Holding students accountable for reading

In the courses I teach, students are typically responsible for reading and thinking about the reading before coming to class. I've had conversations with several colleagues about ways to hold students accountable for doing the reading and, more importantly, for thinking about the reading so that they're prepared to interact with the ideas during class. Some folks prefer to give quizzes on assigned readings to hold students accountable. My preference is to design learning experiences that require students to apply their thoughts from the reading. There are a lot of ways to do this. In my experience, when students know that they're expected to collaborate with their peers and share their thinking during class, they are more likely to be prepared for that work by engaging with the reading before class. In this way, students' peers hold them accountable for thinking about the reading, not me. Below are a few strategies for holding students accountable for reading, for thinking about the reading, and for coming to class prepared to engage with their peers.

Speed Dating

Speed dating allows students to interact with several peers in a short amount of time. Students talk for a short time (1 or 2 minutes) with a classmate, typically in response to a question or set of questions. After the specified time period has passed, students rotate and have a conversation with another peer. Sometimes the questions for each dating round remain the same, but sometimes I'll post a different question or set of questions for each round. Last week in my assessment course, students went through three rounds of speed dating. During each round, there was a different question or set of questions to guide the conversation. Those questions are below.

Gallery Walk

A gallery walk can take many different forms but is typically structured so that students work collaboratively to brainstorm ideas and display them for the class. Groups then move around the room (or explore different displays on their devices) to review ideas that were shared by their classmates. I like to incorporate peer feedback by asking students to leave comments on other groups' displays. Again, in a relatively short amount of time, students have the opportunity to interact with their peers and learn from multiple perspectives. Today, I used the Educreations app for a mid-term gallery walk, asking students to reflect on topics we've focused on for the first half of the semester.

Games

I use Triptico often to engage students in a game-based review of the reading. Triptico is one of the only web tools I've actually purchased the premium account for, and I'm glad I did. Triptico makes it easy to build interactive games to review important content. In addition to game-like activities, Triptico also includes cool timers, task cards, spinners, and quizzes. Below are a couple of examples of Triptico activities I've used recently.

RAFTs, Menus, and Choice Boards

I believe that it's extremely important that teacher educators model effective instructional practices, such as differentiation, in their coursework. Rather than simply telling students that they need to differentiate learning opportunities for students, I model that for my own students. RAFTs, choice boards, and menus are some tools I use often in order to give students choice. Below is a RAFT I used with students in my assessment course earlier this semester. 

Free-Write

While I'm using more collaborative than independent learning experiences this semester, that changes each semester depending on my students' preferences. I use Google Forms at the beginning of the semester to find out how my students learn best, and I make a conscious effort to design learning experiences that meet my students' needs (more about that here). Some students prefer to reflect on their thoughts independently, and some do their best thinking when they have the chance to write out their thoughts before talking with others. Freewrite is a quick and easy strategy to give students time to process and reflect. In addition to individual freewrites, a collaborative freewrite strategy I like to use is 4-2-1 Freewrite. First, each student identifies the 4 most important ideas from a text, a video, or some other learning experience. Students then work in pairs to narrow down their two lists of 4 ideas to a list of the 2 most important ideas. The act of narrowing 2 lists of 4 ideas down to a single list of 2 ideas takes some negotiating, which can be a powerful learning experience. Next, pairs partner up with other pairs to form groups of 4. In those groups of 4, pairs share their lists of 2 most important ideas. Each group of 4 must identify the single most important idea from the lists that were shared. Finally, each student freewrites for 3 minutes about the 1 most important idea that was selected by the group.

There are countless other ways to engage students with ideas from texts and from their peers. I'd love to hear about the strategies you use often. Feel free to leave a comment below.

Why our Grading Practices Suck, and What We Can Do About It

I always get excited for class (well, almost always), but I am particularly excited to meet with the pre-service teachers in my assessment course tomorrow. This week, we're exploring widely-used grading practices that just, well, suck. I'm looking forward to hearing about my students' past experiences with grades and engaging in dialogue about ways to improve our broken grading system. I don't have time for a lengthy blog post at the moment, so instead of writing a narrative post, I'm basically going to bullet out my lesson plan for class this week. I hope you'll take the time to explore the resources below, reflect on your own grading practices, and create a plan of action for using grades in less toxic ways. Feel free to adapt any of these ideas below if you're planning to facilitate a conversation about grading with colleagues. 

