FIAE Chapter 4: Analysis and Synthesis

Chapter 4 went into a basic description of three forms to assess students rubrics, self-assessment, and portfolios. Rubrics are lengthy processes that are created and should be examined by teachers for content, clarity, practicality, and technical quality. These are used as powerful assessment tools. Self-assessments are important in the class to help students better understand as well as give them feedback they may need. The book described many different ways to do self-assessments such as self-checking lists and rubrics, videotaping performances, fill in the blank responses, interactive notebooks, etc. Wormeli discussed portfolios and how they could be as simple as a folder of collected work to as complex as multi-year selected and analyzed work pieced together to represent a student’s life. Portfolios often act as showcases for ones information. This chapter was a good way to determine the best tools to use for assessing students that you felt would fit best in your classroom.

            All of us are going to have different classrooms and have different ideas about how to run our classrooms; however, we also shared many similar views to what we thought about these methods for assessing students. Many of us were fond of rubrics, stating that they were a good simple way to make objectives clear for our students. Clarity is an important aspect when teaching and these rubrics do a good job of incorporating important information in a clear and precise way. Many of us had a tendency to list off the many steps in a rubric and this made some nervous, but like many things we will get better at it with time. Many agreed that portfolios were a good method to assess students’ mastery of a topic or subject. They show students growth while also keeping every aspect of it organized and orderly. Portfolios seemed to be thought as very flexible being either simplistic or complex at any given time depending on what the teacher wants. Portfolios are a good way to have students and teachers both set goals. It was an anonymous decision that self-assessment is a good way to keep students on task because they use goals and the idea of setting goals. Many self-assessments have the ability of getting students to work harder to reach the goals they set out for themselves. Student self-assessments are a great and simple way to see how much your students have learned as well as get feedback on assignments. Overall all three systems seemed beneficial to us and are certainly forms of assessing students we can see ourselves using in our classrooms. 

 

Links for rubrics:

http://rubistar.4teachers.org/

How to Self-Assessment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XJ8f9yLteQ

Example of self-assessment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxhRNtJkROA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIflgA-ngVk&feature=related (like this one better)

Page on interactive notebook:

http://www.squidoo.com/interactive-notebook

http://www.slideshare.net/danahuff/interactive-notebooks (Cool incorporates technology.)

Portfolio:

http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/portfolios.htm

Chapter 9: Abstract and Synthesis

In Chapter 9 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal, Wormelli describes ten mistakes that we should avoid making when applying differentiated instruction. The ten tips are avoid incorporating non-academic factors, avoid penalizing students’ attempts at mastery, avoid grading practice, avoid withholding assistance, avoid assessing students with invalid assessments, avoid allowing extra credit and bonus points, avoid group grades, avoid grading on a curve, avoid recording zeroes for missed work, avoid being norm-referenced. These are important pointers to help teachers with figuring out the best grading system for their class. The chapter says that we do not know the perfect day for every student to assess them on. So through our grading system and by using the ideas brought forward in this chapter we can help assess our students on both bad and good days. This will help in giving us the best understanding of student mastery.

Throughout the reading of this chapter many of us seemed to find the same things interesting. Certain aspects brought forward seemed to catch the attention of many such as the idea of homework being practice, so it should only be graded on completion and the effort put into it. As teachers, we should also make sure to give each student feedback on the homework to help them see the areas they did not quite understand and to better remember it for later. However, some seemed to think when dealing with homework it could be tricky to not grade it. This could either go very poorly or be very beneficial to the students, which is why it would be better to grade it in some way like by effort. Some of us seemed to agree that it is important to have students re-do work to get a better mastery of the subject. Yet this should only be partial credit when being re-done instead of full credit. Some believed that both effort and participation were important to helping lead students to mastery and should be added in the grading system. Though they believed they should be added to grading they thought that this grade should be a small percentage of the whole final grade. Many of us agreed that extra credit could be very beneficial to the mastery of a subject. However, it can only be beneficial if it fully relates to the subject matter we are trying to have them master. Many also seemed to think students should be helped when they don’t understand and do something wrong; rather than be penalized for doing it wrong. We as teachers should help our students better understand what they are doing wrong by giving them other tools to help them understand and master the subject such as, graphic organizers, questionnaires, etc. Another issue that seemed kind of controversial was the issue of grading students in groups. Some seemed to think it would be a good method sharing stories of past teachers who did this and it was a success for them. However, others seemed to think it is hard to tell one student’s mastery based on group grading; therefore, they seemed to think it was better to grade an individual on the work they brought to the group. Either way seemed to have evidence to back up the point and both would probably work. Overall this chapter had many issues addressed that we seemed to find important to discuss when thinking about grading students on mastery of the subject area.

http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/cii/resources/teaching_tips/assessment_grading.asp

http://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/grading-and-communicating-about-grades

http://www.graphic.org/goindex.html

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 11: Six Burning Grading Issues

In Chapter 11, Wormeli discusses the idea of grading and the issues that grading brings forward. The idea of getting a zero on an assignment is something many students fear. I believe that instead of just failing a student for a missing assignment; it would behoove me to give them an incomplete and talk to them about finishing it. If they refuse to do the work then possibly a zero is in order; however, zeros tend to distort the grading system’s accuracy. This is why I believe I will use the method of incomplete rather than the idea of plugging in zeros. The idea of an addendum is a good method to use when dealing with gifted students because it allows the teacher, the student, and the student’s parents to see where the student is for grade level as well as seeing what they achieved beyond that point. The idea of adding and addendum to their report cards would be a great way to show progress through out the student’s school year. I did not agree with the idea of getting rid of rank and valedictorian. I believe that yes this could have negative effects on students. However, I believe a little competition is beneficial to students because it makes them strive to do their best. In the real world they will have to strive to be the best at work and will be facing the idea of going against others to reach the top. This concept is a part of life, so why should we get rid of it? One of our jobs as teachers is to prepare our students for outside of school and the idea of rank helps do this. I believe if we are trying hard to keep our students from getting their feelings hurt we are not preparing them. In life their will be negative aspects that will bring you down, but it is how you overcome that and rise to the challenge that proves your success, and this is the same for the school atmosphere.

