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Sandra Campie

Cross-curricular elementary STEM unit: Math Science Technology - 0 views

www.learning.com/stemunit

STEM

shared by Sandra Campie on 27 Jul 11 - No Cached
  • Sandra Campie on 27 Jul 11
     
    At the Iowa Summit we heard how important math and science are and the announcement of an Iowa STEM advisory council. Here is a great site with resources for elementary STEM.
leipoldc

ollie-afe-2020: Article: Attributes from Effective Formative Assessment (CCSSO) - 3 views

moodlesw.aealearningonline.org/...view.php

shared by leipoldc on 12 Apr 20 - No Cached
  • Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes
    • tkofoot
      tkofoot on 12 Apr 20
       
      Everything we do is to improve student achievement. This helps us going future instruction.
    • maryhumke
      maryhumke on 12 Apr 20
       
      WE hear data driven decisions so often but this is a such a clear definition of why we base instructional decisions on data.
  • Formative assessment is not an adjunct to teaching but, rather, integrated into instruction and learning with teachers and students receiving frequent feedbac
    • tkofoot
      tkofoot on 12 Apr 20
       
      It is important to do this as students are doing work, having group discussion, and possibly by another adult that can step in the room. One person may observe learning or needs that another cannot.
  • In this type of classroom culture, students will more likely feel they are collaborators with their teacher and peers in the learning process.
    • tkofoot
      tkofoot on 12 Apr 20
       
      This collaboration is important. Students need to feel like they have respect and "own" their learning. I teach Special Ed, so I always give students a way to own their instruction and opportunities to improve.
    • maryhumke
      maryhumke on 13 Apr 20
       
      I agree. Not all kids are risk takers so when they feel supported they are more likely open up with the others in the learning process
    • ravelinga
      ravelinga on 14 Apr 20
       
      This is the direction I really want to go in my classrooms. It is transitioning my students from passive to more active learners. The part that I have work on is building the class norms and modeling them properly in my class.
    • Val Rosenthal
      Val Rosenthal on 15 Apr 20
       
      A classroom culture where there is collaboration between teacher and students in the learning process would be so exciting. I think it would hold students more accountable when they are part of their own process.
  • ...29 more annotations...
  • Because the formative assessment process helps students achieve intended learning outcomes based on explicit learning progressions, teachers must first identify and then communicate the instructional goal to students
    • tkofoot
      tkofoot on 12 Apr 20
       
      This is an important statement. Students need to know the instructional goal. I do think this is missed. It is a good reminder for me moving forward. I feel like I do this, but what does that look like?
    • nkrager
      nkrager on 13 Apr 20
       
      Agreed! However, I struggle to find that most students don't "care" about this goal unless you make it relevant to them right now. (And even with this some don't care.) I would love for students to buy in to what we are all doing in our classrooms and understand the bigger pictures, then they would understand the learning progressions.
    • ravelinga
      ravelinga on 14 Apr 20
       
      The communication of the end goal is something that I need to do a better job with. I think I will have better outcomes from my formative assessment when my students see there purpose rather than just me.
    • jhatcher
      jhatcher on 17 Apr 20
       
      My new curriculum is all about the I Can statements and reviewing it at the end, so this is very helpful. I agree with the comment above- Now to motivate the students to care!
  • Learning progressions describe how concepts and skills build in a domain, and show the trajectory of learning along which students are expected to progress. From a learning progression teachers have the big picture of what students need to learn, as well as sufficient detail for planning instruction to meet short-term goals. They are able to connect formative assessment opportunities to the short-term goals to keep track of how well their students’ learning is moving forward.
    • maryhumke
      maryhumke on 13 Apr 20
       
      I have enjoyed our course work on this. It has made me really think the steps between objection and assessment.
    • jhatcher
      jhatcher on 17 Apr 20
       
      I agree with you. The Progression diagram that I have made 2 different times has really helped me understand how to break the learning down. Trying to make sure students are achieving at each step is so important to their success.
  • It should help the student answer three basic questions: Where am I going? Where am I now? How can I close the gap?
    • maryhumke
      maryhumke on 13 Apr 20
       
      I will remember these questions Often feedback is just a general statement of good job. These questions will drive student with specific feedback.
    • Val Rosenthal
      Val Rosenthal on 15 Apr 20
       
      I really like the idea of posing those questions to the students and make them more engaged in their learning and the skill of really knowing where they are in the learning progression.
    • emilysjohnson
      emilysjohnson on 16 Apr 20
       
      I imagine the learning progressions posted on the wall and when conferring with students, posing the questions - where are you now? where are you going? how will you get there?
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 16 Apr 20
       
      I think posing the questions to students would be a great way to have them do some self-reflection. That would also help the teacher to understand the students' perception of where they are and be able to give appropriate feedback. For example, a teacher might think a student is doing something well because they have evidence of that, but it would help to know if the student felt they knew it well enough so that they could replicate it in the future.
  • student- and peer-assessment should not be used in the formal grading process.
    • maryhumke
      maryhumke on 13 Apr 20
       
      I think this is very important. There are too many variables in peer statements and comments.
    • leipoldc
      leipoldc on 25 Apr 20
       
      I agree. Peer assessment is meant to help both students learn something new and reflect on their learning/work from a non-teacher perspective.
  • Sharing learning goals and criteria for success with students, supporting students as they monitor and take responsibility for their own learning, helping students to provide constructive feedback to each other, and involving students in decisions about how to move learning forward are illustrations of students and teachers working together in the teaching and learning process.
    • nkrager
      nkrager on 13 Apr 20
       
      I want to increase this in my classroom so if you have ideas, please do share! :) I want students to feel comfortable with this process and care about the learning progressions we are moving through. I want there to be good peer feedback and not just students "jumping through the hoops" so that they themselves get better at the big ideas and collaboration pieces.
    • maryhumke
      maryhumke on 13 Apr 20
       
      I think this is very important. There are too many variables in peer statements and comments.
  • You must also relate your explanation to one of the properties we have been discussing in class to indicate the reason the steps were incorrect.” Again, the students know the goal, where their response differed from the criteria, and how they can improve their explanations.
  • Effective formative assessment involves collecting evidence about how student learning is progressing during the course of instruction so that necessary instructional adjustments can be made to close the gap between students’ current understanding and the desired goals.
    • nkrager
      nkrager on 13 Apr 20
       
      These are only effective when teachers/students use them to drive the instruction further. It is not enough to just say that we are doing formative assessments but then disregarding the data that they give us. Changes and adaptions must be made to successfully move all students forward with the material.
    • bhauswirth
      bhauswirth on 13 Apr 20
       
