Using data...you know this is one of my favorite chapters!!!
I hear teachers all the time talking about students taking responsibility for their own learning. What do you think of the concept of having students "interact" with their data, setting goals and tracking their progress?
As pointed out on page 42 retakes are a part of normal life, backed by research and show evidence of eventual understanding. Is it your policy to allow for late work and retakes? Either way, how do feel about the concept?
Students reflecting on the data and setting goals based on the data seems productive. Do you have a concept of how this could be done in your or a typical middle school classroom so that the students understand that "learning is an ongoing process".
Reflect on the concept of "lesson trails".
I think that having students track their own data would be helpful for them. It would allow them to see the exact areas where they need to improve as well as the areas that are their strengths. While I like the concept, I feel that I would need some direction and input from other teachers to get started with a system that would be productive. The majority of my students, when work is returned to them, head straight for the garbage can once class is over. The only ones who generally keep their returned papers are the ones who are already doing well. Certainly, most of them would keep it if there was a section in their binder for data collection and goal setting because the graded work would have a function. I would need some guidance on how best to initiate and carry out this task.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of retakes, I have always been open to retakes, and I work with students when it comes to late work. I may not give them full credit for the late work, but every circumstance is different, so it depends on the situation. I did find a sheet on Pinterest that can be adapted for retakes. I have put the link to this sheet below. If you copy and paste it, it should take you to my dropbox folder....I think! HA! Instead of them just asking for a retake, the sheet asks them to reflect on why they did poorly the first time and what did they do to better prepare...it could be changed up a bit and personalized for each classroom.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jg9y0i0hkhe0mik/Request%20to%20Retest%20for%20Blog.pdf
I liked the examples of the lesson trails, and I think we all probably do this to some extent, but we may not realize we are doing it. By having them keep all the related tasks together, it would make the lessons very "transparent," as the author suggests.
I think it would be a good idea for students to "interact" with their data and keep track of their progress. I also think this would beneficial for parents to see and would be excellent documentation for us as teachers. I just have to figure out a good way to do this. :)
DeleteI don't allow my students to throw away any graded papers when I return them. I require my students to have a binder only for my class, and I have them divide it into sections: grammar, literature, writing, vocabulary, and journal. When I hand graded papers back to students, they put them in the appropriate section in their binder. Even though my kids keep all their graded papers and we often refer back to them, I need to come up with a way to help them set goals and actually think about their progress or lack thereof.
I do allow for re-takes on occasions. Based on grades and also talking to students after a test to see how they feel determines whether or not I think re-testing is needed.
I also found something on Pinterest that I'm thinking about trying this year (I love Pinterest for new classroom ideas!). It is a form that students fill out requesting to retake a test. They not only have to explain in detail why they want to retake the test, but they have to list at least 3 things they have done to improve their understanding of the material or concept. If you're on Pinterest, you've probably seen this. If not, here is the link if you're interested.
http://mathequalslove.blogspot.com/p/foldables-templates-graphic-organizers.html?m=1
You'll need to scroll down to see it.
There are a lot of free "homework" apps that students can download. This one in particular (link is below) is available on
iPhones, iPads, Android devices, and Windows 8 devices. Using one of these apps might be a way to get middle school kids interested in keeping up with their grades and progress. Of course, there are students who wouldn't have access to these devices though, so that would have to be addressed.
https://t.myhomeworkapp.com/
I like her thoughts on lesson trails. I'm glad she included the templates. I can make a few changes and easily make them fit for my class. As a language arts teacher, I often do this with the writing of essays, but I have not done it with multiple choice tests or other similarly formatted tests. I'd like to try it this year.
