On a Scale of 1-5 How Effective are Rubrics?

This week we talked about rubrics and whether they are useful or not. Today specifically we talked a lot about who benefits more from rubrics the teacher or the student? Also whether or not we should introduce the "littles" to rubrics? I say Yes, Yes, and Yes!

Rubrics to me are an excellent way to express effective feedback as an educator. We have talked so much about how to correctly give feedback and that it needs to be specific, timely, and positive. Rubrics are the same. You should be very specific in what type of product you are looking for. The rubrics should be presented to the students before they begin the assignment so it can help guide them through the process. The language you use should be positive and age appropriate so students can understand exacting what is expected.

I personally love rubrics and plan to use them in my classes to come. They present a very organized appeal to grading and seem to ease so much heartache. I feel that they are equally helpful for learners as well so there are no questions of what is expected, or why they each received the grade they did. It completely eliminated grading bias and narrows it down to see which student truly understands. NCTCS 4) teachers will facilitate learning for their students is evident in rubrics. This is a way for teachers to set guidelines and push learning to the next level with project based learning where students are now creating instead of just analyzing.

I found this class rubric that I really liked. This would be helpful for the lower grades to start introducing how rubrics work. This has fairly broad statements, but it can help get students into the routine of self evaluating themselves to see if they truly understand the area. 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/108860515966816985/  

"Providing Feedback that Moves Learning Forward"

As we continue to dive into the assessment world we related the data concept from last week to giving effective feedback. Our discussion began with classifying assessment OF learning, assessment FOR learning, and assessment AS learning. Assessment of learning is the basic summative form. Assessment for learning is your diagnostic/pre-test, or any formative testing. Assessment as learning is self-assessment. This can be in the form of rubrics or just checklists. Dr. Clark had a great little saying that stuck with me to help us remember the differences between all three. "Wellness visits are formative, and autopsy is summative, and diagnostic is like your diagnosis". This stuck with me so I wrote it down to keep handy.

We then started to shift gears and talk about now that you have given the assessment, and received the data then what? Feedback is the answer. We watched some videos and modules that talked a lot about the correct way to get effective feedback to your students. The main two goals is to be timely, and specific. Another tip from Dr. Clark was the "happy sandwich" you start out with a positive comment, then you discuss the problem or difficulty, and then end with another positive note. This is all so true and useful when it comes to not only talking with students, but their parents.

In our seminar we dug a little deeper into feedback and had a very collaborative discussion. One question in particular that really got the wheels turning in my brain: should we share our data with our students, and allow them to give themselves feedback? I think the answer is YES! Forming a welcoming environment in your classroom is the key. I want my students and I to have an open relationship where if there ever was an issue or they had a question they felt they could ask me. So, by sharing their data with them I feel like it will help us form some personal goals and strategies to help better their learning. Sometimes you are your worst critic, so this also will help build some self-confidence in the students.

We must remember why were are here and what our mission as teachers is. We are to improve student learning, therefore whatever data we collect should not be kept under lock and key if the student can benefit from it then we should help explain it to them. This can go for the lower elementary students as well. They may not understand all of the data, but we also must remember that data is not alway numbers on a graph it can be colors or shapes to represent success, frustration, or difficulty. Data can help teachers follow the NCTCS 5) teachers must reflect on their practice; but it also applies to the learner as well. By communicating feedback with each students and listening to their concerns we also are following the NCTCS 2) teachers establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students.

I googled educational feedback and found this great image and thought it was suitable for this topic. As a future teacher I want to strive to communicate with my students and give effective feedback that still encourages learning. I don't want to bark at them, and break them down and end up hating school. We need to be their own private coach and have their best interests at heart.

http://www.colinjamesmethod.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Effective_Feedback_2-01.jpg  

Being OCD When it Comes to Data

Yesterday in class we focused on data. How to read data. How to apply data to future lessons. How to organize data. Dr. Clark had done the prior research and actually found a 4th grade math teacher's recent test data. So, that put us ahead of the game and able to really start analyzing what this teacher had done. This math educator was so on top of it. She was organized and knew exactly what she was doing. She had created this test and gave it as both a pre-test and post-test so she could see some student growth. But, she also had each question marked down to what standard it came from. This was genius to me! Now, when she reflects on her teaching she can go down the list in her little chat and pin point exactly which student understood which standard, and which needed a recap.

The most tricky thing we did in class was after decoding the data and what the teacher was actually doing we had to then go and think up some new strategies of reteaching the concepts. Number one this was difficult just because we were unaware of how this teacher taught these lessons the first time. Number two, math can be a very visual subject, but the students scored highly on the visual aspect, so finding a new method of teaching was hard. Number three, this was hard to believe that we are going to be doing this one day for our own students. This has standard number five written all over it from the NCTCS: teachers will reflect on their practice. By using this data she is able to see where she went right and where she needs to recap.

One of my favorite quotes from John Dewey is, "We do not learn from experience... We learn from reflecting on experience...". I think this is correct! Until we sit down and say, "okay where do I need to do better?" we are not being active educators in this 21st century education world. Some students are going to pick up on the concepts we teach and soar with them, and others are going to struggle and need more and more examples to help them understand.

In my future classroom I hope I can adopt this spreadsheet type of records for all of my summative assessments. This just seems to make it so easy to pull it up and see right there where each students is struggling. It also is a great way to show any parent or administrator if they ever question you about a particular student. I am an organize freak and can defiantly be OCD at times so this was right up my alley when Dr. Clark presented it to us. I just could not believe I had never seen something like this done before!

Is Assessment Necessary?

This week we talked about a pretty controversial subject in the education world today. That is Standardized Testing. Should we have Standardized Tests? Should we have assessment at all? After some well thought conversations, the answers to all those questions is yes, yes, a million times yes.

We defined assessment as a measure of student learning. There are two types of assessment, formative and summative. Assessment is required, but doesn't necessarily have to be in the form of a multiple choice test. No matter the form of assessment that you use it is very useful to provide feedback to your students. Assessment as an educator can be fun and creative and open to anything as long as you can asses that the student retained the information. The downside to assessment is that dreaded EOG as the end of the year. Teachers are encouraged to "teach the test" or drill in the "make an educated guess" tactic, but if you properly asses your students then they will have a better chance of succeeding on those state tests. I learned this week that the best way to teach, plan, and test is to form your assessment around the standards presented to you. Sounds pretty simple right?

According to the NCTS 3) teachers need to know the content they are teaching. That goes hand in hand with the assessment that follows. If you know the Standard Course of Study, then you can help build a great assessment piece to go along with it.

We had the opportunity to read a great interview from Grant Wiggins. He was asked a series of deep questions about assessment and his views on it. I loved his responses they were honest, but so thoughtful and true. He mentions how assessment makes us ask the hard questions if we are truly teaching, and if students are truly learning. One other aspect I really paralleled with was the point that yes assessment is a must, but it does not always have to be testing. That is where it is up to us as educators to make that call. This all relates to using integration in the classroom, and the fact that not every student learns best the same ways.

I am excited to see all my student's unique personalities and see what types of projects they connect best with. I feel like it is a learning experience for both the students as well as teachers.