      I agree. I think this also goes with doing a pretest or pre assessment. What data are you trying to get and what are you actually going to do with that data to enhance your teaching and to adjust your teaching for your students.
    • jhatcher
      jhatcher on 17 Apr 20
       
      Really packed classrooms of students can make this so difficult!
  • A second important part of the definition is its unequivocal requirement that the formative assessment process involve both teachers and students. The students must be actively involved in the systematic process intended to improve their learning.
    • nkrager
      nkrager on 13 Apr 20
       
      So important to build this process in our classrooms so that students take ownership of their learning and want to do better. (I would love tips on how to do this better in my own room if anyone has some!) :)
    • jessed44
      jessed44 on 18 Apr 20
       
      Getting students to consistently take ownership of their learning has been one of the most difficult tasks of my career. Intrinsic motivation is key, but by definition, it has to come from within a student There are things a teacher can do, such as offer freedom and choice, but this can be very difficult for students that do not buy in.
  • a process used by teachers and students
    • lwinter14
      lwinter14 on 13 Apr 20
       
      It's important to emphasize that it is a process used both by teachers AND students. I think too often, students don't realize how much informaiton a formative assessment can also provide them and help them with goal-setting for future lessons.
    • bhauswirth
      bhauswirth on 13 Apr 20
       
      I think that most teachers use formative assessments throughout their lesson plans and teaching without even knowing that they are doing it!
    • ravelinga
      ravelinga on 14 Apr 20
       
      This is why I liked the learning progression activity. It put the use of formative assessments front and center when creating units. Something I need to do better with.
    • leipoldc
      leipoldc on 25 Apr 20
       
      I agree that teachers have been using the formative assessment process before it was given a name. I think they knew they were doing it and because it is good practice, gave it a name.
  • These range from informal observations and conversations to purposefully planned instructionally embedded techniques designed to elicit evidence of student learning to inform and adjust instruction.
    • lwinter14
      lwinter14 on 13 Apr 20
       
      It's always interesting to hear the groans from students if I announce that we are going to have a more formal formative assessment (such as a quick 2-3 question quiz) vs. the simpler formative assessments that I conduct daily in terms of having conversations with students/groups or thumbs up/thumbs down. There's this misconception with students (at least my own) in that if I announce we are having an assessment, it suddenly becomes more important than the daily check-ins.
  • The process requires the teacher to share learning goals with students and provide opportunities for students to monitor their ongoing progress.
    • lwinter14
      lwinter14 on 13 Apr 20
       
      In my building we've spent a few professional development sessions on crafting student-friendly learning targets that we regularly communicate to students and that students can communicate back to us. We are working on how we can better have students monitoring their own progress at reaching those learning goals. I think it's critical that the learning targets are student-friendly so that it becomes easier for them to monitor their own progress.
    • Val Rosenthal
      Val Rosenthal on 15 Apr 20
       
      The communication piece is key to pulling teachers and students together for the same purpose. I would love to continue on finding ways for students to understand the formative assessments and how they can help in the student's learning.
    • jnewmanfd
      jnewmanfd on 17 Apr 20
       
      Yes, getting students not to push back is key. I find that my students this year, shut down if I attach the word assessment to any thing. I think that they issue is, the educational system has trained students to think with a "for grade" mentality. Somehow we have to shift that focus to a "learning mentality". Is it possible to get parents to and students not to worry about grades and simply worry about the learning that can happen?
  • In peer-assessment, students analyze each others’ work using guidelines or rubrics and provide descriptive feedback that supports continued improvement.
    • lwinter14
      lwinter14 on 13 Apr 20
       
      I think the use of peer-assessment can be really effective in helping students think about their learning and make changes. It's helpful for them to hear from their peers, and not always receive feedback from just the teacher. I think this brings up a good point, though. Students have to be explicitly taught how to provide helpful feedback, without it, their comments and feedback are often superficial and won't really help the student make progress.
    • ravelinga
      ravelinga on 14 Apr 20
       
      I really like this as a formative assessment that I need to incorporate more into my units. What I like is the students are now being more involved in the learning process.
    • jnewmanfd
      jnewmanfd on 15 Apr 20
       
      Have you had any success doing this. At the middle school level we have started pairing the teams together and we present and give feedback across the two teams. However, it is still not what we want it to be. We made a sheet with look fors and sentence stems to help students. We've even stopped a class of 60 students and told them that we are listening for you to us...(a certain sentence stem), and that helps a little, but it still seems a bit fake. I can't tell if we aren't doing something right or if the idea of it is just so foreign to them. I know that as a student we never did peer feed back and the best feedback I got from a teacher was a, "Wow, your hard work is evident".
    • leipoldc
      leipoldc on 25 Apr 20
       
      I like the idea of peer-assessment, but think it would probably work best when the students do not know who is providing the feedback nor to whom they provided feedback. It would require discussion and practice, but allows students to do some analysis which should cause more critical thinking of the work they too are completing.
  • process
    • emilysjohnson
      emilysjohnson on 16 Apr 20
       
      I think we still struggle as a system to view formative assessment as a process. Case in point, administrators in my previous buildings would ask teachers to bring their "formative assessments" to our PLC meetings. It became a tangible thing vs. observations, etc.
    • jnewmanfd
      jnewmanfd on 17 Apr 20
       
      I am glad that you brought this up. This whole process is supposed to be something that moves student learning forward and deeper and our profession to new heights. That definitely gets lost in translation when it becomes something forced. My administrators have done the same thing. The meaningful process becomes lost when teachers do it just because they are told to, or they are just going through the motions. I think that you are correct when you say it's so much more than a tangible thing, it has to be observational as well. We also have to get educators to see the value of it and using formative assessments to guide our practice.
  • Specific, timely feedback should be based on the learning goal and criteria for success.
    • bhauswirth
      bhauswirth on 13 Apr 20
       
      "timely feedback" - students don't want formative feedback when they already took their summative assessment. Make the feedback relatable and clear. If you make the feedback irrelevant it is not meaning full to the student.
    • mkanost
      mkanost on 14 Apr 20
       
      I do like using the language in the rubric to specify what they did well as well as what needs to be built upon to hit the success criteria.
    • jnewmanfd
      jnewmanfd on 15 Apr 20
       
      I also liked that part. I have a hard time with the whole specific, timely feedback. I don't always know how to go about doing it for a 150 students. I think that being more clear on the rubric might really help. Rather than focus on content I could include wording needed that help develop the skills needed to get to or master the content. I still am unsure how to effectively answer the where going, where now, and closing the gap questions. I wonder if students can be given a self assessment with a carefully worded rubric and them I can review those and make changes as needed. What ideas or methods do the rest of you use to meet the needs of the last three questions in this sentence?
    • jnewmanfd
      jnewmanfd on 15 Apr 20
       
      or rather the end of the next sentence, sorry
    • benrobison
      benrobison on 21 Apr 20
       
