Abstract:
This chapter went in depth on how we as teacher can adjust our assessment process to allow students to earn the grade the shows mastery. There are eight main ideas that this chapter discusses. They are: 1. All redone work is done at teacher discretion. 2. How we would want to be treated as adults. 3. Ask parents to sign the original task or assessment and request the redo opportunity for their child. 4. Reserve the right to change the format for all redone work and assessments. 5. Ask students to create a calendar of completion that will yield better results. 6. Redos and grades. 7. Do not allow any work to be redone during the last week of the grading period. 8. Ask students to staple or attach the original task or assessment to the redone version. Teachers can go about re-do work at their own discretion and determine with the student a set time-line for making up missed work.
Reflection:
The class as a whole seemed to genuinely enjoy this chapter and found it informational. "I really liked the analogy of the person taking a driving test to show that make up work should not be averaged with the original grade." (Simon) People thought that the analogies used in this chapter were really in check and interesting. Most of the class viewed make up assignments as a positive. While people did not always agree on the manner in which it should be handled, but as a majority the class though making up work would allow students to make up for those "off days" we all have.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Chapter 8: Fair Isn't Always Equal
Chapter eight discusses the good and bad things teachers can grade. There are six different reasons given that teachers tend to grade upon. The first three reasons, to document student and teacher progress, to provide feedback to the student and family and the teacher, and to inform instructional decisions, are considered to be good reasons to grade. The last three reasons, to motivate students, to punish students, and to sort students, are considered to be bad reasons to grade students. The reason these are bad reasons is because they do not show mastery of the material. The reason for having grades is to show mastery of the material taught to the students. So by grading students based on those last three reasons, teachers are giving out grades that are inaccurate and do not show how the student mastered the material taught.
The idea of grading effort seemed to be the most popular topic discussed by everyone. It seemed that some people felt that effort should be graded, while others felt that it shouldn’t. The idea of using grades as a motivation, or to punish students was greatly disliked and most people agreed with the book on this idea. All in all, the six reasons for grading that was given by the chapter, were the highlight of the entire chapter.
The idea of grading effort seemed to be the most popular topic discussed by everyone. It seemed that some people felt that effort should be graded, while others felt that it shouldn’t. The idea of using grades as a motivation, or to punish students was greatly disliked and most people agreed with the book on this idea. All in all, the six reasons for grading that was given by the chapter, were the highlight of the entire chapter.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Chapter 7: Fair Isn't Always Equal
ABSTRACT
Chapter seven of Fair Isn't Always Equal discusses the importance or lack of that grades play in a students education. It was stated that grades are overused, and can also be a hindrance for students learning's. Teachers were encouraged to find other ways to motivate students and should offer other forms of feedback. Just putting down a number or letter does not tell how the student performed, it should be explained how that student earned that assessment. There were also tips on what not to do such as not putting frowning faces and not starting students out with a 100 points because it looks like students are losing points and not earning points. Lastly, the idea use to be that a C was the average, now an A or a B is considered average.
REFLECTION
There was a lot of really interesting reactions from the class about grading. Overall we were on the same track for the majority of ideas. This chapter put grades in perspective. Students often work for grades but not for learning or understanding. That was the major idea that was addressed. Students often compete for grades, but what is really important is mastering the content. Lastly, it would ideal for teachers to work together and have similar grading scales to make it more understandable for the students.
Chapter seven of Fair Isn't Always Equal discusses the importance or lack of that grades play in a students education. It was stated that grades are overused, and can also be a hindrance for students learning's. Teachers were encouraged to find other ways to motivate students and should offer other forms of feedback. Just putting down a number or letter does not tell how the student performed, it should be explained how that student earned that assessment. There were also tips on what not to do such as not putting frowning faces and not starting students out with a 100 points because it looks like students are losing points and not earning points. Lastly, the idea use to be that a C was the average, now an A or a B is considered average.
