Teachers put off dealing with non-emergency situations and needs until students are working
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Teachers.Net Gazette October 2002 - HARRY & ROSEMARY WONG: EFFECTIVE PRACTICES APPLY TO... - 0 views
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I like to say, "let's talk about it later..." It gives students a chance to cool down and me a chance to think about it...as well as keeps the class moving forward.
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This is a great idea! How much of my class time is spent with students telling me "I forgot my book" or "I had pizza last night" or other things that may be interesting, but not relevant to what we need to do!
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I agree. A lot of time during class is spent on nonrelevant discussion. We need to refocus to keep the class flowing.
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High school and middle grade teachers have bellwork/warm-up/sponge activities on the board or overhead projector so students get to work as soon as they enter the classroom
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If you haven't thought about a bell-ringer, you should. It gets the students working right away and gives you time to take attendance and do other things for the first few minutes. It may seem like "busy work," but you'll eventually figure out how to use the bell ringer to maximize your instruction, too.
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Objectives for the day are displayed on the board
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I can go either way on this one. I used to post objectives, but students didn't really get into it. Instead, I post a bulleted list of the day's activities on the board, i.e. 1) Discuss HW 2) Go over quizzes 3) Circumference of Circles 4) Area of Circles This takes away the "what are we doing today?" questions and gives students an idea of what to expect for the day. It also establishes a nice routine, helps you metacognitize before the day, and provides a 'back-up' in case you freeze. It's not uncommon for students to say, "hey..weren't we supposed to go over our quizzes?!" when I've mistakenly moved on.
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A student "class secretary" maintains a "What Did I Miss?" folder
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Create whatever system you want for missing work. After a few weeks of helping absent students see how the system works, you'll never have to answer the question, "What did we do yesterday in LA?" Students will know the routine (who to ask or where to go) to get the handouts, assignment, etc.
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I was never able to get that developed. Eventually, when I put things on Moodle, students got into the habit of checking there after missing (or before). Still, I could see many other setups being just as effective.
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Re: make-up work - this task can easily become digital - assignments, handouts, summaries of the lesson by other students, etc. could be posted on a class wiki so it's accessible 24/7
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Each teacher has a system of procedures for setting up small groups
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Students are informed of and discuss the specific purpose/s before viewing a vide
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I would add, "Students are informed of and discuss the specific purpose before ANYTHING"...not just videos. Saves the "Why do we have to do/know this?" comments.
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Students do need to be informed about everything they're doing. It saves a lot of time answering questions rather than spending it repeating the information over and over again. We want to make sure they're prepared and ready to go.
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shakes hands
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Students who have something of a non-emergency nature that they wish to tell the teacher can fill out a prepared form titled "Listening Ear" with a line drawing of an ear and four blank lines for the student's message.
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Harry Wong - okay, so this isn't ICC, but it does talk a lot about effective practices. If you haven't read "The First Days of School," you should. If not, check out this website. It summarizes lots of the main points. I'll mark it up with what I see as the most important points.
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Some teachers send home progress sheets and letters informing parents whenever a new chapter or unit begins, outlining the objectives and providing information about any cultural activities or projects associated with the new unit.
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I think this is a good way to keep parents informed on what their child is going to be working on. This can help promote interaction between parent and child.
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Ames Administrator Said Curriculum is Sound - Ames, IA Patch - 4 views
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or eliminating the Iowa Core. Heidi Doellinger, the district's instructional strategist, said prior to the core curriculums each Iowa school district wrote its own curriculum but that changed when the Iowa Core was implemented. Doellinger said they aligned the district's curriculum with the Iowa core and again with the national core. “It's tedious doing this again and again,” she said. Related Topics: Ames Community School District, Curriculum, Dan Woodin, Legislators, Mandy Ross, No Child Left Behind, and Schools Email me updates about this story. [["validates_email_format_of",{"message":"Enter a valid email address e.g. janedoe@aol.com."}]] Website: Thanks. We'll email you the next time we update this story. Email Print Follow comments Submit tip Comment Leave a comment [["validates_presence_of",{"message":"Hey, you forgot to let us know how you feel \u2014 please enter a comment."}],["validates_length_of",{"too_long":"Easy there, Tolstoy. Your comment cannot exceed 1500 characters.","maximum":1500,"allow_blank":true}]] Website: Get Email Updates Send me email updates for this article Would you like to receive email updates about this article? Yes, please No thanks Make a new comment on this article Close Read More in Government <
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Blogging About The Web 2.0 Connected Classroom: Twitter In Schools-A Getting Started Guide - 12 views
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Twitter is beginning to catch on with many educators, schools are
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Thanks for sharing this article. I have used Twitter for some time, but on a personal level. I have a side business as a portrait photographer and have used it to stay connected and for some marketing. I was interested in how the article described the use of Twitter for a school community.
