Well, it seems it was widespread. So let's look at what we found. 1. The students aced the straight vocabulary questions. 2. When the questions asked the students to apply material in an analytical way, they went with a practiced, memorized answer from an activity rather than looking at the new question and thinking through the question. (jump to a familiar answer, don't think) 3. We have some test-taking issues. How to cross-reference a test, and how to use context to produce a higher level answer. 4. We have some GREAT test takers, who marked their thought processes on the tests in ways that showed us what led to them the precise answer they needed.
Here is a resource that we have used for a few years to help us with common assessments that's based on Marzano's research. It also has a rubric that helps to analyze the questions that a teacher is asking.
Our responses: 1. We are going to break down the objectives and do the reteaching in varied ways so that they practice analyzing. We'll give feedback on those smaller chunks. 2. We'll put it back together a piece at a time so that we can see when we lose students and catch them before they fall. 3. Lots of personalization. The students did well when they had used the material in a personal way (they were great with infinitives following timeo, which means "I fear", because we had and activity where they shared what they feared to do, but when we replaced timeo with volo "I want", they fell apart.
Other items: Mr. K noted that I was flying through material, and I didn't listen. He was right. I should have recognized a red flag when I incorporated venn diagrams and the students could not use the vocabulary that they had mastered to describe the relationships in the diagram. Why? Because they were not at the analysis level, they still were just memorizing. That's the flag that should have stopped me, but didn't.
Lessons learned: Slow down. Chunk more. Check for transfer, not just recall. Things I know, and thought that I was doing, but I needed more, and these students need more. Shifting gears. I hope the transmission can handle it.
Was it me, the test, the students or can I please blame my "work husband" (the very wonderful Mr. K)?
Mr. K and I both teach 7th grade Latin at Indian Hill, and like every year, we're giving common assessments after co-planning activities, quizzes, drills, games, readings, all the same stuff. And the test was yesterday. My students took it first, on Wednesday, his took it today (a scheduling issue) and my results were dismal.
So, for 24 hours I have to wait to see if his students do better than mine (in which case it is all on me), or if it's something much more complicated. It's not often that we are caught by surprise on a test because we get a constant flow of input and give feedback daily to our students, so the fact that they did not hit the mark I was expecting (75-100% mastery), and actually fell off a cliff into a chasm (there were scores below 50%), is shocking. We started unpacking the data after school today, and will pinpoint the problem areas and reteach. But what if it's ME?
2nd period tomorrow we'll pore over the results. In the meantime, my students have received their results and completed corrections in class today, and gave me lots of feedback as we went over the questions and the answers. I have an inkling. . . but the facts will be reported tomorrow.
The Toshiba's hard drive failed after one week. Exchanged it and the young person is back in business. He handled it with grace-much more than I show when one of my machines fails to even do a service boot. I also received my first comment from him on the blog. He knows what I write about him, and gives me lots of input, but now he's out there commenting.
I laughed out loud when I saw this comment from my own son under my blog post:
Tmister said...
My name is Tullus. I am the son of Andrea Weis. I am the one who got the AWESOME laptop for my birthday.
That all changed today.
I was trying to get onto my laptop. The first time I tried, it worked. When I tried the internet, it froze. It was connected to the wireless connection, and all was right in the world.
But, for some reason that I can't explain, when I tried to restart it, it wouldn't get past the standby phase on windows 7.
My mom fooled around with it, being the smartest one in the family dealing with technical issues. Well, she made a few calls, and somethings up with the hard drive or something.
So, tomorrow, I am sorry to report that she will be returning my laptop. It was a good laptop, and whatever went wrong with it....
IT WASN'T MY FAULT!!!!!
September 15, 2010 6:49 PM
He was absolutely right-not his fault, it was the hard drive. So now he's reinstalling his favorite things on the laptop, like Skype and Picasa, and I realized something. I have my own little feedback person right in my own home. Hmmm. You'll be hearing more from him very soon.
We are now at one week with the 12 year old having his own laptop. So far, so good. Parental controls enforced, and only one reminder necessary. All messages meeting expectations and time restraints honored.
