I know I’m late in the game on this story from the Times about the high school survey, but in any case, here is my question: who were the kids in the study? Where do they live? What part of the country? Neither the article in the Times nor the powerpoint presentation gives this information. Anytime I read anything about education, I almost always immediately think about how it relates to me, my teaching and my kids. With this article, I can’t see my kids at all, though the findings are interesting and definintely something to think about.
In Exposing a Grading Scandal, Harsh Lessons Are Learned – New York Times
Scrubbing is a common practice and I think there is a consensus that there is a fine line between a passing essay and a failing one, especially since the New York State Board of Regents has made the grading scale more and more favorable each year.
An interesting post about using del.icio.us as an assessment tool: NYCWP:Ken Stein’s Teacher Blog. My department was awarded a technology grant to purchase a mobile computer lab, so I’ve been thinking about how to take full advantage of it. With 17 teachers in our department, and 15 mobile laptops, I’m not sure how much face time I can wrangle. It depends on how many teachers actually opt to use the computers and how often/how long. In any case, using del.icio.us as an assessment tool could very well figure into my study of Understanding by Design.
I’m up to chapter four in Understanding By Design, about the six facets of understanding. Some of the facets are pretty familiar. For example, one is “Have Perspective”, defined as “see and hear points of view through critical eyes and ears; see the big picture”. In my language, this is simply visualizing, a skill I try to teach all year long. Another is, “Have Self-Knowledge” aka “Activate Schema”, the popular buzzword of middle school language arts. As I read, I’m taking notes and thinking about how I will use this information to create assessments for my students. I’ve also been paying careful attention to the sections on essential questions, namely how to create appropriate questions. There are three types of questions: essential, unit and entry point. Entry point questions are starting points and should point to larger unit and essential questions. I guess entry point questions would be like what DOE flacks call “motivation” questions, questions that relate directly to the students and get them interested in the topic.
Among my notes is this question I asked myself: “When will they ever need to write an essay in a non-academic context? Realistically, never…” My response to my own question: “So writing is a means to some other end…
1. Writing as a way of thinking aloud
2. Writing for understanding
3. Writing to communicate
4. Writing to make a point”
Basically, what it comes down to, is that when faced with a lack of innate motivation to succeed and be a successful student, teachers need to seek “buy-in” and in that context, it helps to think of the kids as customers. I have sell them on making an investment in the class, and make sure they get a return on their investment, in the form of grades and other incentives. This is why assessment is so important, because with assessment comes an opportunity to prove to my students that their investment has indeed paid off.
There are a lot of pieces to put together and I need to take it little by little. I’m forcing myself not to rush ahead and starting writing a curriculum. I want to read the book thoughtfully and take it all in, figure out how it fits with what I already know and what I don’t know.
I found this great list of Staff Development Texts on Amazon. I already have many of the books on this list and I’ll definintely pick up a few more. In the meantime, I’m still waiting for my copy of Transforming Classroom Grading, which I bought at the suggestion of Frizz. I’m deep into Understanding by Design, which I got for free from my region, as it is the basis for the curriculum workshop I’m taking at the end of August. As I read this book, I’m writing down lots of notes about my classroom and the needs of my students, in anticipation of applying the principles of Understanding by Design. I’m supposed to come to the curriculum workshop with ideas in hand for “Exploring the Ideal of Freedom”, which I have to somehow blend with the 9th grade theme in my school, which is “Identity.” I think those two things probably go together well, so it shouldn’t be too hard!
It’s my birthday, so what did I do today? I slept in, scratched the DMV trip, went to the gym, made a nice lunch, did online bizzy-ness and now, I’m taking myself shopping. Joy!
In the meantime, Mildly Melancholy has written a great post about the pedagogy of poverty…she touches on a lot of points that I can definitely relate to!
Send your birthday greetings this way! My actual birthday is July 22nd but why quibble?