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Great ideas! Our school just launched a Twitter and Facebook account this school year. We are still in the beginning phase and this will help push it!
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I too liked this...helping my learning curve rise much faster as I develop my PLN using Twitter and Diigo etc..
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This article has really made me think about how I can use Twitter in the Art room... my brain is overflowing with ideas!
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I used to be against twitter but now I am starting to see the possible benefits of using twitter for the classroom.
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Wednesday, June 15, 2011 Twitter In Schools-A Getting Started Guide The end of the school year is upon us however many are looking forward to next year. You may be thinking what can you do differently next year? How can you stand out above the crowd? How can your school become a larger part of the school community?While Twitter is beginning to catch on with many educators, schools are lagging in their adoption of the platform. But let's think about it. Twitter is a quick and easy
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I see the increasing interest in the use of twitter, but I am having a difficult time convincing other colleagues to use it. It seems to take fire only when twitter is an 'all in' tool for a staff of teachers. As much as I like twitter and see the usefulness so this as a tool of education, it has a significant amount of growth to do in order to be the mainstream tool within a school.
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I see a use for Twitter by our school's Administration to push out notifications for: meeting reminders, congratulatory messages, weather related school closings, and sports scores. However, I believe schools and teachers need to be conscious of how much we push out -- having multiple posts a week by each of the seven or eight teachers that a high school student has in a day could be obtrusive. Our system uses PowerSchool and individual teacher websites to post: assignments, scores, and additional course specific information. Parents and students should be able to look up what they need when it is convenient for them as opposed to being messaged when it may not be.
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along.
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Oh my! I am not a current Twitter user, so I am not familiar with exactly how it works, but I think I have an idea. This is probably a good examply of the "line" that separates those who are used to this technology and those who are good at technology but at the point of trying to figure out how and when to apply it. WHen I read the "Think First" section, I just kept picturing in my head classes/students/teachers being bombarded and interrupted all day long if they possibly hoped to keep up with Twitter posts. But as I read farther and saw it might be more intended to tweet to the public, I thought "ok", but ...... So, while I'm not turning my reception off to Twitter, I am interested to know how, when and for what purposes Twitter can be used in education. Interesting notion! I look forward to hearing more about its application.
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While Twitter is beginning to catch on with many educators, schools are lagging in their adoption of the platform. But let's think about it. Twitter is a quick and easy tool
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What do you want to do with this account? What do you hope to accomplish? What do you want to communicate? So, you are going to have a Twitter account. Great! Why? What do you want to tell people? The possibilities here are really endless. But think beyond the basic stuff like picture day and what's for lunch. Consider taking pictures of kids doing collaborative projects or highlighting staff of the month. It can really go beyond all the regular communication and show the community what your school (or district) is all about. Who will be in charge of the account? Will there be just one person who will post or will you have multiple people who post? This is all situation dependent. I would say more than one person is great but too many and things can get out of hand and duplicate information could easily be posted. Keep it simple and experiment to find what works for your group.
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Pertaining to the use of Twitter in the classroom and as part of the curriculum, I believe these questions to be paramount. Too often, with technology, especially networking sites we seem to jump in without much thought or planning as to how this will affect us and what kind of effect it will have on our intended users/viewers/public.
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This is a great introduction to using twitter in the classroom and answers many questions I wouldn't even have thought to ask. It would make using to it more focused.
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I think using Twitter in the classroom would be a great addition. Our school is planning on going to 1-on-1's next year, making it easier for everyone to access. I agree with the idea of being able to share some of the cool things the kids are doing with the rest of the community. Kid's get a bum wrap sometimes, when in fact they are doing a lot of really great things both in and out of the classroom that deserves recognition from the community. It would also be a nice way to update people about events going on at the school. For example, our softball team did a soup supper to raise money for the year. While they advertised in the more traditional sense, posters, e-mail's to the faculty, etc., many community members had no idea that this was happening. It would have been nice for them to be a part of the activity, if they would have had more information.
