11,12,13,14 FIAE

Chapters 11, 12, 13, and 14 in Fair Isn’t Always Equal discuss the subject of grades.  Chapter 11 discussed whether it was better to give a student a 60 or a zero when the student did not hand something in. I personally believe in a grading system that expects that every student complete every assignment I give him or her. This is a point system, so if a student did not complete the work or fails to hand in the assignment, they wouldn’t necessarily get a zero, they would simply not receive points for that assignment. Therefore, if the end of the quarter rolls around and they have completed everything and gotten all points for all the other assignments, but did not turn in a 40 point assignment but it is a 450 point unit, they would receive a 410/450, which equals out to be a 91.1 average. This way, the student is penalized for the late assignment, but their grade is not as severely devastated, as it would be with a zero for an outlier to the average.  Chapter 12 discussed scales that are used for grading. I really appreciated the part in the chapter where it showed us how to covert a 4.0 scale to a 100 point scale.  This is useful to me because I find the 4.0 scales to be confusing and inaccurate, especially when using rubrics. On rubrics, a “4” is considered exceeds expectations, but there is still a lot of range in the 4 category itself, why should it be up to the teacher’s discretion whatever number in that category they feel like giving? I feel like all the possible points should be present and accounted for.  Chapter 13 delved into possible formats for grade books that would be fair in making sure that all assignments were accounted for and graded. I personally took a liking to listing the assignments by order or date because it shows chronologically the assignments and the grade they received for them. It is also easy to see what grades they got for what and on which assignments they never completed. If a row of grades for a student is completed in the beginning and the middle of the term, but many assignments are blank at the end, you probably would be able to tell that something is going on with that student, and that you would have to have a conversation with that student to see why they are not turning things in all of a sudden. I have also seen this strategy work because I have seen several of my teachers who have been known to be very organized use this method and they have never lost any grades or made any students do an assignment over. In chapter 14, the topic of discussion was report cards. I have no problem having one single report card for the entire quarter or term because I can easily communicate with students and their parents during parent teacher conferences, and during that time I would discuss areas the student is excelling in and areas of concern in need for improvement.

FINAL REFLECTION COMIC!

In chapter 8 of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design, it talked about grades. I am glad that there was a chapter about this because this is honestly something I was worried about for my future classroom. This is because often when I go on social networking sites I see many comments on how much students hate school and how they don’t want to go, and how they don’t want to do their homework and how they don’t want to study because it feels like they aren’t learning anything they are just learning how to say the right answers. This upsets me because I see this so often that it starts to worry a future teacher like me about will my students like my class and like what they are learning? I have heard from those same social networking sites that it’s not that they don’t like learning, it’s that they don’t like being graded on their learning; they just want to have the freedom to explore the things they are interested in. This is why I feel that grades should not be such a daunting, looming presence that is casting a blanket of dread over their learning.

Many students have a lot of anxiety over their final grades, so that is why I agree with the multiple strategies in this chapter to make the grades more comprehensive and freeing so they can focus on their learning instead of feeling so restrictive and final. Some of these multiple strategies include: project based learning, making assessments worth more at the end of the unit than at the beginning of the unit, not having points dedicated to inauthentic things, like making points based on having their name at the top or if their penmanship is neat. Other strategies include not making student achievement relative to others, not giving out a limited number of each letter grade, avoiding grades based on the mean, be hesitant on assigning zeros, and determining the grades instead of calculating them.

The other chapters in the set were from Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom. Chapter 8 of Multiple Intelligences is about using multiple intelligences when engaging in classroom management.  It was nice to see how my teaching strategies for dealing with students who are rowdy by engaging them with their specific multiple intelligence style. They are more likely to pay attention and get engaged if the way it is presented is interesting and useful to them Chapter 11 of Multiple Intelligences is about using multiple intelligences to help students with disabilities. They did this by focusing on the students’ areas of strength in the eight multiple intelligences, instead of focusing on what they are used to (which was their disability), the teachers used multiple intelligences to teach them or help them with the areas of intelligence that they have a disability in or they are struggling in. Lastly, chapter 12 of Multiple Intelligences was about cognitive theory relating to Multiple Intelligences. It was about how it was important to practice problem solving as well as use technology specific to their multiple intelligences to create products and show their comprehension. It is it important to remember these when I am brainstorming for my next unit.

