Hitting the Fan...

My first trimester of Standards Based grading is done.  Time to tweak.  Time to take into account all the stuff that was great about SBG and all the crap that, if left to itself, will inevitably hit the fan.  I used two very different methods of SBG in my classrooms.  For my honors kids, I used a very strict YES/NO method of grading - all or nothing for each target.  For my regular level kids, not a whole lot changed.  They still got a percent grade, but for each test they got a grade for each learning target instead of one big grade.  Both methods had things that were good and things that were bad.

I liked the flexibility with the percent grading in the regular classes.  It allowed me to give a kid an 80%, which is still a good grade.  What was bad about it was that when a kid got less than that, like say a 60%, the system allowed him or her to "settle" for a less than stellar grade.  What I loved about the stricter grading method was that it forced kids to retake a target if they missed more than one.  BUT, it also FORCED kids to be complacent about missing that one problem.  SO here is what I propose...

If we just throw both methods at the fan (the good stuff and the sh*t), what I think will come out of it is this:  a hybrid grading system where kids can earn 100%, 85%, 75%, or 0%.  This will allow me to account for small errors made in arithmetic, but still demonstrating basic comprehension of ALL problems in a section (85%), missing one problem completely (75%) or missing more than one problem (0%).  This will force kids to retake with sub-par grades, encourage kids to retake if it is less than perfect, and separate the kids who REALLY are distinguished in their understanding by awarding them with 100%.  This may or may not work well - I will have to test the theory out first.

The other really important thing to consider is why I want to make these changes.  Is it because the kids are complaining that it is unfair and too much work and they never got their A?  Or is it because I truly think this will benefit kids?  I don't want to give in to their complaining.  Honestly, they don't seem to realize that a grade should represent how much they know  - not how many bathroom passes they turned in for extra credit or how hard they worked on their homework.  If we want to grade work ethic, make it its own standard or learning target.

Grades should reflect student knowledge.  That is all.  If we start to fall back into our old ways, we are perpetuating a system where students who are "good at school" get the grades.  We need to encourage student responsibility and make them realize that they are responsible to learn.

So to finish this off, sometimes we need to let it all hit the fan.  Then we can see what we like and don't like about what we are doing and find the best in all of the mess.

Problems problems everywhere...

What do you do when kids don't opt to retake a learning target?  In my honors classes, the kids are real go-getters.  They are self-driven (for the most part) and when they have a chance to bring their grade up and retake a target, they do.  In my regular level Statistics class, though, I have kids that are settling for the D.  Ok, it is their right to settle for less than perfect.  I get it.  But the problem arises when kids are settling for an F...

Part of the difference is in how I am grading.  I honors, the kids either get the target or they fail the target.  In Stats, I am giving them percentage on each target.  But I have astonishing amount of kids who could do better but simply choose not to.

While I have no suggestions to offer, I wanted to throw this out there as a problem that I am encountering...perhaps I will be back to offer some helpful insights IF I figure this out...

Back it On Up!

So it's been a great journey with this Standards Based Grading business.  So far, I think I love it.  My students might think otherwise, but that's a different story.  Only time will really tell how we all feel!  All SBG business aside, I want to take a moment to talk about designing lessons - specifically with Backwards Design in mind.

Backwards Design forces us to think about the big picture.  What do we want our students to know and be able to do?  Well gee, last time I checked, that's kind of the point behind SBG...I know, I know, I said let's put it aside, but really, they are related.

The best part about Backwards Design (BWD) is that it makes us think about the end result.  In math, it is really easy to think about it - we want our kids to be able to solve a certain problem.  OK.  Great.  But in other content areas, it's not so cut and dry (which is why I teach math - let's hear it for the left brain!).  So when you social studies people are teaching about the Civil War, what is it that you want your kids to learn? Or when you read To Kill a Mockingbird, what do you focus on?  What is the point behind the art project that you make your kids turn in that's worth 10,000 points?  BWD makes it so that we are thinking about the end result...which translates into our Learning Targets (the basis of our SBG!).

This is why I love BWD.  It makes it all so cut and dry.  Of course, this works for me, the left brained person.  And it works for all of your left-brained students.  For all the people who claim to be in their "right mind", you still have the freedom and flexibility to be creative - as long as you show an understanding of the big picture in your end-product.

Lights, Camera, Action RESEARCH Abstract!

How will using Standards-Based Grading impact student achievement and engagement?

This year I used Standards-Based Grading in all of my math classes.  I compared two methods of SBG and how they impacted student achievement and engagement.  One method was more rigorous and I used it in my Honors Trigonometry classes.  The other was less strict in terms of grading and I used it in my Probability and Statistics class.