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I never thought Twitter would be used in the classroom, but the more I use it and more I read about it, I am beginning to see the benefits of it
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I can see where this would be good in the regular public schools. However, I teach at a detention facility and technology is a hard thing to incorporate with students, but think it could be a perfect communication tool for teachers involved with these students.
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I am not apposed to using Twitter in the classroom but am failing to see the benefit of having it in the classroom. We seem to have other tools that have a wide variety of uses. Twitter seems limited in comparison.
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I am excited by the possibilities of this. But my problem is getting staff and families on board. We have a population where many families don't have internet. And many staff don't get their emails read so how do we add more things for them to look for? I would like more information on getting people on board. I don't want it to be a two-tiered system, where a small click in in the know and the rest are out.
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We have a school wide Twitter account but I am not sure how I would use it in a kindergarten classroom. Any suggestions?
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Parents in your class could follow your twitter account to see what you are doing on a daily basis!
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We have a district twitter account and have the possibility of a school account. I'm trying to picture my principal and lead teacher with time to tweet with everything else going on around them. I can see teems communicating this way which would help them to get input from other sources.
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Communication is always the complaint that is registered by parents and students when it comes to schools. Having a school update come to you via your phone would be awesome. As always, decisions have to be made on what is the most effective way to communicate. Twitter could really bridge the gap in some cases.
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Great way to utilize the tool/resource instead of trying to block kids off of it at school. Will be sharing!
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The Changing Face of Education in Iowa: 5 Characteristics of Effective Instruction - 6 views
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So not only will Iowa's high schools develop implementation plans for the content next year, they will also conduct a self-study to determine which characteristics need attention and put forward a professional development plan to improve in that area(s).
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ICC is a process. To see this change to its fullest extent, the DE is proposing a plan for each district to create a plan to roll it out over several years. (This is how we should/might view our classrooms...focus on making a few changes at a time, but do them well rather than trying to be Mr. Awesome Teacher in all kinds of areas without enough time/thought/trial & error.) <-- this is KEY. What are your thoughts, Russ?
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I like that it is built on reflection and continual improvement. You've explained it to me before as being "what good teachers should be doing." I think all teachers, rookies and veterans, can benefit from an open discussion on that point.
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I'm leery of the plans becoming planning for planning sake, but the intention is good--trying to get at the process of continual improvement, as you mentioned.
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Evan, there's no doubt that some schools/districts will simply write a plan, then check it off the list of things to do. However, many others that recognize the value in the intent, or spirit, of the IC will approach the process seriously.
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Just to piggy back here, I also like it that there are people that are going to reflect on what may or may not be working. Often enough, I don't think that gets done enough. As Teresa said, some and perhaps the majority of schools will just fulfill what they have to, but some will put in time and get some neat things out of this process. I hope that many will take it seriously.
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Our district is currently working on the plan. I hope we do a good job so we can implement and use it!
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Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students as part of instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of core content.
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I didn't think about this until my 5th year of teaching. What is your "assessment plan"? How will you assess? How often? What will you do if students are absent on assessment day?
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Your comment made me think of the quote we shared with you this past weekend: "our generation wants in 7 years what our parents worke for all their lives." That's what I feel fairly often since I've been surrounded by veteran teachers. There are many times I need to slow down and remember that I'm learning, learning. learning. So, to "answer" your questions, I don't know. I appreciate being able to learn from your experiences.
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A rigorous curriculum is one that is complex, provocative, and personally or emotionally challenging
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This is a never-ending task. I don't expect to "master" this, even when I'm ready to retire. It involves really thinking about the content and the students and how authentic work can be created by them according to their interests. This is TOUGH!
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Evan had a great comment on this point: "The key is to teach students how to learn that advanced content on their own--to become life-long learners. No one is arguing that teachers aren't cognitively limited; they are. But that is (or should be) irrelevant. To continue the transmission model of education, where teachers have all the knowledge and students have to get it in the approved way, will continue to stunt the growth of students."
