Group items tagged

Yes/No checklist for parents to assess teens readiness for high school

Abstract The purpose of this study was to describe the barriers and challenges school leaders face as they implement a standards-based grading (SBG) system.  The researchers used a multiple case study methodology to investigate how key school leaders described their implementation journey at three schools that differed in size, demographics, and location.  Purposeful sampling was used to identify key administrators at three different schools who were in the process of implementing a SBG system.  Data were collected primarily via semi-structured interviews.  In the analysis, researchers used three phases: horizontalization, thematizing, and textural-structural synthesis.  Each of the three schools had very different implementation stories.  Barriers in the process included: student information and grading systems, parents/community members, the tradition of grading and fear of the unknown, and the implementation dip.  This study suggests that implementation of SBG must be purposeful and well communicated.  That is, in order to enhance the likelihood of success, an intentional plan with a reasonable timeline, ongoing professional development and collaboration, and effective two-way communication about the purpose of grading is needed.  Also maintaining A-through-F final grades-even as they simultaneously implement more progressive assessment and reporting strategies-is often seen as a necessary concession.  Finally, the authors explicate SBG's relationship to competency-based education and professional learning communities (PLCs).

Standards based assessment article begins on page 10. Several other articles are good, too.

Sightings from citizens create a map of crowd sourcing.  Awesome for authentic audience/assessment.

May be useful in developing assessments

Between adaptive software that can present and assess mastery of content, video games and simulations that can engage kids on a different level, and mobile technologies and online environments that allow learning to happen on demand, we need to fundamentally rethink what we do in the classroom with kids. (personal communication, October 1, 2011)

This sounds like the path we are taking. Nice to know there is pay-off at the end. PD tied to classroom needs is what it is all about!

"caffolding Culture How are you building a culture of collaboration in your classroom? Teachers should not forget the importance of scaffolding the skills needed for students to work in groups. Paired with a good collaboration rubric, where students know what is expected of them in terms of behavior, teachers need to scaffold skills such consensus building, effective communication, and the ability to critique. Educators need to explicitly teach and assess collaboration, a critical 21st century skill, if they want their group work to be productive."

"Here is a new video from EDUCAUSE with four experts and me addressing the question, "Why is measuring learning difficult?" Some good reflections on learning analytics, data, MOOCs, testing, pyschometrics, and more. I think the video has a nice balance of humility and optimism. Learning is much more complex than we can ever really pin down, but that doesn't mean that we can conduct meaningful assessments that lets students and mentors identify their learning experiences as, as Gardner Campbell says, find new doorways forward. "

Wow - for Mt. Abe transformation, this is a must read.