REFLECTION
There was a lot of really interesting reactions from the class about grading. Overall we were on the same track for the majority of ideas. This chapter put grades in perspective. Students often work for grades but not for learning or understanding. That was the major idea that was addressed. Students often compete for grades, but what is really important is mastering the content. Lastly, it would ideal for teachers to work together and have similar grading scales to make it more understandable for the students.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Chapter 6: Fair Isn't Always Equal
Chapter six of Fair Isn't Always Equal, entitled, "Creating Good Test Questions" does exactly that. It is full of many simple, but helpful tips that make learning more efficient. The first is mixing of test questions. It is good to have traditional questions such as matching or fill in the blank, but it is also important to have non traditional questions such as asking students to analyze or critique. A good test question is one that allows students to think and respond creatively. Another important idea is returning the test back in a timely matter. One example was given entitled double recording. In double recording both the teacher and student have a copy of the answer which allows students to have instant feedback. Other tips include keeping tests short, not having timed tests, and keep matching on the same page to save time. Lastly it was emphasized to add some fun into your tests by using creative examples and incoporating students into the questions.
This was a very interesting chapter for almost all of the students. From reading the reflections, it is apparent that there are some hard feelings towards tests from previous experiences. This mostly had to do with the stress involved. Yet, our class appeared to learn many things. Many commented on how it is important to have different test questions for each of the styles. Yet, there was some disagreement on some of the issues. A lot of people really liked the idea of double recording, yet others felt that it would encourage cheating and just memorizing the answers. Others agreed that double negatives should not be used because it just tricks students, yet others felt that it encouraged students to think. Overall, very few people seemed to like the idea of tests, but everyone seemed to have learned something very useful about creating good tests.
This was a very interesting chapter for almost all of the students. From reading the reflections, it is apparent that there are some hard feelings towards tests from previous experiences. This mostly had to do with the stress involved. Yet, our class appeared to learn many things. Many commented on how it is important to have different test questions for each of the styles. Yet, there was some disagreement on some of the issues. A lot of people really liked the idea of double recording, yet others felt that it would encourage cheating and just memorizing the answers. Others agreed that double negatives should not be used because it just tricks students, yet others felt that it encouraged students to think. Overall, very few people seemed to like the idea of tests, but everyone seemed to have learned something very useful about creating good tests.
Chapter 10: MI and Assessment
Chapter ten discusses the many different forms of assessments with multiple intelligences. The best way to assess a student’s strongest intelligence is by documenting them over their years in school. These documentations can range from a variety of things. Teachers may document students by video taping them, recording them, keeping portfolios of the student’s work, and many more. There are some institutes out there that use different assessments. One of these institutes is the Key Learning Community. The Key Learning Community is a K-12 school that video tapes each student twice a year for all twelve years of their school career. The other examples of institutes and programs that were discussed in this chapter were project spectrum, PIFS, and arts PROPEL.
This chapter was extremely informative when it came to talking about assessments. The information, charts, and examples that this chapter provided was extremely useful in proving how important assessing all of the eight intelligences is. Teachers can easily assess students by giving them the simple assignment of writing a paper, but what will the students learn from that? The different programs and institutions that were discussed in this chapter are proof that assessing all of the eight intelligences is critical and most beneficial for all of the students.
This chapter was extremely informative when it came to talking about assessments. The information, charts, and examples that this chapter provided was extremely useful in proving how important assessing all of the eight intelligences is. Teachers can easily assess students by giving them the simple assignment of writing a paper, but what will the students learn from that? The different programs and institutions that were discussed in this chapter are proof that assessing all of the eight intelligences is critical and most beneficial for all of the students.
Chapter 4: Three Important Types of Assessment (Fair Isn't Always Equal)
Abstract:
This chapter focused three ways a teacher can determine whether the student has mastered the content. The three different techniques were; having the student prepare a portfolio of various works through out the school year, score the work using a pre-determined rubric, or have the students do a self-assessment. All three of these techniques do not have to stand on their own, one or more can be combined to have a thorough insight of the student's mastery.
Portfolios provide a way for students to take part in their ability to obtain knowledge by setting their own goals, assessing how far they have come, and developing ways to help them reach the goal(s). Long term portfolios show students how they have progressed over the years, and short term portfolios help students reflect on the work they have done that year.
The next assessment technique was rubrics which is a very popular way of assessing a student's work. Rubrics may sometimes be one of the more challenging assessments to create because there is a lot of criteria that students need to meet. There are two different varieties of rubrics. Holistic rubrics where grammar and content is graded as a whole and analytic rubrics break down each component. The book provides a seven step program on how to create an effective rubric. The steps are: (1) identify essential and enduring content and skills, (2) identify what is acceptable evidence, (3) write a description on the highest performance, (4) make a decision between holistic or analytic, (5) determine label for each level, (6) write a descriptor for each level, and (7) test drive the rubric.