      YES! This cuts out all of the fluff and gets to the heart of what we want kids to learn! Creating better learning targets makes teaching much more purposeful!
  • To support both self- and peer-assessment, the teacher must provide structure and support so students learn to be reflective of their own work and that of their peers, allowing them to provide meaningful and constructive feedback.
    • bhauswirth
      bhauswirth on 13 Apr 20
       
      I think this is a great way to incorporate the rubric that would be used to assess the student. Peer feedback is one that could go really well and really bad if the teacher doesn't set the guidelines of what it looks like. This is a teachable moment in it's self.
    • jhatcher
      jhatcher on 17 Apr 20
       
      I agree with this statement. If a student can successfully self evaluate according to criteria like a rubric then they can have success with peers. Start there.
    • jessed44
      jessed44 on 18 Apr 20
       
      I have found that if I ask students to give each other a grade, it is basically useless, as they will just give each other an A. But if I ask them to comment and send back for revision, in actually work quite well. Qualitative over quantitative has been key for me.
  • In other words, there is no such thing as “a formative test.” Instead, there are a number of formative assessment strategies that can be implemented during classroom instruction.
    • parkerv
      parkerv on 13 Apr 20
       
      Viewing formative assessment as a process rather than any one or a series of discrete assessments is critical in my mind for formative assessment to really do what it is meant to do and that is to inform instruction and improve student learning. Never too many reminders of this fact.
    • jhatcher
      jhatcher on 17 Apr 20
       
      I think the definition has changed a bit since 2006. I know my administrators include AFTER the instruction as formative assessment such as ticket outs and even quizzes. All still help guide teaching decisions but many occur after.
    • benrobison
      benrobison on 21 Apr 20
       
      We use formative assessments in the in-person classroom multiple times within the class period. I have done some formative assessments, realized all of the kids were well past proficient (thanks to great background knowledge), and I moved on. In that sense, there was no test needed.
  • Using the evidence elicited from such tasks connected to the goals of the progression, a teacher could identify the “just right gap” – a growth point in learning that involves a step that is neither too large nor too small – and make adjustments to instruction accordingly.
    • parkerv
      parkerv on 13 Apr 20
       
      It is important to identify those "just right gaps" for individual students and for the class as a whole so that time isn't wasted on things they have already mastered nor do some or all of the students feel lost or overwhelmed. Learning progressions in conjunction with ongoing formative assessment help pinpoint where additional instruction or practice may be needed.
    • Val Rosenthal
      Val Rosenthal on 15 Apr 20
       
      This is one of the positive aspects of blended learning. I can figure out who has gaps and bring them in to work on the skills they need to improve.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 16 Apr 20
       
      I hadn't thought about how an additional benefit of a well-written learning target is that it allows a teacher to readily know what the next step of learning is for students and let's them use that knowledge to help give feedback that is alerts the student to next steps in their learning, but that makes absolute sense!
  • teachers must provide the criteria by which learning will be assessed so that students will know whether they are successfully progressing toward the goal. This information should be communicated using language readily understood by students, and may be accompanied by realistic examples of those that meet and do not meet the criteria.
    • parkerv
      parkerv on 13 Apr 20
       
      Providing students with user friendly criteria upon which they can self-assess their own progress is critical for optimal learning.
    • emilysjohnson
      emilysjohnson on 16 Apr 20
       
      I agree! Too many students aren't able to tell if they are "on track" because they think they have to get in the heads of their teachers. The assessment piece remains a mystery to them.
  • Formative assessment is a process that directly engages both teachers and students.
    • parkerv
      parkerv on 13 Apr 20
       
      Student involvement makes the formative assessment process so much richer and teaches students life long skills that will help them think critically when in the workforce. I believe it also helps motivate students to do their best.
  • The teacher might first offer students a paraphrased version of that goal such as, “You will be able to judge the strengths and weaknesses of arguments in the editorials you find in our daily newspapers.” The teacher would discuss the criteria for evaluating arguments and then provide several examples of critiques of political essays. This will provide students with a reasonably clear idea of the analytic skills they are to develop and also provide them with the tools required to assess their own written analyses.
    • kshadlow
      kshadlow on 14 Apr 20
       
      This process really helps you hone in on scaffolding to move learning to your end objective.
  • With this kind of descriptive feedback and collaboration, the teacher clarifies the goal for the student, provides specific information about where the student is in relation to meeting the criteria, and offers enough substantive information to allow the student an opportunity to identify ways to move learning forward.
    • kshadlow
      kshadlow on 14 Apr 20
       
      Feedback throughout the process is so beneficial to the student. I think it is easy for teachers to skip this part or not notice they are giving it during conversations. Written feedback usually happens in those final assessments.
  • Helping students think meta-cognitively about their own learning fosters the idea that learning is their responsibility and that they can take an active role in planning, monitoring, and evaluating their own progress.
    • kshadlow
      kshadlow on 14 Apr 20
       
      I think teachers and students need to hear and believe this concept more. Once teachers buy into allowing students more o fa role in their learning, students will take on more responsibility...in the ideal world.
    • emilysjohnson
      emilysjohnson on 16 Apr 20
       
      Absolutely! We need to re-structure the classroom environment so that students don't see it as hierarchical. The teacher should be a guide in the room, sitting among his/her students. This way, students may begin to develop more ownership of their learning.
    • leipoldc
      leipoldc on 25 Apr 20
       
      Helping students see that the only way they can truly learn is when they take ownership for their learning is the key. We will never be able to teach someone who does not want to learn.
  • Students can use a rubric to provide feedback to a peer by articulating reasons why a piece of work is at one level and discussing how it could be improved to move it to the next level.
    • kshadlow
      kshadlow on 14 Apr 20
       
      This idea takes some of the worry out for students who don't want to hurt or offend other students in the critique.
    • jhatcher
      jhatcher on 17 Apr 20
       
      I think this will definitely happen. The more it is done, the better students will be at peer editing.
  • inform instruction and learning during the teaching/learning process
    • mkanost
      mkanost on 14 Apr 20
       
      This is so important to decipher the difference between summative and formative.
    • jhatcher
      jhatcher on 17 Apr 20
       
      I agree! This is for the teacher and the students.
  • particular kind of assessment.
    • mkanost
      mkanost on 14 Apr 20
       
      My first year or two, I believed that it was a specific assessment. The confusion between formative and summative for a new teacher is hard to grasp if you haven't been explicitly taught.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 16 Apr 20
       
      I worry that in our district's attempts at the PLC process that teachers have gotten the wrong impression that formative assessment has to be proven through a specific assessment in order to facilitate a data-driven discussion. I believe that data can tell us a great deal about where our students are and how to move them forward, but I don't like the idea of it replacing ongoing feedback about the process.
    • jessed44
      jessed44 on 18 Apr 20
       