I collected data through parent and student surveys, having a co-worker observe my class several times, and by comparing grades and test scores throughout the term.

Some of the challenges I encountered along the way included communication with students and parents about the new grading system.  While I sent home emails, many parents do not check or read their emails.  Many simply do not have an updated email address in the system.  Another challenge I faced was finding time for students to complete retakes within the specified window.

Overall, I hope my data will show that students did really well.  I am still in the process of collecting it, but so far parent surveys seem very promising and positive.  In general, parents feel that SBG allows students to organize and study better and is forcing students to actually learn instead of focusing on just passing a test.

Checking in with SBG...

I have been in this SBG thing for 2 weeks and I am sold.  I love it.  Right now I am using 2 different methods for SBG-one where it is a straight up yes/no, did you master this learning target system, and the other that assigns a percent to the target and lets students decide to take a retake if they want.  While I am not sold on this second method, I really like the hard core master it or fail method.

In my Honors Trig class, all but 3 students completed every homework assignment - Even though it did not count for a grade.  Part of their motivation came from the requirement of completing homework in order to be eligible t retake learning targets.

I wanted to post my website for anyone who might be interested in checking out what I am doing in my classes.  

www.anoka.k12.mn.us/dorsing 

I plan to post again with an update after I test in my Statisics class takes their first test.  Maybe I won't love it quite as much, but I highly doubt it!

Is Anybody Out There?

Have you ever walked into a room and felt like no one knew you were there?  Like suddenly someone threw Harry Potter's invisibility cloak on you and no one knew you were even listening.  This is what we like to call a lack of PRESENCE.  Chalk it up to an inability to speak up or, in the educational setting, a lack of a community that would foster a sense of presence.  Ok, so what do I mean by that?  

You know that kid in the back of the room who never raises their hand or speaks up.  They might say two words to you when you ask them a question, but that's it.  Maybe they do their work, maybe not.   Maybe you are like me and, ( ok, I might be shooting myself in the foot by admitting this...) you may not notice right away when they are absent.  

Part of creating a culture that subscribes to the LaSallian principles of AGAPE ( Association, Generativity, Adaptation, Presence, and Engagement) is creating an environment where students feel like they are a part of something.  Specifically, they need to feel a part of the classroom community.  With specific regard to Presence, students need to feel like they have a presence it he classroom.

Let me also take a moment to be realistic here...there are always some students who have a little too much presence in your classes.  By no means do I mean that you want to have 30 of those wonderfully enthusiastic and excited students in your classroom just ready to explode from their desks.  Those students are special in their own way...but true Presence means that all students feel like they are a valued member of your class the way they are.  Students feel welcomed and valued by you, the teach, and the other students in the class.  They should never feel like they are invisible.

Presence not only refers to how the students feel in your class, but also how you carry yourself as a teacher.  I hope that none of you reading this are the teachers who teach and then sit at the desk to grade papers.  If so, you have no presence.  Plain and simple.  Teachers with presence are out in the trenches working with students so that they know you are always there and approachable.  

So to sum it up, presence is making your kids feel like they are not just in the room,  but a part of something with a voice.  It is also making sure students know that you are there for them. 

Slowly Sinking: Circles of Self-Reflection

Imagine you are in a life raft with 5 other people and the raft is slowly sinking.  You have to throw one person out at a time.  Who do you throw out first? 

OK, don't really do this activity.  I hate it.  It makes us assign value to other people as if to say someone else is less of a person than another.  Not at all a valuable experience.

Let's change it a bit.  Instead of being on a sinking raft with other people, take out a piece of paper and number it 1 to 5.  Then, instead of listing out names of other people, think about the names that other people have for you.  Think about 5 different identities that you have for yourself or that other people give to you and list them out in no particular order.  

Got it?

OK, good.

Now, if you had to get rid of 2 identities, which two would you cross off first?  For me, the first two were easy.  I threw away "Daughter" and "Teacher".  Don't get me wrong, I love my parents and my job, but "Mother", "Wife", and "Christian" were much more important identities to me.  

Now throw away another.  And then another until you are down to one.  This is the hardest part.  It's like throwing away a piece of you.  Asking - "which relationship do I value over another?"  

Which one did you have left?  My last one was "Mother".  If you have children, then you get it.  If not, just ask any parent about their relationship with their kids.  We would drop anything for them.  They are the single most important relationship in our lives.  It is our defining role.