I love the idea of students tracking their own data and setting goals. I have been reading a couple of blogs by middle school math teachers who are using a concept known as standards based grading. Basically, the student keeps track of their grades on assignments that are skilled based, if they make below an 80 they may redo the assignment. The tests are broken up into standards or skills so the student could retake only the part they did poorly on. In one system the students must have redone the assignment (skill) they made below an 80 in order to be eligible retake that part of the test. Since the CCRS is all about growth and mastery, this seems like a good idea. I need to do some more research; right now I think all of the paperwork would be overwhelming. I have always let the kids turn in late assignments, my philosophy is if they don’t practice the concept they won’t learn it, so better late than never. I give them late passes at the beginning of the year, but I always take the assignment regardless. There have been a few times I have let them retake a test, what I usually do is have them make test corrections and count the corrections as partial credit. There corrections must be completely worked out and explained in order to get the partial credit.
ReplyDeleteBelow are links to a couple of the blogs I have been reading.
http://mrshester.blogspot.com/search/label/grading
http://everybodyisageniusblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/standards-love.html
Most of the ideas in this chapter were expressed in the Leader in Me book...data notebooks.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mrs. Cecil...paperwork seems overwhelming, but if K-3 kids can keep up with a data notebook and understand its purpose(Leaders in Me)...then I think Middle Schoolers can too!
I think it is a great idea to have students track their own progress. I would like to try this in my classroom. It is a great way to incorporate math skills in my social studies classroom. Each student can create a graph of their progress to keep in their notebook.
ReplyDeleteWhen I taught math, I did allow for retakes because it was simple to generate a new test with different problems. I don't with social studies because I test them on all of the main points and it would be very difficult to come up with different questions that cover the same concepts. I don't think it would be fair for them to see all of the questions once and then score 100 on each retake.
I do allow late work, but I take 25 percent off. My assignments can be completed within the class period, and if not I will give them more time the next day. If that still isn't enough time, the students can finish the assignment at home. This allows the students to have plenty of time to complete each assignment. I allow the late work because if the student didn't turn it in (for whatever reason) and is willing to do it, knowing they won't receive full credit, I think they should have that opportunity. They will still gain knowledge from the assignment, even if it is late.
I like the idea of lesson trails for a multiple-choice assessment, but WE NEED MORE COPIES! :) There is no way I could do this for 160 students on each test (which are sometimes 2 pages front and back. I think it would be a huge benefit for the students, but just can't afford it.
I agree with Mrs. Hughes that there is a lot in this chapter that is very similar to the Leader in Me concepts. I like the goal-setting and will try that to a degree in my classes this year. I agree with the author about giving potential failures the opportunity to succeed and with that end in mind usually always accept late work (better late than never) and allow retakes on the tests I give.
ReplyDeleteOur work in my class is intangible, so I am planning on some incentive charts for various benchmarks to give the students a year-long way to see their progress/achievements.
Being somewhat of a concrete thinker, I like relying on hard data to make decisions. It's difficult to argue with or dispute data. Seeing how tweens like to argue, showing them the facts seems a logical way to thwart those arguments and teach them to see the reality of their academic status on a day to day or atleast week to week basis. Kids seemed so surprised to find they are failing when a progress report comes out as if they had no idea they weren't doing so hot in your class. Teaching them to record, track, and analyze the data may help them be more immediately invested in a class and provide incentive to do work to the best of their ability. I found my own daughter slipping this year in 8th grade wtih the typical apathetic attitude of a middle school "senior". In the later part of the year she began checking INow every few days to track her grades and simply seeing her progress in real time as a hard number (her average) it provided motivation to work harder that I could not seem to do so myself.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, with the new upcoming means of accountability for the SDE "growth" seems to be the focus. We can't go wrong getting a jump start on the process and getting kids personally involved in their own data analysis.
I also like the in your face data. Sometimes we underestimate students abilities to understand some of their data. However, since they are centered on themselves and it is very personal information, they pay attention and often want to improve it. Even the ones you would not expect react to personal information. I also think the re-take concept is a good one because anyone can have a bad day and if they are truly trying to learn and truly concerned with accomplishments, it can make a big difference in getting the concepts through to them and them having success with the material. They get more involved with the learning process and understanding why they missed what they missed which in itself is a learning process.
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