      This is an important point. Any, and potentially all assessments can and should be formative.
  • Students build on this learning in later stages of the progression to develop an understanding that people represent and interpret the past in different ways
    • mkanost
      mkanost on 14 Apr 20
       
      An effective teacher understands that this must be built upon before students can learn new material.
    • jessed44
      jessed44 on 18 Apr 20
       
      Looking back at my early days as an educator, I did not do a very good job at this. In hindsight, I really assumed that students knew how to do some things that they obviously did not know how to do. I still find that I have to get myself to slow down and break apart tasks for students. I wonder how many other teachers struggle with this, and may not even be aware of it!
  • However, for students to be actively and successfully involved in their own learning, they must feel that they are bona fide partners in the learning process. This feeling is dependent on a classroom culture characterized by a sense of trust between and among students and their teachers; by norms of respect, transparency, and appreciation of differences; and by a non-threatening environment. Creating such a culture requires teachers to model these behaviors during interactions with students, to actively teach the classroom norms, and to build the students’ skills in constructive self- and peer-assessment.
    • jnewmanfd
      jnewmanfd on 15 Apr 20
       
      I think this is so very true. I fully think that we as a system we have to do a better job at promoting learners not students. Students do things for a grade. They follow the rules so they don't get into trouble. They don't follow the rules to get out of work or other outside issue. Learners however, they do the work to learn, even if it were not graded. They come to school to better themselves and they understand that they are there are doing the work for themselves, it's a passion of self improvement. The know the teacher is there to facilitate them and they understand that the person in charge of the learning in the classroom isn't the teacher, it's them, the learner. I hope, that through the formative assessment process, scientists seminars, and norms that I have developed, that I am beginning to foster more learners and less students. It is a journey that has forced me to become less of a teacher and more of learner myself.
  • A teacher needs to have modeled good feedback with students and talked about what acceptable and unacceptable comments look like in order to have created a safe learning environment
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 16 Apr 20
       
      As an instructional coach, this is a step that I frequently saw teacher's skip when they asked students to to self- and peer-feedback. Teachers assumed students knew how to give high quality feedback then were frustrated with the responses with students gave, often coming to the conclusion that self- and peer-feedback were a waste of time because the feedback lacked quality.
    • benrobison
      benrobison on 21 Apr 20
       
      I find this the most important piece. If I don't model feedback, how are kids supposed to know what's going on? Without the modeling, this becomes an unimportant time-filler.
  • Effective formative assessment involves collecting evidence about how student learning is progressing during the course of instruction so that necessary instructional adjustments can be made to close the gap between students’ current understanding and the desired goals.
    • benrobison
      benrobison on 21 Apr 20
       
      I would say that sometimes PLC work goes too far in this...there is too much data being thrown around, and less attention to actual teaching. Sometimes, the formative assessments are analyzed but the kids don't receive any feedback. If we want our students to be a partner in the learning, the feedback has to be provided to the student, not just for teacher use.
Gina Rogers

Article(s): Self- and Peer-Assessment Online - 0 views

moodlesw.aealearningonline.org/...view.php

shared by Gina Rogers on 31 May 21 - No Cached
  • no peer ever wrote more than three sentences.
    • lizmedina
      lizmedina on 31 May 21
       
      Indeed, this is a valuable part of peer editing that is oftentimes not properly sued by students and requires much more practice in implementing
  • students that cannot provide feedback due to the lack of necessary skills, whether it be education background or language
    • lizmedina
      lizmedina on 31 May 21
       
      This is a very difficult task for many of my ELL students, particularly the newcomers
  • why?
    • lizmedina
      lizmedina on 31 May 21
       
      It seems that I spend a lot of time in the "why" of assessments and assignments when supporting teachers with struggling learners.
  • ...30 more annotations...
  •  sample peer evaluation 
    • lizmedina
      lizmedina on 31 May 21
       
      link does not work
  • higher education institutions
    • lizmedina
      lizmedina on 31 May 21
       
      I don't necessarily think it's a task solely for higher education, but it is one that requires direct teaching and practice.
  • provide guidance on how to judge their own and others’ contributions.
    • lizmedina
      lizmedina on 31 May 21
       
      Practice and discussion is so important in helping students have a better grasp of how to evaluate and why
  • Students must feel comfortable and trust one another in order to provide honest and constructive feedback
    • ajmoss80
      ajmoss80 on 31 May 21
       
      It is interesting how many times in this course the idea of a supportive "classroom culture" comes up. A positive culture that encourages risk-taking and does not penalize "failure" is very important to getting the most out of self- and peer-assessment.
  • students' motivation to learn increases when they have self-defined, and therefore relevant, learning goals.
    • ajmoss80
      ajmoss80 on 31 May 21
       
      Student goal-setting is something I've not tried in my classroom, but I am intrigued by it. To me it seems this would most successful within a scaffolded structure of teacher-provided "big-picture" goals. The student would then provide some "mini-goals" to work toward.
  • they need to be taught strategies
    • ajmoss80
      ajmoss80 on 31 May 21
       
      This is a key statement. Students don't automatically know how to monitor and assess their own learning. It is a skill that can and must be taught.
  • Represent a student's progress over time
    • ajmoss80
      ajmoss80 on 31 May 21
       
      This is probably my favorite characteristic of a portfolio -- how they show progress over time. It is instructive and just plain fun to view growth at the end of the course by viewing a portfolio of work. So often, it is difficult to see growth on a day-by-day basis. But when one steps back and takes a long-term view, growth is plainly evident.
  • with instructions
    • ajmoss80
      ajmoss80 on 31 May 21
       
      When I have utilized peer-assessment in the 9-12 level, the most success I had is when I gave the group direct instructions and a time limit. For example, I might tell them they have 7 minutes "on-the-clock" to read their partners introduction, followed by 7 minutes of discussion. Then we move on to the next section. This helps the group stay focused and on-task, rather than giving a 40 minute block of time to just "peer-review" and give no other direction.
  • In this paradigm, self-assessment is not the same as self-grading. Rather, students are looking at their work and judging the degree to which it reflects the goals of the assignment and the assessment criteria the teacher will be using to evaluate the work
    • travisnuss
      travisnuss on 31 May 21
       
      This was my thought when I was reading the last article "Why and When Peer Grading is Effective for online learning." I didn't feel that Peer Grading is the same as Peer Assessment. I like the idea of Peer or Self assessment where they reflect and improve on their learning, but not necessarily be given a grade based on the assessment. I think even as teacher's if we spent more time assessing students without giving a grade, we could get a lot more learning from the students.
    • Stephanie Monahan
      Stephanie Monahan on 07 Jun 21
       
