication, Cooperation, and Competency. To quote page 147, "Ultimately, MI theory provides an assessment framework within which students can have their rich and complex lives acknowledged, celebrated, and nurtured."
FIAE — Ch. 6: Creating Good Test Questions
There are quite a few ways to go about writing a set of good test questions, but in order to do so, you have to keep a lot of things in mind. For instance: What information do you want to glean from their answers? Are the questions clear enough? Is this the best format for these kind of questions? There's a lot to it, and this chapter offered a few ways to improve your style of test-making.
One way to keep students concentrated and not bored to death during your test is to vary the kinds of questions or prompts you're using. This will keep them on their toes mentally, as well as allow you to see that they understand what is being tested from all angles. It is important also that you avoid confusing the students. Using negatives in a question can sometimes confuse younger students, so it's best to always write the questions in the positive format. If you do wish to use the negative, consider bolding it or something similar to ensure that they're truly answering the question, because if they get it wrong due to a reading error, you're not really testing for understanding the content at all, are you? Make your prompts and questions clear. Timed tests can cause stress and skew your data, keeping a test shorter will allow students to focus more easily as it's for a shorter amount of time. Teir questions as warranted, but also try to put a little fun into the questions, as this returns again to the idea of keeping kids on their toes, always guessing. I think all of these are great ideas, and that I will use them in my future tests so that taking them doesn't become monotonous. One example I saw discussed putting students in sentences from the tests doing odd things like buying yachts or 100 watermelons, and when I mentioned this idea to my roommate she reminded me that people love to hear / see their names, and seeing their fellow peers in silly circumstances could be funny.
One way to keep students concentrated and not bored to death during your test is to vary the kinds of questions or prompts you're using. This will keep them on their toes mentally, as well as allow you to see that they understand what is being tested from all angles. It is important also that you avoid confusing the students. Using negatives in a question can sometimes confuse younger students, so it's best to always write the questions in the positive format. If you do wish to use the negative, consider bolding it or something similar to ensure that they're truly answering the question, because if they get it wrong due to a reading error, you're not really testing for understanding the content at all, are you? Make your prompts and questions clear. Timed tests can cause stress and skew your data, keeping a test shorter will allow students to focus more easily as it's for a shorter amount of time. Teir questions as warranted, but also try to put a little fun into the questions, as this returns again to the idea of keeping kids on their toes, always guessing. I think all of these are great ideas, and that I will use them in my future tests so that taking them doesn't become monotonous. One example I saw discussed putting students in sentences from the tests doing odd things like buying yachts or 100 watermelons, and when I mentioned this idea to my roommate she reminded me that people love to hear / see their names, and seeing their fellow peers in silly circumstances could be funny.
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