Now let's think about our students.  I have Muslim students, Hmong students, Russian students, African students, Hispanic students, students who care for younger siblings, students who work to provide food for their families, students who are in sports or activities, students who are gay, and students who have a million other identities than "Student".  

So this makes me think...what would their last identity on the list be?  I'm guessing it would not be "student".  I bet that would be the first to go.  I know when I was in high school, that was the least of my concerns.  Granted, I did take school somewhat seriously.  I probably would have had "Mathlete" as one of my identities...

Yes, I LOVE Downton Abbey!

So how do we, as teachers, apply this to our practice?  

For me, it is all about flexibility and understanding.  A wise teacher in my undergrad years (you know, when we all thought we knew exactly what we were getting into...) used to focus on the difference between equity and equality.  Equality means we are all the same.  That's just not true.  Equity is a much more important concept that says that each person deserves a fair chance.  Maybe for that student whose last identity is "Provider for my Family", it means cutting some slack on that due date.  For the "Artist", it could mean differentiating your assignments so that his artistic side can shine through.  Maybe it actually means cracking down on the "Track Star" who is failing your class because practice is more important than writing that paper.  Each student is different and needs something different.  While we can never truely know every detail about every student, we can take the time to be sensitive to the fact that they all have different strengths, desires, and needs.

Holy Holonomy, Batman!

So, in my research to try and find out about Standards Based Grading (SBG), I've discovered that my best resource for learning how to do SBG myself seems to be other people's blogs.  I've read a lot of them.  Some are funny.  Some are not.  While I make no guarantees to be funny, I now see the freedom to take a more casual approach to writing my schtuff.  (See what I just did?)

Holonomy.  Efficacy.  Flexibility.  Consciousness.  Interdependence.  Craftsmanship.  A lot of words to describe a person who inspires, works well with others, and gets things done well.  So let's sum it up and, for the sake of consistency, relate it back to SBG.

Efficacy.
I see this as fending for oneself.  How on earth can you implement something as new and as big as SBG without having the drive to seek out help or to stand up and say "Hey, this won't work" (or the opposite for that matter).  I think that wanting to and actually taking the steps to make a change in your classroom defines you as an efficacious person.  Why else would you put yourself through the pain of change if you didn't believe it would be worth it?  At this point in my career, I'm not afraid of being cut with the budget, so I am certainly not as motivated by top-down directives (Not to say I don't follow the rules.  I am a math teacher, afterall.  We are rule-followers).  I am choosing to implement this in my classroom because I think it is worthwhile and it will help students.

Flexibility
Inflexible people generally don't last long in education.  I don't know if a lesson I have ever planned has ever gone exactly how I wanted it to or without being steered in some tangential direction.  With SBG being so incredibly new at my school, we are going to need to be flexible.  We will need to listen to each other's struggles and the struggles of our students in order to tweak and find solutions to the problems that will inevitably arise.  Being flexible and willing to leave our comfort zone will help us to creatively improve SBG for our school.

Consciousness
Often teachers joke about having eyes in the back of their heads.  Consciousness is like having infinite eyes all over the place.  Eww, creepy.  Makes me feel like Sting...Every move you make...I'll be watching you.  But seriously, consciousness is being aware of what is going on.  With something as new as SBG, we will need to be aware of how students (an parents) perceive SBG.  We will also need to be conscious of how the members on our team perceive changes and are reacting to suggestions as we hash out the details.  Personally, I will need to make sure I am intentional about how I introduce the new grading process and how I frame the importance of homework.


Craftsmanship
If you don't take pride in your work as a teacher, please do us all a favor and find another profession.  Your students can tell if you don't care and that bleeds over into their state of mind.  I have always believed that anything worth doing is worth doing well.  Notice there is no mention of the word "perfect" in there.  As we begin the transition into SBG, there will be adjustments to make.  Things will go wrong.  Some times you can fix things as you go, other times you make a mental note to fix it for next year.  It's the way it goes.  That being said, perfection should be our goal - as unattainable as it may be.  In the New Testament of the Bible, Paul writes to the Philippians about this very principle in the context of their faith.  He encourages them to keep running the race and to strive for their goal, even though they may never actually reach it.  He says so eloquently "forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize..."(Philippians 3:13-14).  So must we press on and strive for the goal.  