      Would self-assessment be seen differently/positively through the eyes of our students if their grades were standards-based instead of points/letter grades?
  • Over and over again, students rejected their own judgments of their work in favor of guessing how their teacher or professor would grade it.” (p. 168)
    • travisnuss
      travisnuss on 31 May 21
       
      I see way too many students try and do this, especially students who feel they must have an A at all cost. They don't want to actually learn the material, they just want to know what they have to do. I see where this has lead to students taking less risk and less thinking for themselves trying to problem solve how to do something on their own.
  • When they self-assessed, these students reported that they checked their work, revised it, and reflected on it more generally
    • travisnuss
      travisnuss on 31 May 21
       
      Checking work, revising it and reflecting on it seems to always go hand and hand with writing. I've always wondered and even tried to dabbled with a way to do revisions in math courses without just having the students "redo" a problem to get the right answer. Unfortunately, in my attempts, I get just that. I can't get the students to necessarily reflect on what they did wrong, but rather another attempt at getting the correct answer.
  • One way to make sure students understand this type of evaluation is to give students a practice session with it
    • travisnuss
      travisnuss on 31 May 21
       
      This is something that I definitely need to get better at is practicing with my students what I expect them to do. I need to do a better job at modeling and giving examples of expectations for things like peer assessing, self assessing and even examples of proficient work.
  • For peer evaluation to work effectively, the learning environment in the classroom must be supportive.
    • mhoekstra86
      mhoekstra86 on 04 Jun 21
       
      Relationship building within the classroom beyond just between teacher and student would be so crucial here! The community dynamic would need to be on point.
  • •Encourages student involvement and responsibility.
    • mhoekstra86
      mhoekstra86 on 04 Jun 21
       
      This is a goal area for me. How do I use self reflection in a way that feels like time well spent to the student and myself so the student can also fell a sense of ownership and total control of their outcome?
  • When learners are at a similar skill level.
    • mhoekstra86
      mhoekstra86 on 04 Jun 21
       
      This is a huge concern specifically for this year. It is very obvious at all grade levels in the Cedar Falls Virtual Campus that the skill sets for our students are either very high or very low. The middle ground is all but gone which makes this method of assessing very challenging.
  • They also recommend that teachers share expectations for assignments and define quality. Showing students examples of effective and ineffective pieces of work can help to make those definitions real and relevant.
    • mhoekstra86
      mhoekstra86 on 04 Jun 21
       
      Have strong example work is another area I am working on. My curriculum is still very new and has had a lot of interruptions from outside issues which has meant priority has not been placed on building a strong set of examples.
  • I barely touched on the use of rubrics, which is the tool I suggest for evaluating the completed team project itself.
    • mhoekstra86
      mhoekstra86 on 04 Jun 21
       
      Considering the high level of emotion that can occur with group projects, I could never imagine assigning a group task without a solid rubric. The subjective nature of a group project means I need solid expectations in order to clarify any grey area as well as hold students responsible who do not meet those expectations.
  • •increase student responsibility and autonomy •strive for a more advanced and deeper understanding of the subject matter, skills and processes •lift the role and status of the student from passive learner to active leaner and assessor
    • Stephanie Monahan
      Stephanie Monahan on 07 Jun 21
       
      Who (meaning teachers) wouldn't want this? I have tried self-assessment with upperclassmen with some success...the success rate drops dramatically when I implement self-assessment in my Biology classes. I must not be implementing it well...or waiting too long to implement it.
  • Most did not see the larger value of the skill they were developing. Most did not use self-assessment in their other courses.
    • Stephanie Monahan
      Stephanie Monahan on 07 Jun 21
       
      If we know self-assessment is powerful, why are so many teachers not doing it?
  • “Professors in the trenches tend to hold their monopoly on evaluating their students’ work dearly, since it helps them control the classroom better by reinforcing their power and expertise,”
    • Stephanie Monahan
      Stephanie Monahan on 07 Jun 21
       
      In the 'Self-Assessment Does Not Mean Self-Grading' article, it stated that most students in the study didn't perform self-assessments in their other classes...even though we know self-assessment creates deeper learning, independence, critical thinking, and several more positives that teachers hope for. This statement reminds me why self-assessment doesn't exist in most secondary classrooms...it's a control-thing.
  • When learners are mature, self-directed and motivated
    • Stephanie Monahan
      Stephanie Monahan on 07 Jun 21
       
      This is why I have rarely implemented peer review in my Biology classroom. I've seen it work perfectly within an AP classroom...but it doesn't go over well with my at-risk population of sophomore students.
  • Advantages:
    • mcairney
      mcairney on 08 Jun 21
       
      There is a lot front-loading that needs to happen for students to do this effectively.
  • Students may have little exposure to different forms of assessment and so may lack the necessary skills and judgements to effectively manage self and peer assessments.
    • mcairney
      mcairney on 08 Jun 21
       
      After years of students being told what their grade is, this can be a huge shift, especially for older students.
    • Gina Rogers
      Gina Rogers on 08 Jun 21
       
      I agree with this. You need to explicitly teach students how to be helpful peer evaluators and effective at self-assssment.
  • Students that fell into this group were physically and cognitively lazy, not contributing to the process as required.
    • mcairney
      mcairney on 08 Jun 21
       
      I would say another challenge with collaborative work is that if group work builds onto the work of the others, if that work isn't completed, it becomes stagnant.
  • with an eye for improvement.
    • mcairney
      mcairney on 08 Jun 21
       
      Teachers modeling this for students is very important too.
  • student’s grade
    • mcairney
      mcairney on 08 Jun 21
       
      I would imagine this would be a separate grade than the grade for the work, correct?
  • At first these can be provided by the instructor; once the students have more experience, they can develop them themselves. An example of a peer editing checklist for a writing assignment is given in the popup window. Notice that the checklist asks the peer evaluator to comment primarily on the content and organization of the essay.
    • Gina Rogers
      Gina Rogers on 08 Jun 21
       
      I used to use a lot of checklists and feedback stems for peer evaluation. I found that these helped to make the quality of the feedback that students gave to one another better.
  • For example, a student may agree to work toward the grade of "B" by completing a specific number of assignments at a level of quality described by the instructor. Contracts can serve as a good way of helping students to begin to consider establishing goals for themselves as language learners.
    • Gina Rogers
      Gina Rogers on 08 Jun 21
       
      I have mixed feelings about contracts. They can be useful for motivating students, but they reinforce this "points race" mentality that some students have rather than having students focus on mastery.
  • Portfolios are purposeful, organized, systematic collections of student work that tell the story of a student's efforts, progress, and achievement in specific areas.
    • Gina Rogers
      Gina Rogers on 08 Jun 21
       