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Good point. It's the old 'liberal arts' education lingo...becoming a life long learner. From my experience, it's difficult to get some students to learn the basics, let alone do any learning on their own (the few that come to school because they're required...or only desire a passing grade...or some other sort of grade to please parents). Not saying it can't be done, but lots of thought, motivation and modeling needed.
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One thing I've found is that out of the 5, this is the one that teachers say, "Yeah, I've got this one down". It seems everyone has seen the graphic of the quadrants. What's difficult is, even though we all know we need to be rigorous & relevant, we don't often know which of our lessons truly are rigorous & relevant. The best professional development will give teachers some specific, tangible examples to show how to ramp up rigor.
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This definition is adapted from Teaching What Matters Most by Silver, Strong and Perrini. It's a great read (ASCD)
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Differences can best be accomplished by engaging in a process which has teachers using student and instructional assessment data to make sound instructional decisions to meet the needs of individual students.
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when formative assessment is done well, differentiation comes naturally. Again, easier said than done....so we need to be patient in this area as we learn the common misconceptions of students in our curriculum, this practice will become more visible over time.
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I saw this on a large scale when I visited Knoxville West Elementary school as part of our IDM team. They had reading data on all students and used it to adjust the instruction for all kids. Do you think formative assessment flows naturally from the assessment to the remedial instruction? What I mean is, say a teacher formatively assesses students, do we assume that teacher is using that data to influence instruction? Is the "changing intruction" part of the definition of formative assessment?
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You hit the big "aha" moment ICC is going to (hopefully) help so many educators in Iowa realize. I sort of feel like differentiation and formative assessment aren't mutually exclusive...one in the same (assess, use data to create new individualized/group instruction to help students move along the continuum of learning; repeat). Not sure if it's worth debating the definitions, but rather seeing the ideas as working together to improve classroom practice. Yes, it is possible to collect data and do nothing with it. This is the major misconception of 'formative assessment,' in my opinion. The analogy of "formative assessment is chef's ongoing soup tasting during prep; summative assessment is restaurant customer liking or disliking soup" seems to fit, but when some educators hear this, they only taste the soup (collect data, quiz more often, etc.) but never make any changes to the soup recipe (instruction). I'm guilty and to be honest thought this way until earlier this year. We can't just assume the data is being used, you're right. In a quality classroom, I think it would be pretty obvious that the data was being used (maybe my class next year?!).
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The only reason I bring up the definition is so everyone is on the same page when discussing it. If some think "formative assessment" is only the assessment and others think it includes the instruction-adjustment, there's a disconnect. That's all. Plus I'm an English guy, so I like definitions. I'm already loving this ICC stuff now that I get "the point." So here's my big thought of the day: how are college education programs going to use the ICC? If the state has defined effective practices, will colleges follow suit in what they focus their teaching on...both in the ed. training programs and how the faculty teaches?
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I think ICC defines formative assessment as a process of both collecting the data and modifying instruction: From ICC, Module 5: "Assessment FOR Learning (Formative Assessment): Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students as part of instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students' achievement of core content. As assessment FOR learning, formative assessment practices provide students with clear learning targets, examples and models of strong and weak work, regular descriptive feedback, and the ability to self-assess, track learning, and set goals. (Adapted from Council of Chief State School Officers, FAST SCASS)."
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Not sure how/if it will impact higher ed. Impact on higher ed. will surely aid in determining success of ICC, but won't necessarily directly affect our day-to-day instruction. If new staff are trained with ICC in mind, it would help the process along. To be realistic, I think it takes extended classroom experience to get a grasp on what an abstract idea such as "assessment for learning" truly is. Nonetheless a theoretical framework (aside from modifying/extending student teaching/practicum as you and I have discussed previously), is one possible step forward.
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You both make excellent points, and I like the "chef" anaology. As far as post-secondary ed is concerned, some of them are coming to the table to at least sniff the soup. Eventually, I think they'll buy the whole meal because (1) schools will be demanding that teacher ed programs include the IC, and (2) students who have experienced full implementation of the IC in high school will demand the same of their experiences at the post-secondary level. It's just going to be a long-term process.
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In Student-centered Classrooms, students construct their own knowledge based on experiential, holistic, authentic, and challenging experiences.