Interdependence
Holy cow.  If I had to implement SBG alone, I think I would probably want to quit. Fortunately, I have an awesome group of teachers in my department who believe that working together collaboratively is WAY better than being on an island.  My first years of teaching, I had to basically write everything.  It sucked.  A lot.  With SBG, we will need to revamp tests, retitle worksheets, create relearning worksheets and retests (because we choose to offer this), and a host of other things we haven't even thought about.  Sure, we could still do SBG without doing all this, but we believe in craftsmanship so we want to go the extra mile.  (See how I brought it back around?)  Instead of me doing everything, the three of us that teach Statistics have divided up the work to begin over the summer (yes, we will be working during our contractually unpaid time) so it can be implemented in the fall.  We depend on each other to get things done, to share ideas, and what's more, we trust each other to do it well.

HOLONOMY
All of these characteristics together make an individual holonomous.  I think that each of these characteristics is just as important as the others in the grand scheme of things, but each one may, at times, be more important at a certain moment.  In the year that I have spend working on my master's degree so far, our focus has been on developing the teacher as a whole person.  Obviously, holonomy plays a big part in that.  If one is not holonomous, that person can not hope to change him/herself or their school for the better.  Efficacy, flexibility, consciousness, interdependence, and craftsmanship are all characteristics that lead to a teacher wanting to find out what methods work best in their own classroom.  Without holonomy, growth as a teacher will be severely stunted.

Action Research Abstract

Will focusing on learning targets increase student achievement?

The purpose of my action research is to see if implementing learning targets the way that research suggests using them will increase student achievement. While I have not collected all of my data, my initial data suggests that student may be more aware of the connection between their actions and their learning. However, no conclusions can be drawn yet.

I focused on learning targets throughout the lesson in one of my two Algebra 2 classes by using quiz reflections and daily references to the learning targets. Students completed the quiz reflections and noted whether they understood the problems or needed to study the learning target. Students also noted if they had done and understood the homework assignment that was associated with the learning target.

I will compare the tests results of the two classes. Initially, my control group class generally scores higher than the group using learning targets, so some adjustments will have to be made to see if there is a statistically significant difference.

While I can not draw any formal conclusions yet, I do see students understanding the link between homework and their learning more in my learning target group. I anticipate no real difference in their scores, but hope to be proved wrong.

Algebra 2

I have been teaching Algebra 2 for 7 years now.  I love it.  It is my favorite class to teach because the content finally begins to be applied to real life.   This is where kids are really asked to think about Algebra.  Students who flew by with A's all their lives in math might finally see a B in Algebra 2 because it really becomes about the content and understanding it instead of just being able to perform skills.  I love Algebra 2...until recently, that is.

The state of MN now requires all students to take Algebra 2, or at least the content equivalent, in order to graduate.  I have always been a proponent of encouraging kids to take as much math as possible, but I am also realistic about the fact that there is a group of people who really don't need to be able to graph a quadratic function or solve a logarthmic equation.  It is just not essential to life.  These decisions are based on the fact that there is a link between the amount of math a student has and how successful they are in college and beyond.  As a statistics teacher, I also know that correlation does not prove causation.  We have to be realistic about the fact that there are lurking variables (like study skills, home life, and attitude) that impact a student's success.  But instead of recognizing this, we force our students into a one-size-fits-all everybody is equal box.

Not every student is cut out for Algebra 2.  My recent struggles with teaching my classes is evidence of this.  Instead of being filled with students who are electing to take the class and who have somewhat strong math skills, suddenly we have an influx of students whose math skills are incredibly low.  The course has become watered down and this students who would have been in the class anyway- the ones who like the challenge - find themselves bored and not getting the complete benefit of the course.  It is no longer a college prep class, but instead has become a basic math course.

So I ask now:  will these kids really be more successful in college and beyond if the class that was supposed to have been the cause of their success is now a watered down version of its former glory?  I question the reasoning behind requiring this course.  Not every student should be required to solve a rational equation in order to graduate.  I think we all have our strengths and we should allow students to find their own strengths instead of forcing them to be a mathematician.

My Action Research: Learning Targets

How will using learning targets in my classroom affect student achievement?  This is the focus for my action research.  I chose this partly because it is a big focus in my district and in my building.  We have spent the time and money to write these student friendly learning targets and I'd like to know if they really do make a difference.  So far the research I have found suggests that they do have a positive affect.

So here's my plan...I have 2 Algebra 2 classes this trimester.  I have taught them the first chapter in a very traditional way - without an emphasis on learning targets.  We still are required to put the targets on our tests and to post them in our rooms, so students are familiar with them.Starting Monday, I will be teaching the next chapter a little differently.  In my 1st period class, I plan to incorporate learning targets into every facet of my lessons.  I will discuss them with students and make them a part of my conversations with the class and with individual students.  In my 5th period class, I plan to go about teaching the way I have always taught.  I will do the same activities and have the same basic flow of the lessons.  The only difference will be the focus on the learning targets.  I plan to compare their results at the end of the chapter by looking at the test grades.  I will also use a subjective survey at the beginning and end to gauge their understanding of the learning targets. The questions I will use are these basic yes/no questions:

1)  I am aware of the learning targets for this class and know where to find them in the classroom.