      I do really like portfolios because they require a lot of reflection from students. Students really have to have mastered content at a really deep level so they know whether or not their work is a great example of the mastery of a standard or concept.
  • 6)  Learners have a developed set of communication skills.
    • Gina Rogers
      Gina Rogers on 08 Jun 21
       
      It is important to equip students with a checklist and some sentence frames/stems for them to give effective/useful feedback.
sjensen21

Lesson: Articles on Visual Design - 5 views

moodlesw.aeapdonline.org/...view.php

shared by sjensen21 on 09 Dec 14 - No Cached
  • A successful visual design does not take away from the content on the page or function.  Instead, it enhances it by engaging users and helping to build trust and interest in the brand.
    • Nancy Peterman
      Nancy Peterman on 09 Dec 14
       
      This statement was important to me because I want to make the page interesting but need to be selective to ensure the element enhances rather than "decorates".
    • Kathleen Goslinga
      Kathleen Goslinga on 19 Dec 14
       
      Great point Nancy! I need to keep this in mind as well that the focus needs to be on the content with the design supporting and not distracting.
  • White space is used around text and between sections to allow the page to breath
    • Nancy Peterman
      Nancy Peterman on 09 Dec 14
       
      I believe white space will be important to my Softchalk lessons to engage learners. If I have too much text, the reader may feel overwhelmed or disinterested. I need to hightlight my text by using white space as an element of design.
  • When navigating a good design, the user should be led around the screen by the designer. I call this precedence, and it's about how much visual weight different parts of your design have.
    • Nancy Peterman
      Nancy Peterman on 09 Dec 14
       
      This article reminded me to lead the reader through each of the important points of the web page. It mentioned using images to bring the reader to an important statement or paragraph. Use of shapes or arrows are obvious but also useful in directing the reader while adding interest.
  • ...30 more annotations...
  • List out the different types of tasks people might do on a site, how they will achieve them, and how easy you want to make it for them. This might mean having really common tasks on your homepage (e.g. 'start shopping', 'learn about what we do,' etc.) or it might mean ensuring something like having a search box always easily accessible.
    • Nancy Peterman
      Nancy Peterman on 09 Dec 14
       
      This statement seems pretty basic, but I think it is important to help reduce reader stress. If I provide instructions for the beginner, they may become engaged and explore longer than expected.
  • The more options a user has when using your website, the more difficult it will be to use (or won’t be used at all). So in order to provide a more enjoyable experience, we need to eliminate choices.
    • Nancy Peterman
      Nancy Peterman on 09 Dec 14
       
      This statement spoke about providing too much choice. I think it also applies to find text about the subject, so I think providing an easy to see and use filter or search box is important. I think about my lessons and if students want to review a specific part of the lesson, I want to make it easy for them to find it.
  • Instead users satisfice; they choose the first reasonable option.
    • Nancy Peterman
      Nancy Peterman on 09 Dec 14
       
      I think it is important for me to remember that my audience may scan for reasonable options or things that will help with an assignment, rather than click on each link in order that it is listed.
  • the web-page should be obvious and self-explanatory. When you’re creating a site, your job is to get rid of the question marks
    • Nancy Peterman
      Nancy Peterman on 09 Dec 14
       
      I think it is important that a web page and a lesson is obvious and self-explanatory. If a student has a question, they are may not be willing to wait for an instructor's reply. The student has now lost some of their motivation and engagement in the lesson.
  • Buttons to travel around a site should be easy to find - towards the top of the page and easy to identify. They should look like navigation buttons and be well described. The text of a button should be pretty clear as to where it's taking you. Aside from the common sense, it's also important to make navigation usable.
    • Mary Trent
      Mary Trent on 09 Dec 14
       
      I think this is important in my lesson as I want the users to be able to navigate around the pages according to where their interests lead them.
    • Kathleen Goslinga
      Kathleen Goslinga on 19 Dec 14
       
      I agree that navigation gives users a chance to move around more freely. It appears within SoftChalk you are limited to the options of top, previous and next. I'm still in the early stages with learning about the tool so still am curious if you are limited too just those three options.
  • Consistency means making everything match. Heading sizes, font choices, coloring, button styles, spacing, design elements, illustration styles, photo choices, etc. Everything should be themed to make your design coherent between pages and on the same page.
    • Mary Trent
      Mary Trent on 09 Dec 14
       
      This is a big one for me, too.  I feel that websites or lessons need to stay consistent in look and design.  It just looks more professional.  Less is more. 
  • Occam’s razor is a principle urging one to select among competing hypotheses that which makes the fewest assumptions and thereby offers the simplest explanation of the effect. To put it in the design context, Occam’s Razor states that the simplest solution is usually best.
    • Mary Trent
      Mary Trent on 09 Dec 14
       
      This is very true.  I have a few pages that have too many words and phrases that are too complex.  I am looking at simplifying these and use other resources like audio or video to include the information so it isn't visually overwhelming.
  • Users don’t read, they scan. Analyzing a web-page, users search for some fixed points or anchors which would guide them through the content of the page.
    • Mary Trent
      Mary Trent on 09 Dec 14
       
      So very true. I want to design my lesson so that a teacher can decide in a manner of seconds if the STEM Scale-up they are looking at is for them or not.
  • Users want to have control. Users want to be able to control their browser and rely on the consistent data presentation throughout the site. E.g. they don’t want new windows popping up unexpectedly and they want to be able to get back with a “Back”-button to the site they’ve been before: therefore it’s a good practice to never open links in new browser windows.
    • Mary Trent
      Mary Trent on 09 Dec 14
       
      I agree, that is why I really want the table of contents or navigation to be on every page so the users can explore wherever the want and go back if they need to.
  • Visual design must strike a balance between unity and variety to avoid a dull or overwhelming design.
    • bgeanaea11
      bgeanaea11 on 10 Dec 14
       
      This is the tricky part- finding a balance between unity and variety- I will try to find this balance as I create my lessons.
  • Web design ain't just about pretty pictures. With so much information and interaction to be effected on a Web site, it's important that you, the designer, provide for it all. That means making your Web site design usable.
    • bgeanaea11
      bgeanaea11 on 10 Dec 14
       
      This is going to be my focus as I develop lessons. If the lesson is not usable, there really is no point.
  • Without knowing ANYTHING about these circles, you were easily able to rank them. That’s visual hierarchy.
    • bgeanaea11
      bgeanaea11 on 10 Dec 14
       
      Interesting! I have never really thought of it this way- what catches my attention is more important and cretes a hierarchy!
  • Here’s what the golden ratio looks like:
    • bgeanaea11
      bgeanaea11 on 10 Dec 14
       