Lastly, were student self-assessments. Some different examples of student self-assessments are self-checking rubrics, video taping a presentation and then analyzing it, or using a journal/learning log. Having the students self-assess themselves allows the student and the teacher to understand what the student thinks of their work and it provides insight to the teacher as to how hard the student thinks they worked.
Reflection:
The overall feel from the class is that this chapter was a good one. There was not one type of assessment that was favored each one was discussed a little deeper. One classmate stated, "I think the biggest reason that I favor portfolios is that they show growth over time and lets us actually show learning instead of just recalling facts." Having students show their ability to learn is the reason we are sent to school. We want to gain knew knowledge and grow as students. Yes, memorizing facts and problems will get you through but chances are you will not remember that information a couple years later. Portfolios provide a set of works that the student can easily share with family, friends, or administrators to show that they have mastery with the content. Most of the class realized that there was a lot of hard work that went into rubrics. Also, having different styles of rubrics was an idea that some classmates liked. Rubrics provide the students with a check-list system and allows them to see how much each section of the project or paper is worth. This way they can spend the appropriate amount of time on each section. Student self-assessment was also received well by the class. One classmate said, "It is important that students can recognize where they did well, or where they struggled." Using a student self-assessment allows the students the opportunity to evaluate their own work after it has been completed and turned in.
Overall, this chapter was received very well. The class seemed to learn a great deal on assessing the students in ways other than handing out a multi-page test at the end of every unit.
This chapter focused three ways a teacher can determine whether the student has mastered the content. The three different techniques were; having the student prepare a portfolio of various works through out the school year, score the work using a pre-determined rubric, or have the students do a self-assessment. All three of these techniques do not have to stand on their own, one or more can be combined to have a thorough insight of the student's mastery.
Portfolios provide a way for students to take part in their ability to obtain knowledge by setting their own goals, assessing how far they have come, and developing ways to help them reach the goal(s). Long term portfolios show students how they have progressed over the years, and short term portfolios help students reflect on the work they have done that year.
The next assessment technique was rubrics which is a very popular way of assessing a student's work. Rubrics may sometimes be one of the more challenging assessments to create because there is a lot of criteria that students need to meet. There are two different varieties of rubrics. Holistic rubrics where grammar and content is graded as a whole and analytic rubrics break down each component. The book provides a seven step program on how to create an effective rubric. The steps are: (1) identify essential and enduring content and skills, (2) identify what is acceptable evidence, (3) write a description on the highest performance, (4) make a decision between holistic or analytic, (5) determine label for each level, (6) write a descriptor for each level, and (7) test drive the rubric.
Lastly, were student self-assessments. Some different examples of student self-assessments are self-checking rubrics, video taping a presentation and then analyzing it, or using a journal/learning log. Having the students self-assess themselves allows the student and the teacher to understand what the student thinks of their work and it provides insight to the teacher as to how hard the student thinks they worked.
Reflection:
The overall feel from the class is that this chapter was a good one. There was not one type of assessment that was favored each one was discussed a little deeper. One classmate stated, "I think the biggest reason that I favor portfolios is that they show growth over time and lets us actually show learning instead of just recalling facts." Having students show their ability to learn is the reason we are sent to school. We want to gain knew knowledge and grow as students. Yes, memorizing facts and problems will get you through but chances are you will not remember that information a couple years later. Portfolios provide a set of works that the student can easily share with family, friends, or administrators to show that they have mastery with the content. Most of the class realized that there was a lot of hard work that went into rubrics. Also, having different styles of rubrics was an idea that some classmates liked. Rubrics provide the students with a check-list system and allows them to see how much each section of the project or paper is worth. This way they can spend the appropriate amount of time on each section. Student self-assessment was also received well by the class. One classmate said, "It is important that students can recognize where they did well, or where they struggled." Using a student self-assessment allows the students the opportunity to evaluate their own work after it has been completed and turned in.
Overall, this chapter was received very well. The class seemed to learn a great deal on assessing the students in ways other than handing out a multi-page test at the end of every unit.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
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