Chapter 5 UbD Abstract and Synthesis

In chapter five of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design, we learn about the different types of effective assessment, how assessments are collective ( like photo albums), instead of individual exams ( which are snapshots). It should be noted that standardized tests are not "one-size-fits-all," are are not necessarily accurate for all types of students, so they should not be used to make high stakes decisions about that student or that classroom. Therefore, in order to assess understanding in a cumulative way, there must be multiple sources of evidence, with goals dictating the nature of these assessments. Additionally, in order to assess how much our students understand, we need to look at our six facets of understanding. When we truly understand, we can: explain, interpret, apply, have perspective, show empathy, and have self-knowledge on the subject. This evidence should also be authentic work (such as a scientific investigation), rather than inauthentic work (such as answering recall questions at the end of a chapter). A concrete way of making sure authentic work is done instead of inauthentic work is by using the GRASPS method. This stands for having a real-worldgoal, a meaningful role for the student, and authentic audience for the student to present to, a situation that requires real world application, a cumulative product that is student generated and the consensus-driven standards for the product for judging success. Lastly, the chapter looked into the different types of assessment. This includes preassessment, peer assessment, self assessment, and assessment by the teacher. It is extremely important for the student's success that the assessment by specific and timely by the teacher.

Synthesis

Many people responding to this chapter made a lot of common remarks. The first thing that most of our class agreed with was that assessments should be a photo album compilation instead of just a single snapshot of student understanding. A student needs to be given multiple chances to prove that they understand the material, and not have everything riding on one single test or quiz. We also need to explain what we are assessing and why we are assessing it. We all praised using different kinds of assessments including peer assessment, self assessment, and creative assessment by us educators. A lot of us seemed to be supportive of the tic tac toe assessment, using project based assessments, and using entrance and exit ticket assessments. We felt like creative assessments worked best for students and would work well with a class that had diverse learning styles. We also felt that matching the type of assessment we gave to the the goals that we think students should know was the most effective approach, as well as incorporating the GRASPS performance assessment model to help formulate assessments. Having assessments like this are easier on the students, because a lot of students have anxiety over formal and standardized tests, which don't always cover the content that needs to be covered. Lastly the class agreed that the feedback on the assessments must be timely, specific, understandable to the student, and must allow room for improvement.

Chapters 7,9,13,14 MI

Three of the four chapters in this sequence (excluding chapter 14), of Multiples Intelligences in the Classroom, covered a similar theme of the classroom and school environment and how it supports multiple intelligences.  Chapter 7 is about how to arrange, organize, and decorate the classroom to benefit multiple types of intelligences.  Linguistic learners learn best in classrooms that have vocabulary that match their level and that have verbal words represented on the walls in the form of quotations and posters with lots of words on them. Logical and Mathematical learners learn best in classrooms that have a typical routine or order of events/activities, under conditions that match their attention spans, and with time in the classroom being highly structured.  Spatial and Visual learners learn best in classrooms that attractive to the eye, with colors that awaken and engage them, with the tables arranged in a way that make sense for the activity, and with the opportunity for them to be exposed to a variety of visual experiences.

Continuing, Bodily-Kinesthetic learners learn best in a classroom environment that lets them get out of their chairs and move around the room, with hands on activities and materials. Musical learners learn best in classrooms that have auditory environments that are appropriate for the learning they are attempting, and with a teacher who varies their voice to keep students awake and engaged. Interpersonal learners learn best in classrooms where there is a positive and comfortable environment where there is an air of trust and belonging for every student, where conflict is mediated consistently, and where students have many opportunities to interact with their instructor and their peers. Intrapersonal learners learn best in a classroom where they have opportunities to work on their own, reflect internally, and where they are exposed to experiences that rise up their self-esteem.  Finally, Naturalist learners learn best in classrooms that have large windows, a class pet, opportunities to have class outside, and in classes that have field trips.