      Cool! I will start looking for this now!
  • Conclusion Effective web design and art are not the same. You should design for the user and by having a business objective in mind. Using these web design principles you can get to aesthetically and financially rewarding results.
    • bgeanaea11
      bgeanaea11 on 10 Dec 14
       
      I was an Art minor in college and did not have any courses in web design, so this is an interesting distinction for me and one to keep in mind!
  • 6. Strive for simplicity The “keep it simple”-principle (KIS) should be the primary goal of site design. Users are rarely on a site to enjoy the design; furthermore, in most cases they are looking for the information despite the design. Strive for simplicity instead of complexity.
    • bgeanaea11
      bgeanaea11 on 10 Dec 14
       
      Absolutely! If it is too complex I will move on!
  • 7. Don’t be afraid of the white space
    • bgeanaea11
      bgeanaea11 on 10 Dec 14
       
      Every article we read mentions this one! It must be a really important one!
  • The basic elements that combine to create visual designs
    • Kathleen Goslinga
      Kathleen Goslinga on 19 Dec 14
       
      The in-depth definations on how lines, shapes, color palette, texture, typography and form impact what / how a viewer interpret the information along with design is a key factor for consideration.
  • White space is an important part of your layout strategy.
    • Kathleen Goslinga
      Kathleen Goslinga on 19 Dec 14
       
      White space is an area that I've been learning more about with other work related projects. From what I am learning "white space" provides the learner/reader a chance to break before moving forward. It also serves as a point to reflect.
  • Dominance focuses on having one element as the focal point and others being subordinate.
    • Kathleen Goslinga
      Kathleen Goslinga on 19 Dec 14
       
      I didn't realize that the focal point of a lesson was considered to be labeled as "dominant" and all information in the area would be viewed as "subordinate". Size, shape, location, etc...clearly sends a message to the viewer.
  • Color contrast
    • Kathleen Goslinga
      Kathleen Goslinga on 19 Dec 14
       
      This is an important item to remember when it comes to drawing attention to "key" information. I will consider trying this in a few section of my lesson.
  • Empty space seemed wasteful. In fact the opposite is true.
    • Kathleen Goslinga
      Kathleen Goslinga on 19 Dec 14
       
      This is another way to reference the importance and use of "white space" to give the viewer a chance to pause or in some cases reflect upon the content just read.
  • bread crumb trails,
    • Kathleen Goslinga
      Kathleen Goslinga on 19 Dec 14
       
      This is good reminder of another way users can work their way around different areas. I didn't see this as a 'form of navigation" until reading this section.
  • Font Choices — Different types of fonts say different things about a design. Some look modern, some look retro. Make sure you are using the right tool for the job.
    • Kathleen Goslinga
      Kathleen Goslinga on 19 Dec 14
       
      I had know idea that font selection would send a different message. This is something to be aware of when designing a lesson.
  • if text has an underline, you expect it to be a link
    • Kathleen Goslinga
      Kathleen Goslinga on 19 Dec 14
       
      Great point!
  • The best images follow the rule of thirds:
    • Kathleen Goslinga
      Kathleen Goslinga on 20 Dec 14
       
      Utilizing the rule of thirds is a effective way to capture your audience and help guide them in a specific direction. This is something I will consider when selecting images for inclusion in lessons.
  • Hierarchy shows the difference in significance between items
    • sjensen21
      sjensen21 on 22 Dec 14
       
      I find that a hierarchy can be very helpful in understanding how topics are related to one another.
  • Web design can be deceptively difficult
    • sjensen21
      sjensen21 on 22 Dec 14
       
      I know it's difficult.  I have not been deceived!
  • if there is a gigantic arrow pointing at something, guess where the user will look?
    • sjensen21
      sjensen21 on 22 Dec 14
       
      Good "point."  haha  But, seriously, it's obvious, but an important idea, especially for the visual learner.
  • White Space
    • sjensen21
      sjensen21 on 22 Dec 14
       
      I never thought about White Space before I took this class, but I see where they are coming from.  Endless lines of text can be quite overwhelming.
  • Golden ratio
    • sjensen21
      sjensen21 on 22 Dec 14
       
      I believe it was originally discovered by Fibonacci.  Just a little math trivia for you:-)
Jamie Van Horn

ollie_4: Building A Better Mousetrap: The Rubric Debate - 0 views

moodlesw.aeapdonline.org/...view.php

shared by Jamie Van Horn on 29 Jan 14 - No Cached
  • “Meaningfully” here means both consistently and accurately
    • Sally Rigeman
      Sally Rigeman on 29 Jan 14
       
      If a rubric is well-designed, it shouldn't matter who scores a student's project/task. The task score should be consistent (inter-rater reliability), even in large-scale scoring (e.g., national AP exam scoring process).
  • Moreover, rubrics can help the student with self-assessment; what is most important here is not the final product the students produce, but the habits of mind practiced in the act of self-assessment.
    • Sally Rigeman
      Sally Rigeman on 29 Jan 14
       
      For a review of habits of mind, see Edwards & Costa, "Habits of Success" in ASCD's ED Leadership, Apr 2012 issue - "College, Careers, Citizenship".
  • Rubrics can be designed to measure either product or process or both
    • Sally Rigeman
      Sally Rigeman on 29 Jan 14
       
      The big AHA!
    • Sally Rigeman
      Sally Rigeman on 29 Jan 14
       
      Rubrics are not just about writing.
    • Dan Jones
      Dan Jones on 30 Jan 14
       
      You would think from reading this article that the sole purpose of rubrics was for writing assessment. There are many ways to assess writing depending on what aspect of writing you are looking at
    • Evan Abbey
      Evan Abbey on 01 Feb 14
       
      Dan, good point. That goes both ways... writing assessment doesn't always have to be rubrics, and rubrics don't always have to be for just writing.
  • ...20 more annotations...
  • students striving to achieve the descriptions at the higher end of the scale in effect guide their own learning.
    • Sally Rigeman
      Sally Rigeman on 29 Jan 14
       
      Habit #6 - "Successful students strive for accuracy and precision". An especially important skill for STEM students (showing my bias here).
    • Evan Abbey
      Evan Abbey on 01 Feb 14
       
      So, does a rubric help this, or hurt this?
  • the fundamental focus of assessment is always to promote learning
    • Sally Rigeman
      Sally Rigeman on 29 Jan 14
       
      AHA #2!
  • once gave extra credit to a student who realized that without providing a shred of meaningful content she could meet all the requirements of a state writing rubric he posted in his classroom. As required she used the word “persuade” and two synonyms, composed a clear topic sentence and closing sentence, and made no spelling or grammatical errors. But she did it without saying anything coherent.
    • kellie kendrick
      kellie kendrick on 29 Jan 14
       