15 Fixes for Broken Grades

• One-page overview
• Agree / Disagree human continuum for each statement
• Brief discussion around the 15 fixes -- share past experiences (positive/negative... why?)
• Develop an argument FOR and AGAINST including these factors in grades: student behavior, reduced marks on late work, points for extra credit, reduced marks for cheating, attendance, or group scores. 

Toxic Grading Practices

• Watch this video by Rick Wormeli (Standards-Based Grading)
• Pause after each main point to journal and discuss
• The Dilemma of the Zero
• Facilitate activity 4.4 from study guide 
• Discuss the soundness of the teacher's actions. What could the teacher have done differently? Why?
• Watch this video by Doug Reeves (Toxic Grading Practices)
• Discuss each toxic practice & alternative suggestions (zero, averages, semester-killer)
• What's in a "B"?
• Facilitate activity 2.2 from study guide 
• Analyze list comparing what grades should tell us vs. what's actually included in grades
• What things on either list are troubling to you? Why?

One Solution: Standards-Based Grading (SBG)

• Video introduction to SBG
• Reflect on article: Seven Reasons for Standards-Based Grading -- How does SBG compare to your experiences with grading as a student? What makes sense? What doesn't?
• In groups of 2 or 3, sketch out a sample traditional grade book & a grade book using SBG
• What's the same? different? Which method best serves the purposes of assessment and grading?
• Virtual guest speaker to share how and why he uses SBG (David Schouweiler, teacher at Newton-Conover High School). You can view the Google Hangout with Mr. Schouweiler below.

Putting It All Together

• Work in groups of 3 or 4 to construct a list of ineffective & effective grading practices, based on the readings, videos, and class discussions
• 3 columns: What not to do | What to do | Why

Exit Ticket: I used to think.... Now I think.... Because....

Reflections from Pre-Service Teachers

I used to think that there was only one way to grade. Now I think that there are other ways and that there are ways to think out of the box, because standards-based grading actually grades the content that the student is learning instead of factoring in other things like tardiness and behavior.

I used to think grading was simple - just check to see if it's right or wrong. Now I think (know) that it is a lot more than that. There are so many things you have to consider because it's more than just right or wrong answers. Teachers should be more conscious when they grade. 

I used to think number grades were the easiest way to go about grading. Now I think standards-based grading is the most meaningful and smartest way to go because I feel like students will be eager to learn more and students will learn more as well.

I used to think grading was a one way thing. Now I don't because we have discussed many types of grading. 

I used to think the grading system didn't show students' true ability. Now I know what I thought is true, based on all the evidence I have learned in this class.

I used to think that percentage grading was the only way to grade. Now I think that teachers are breaking the mold, pioneering out of the norm to reach the students because of Mr. Shoe. It is amazing to see people try to start something new and have it be beneficial.

I used to think the 7-point grading scale was the only / right way to grade. Now I think nobody should use it because it isn't fair or a true representation of a grade.

I used to think grading could only be shown by numbers and percentages. Now I think that there are better ways to convey someone else's knowledge because of looking at standards-based grading. 

I used to think the standard had a just meaning. Now I think that it has no significant effect because a number cannot tell you what you are doing wrong.

I used to think grading was pretty much just like the things we talk about the "wrong ways". Now I think it is not a good representation of a student's knowledge because the "F" region is so harsh between 60 - 0. I've never given much thought into this new way. I really like it.

Other resources:

The Case Against Zero

TED Talk: Standards-Based Grading and the Game of School

Standards-Based Grading FAQ

Leading to Change / Effective Grading Practices

Giving Students Choice in "Getting to Know You" Activities

Each semester, I try to get to know my students as people first and learners second. One way I get information about them as learners is through a Google Form like this one. Once I gather responses from my students on the first day of class, I can begin to adjust my teaching practices to better meet the needs of the learners in my class.

This semester, I'm teaching a course for pre-service teachers on assessment, research, and decision-making. This is my first time teaching the course, and I always get excited about teaching a new course. I'm certain that I learn more than my students the first time around. In all of my courses, I try to model effective teaching and assessment practices for the future teachers in my classroom. In this assessment course in particular, I will be emphasizing fair and meaningful approaches to assessment and instructional decision-making. For the first class meeting, I'm giving students choice in how they participate in a "getting to know you" activity. I'm fortunate to have an iPad cart to use in class and plan to use it during almost every class meeting. Many of the choices below were designed to give students time to get familiar with the iPads. However, I've also provided some non-tech options for students who would prefer to create something in a different way. I can't wait to see what they create.