Activities centers are important and effective to structure different activities to cater to all the different intelligences. Permanent ones, like ready corners, and temporary ones, like stations, are both useful to help a diverse classroom with much intelligence. As they discussed in chapter 9, many school districts feel that verbal, mathematical, and spatial learners are legitimate, and are allotted funds, while most of the music, art, and physical education programs funding have been cut across the country much more often.  To supplement this, supplementary programs and extracurricular activities are valuable to help students get the support that they need for their learning styles and interests, even if their programs were cut. In chapter 13, it talked about technology, including software and websites which would engage each type of multiple intelligences.  Some examples for this would be: Wikipedia for verbal, where in the World is Carmen Santiago? for logical, Google Earth for spatial, Flight Simulators for kinesthetic, Garageband for musical, Forums for interpersonal, Oregon Trail for intrapersonal, and National Geographic for naturalist learners.  Creating this kind of environment for your students will allow their multiple intelligences to shine, and will help them learn the content you want them to learn in a way that will work for them.  

Chapters 6,7 UbD and 5,6 MI

In these chapters, we discussed how to create strong curriculums by addressing different types of learners, backwards design, and differentiated instruction. The format of using the WHERETO format to construct a unit helps to ensure that backwards design is incorporated into the format.

WHERETO:

W: “How will I help learners know what they will be learning? Why is this worth learning? What evidence will show their learning? How will their performance be evaluated?” To me, this means making sure the students know what is required, stating the understanding, why they are learning it, and how it connects to real life.

H: “How will hook and engage the learners? In what ways will I help them connect desired learning to their experiences and interests?” In my own words, this means making them wonder from the beginning what is happening, getting them curious to learn further, and engaged to ask further questions to improve their understanding.

E: “How will I equip students to master identified standards and succeed with the targeted performances? What learning experiences will help develop and deepen understanding of important ideas? When I think about this, it means to me that we are equipping the students with the vocabulary and vernacular they need to become experts on what they are learning, as well as letting the students explore the big ideas in the content with their peers. They also share common experiences by creating a product as a group.

R: “How will I encourage the learners to rethink previous learning? How will I encourage ongoing revision and refinement?” In my own words, this is basically having the students take the specific and timely feedback and encouraging them to complete revisions and to rethink their previous understanding.

E: “How will I promote students’ self-evaluation and reflection?” For this I believe that it is best to evaluate the students using formative assessments, like self-assessments, peer assessment s and assessments by the teacher. Using two out of the three instead of just one type increases the effectiveness of the assessment.

T: “How will I tailor the learning activities and my teaching to address the different readiness levels, learning profiles, and interests of my students?”  For me, this is being adaptable to the needs of our students, their level of preparedness, the interests of the students, and the multiple intelligences that they possess.  The chapters of Multiple Intelligences that we read talked about how to address different intelligences and strategies of how to adopt our lessons to engage and include every type of learner. The Multiple Intelligences book offers examples of different kinds of activities according to content and type of intelligences, which is helpful if the teacher is having trouble brainstorming.

O: “How will the learning experiences be organized to maximize engaging and effective learning? What sequence will work best for my students and this content?” This means that we are organizing the learning around the six facets of understanding: explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge.

Teaching for understanding is difficult, but by having a unit that is well constructed using these methods will have an easier time attempting to do this. However, ultimately, the best way to get the students to understand is to get to know them and to work to understand how they learn. 

MI - Chapter 10

In this chapter they talked about multiple ways to access student learning. One of the ones they talked about was a sociogram. A sociogram is basically a chart of all of the desks, and you draw certain symbols on the map to represent different things. As a community Assistant in Stone Hall, we have to do a socialgram for the residents on our floor. We put a symbol next to someone who is homesick, a different symbol next to those who are struggling academically, a place with a symbol and this means they are in a relationship. A different symbol means that the residents have emotional troubles, so we know if they need support or assistance and to look out for that in the future! We al also required to write their interests in their rooms, to prove that we tried to get to know them. This is important because it is important to know your students and what they enjoy so that you can try to teach to their interests and attempt to engage your students. I believe using a sociogram would be a great way to monitor the students’ progress. For example, put a star next to those students who are struggling, a check next to those who are ahead, and draw lines between the friend groups in your classroom. You can put a heart if they show lot so interest in their subject, and put an “X” next to those students who can be disruptive. You can refer to this sociogram as you make up and use it to form groups of students for group projects and to make a seating chart that best fits your students, if you decide to use one.