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From what I know about you, Russ, I think you'll do well in this area (student-centered classroom). Realistically, this can only be done "well" with a solid classroom management plan coupled with a focused look on the desired culture of your classroom.
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I appreciate you saying that, Matt. It struck me as funny, mainly because of what I emailed you last night: "I'm nervous about classroom management/atmosphere." :)
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See other bookmark in this group, re: Harry Wong and procedures. Wish I would have known Wong (and implemented it) earlier on. You'll be much wiser and knowledgeable than me. Read the book and/or the website. Becky probably has the book. I can email you my procedures if you're interested. Rehearse! It seems goofy and a strange use of time for the first few weeks, but pays huge dividends. Once procedures are established, you can shape the culture (a la more student-centered) and build relationships with students to your heart's content.
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while these 5 characteristics are essential to a successful school, they are not necessarily mutually exclusive of each other.
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Amen, Evan! See my notes on differentiation and formative assessment. They go together!
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It's my gut feeling that the DE thinks this is implicit; that everyone knows this. But given that the DE's main role is in checklist accredidation, they'll need to be a bit more explicit to districts, or I think they will have districts treating each one separately.
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Great point, Evan. I would venture to guess that the majority of the educators I know would say that "assessment" and "instruction" are mutually exclusive entities. I hear things all the time like "Today is quiz day" rather than viewing it as an ongoing activity. I discussed my thoughts related to this topic here: http://bit.ly/NBqyH This will be a HUGE task on the DE/AEAs part, in my opinion...helping Iowa educators see the conceptual connection as well as how it looks (and doesn't look) in practice.
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Teaching for Understanding is leading students (to engage in a variety of thought-provoking activities such as explaining, finding evidence in examples, generalizing, connecting, applying, making analogies, and representing the topic in new ways.
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The Changing Face of Education in Iowa: Call for Action: Get Rid of Grades - 5 views
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We never get a chance to have students compare themselves to... themselves. Never to look at how much they have grown, or what they have left to do.
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I find this very interesting and it's such a great point that I took some time to reflect on. As a teacher, I can see how this may benefit some students. Some of them would really enjoying seeing how far they've come or what they don't know yet. Not all of them look at their ITEDs scores and really understand them. I guess this would be a good reason for some form of pre/post testing. I really like the idea of having students take pride in seeing what they've gotten out of the classroom since so many of them degrade themselves and what they're learning anyway....thanks for the food for thought.
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I teach special education and I compare my students to themselves all the time. The skill areas we work on are charted and monitored twice a month at a minimum. I think it is an extremely valuable tool to have them see a visual of how they have grown (hopefully!) through the year. I agree that grading is subjective in many areas and can be inconsistent. Grades are most important in high school for getting into college and scholarships.
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The way textbooks and goals are set up normally, the tendency would be that students assess themselves against a pre-concieved standard. This will take a lot of re-thinking.
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Many college drop outs have substantial debt - yes kid's expense in more than one way!
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The Iowa World Language Association is working on the materials for a language passport or portfolio which could be used to document what a student knows and can do. This language passport can be used by universities and future employers to attest to a student's competence with a particular language--something that grades don't always show. Perhaps other areas could develop similar tools to showcase a student's competence in that area.
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Wow...well written. I have been of the same school of thought for some time, but it seems like such an 'out there' concept for so many people.
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I heard Doug Reeves speak on Monday and he spoke to the very same issue. He offered an activity in which he provided a set of five different grades and asked each individual in the room to "average" them in some fashion and then decide on a final grade. In a room of around 75 educators, individuals took the same grades and came up with As, Bs, Cs and Fs for the same set of five posted grades. Doug's point was that grading is so subjective, inconsistent and doesn't provide useful information to students, parents or others.
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I have never thought of grading being so subjective and inconsistent, but this is very interesting school of thought.
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Pretty far out; I like it. Thinking about the depth to which grades are in the system - credits, transcripts, GPA - both as a sign of progress and or understanding. Also thinking about assessment and grading - assessment of learning versus assessment for learning...... Great post!
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I often think of how valuable this has been for my own children. They have had a Montesouri education and have been graded on challenging themselves and not compared to the other students. We have now switched back to traditional school and I find that my children are becoming a bit lazy. They now say things like who cares I always get A's. Is this what learning is about? I try to make sure to stress challenging yourself to my own students and I downplay grades.
