I've been trying to implement more self-assessment every year so that students know where they stand. Last year, I used M-A-T-H (mastery, approaching, tutoring needed, help!). This year, our school has implements a 4-3-2-1 level system that requires a rubric on what is required for a level 1, 2, 3, 4. At first I thought this was stupidly requiring more work with time I don't have. I still think this is on time I don't have, but I don't think it's quite so stupid. The thing that's changed my mind is the rubric must be framed in "I can..." statements. The reason this changes things is now I have to consider what things a student CAN do (and not their deficiencies).
Let's say our learning goal is something like "Create equations and show equivalence." A level 1 would not be "could not solve equations," rather they must attain some kind of knowledge (e.g. I can identify variables in an equation). This is very basic, but it lets students know that there is a minimum level that has been achieved. It's helpful to think about these as LEVELS and not as points. I'm still playing around with this, so we'll see how this goes. One thing I've done recently is have students take a quiz for a given learning goal. Then I find 4-5 samples from their work that demonstrate understanding levels from 1-4. I also provide an answer key. They rotate through samples and grade the samples against the rubric. This is so they have a better idea of the difference between levels. I share what I would have graded the samples and have a quick conversation. This is all to prepare them to self-assess their own quiz. They do this next, provide themselves feedback, and an explanation for why they chose their level. I look at the graded work and explanation and give my own grade. I think eventually students will get good at grading their own work- perhaps good enough that their self-assessment will be what goes in gradebook. The dream lives on. ..my phone is broken so I haven't been able to post student work... but I will when I get a new one!
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"I had seven students in my group. Were there 6 in yours?" This Friday, this quote came out of the lips of NOT a teacher but a student in my class. He was one of my assigned group leaders for a differentiated activity that we were doing in class. He was asking this to another group leader in my class and both of them saw their groups as their own students.
I've never been more proud. I know that in a lot of classes, the struggling students get the majority of attention by the teacher while excelling students sit quietly working on their problems until they're done. Neither group really feels a part of any kind of classroom community. just bodies in a room. Unless... they're talking to each other. Having students continually work together and push each other to help each other has been helpful on days when I simply can't be 6 places at once. And I don't need to be! Sometimes, I had groups of 7 students in one group (usually a logistical and management nightmare) working very hard for most of the period because they had a group leader to guide them through their work. They felt like they could help each other and get help if they needed to. It helped that the task was differentiated to their needs and that they were able to choose which assignment best fit where they were. It helped that students were used to working together and listening to each other. As much as possible, I take a step away from the groups so that they don't even notice me. It's so they recognize their own expertise and forces conversation with each other. So, how do I assess progress on individual students if I'm mostly steering away from groups? Toward the end, I call each group leader one by one outside in the hallway and ask for a (literally) 1 minute assessment of where each of their members are. I get qualitative info like which students are working really hard, which ones are just copying. I also get info like which ones are struggling and which ones are doing well. They are also specific about the types of problems they have difficulty with. This is probably better data than I could have gathered myself. This is only one day, but I'm going to need to continue thinking about how to keep this kind of rigor and intensity in my class more often First let me backtrack. This was an unbelievably difficult month. I'm not sure what exactly made it difficult but it dragged on and on. Students looked at me with hatred in their eyes. Perceived or not, it felt real. It's like all the glitter of the first month and its promises of a glorious school year had finally fallen into a pile of dust. I did not write, because I had nothing good to say. It was a dark time, and I am writing now to make sure I remember next year: November is a dark dark dark time. Hopefully December will be better. I return with renewed strength hoping for a glorious new semester. By February , I may feel dusty again. But here's to the cycle. But that's not what I'm here to write about today. I'm here to write about a quiz idea I tried. Before the quiz, I had three categories that students could choose to work on. Two of the three groups were facilitated by student group leaders. This went fairly well, because students felt that they had someone they could consult with. I "trained" the leaders quickly out in the hall by telling them to give hints instead of answers. I also let them know I had chosen them very specifically because I felt they were up to the task. You should have heard the conversations. I've never seen such intense focus and robust conversations from my most challenging class. Afterward, I gave them a quiz... and it was blank. They had to create their own quiz problems based on what they focused on during the review time. This isn't a new idea by any means, but it is the first time I'm trying it. Some kids had a hard time so I let them use their notes, but they had to write on their quiz that they used their notes (just so I was aware). Grading may be a big of a hassle but it may be worth it. I'll update once they're graded. Still, intuitively it seems like a valid assessment. Below are three examples, each from different groups. There are some kinks, but I'm gonna mull over it. ***Update: 12/11 I still haven't graded these and they haunt me. Either this is unsustainable OR there is a better way to grade them.
I was talking to a colleague today about standards based grading for quizzes, and she came to me with a brilliant idea. Instead of breaking up a quiz by standards, just use a regular quiz. Students take the quiz and then are given an answer key with a list of the standards they were quizzed on. They take a hi-lighter and hi-light which portions of the quiz match up to which learning goal. Then they give themselves a self-assessment per learning goal based on each hi-lighted section (Mastery, Approaching mastery, Tutoring needed, or HELP!). She's going to try it tomorrow and let me know the results. Will post when I hear back.
This could be a way to respond to criticisms about standards based grading where the writing the standard "gives away" how to do a problem. |
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