Problem 1: I want to Skype my cousins at all hours. They are family. Solution: Hours of conversation created.
Problem 2: I am going to volunteer to make a video project in one day for my social studies group. It has 35 clips that need to be edited. Solution: You will make a PowerPoint with a few flash clips. Do not volunteer for a project that takes 20 hours to complete in a 3 hour window.
Problem 3: My sister clicked on a contaminated link that was given by (gasp) her teacher! Solution: Run virus scan and email teacher so that others do not suffer.
These, I think, are opportunities for learning, not setbacks. But they cost me a few hours. Learn from my mistakes.
Positives: I (young person)can check my web portal with no assistance and get my homework checked off my to-do list!
I (young person)can create a set of online flash cards to study for my quiz!
I've (young person)learned how to use sticky-notes and followed through on what was on them!
So, it's been a good week. Way to go, young person!!!
I believe in 1:1 computer access in schools. My son, who is in 6th grade attends a school that has plenty of computers, but the school is not even investigating a 1:1 program, so my husband and I made the decision in the last week of how we want to handle this as parents. We've been talking about it for years, but the moment was upon us.
It just happens that we are both teachers too, and if I think that all students should have a computer at 6th grade, I'd like to see how that works in my own home.
The boy's birthday is September 8th, and he'll be turning 12. He's a first-born who is the model of responsibility and it's really a little gross how genuinely attuned he is to what his duties are to himself, family, and community. So here is what is going on. He's been saving for half of the money toward a laptop for three years and has about $1000 in his savings account. Also, he has cash on hand that he uses for his entertainment (church festivals, comic books, movies), and has proven that he knows the value of money. He took a babysitting certification class over the summer, paying half for it, and has begun working for other families.
As far as usage at home, we monitor all his e mail communications and texts, and have dealt with a few blips in appropriate language (two incidents a year ago) and have allowed him to Google chat (no video except family), and audio chat as long as he is in family common areas. We bristle at the word "suck", so we're really pretty conservative about what we approve of him saying aloud let alone in print. We're completely aware that in his tree house and playing basketball with friends the conversation will be what they deem appropriate, and that's part of his growing up, etc. But we like that he knows how to censor himself and change gears based upon the situation.
Therefore, with the great deals on laptops at the moment, (and pressure to walk the talk) we decided to go ahead and do it at the time of his birthday with grandparents and us (parents) covering our portion so that he can have a very nice laptop. It's a Toshiba Satellite, 15.6" display with 3 GB of memory (expandable to 8) and a 320 GB hard drive. $500.
We know that we are jumping off into a new world, but we want him to learn to handle information and manage the technology. Anyone else facing this great new leap?
Here is the agreement that he will have to sign on Wednesday. It will have drool on it by the time he signs it, I'm sure. I'll let you know the first time we have an infraction, and the first two weeks are sure to be ugly.
Agreement for Computer Usage
1.11.Having access to a computer is not a right.I will remember that I may only use my computer for school or entertainment as my parents allow.I will provide all passwords that I use to my parents.
2.22. Anything that is on my computer may be viewed at any time by my parents.
3.33.I will use my laptop DOWNSTAIRS.If I want to take my laptop upstairs to my room, I will ask for special permission and explain why it is necessary.
4. I will ALWAYS tell a parent or another adult immediately, if something is confusing or seems scary or threatening, or just doesn’t seem right.
5. I will NEVER give out my full name, real address, telephone number, school name or location, schedule, password, or other identifying information when I'm online. I will check with an adult for any exceptions.
6. I will NEVER set up a face-to-face meeting with someone I've met online.
7. I will NEVER respond online to any messages that use bad words or words that are scary, threatening, or just feel weird. If I get that kind of message, I'll print it out and tell an adult immediately. The adult can then contact the online service or appropriate agency. If I'm uncomfortable in a live chat room, I will use the "ignore" button.
8. I will NEVER go into a new online area that is going to cost additional money without first asking permission from my parent or teacher.
9. I will NEVER send a picture over the Internet or via regular mail to anyone without my parent's permission.
10. I will NOT give out a credit card number online without a parent present.
By agreeing to these terms, I accept responsibility for my actions, and will remember to protect my online reputation just as I protect my reputation in face to face interactions.