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Great piece and the discussions we must be having as an education community. AND the discussion we should have with students and parents. Often we have this belief that the status quo is just fine, but often do nothing about challenging our system and how it supports learning as a journey. This concept and discussion should be kept alive and I believe we need to keep this discussion open.
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Iowa Department of Education 21st Century Skills - 0 views
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Friedman
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(1) critical thinking and problem solving; (2) collaboration and leadership; (3) agility and adaptability; (4) initiative and entrepreneurialism; (5) effective oral and written communication; (6) accessing and analyzing information; and (7) curiosity and imagination.
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I think these are all great...but think back to the '5 essential characteristics' and formative assessment, etc. How will we be able to "assess" these skills? It's tough to assess these soft skills, in my opinion.
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Yes, these are definitely broad topics. What underlying, assessable skills make up these survival skills?
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Best content in Iowa Core Discussion | Diigo - Groups - 11 views
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Give students a list of the learning targets they are responsible for mastering, written in student-friendly language.Show students anonymous strong and weak examples of the kind of product or performance they are expected to create and have them use a scoring guide to determine which one is better and why.Administer a nongraded quiz part-way through the learning, to help both teacher and students understand who needs to work on what.Highlight phrases on a scoring guide reflecting specific strengths and areas for improvement and staple it to student work.Have students identify their own strengths and areas for improvement using a scoring guide.Have students keep a list of learning targets for the course and periodically check off the ones they have mastered.Give students feedback and have them use it to set goals.Have students graph or describe their progress on specific learning targets.Ask students to comment on their progress: What changes have they noticed? What is easy that used to be hard? What insights into themselves as learners have they discovered?
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I agree that identifying their owns strengths and areas of improvement can be a useful tool
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Student self assessment is becoming both more important and more difficult in classrooms. It seems as though students sometimes aren't ready to admit their faults or concerns when it may help the teacher conduct formative assessment tasks. Sadly, teachers often rely heavily on that very self-assessment, which may or may not be entirely accurate.
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I have actually found that those students who take their education seriously (and there are more than I think) are almost fault finding rather than confidence building. That is when I take the opportunity to build them up and point out their successes.
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I agree with Kevin's comment that students do not want to admit fault. They are also timid about asking for help. We recently had a student who did not hand in an assignment that was a substantial part of his grade for the term. We asked several times if he wanted/needed help. His response was always no. Finally, after about 3 weeks the teacher made him come into her room during study hall and work on the assignment. He failed to understand one of the key steps and after it was explained, he finished the essay. It was a failure on both our parts. The student should have asked for help, but if we had a better system in place to check for understanding at key points, it would have been less stressful for both parties. We need to consider doing more of these things at my school.
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I really like the last question, especially with students I work with. It is most important that the student see their progress, for the sole reason they don't believe anyone. Also, the fact they are to see themselves as learners and what they have discovered. Love it!!!
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I think if students are given their expectations a head of time, you will see progress in their work. Their are special cases where this is untrue, but we all like expectations that are obtainable.
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I agree with Chrisine. Students are quite honest and critical of themselves and it gives them the oportunity to see growth within themselves.
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I agree that if we let the students know from the beginning what the expectaions for the class are, they can follow their progress in the class and see their improvment. Also, giving a norgraded quiz is also a good idea but I'm wondering if they would do their best knowing it isn't graded at the beginning.
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These are all excellent components to learning and helping students move forward with learning. Could there also be a parent component which would allow for more communication opportunities?
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I use non-graded quizzes regularly -- the word "quiz" helps them take it seriously -- to assess where students are. I think I will try adding the self assessment of where they are on the learning targets to the end of the quiz. Rather than collecting and going through myself, I will let them assess what they know and what still needs to be worked on. When I collect them, we will both be on track to fill the gaps.
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I like having students identify their own strengths and goals...gives them ownership and accountability.
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I like the idea of "student-friendly" language and for students to look at their own progress would be very helpful. Using rubrics would be similar but adding it into technology would make it more engaging for students plus it would be paperless.
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A big part of DuFour (Solution Tree, PLC) is non-graded formative assessment. The claim is that, once a student sees a grade, the learning stops. No matter what amount of feedback you give, all they are concerned about is the grade.