2)  There are learning targets on my tests and quizzes.

3) I know what I am supposed to learn and what I need to do to be successful.

4)  My teacher explains what I need to do to receive full credit for my work

5)  I feel responsible for learning the material in this class.

It is my hope that I can determine if using learning targets correctly really will impact student learning in a positive way.  I think that any good teacher should always be looking for what will help students learn.  If this will help my students achieve more, I am excited to give it a try!

Spring Conference

In MN, you would hardly know it is spring.  There is at least a foot of snow out there and more to come.  Nevertheless, the St. Mary's Spring Conference is upon us and I get to pick 5 sessions that interest me.  These sessions are lead by 2nd year Masters Program students and highlight their work over the last two years.  I would actually be excited about attending the sessions except that I have a prior commitment for that day.  So instead, I am sad to say that I will miss several great sessions about topics that I think would truely be useful to me in my practice.

The sessions I picked center around technology, literacy, and engagement.  The first session I picked is about integrating technology (specifically iPads) into a health education class.  While my discipline is high school math, I think it would have been great to see how someone was able to use iPads in their class.  I also picked another session about using iPads in the classroom.  This particular session will be lead by an elementary teacher, so again, it is not my discipline, but it still would be great to see how someone integrated iPads and other technology into the classroom.

The other sessions I picked focus on student engagement, literacy, and staff morale.  An elementary teacher chose to use movement in her class to see the impact on student engagement.  She suggests that her students did show improvement and were more likely to be engaged during learning times.  I have used games and other activities in class and seen the positive effects of movement for high schoolers.

The fourth session I would have liked to attend regards staff morale and the impact on student achievement.  I think it is very true that staff morale has an affect on students.  I would be curious to hear the results of his research and to know how he improved the morale at his school.

The final session I picked is about incorporating literacy strategies into the math classroom.  I was excited to finally have a math-specific session!  Then I saw that it was an elementary classroom!  Foiled again!  In any case, I am sure there would be something useful there for me.  Afterall, if literacy is about understanding context and knowing how to answer a question, any strategy used in elementary school should be able to be used at the secondary level to some degree.

I truely wish I could attend these sessions.  It would have been wonderful to see the final results of someone's research - especially considering I will be doing this in about a year!

21st Century Learning

We, as teachers, definitely live in a technological world.  Most of us have students who know more about using technology than we do!  Using technology is a way to speak the language of our students.  It engages them and offers another way to learn and be a part of the classroom.

In my classroom, we are starting to offer podcast videos for students to watch when they are absent or need a little extra help.  Our special education department has used these videos when working with students who have learning disabilities as a way to provide another means for learning.  We also use websites, texting programs, and response clickers to communicate with our students.  

Education is a dynamic field, or at least it should be.  I feel as though our M.Ed. program at St. Mary's is all about finding a strategy that works for us and our students.  It might also be that multiple strategies work for us.  If 21st Century Learning is a way to help our students and we, as teachers, feel comfortable incorporating it into our classrooms, then we should try to do so.  This might mean learning about what resources are out there or learning how to use a new piece of technology.  It might also mean messing up a few times and learning from mistakes.  No changes happen overnight.  Perhaps little by little, I can begin to speak the language of my students if I am willing to learn and try new things.

Tech to Check?

Anyone who teaches at a public school understands the problem with grading 140+ students homework on a daily basis.  If you are like me, you probably collect it, maybe look it over, and give them credit for attempting their homework.  Personally, I feel like my homework scores are a bit inflated.  I justify this by only making homework 10% of their overall grade and constantly reminding them that their test grades will reflect their efforts.

But what if I could actually gauge their understanding on their homework?  What if I had an easy way to check for completion and understanding?  Hmmm...wouldn't that be something?

We have at our disposal a number of technological gadgets and gizmos that, to be honest, the students know more about than we do.  We have text messaging, google forms and docs, and student "clickers" that sit around collecting dust.  Why not take some time to enter the homework answers into a file where students can check their own homework?  Why, we could even just pick 2 or 3 problems to check.  What a concept!

In response to this epiphany, I would really like to try using technology in some way to force students to check their homework so that we can both see what they get and don't get in a very immediate way.  I don't know yet how it will be graded, but that's a detail that can easily be worked out.