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 12: Grading Scales

             In chapter 12, Wormeli discusses a few constructive grading scales. He discusses that the use of rubrics helps a teacher get a general sense of students’ mastery. Rubrics are difficult and I am not sure if I am comfortable with them; however, I believe by practicing them I will become more comfortable and confident in them. They are good tools to use and I plan to bring them into my classroom. I was not familiar with the 4.0 grading scale, so it being addressed in this chapter was very helpful to me. It was good to familiarize myself with it because I am sure I will probably encounter it in the classroom sometime. The 4.0 grading scale helps students know exactly where they went wrong on an assignment. It allows them the opportunity to see what they are doing wrong and fix their problems. With any grading scale it is important to remember that if we want a differentiated class than we need to pay attention to performance over time and the trend it creates.  This chapter addresses the many grading scales and how they will be a positive addition to every classroom. I found this very helpful since most it was unknown to me before. When in school I normally saw teachers using the 100-point scale so this was already somewhat familiar to me. This scale is very useful for ranking and such because it is more precise. I believe many teachers use this method because it is so precise and works very well. I believe this as well as the other methods brought forward in this chapter all have beneficial aspects that should be taken into consideration.

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 14: Responsive Report Card Formats

             In this chapter, Wormeli mentions report cards and methods used with these. It is important to keep in mind that when dealing with report cards parents are involved and need to be considered. When coming up with methods that work on report cards it is important to consider ways that parents will best understand why the student got the grade they did. They should include feedback, document progress, and inform instructional decisions. I never really thought of the idea of placing an asterisk next to a grade to indicate that a narrative should be reviewed concerning that specific grade. I really liked this idea and found that it would be a great idea to use. I believe a set of marks to help one remember certain aspects is interesting thought. It is like the key to the report card and this thought seems very intriguing to me. I believe this is something I could possibly use for myself. I feel like in the younger grades we were assessed in many different ways. We were given grades as well as being assessed; however, as we all grew older this came to end. I am not sure how I feel about this I believe it would be nice to see some of this continue into high school as well as the younger grades because I find it advantageous to have and utilize. This would not only help teachers see students progress but also help students and their parents see it as well. This idea of dual grading or the thought of giving grades and assessing students is good to have in the school system in my opinion. Another topic I remember seeing in the younger years but not in high school would be multiple categories. I believe this could be another positive tool to use and should be used in the older grades as well as the younger ones. I believe all the methods brought forward in this chapter would be beneficial to report cards and they should not be overlooked because only the younger grades use them.

Fair Isn't Always Equal Chapter 13: Gradebook and Formats for the Differentiated Classroom

          Wormeli discusses setting up a grade book based off different formats and how a teacher should find a grade book format that works for them. As a teacher it will be important for me to decide on a grade book format to use. I believe the questions this chapter presents will help me when I need to decide a grading system that deals with differentiation in the classroom. The idea of grouping assignments based on standard is a great way to grade. This is because it takes the guesswork out of deciding weather or not a student has met the standard. It gives the teacher feedback that is helpful in deciding where the student is in the idea of mastery. Grouping assignments by weight or category helps one be organized and see what area students struggle in the most whether that is at home with work, or on tests, or during class. It helps give you a better understanding of what aspects the student struggles in based off the categories the grades are separated into. The only problem with this method to me is the fact that it would hard to keep all the grades accurate when there are so many exceptions. I really enjoyed the idea of classifying assignments by date because it not only keeps all of it neat and organized, but it also helps the teacher know when assignments are due so when students hand them in late it won’t make this process confusing. When doing this it is important to put them in by the right date and look at the trends you observe. This will help teachers see that maybe one week a student wasn’t doing well and did not hand in work. This will be an alert and the teacher will be given the opportunity to check in with their students and see if maybe there is a simple explanation. It keeps the teachers in touch better with the students as well gives them a chance to see how well a student is mastering something based off what they struggled with during the week. This chapter brings forward some very great grade book ideas. It is important for me as a teacher to try more than one and see which one I like best, as well as switch it all up every now and then.

Fair Isn’t Always Equal Chapter 10: Conditions for Redoing Work for Full Credit

In chapter 10 of Fair Isn’t Always Equal, Wormeli discusses redoing assignments and the secrets behind making this strategy work for you. When having students redo work it is good to be careful not to let them take advantage of the opportunity to redo work. If the teacher always allows the students to redo work then the students will purposely not do well so they can redo it. As a teacher, I must randomly allow my students the opportunity to make up work so that way my students do not learn to rely on it. It is a great idea to make your students redo assignments because many of the students have days that just don’t go right and it is good for them to have a second chance if they have given a legitimate excuse that can be confirmed as true. When redoing something it doesn’t always mean that the student must redo an assignment and pass it back in. When students redo something they can do it orally, just fix the mistakes, just do the page that is wrong, etc. Many students have trouble with time management I know I did in high school. I always caught myself procrastinating or failing at being organized because I lacked time management skills. Wormeli’s calendar of completion idea is perfect for keeping students on task. When the teacher works with the student to plan out what their schedule will look like for the course they are more apt to stay organized and in turn learn more. It is always important for the student to hand in not only their final piece but also hand in a copy of what they re did so a teacher can see the old and see how the student has changed and improved on their work. It is important to at least sometimes give kids chances to redo assignments so they can be encouraged to improve and master the subject.