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As a high school teacher, I have found that students generally don't take seriously non-graded assessment. I do though strongly agree that incremental formative assessment is key to developing desirable levels of skill and understanding. Over the years I've developed two different schemes for addressing the need for incremental formative assessment, while avoiding the barriers that "grades" can impose. For Junior and Senior students, it has been useful for the students to allow them retakes, so they may retake any incremental formative assessment whose score is not what they would like it to be. I take the most recent score for better or worse. If they wish to retake a third, forth, or umpteenth time then they may do so (with the same better or worse consequence). Though this scheme is helpful for them, allowing them to see how the prep work leads to assessment items, and thus focusing their instruction to make them more efficient test-takers, it is somewhat burdensome in paperwork (as every incremental formative assessment has multiple versions -- many tailor-made to suit specific learning preferences). As the Freshmen student class sizes are so much greater and as Freshmen are less mature in the ways of the grades, the aforementioned retake scheme has not proven useful with them. Many Freshman consider that a nongraded assignment is "busy work" and don't give it their best effort. More importantly, the results of such nongraded assignments are considered to be unimportant primarily because the students knew they didn't utilize their best effort. The scheme that has proven to be most successful with them is "risk ratcheting". Students are given prep work which is designed to help them with note-taking skills. the answer to all the prep-work material is reviewed in class with the understanding that if the prep work was done poorly, then it is a sign that your notes need to be fixed (corrected, culled, or added to). The next assessment item is small and each ind
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I agree with Todd here. We have done it both ways and we went to teach another school about PLC's where they would be assigning groups. I do not think they would find as much joy and success that way as DuFour says in his book having a choice is key!
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Van Meter has given teacher flexibility when doing PLC. Meeting at Early but allowed to leave early of whatever the group works out.
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Gladbrook-Reinbeck Elem teachers have been having their PLC's on Wednesday mornings before school. Unfortunately, we didn't have much focus or direction. Some of our teachers are going to a training this summer, so hopefully next year will be better.
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In the article, one district had late starts on Mondays. Our district is having teachers meet for 30 minutes once a month. I'd like to hear how other schools are setting up planning time for their PLCs.
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At Charles CIty we are have late starts on MOnday. Teachers will have 80-85 minutes to work in PLC's that are being 'dictated' this year with the idea that they will 'breakout' next year.
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Discussion and ideas contributed by the group members as to activities, use of technoogy and curriculum changes adn modifications are all great to hear from others, especially when I am a 1 person curricular area teacher in our small school
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Charles City has set a late start on Wednesday for PLC. This is are first year and groups were asigned. I think being able to choose you own team would make descussion and topics more useful.
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A new way to grade: Standards replace letters in Waukee | The Des Moines Register | Des... - 2 views
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Students will receive statuses of "beginning," "developing," "secure" or "exceeds" in 10 to 12 objectives - or standards - per subject instead of traditional letter grades.
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"It's a very emotional topic," Reeves said. "A big thing is it's not standards versus grades. It's, 'Are we giving parents and students better information to improve their performance?' "
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It's critical that before you move students on in their learning, you actually know what it is that they have control of and at what level," he said. "This method does that."
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Students can progress from one group to the next, and have the ability throughout the year to retake the assessments to prove proficiency.
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Is It Worth It? - Sharing Data from Successful PLCs | AllThingsPLC - 27 views
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It was very easy to get together and “chat” about things like lesson plans, travel forms, and recess procedures. It was not until we began to look at our data that we realized, by accident, that some of us were better at some things and some of us were better at others!
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It is amazing how all schools are similiar, when it comes to the nuts and bolts. We all have a group that have multi-talents if we could work with each other and benefit the students it would be a good day.
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This is a great resource! It goes very deep into the motives of using PLNs and breaks it down into a few ideas and questions so you can reflect on what a successful PLN would look like and how to utilize it for students' engagement and success.
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In the article, one district had late starts on Mondays for planning time for their PLCs. Our district plans to have groups meet once a month for 30 minutes. I'd like to hear what other districts are doing.
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We are going into our 3rd year of PLC in my district. I think the idea is great and can be incredibly valuable. However, the group is only as powerful as the members in it. If all members buy into the concept, great things can come out of it. If members view it as a waste of time, come unprepared or do not participate then it truly is a waste of time. Getting members to believe is the most difficult part.