Young Person___________________________ Date__________________
When students come back to my class in August, I have the luxury of knowing where they left off in June. Either they were in my own classroom, or they were in the classroom of my evil twin working on coordinated assignments and assessments which let me know exactly what they know. It's fun to meet them on the first day with feedback of where they were and how to set goals for the first two weeks-hit the ground running.
So now we are entering week 3 (2nd full week) and it's time for the students to start setting their own goals. For several years I've been working toward having students evaluate their own performance toward mastery and set goals for how to achieve the next level, and we are making a dent. On Friday, the students took a self-test, evaluated it themselves and set goals with specific tasks that will help them get there. And my job, this week, is to help them get it in motion.
Let me be more specific. 8th grade Latin students must know noun endings in order to determine the use of a noun in order to put it in the right place in a sentence in order to determine the meaning of the sentence. (yes, this can work in the opposite direction too, which is the trick). Students figure out how much they know and where the gaps are. Then, I have to provide the practice, steer them to the right one, and help them measure their growth.
I've consulted "On Common Ground"'s section on Assessment for Learning, pp. 76-77, and was fortified by two statements: "Use. . . assessments in collaboration with students to track improvement over time." and "Assessment promotes growth and then verifies it." I'm convinced that students who develop the ability to assess their own performance in middle school will have a distinct advantage in the future. And I'm all about Latin providing all the advantages that it can.
So, after they evaluated their performance we had some basic-middle-advanced discussions and the goals are, certainly, mixed in how useful they are. How am I going to hone this skill? Okay, first, I'm going to send them to the right practice in wordchamp. Second, I'm going to have to use a simple hand-made chart in the classroom for awhile. Third, I'm delving into how blackboard can help me create groups that have a common goal and organize students into smaller learning communities.
I'm asking lots of questions of other teachers in my plc, including you all, and am looking forward to making a big dent!
On a lighter note, gaping void has become a daily destination for me! I urge you to check out the thoughtful cartoonist Hugh MacLeod!
Homework! What do I think of homework? Well, first, let's make a few provisions: 1. Homework should reinforce student learning with the necessary practice to master concepts. 2. Homework should offer students feedback on how they are progressing. 3. Homework should give the instructor information about how to help the student. 4. Homework should be timely and not a time-waster. 5. Homework should NEVER be a penalty.
I LOVE homework. This kind of homework is a wonderful tool for me as a teacher and in the last few years I've made some changes that completely altered how I and my students feel about it.
First, the homework that I assign is "outsourcing" and that means tasks that can be done outside of class to give the necessary repetition of items for a student to master a skill. After a few practices in class only a fraction need the drill and kill. The rest should not suffer.
Second, the homework is due within a window of time-meaning that the students have the assignment several days ahead and can fit the homework into their schedules. This is especially great for vocabulary that needs to be mastered within a certain time period. And the rate of completion goes up to close to 100% when the middle school student learns that she can choose to do it on Tuesday after soccer or Wednesday before watching TV. What a great skill for students to learn! In the real world adults have deadlines and set their timelines, and this is how children learn the skill of time management.
Third, the students can see exactly how having done the practice improves their performance. "Gee, because I had practiced and used the feedback to learn I helped my team in class win points on the challenge questions. Hmmmm. Maybe this is cause and effect?"
Thinking hard about good homework assignments isn't easy, but the payoff is HUGE. Students who are meeting expectations on time and are ready to learn at each step makes my job of planning much easier. When the student isn't succeeding, I can address it quickly, provide opportunities to catch up and they are then back with the class having a great experience. The stress level has gone down considerably for everyone involved (parents have noticed), and students are willing to take risks because they know if they fall down, they won't be left behind and trampled.
What set me off about homework anyway? The fantastic book, The Art and Science of Teaching by Robert Marzano. His discussion brings many studies into the question (Good and Brophy; Cooper; Bennet, Finn and Cribb; Epstein) but the bottom line is this: "Small amounts of well-structured homework. . . may produce the desired effect."