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We are just starting PLCs at my school. So far we have just had a training session about it. I will be interested to see how it works during the next few years.
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The biggest hurdle for some districts may be having enough technology/computers available
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This is the first year of PLC's for Charles City. We are following a very 'patient' approach by 'dictating' the direction of the PLC's (everyone studies characteristics of effective instruction) for the first several months. Hopefullly, this will allow everyone to to understand the dynamics of PLC first before we allow individuals to 'breakout' by content or topic.
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This is our first year of PLC's in the Dike-New Hartford District. Like Charles City we are also easing into the direction our group wants to go. Right now we have two early dismissal days a month to meet. We are too getting to know the dynamics of PLC's to make them effective in our district.
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This is our second year of PLC at GR. I ahve found working in our group this year during the extra 8 hours outside of school time very beneficial. Going 1 : 1 computers, this sharing has given us time to find new sources for ourselves and students to use as we improve learning.
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“Is it worth it?” will always be a question for those interested in taking the PLC journey. While we have data to support it and strategies to share on how we have moved in the direction of learning for all, the greatest answer to the question is in the smiles of our children and stories of their parents as they know and share that student learning is what we are all about at Fort Leavenworth Schools.
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Collaboration is key. Cant be a complaint session. Must have input from everyone.
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I agree. When we start working on solutions to challenges, rather than complaining, educators can make incredible gains.
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Our PLC made little flags with photos of Norm from "Cheers" on wooden sticks. When one of us starts going down a different path with the discussion, any of us can hold up our "Norm" to remind us to stay on track. This works well for us because it is a humorous way to keep organized and doesn't hurt anybody's feelings.
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Diane: I love the creativity and team-bldg. by using humor ...and yet being organized and productive.
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Just attended a PLC of 4 regional schools last friday where we were trying to develop curriculum alignment amongst school. Develping this network on line will allow us as a gorup to "steal" activities from others, discuss best practices and share our successes and struggles.
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It seems as though my school's PLCs have been overshadowed by PD and our mixture of content teachers, while good in theory, has not worked in practice. I am a foreign language teacher, the only one in my school, and I am always paired with art, music, PE and the guidance counselor. Then we are so structured that any type of 'ah-ha moment' cannot be realized, due to the constraints of the itinerary.
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Finding the time to meet consistently seems to be the biggest task for us. It seems that we begin to lose our inspiration when it is so complicated to get together.
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We met in PLCs the last two years, but then became one to one and our focus has switched for this year. I wonder how this will change in the future.
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I agree that time is the key. During basketball season my group was only able to meet at 6:30 am.
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I think these questions are so valuable to all of us. It forces us to think and evaluate what we are doing in the classroom and how much is necessary vs. "fluff".
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I feel like I am coming up with more questions than solutions...yet am excited for the potential that increased PLC productivity can become using technology
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she commented that one of the norms for her group was to leave their egos at the door. When everyone did that, honest conversations started to happen and learning was paramount. Realizing that it was not a personal affront to anyone when you spoke about data was a huge AHA moment for our teachers! It gave professionals permission not to have to be supermen and superwomen in their classrooms, but to focus on what they can do better – together!
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Nice write-up about learning teams and the use of common formative assessments.
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Having a PLC and actually using it effectively is important. As teachers, we know we need the time to work collaboratively to make effective changes. This was an excellent source on how teachers worked together to improve performance. Goood key questions used to keep teachers focused on improvement.
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This is our first year implementing PLC at Dike New Hartford. We are in the beginning phases and are dismissing two hours early twice a month. The big idea of focusing on learning and not teaching is a big shift in thinking, but a much needed one. After spending three days in Minneapolis, I feel I have a good handle on what a true PLC should look like, but not sure a lot of my teaching partners due yet.
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I would like to see more time in our school devoted to PLC...with increased focus on technology...this stuff takes time yet in the long run would SAVE so much time. I have to say technology gets me more excited as to the access of information than the actual Iowa Core does.
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I am in my first year in a district that uses PLCs for professional development. I find it to be a great way to share ideas and learn from colleagues from a variety of curricular areas; very worthwhile professional development.