      This is something important to think about. Yes, including certain requirements are important on a rubric, but I think it is also important to include some things that are more subjective (like how does the content answer the question asked/problem given) rather than a student's ability to use the commas with zero errors.
    • Jamie Van Horn
      Jamie Van Horn on 31 Jan 14
       
      I agree. This is where writing a quality rubric is important. It needs to be clear and specific while also pushing the student to "think".
  • with state-issued rubrics imposed on public primary and secondary schools and
    • kellie kendrick
      kellie kendrick on 29 Jan 14
       
      This article keeps mentioning these awful state issued rubrics. I am interested in knowing what kinds of rubrics are state issued, and also who is making them? One would hope that a state educational task force would be competent enough to create a rubric reliable and valid enough to provide good feedback to all involved.
    • Dan Jones
      Dan Jones on 30 Jan 14
       
      I had the same thought about all the state issued rubrics mentioned in the article, I have never seen one. You would think there would be someone good enough to do that but I won't hold my breath on that
  • “an established custom or rule of procedure.” (Online dictionary
    • Dan Jones
      Dan Jones on 30 Jan 14
       
      This definition will be my baseline for the remainder of the article. Anybody have a different definition
  • “scaffolding
    • Dan Jones
      Dan Jones on 30 Jan 14
       
      Side bar here, I never really know what this means, I hear it bandied about by administrators and Curriculum Directors but have never really had it explained. Feel free to enlighten me
    • Sally Rigeman
      Sally Rigeman on 30 Jan 14
       
      Hi Dan, in general it means providing support so that a student can eventually take their work to the next level, in the same way that a scaffold allows painters to work above street level.
    • Evan Abbey
      Evan Abbey on 01 Feb 14
       
      We actually are going to discuss scaffolding in a week or so in the class. It gets to the idea that you are putting a structure around a student to help them learn. Then when they are confident, you take that away and see if they can do it solely on their own. Kinda like practice questions in math, with the answers in the back of the book, before you take the final quiz.
    • Rick Vettraino
      Rick Vettraino on 06 Feb 14
       
      Thank you Sally, that helped me also
  • student thinking and not just student knowledge
    • Dan Jones
      Dan Jones on 30 Jan 14
       
      Rubric = student thinking/assessment Tests = student knowledge/grades ??
  • reduce learning to a hit or miss endeavor,
    • Dan Jones
      Dan Jones on 30 Jan 14
       
      Can't hit the target if you don't know what your are aiming at. I think a rubric has to show what you want out of student performance, the rubric is a road map
    • Evan Abbey
      Evan Abbey on 01 Feb 14
       
      I'd say much of learning is not "hit or miss". There are a lot of shades of gray when it comes to learning (I think students can half-learn quite a bit of stuff).
  • The argument against using rubrics While many educators make a compelling argument for sharing rubrics with students, others worry that doing so will encourage formulaic writing.
    • Dan Jones
      Dan Jones on 30 Jan 14
       
      Is formulaic always a bad thing. If the rubric allows the student to respond adequately, even if formulaic, is it a bad thing? I don't think you have to use a rubric for everything but when used, it should provide a clear path for the students.
    • Evan Abbey
      Evan Abbey on 01 Feb 14
       
      Formulaic isn't always bad. But I'd say that a rubric is overkill in this case. If you simply want a clear-path formula for students, you should use a checklist. Rubrics provide many shades of variance on performance that is confusing if you want that formula.
  • t rubrics should be used in conjunction with other strategies,
    • Dan Jones
      Dan Jones on 30 Jan 14
       
      I think this is how I would incorporate rubrics, they would be used with other forms of assessment and not be the sole basis of assessment. I just wanted to respond to comments in article that suggest rubrics lead to "wooden" responses. If all you use is a rubric, then students will adapt and write in that fashion. Mix it up a little and allow students to keep their creativity
  • we need a meta-rubric to assess our rubric
    • Dan Jones
      Dan Jones on 30 Jan 14
       
      It is getting very deep or very scientific here. I am not qualified to be in the business of creating a rubric to assess a rubric I have created. I would like to know how to consistently make a good rubric for any task/project/thing I am assessing
    • Jamie Van Horn
      Jamie Van Horn on 31 Jan 14
       
      Instead of creating a rubric to assess your rubric (ahhh!), I think it's best to use your rubric to "practice assess" student work and see how well it works for you and the assignment.
    • Rick Vettraino
      Rick Vettraino on 06 Feb 14
       
      I think we need to create a rubric to assess the rubric we used to assess the rubric:)
  • process and/or product
    • Jamie Van Horn
      Jamie Van Horn on 31 Jan 14
       
      It's important that we remember to use the rubric not only to assess the final product but also during the process to guide learning and help the student grow.
    • Evan Abbey
      Evan Abbey on 01 Feb 14
       
      I'd even say it is more important to do it during the process. Do students really need a rubric if they are only going to see it at a point where they can't do anything to improve their work? Perhaps... maybe they could carry over that assessment to the next activity. But methinks they will simply disregard the rubric after they see the score.
  • solving real problems
  • solving real problems
    • Jamie Van Horn
      Jamie Van Horn on 09 Feb 14
       
      It's sad that teachers are pressured to get their students to pass standardized tests that they don't always take the time to think about how what they are teaching their students is really helping them learn to solve real problems.
  • facilitate
    • Jamie Van Horn
      Jamie Van Horn on 09 Feb 14
       
      Rubrics should not be a scoring sheet for grading although that is how they are most commonly used. They need to be "facilitated" by the teacher and student to increase effort, understanding and performance throughout an assignment or project.
  • criteria must be made clear
    • Jamie Van Horn
      Jamie Van Horn on 09 Feb 14
       
      Parents, teachers, students, administrators, etc. should all be able to understand the rubric and what is expected.
  • bring fairness into assessment
    • Jamie Van Horn
      Jamie Van Horn on 09 Feb 14
       
      Students and parents can be very vocal with teachers about grades questioning a teacher's discretion. With quality rubrics and rubric eduation, this could be nearly eliminated.
  • While longer scales make it harder to get agreement among scorers (inter-rater reliability), extremely short scales make it difficult to identify small differences between students.
    • Jamie Van Horn
      Jamie Van Horn on 09 Feb 14
       
      This is where rubric education is crucial for educators. Writing a vague rubric doesn't do the student or teacher any good, but having it too many dynamics can lead to confusion. It is necessary to get input and modify rubrics in order to achieve the best results.
  • Does the rubric encourage risk taking? Creativity? Self-expression?
    • Jamie Van Horn
      Jamie Van Horn on 09 Feb 14
       
      This would be a hard area to be non-judgmental because every student is at a different level with risk-taking, creativity, self-expression. What might be a big risk for one student, may be a minimal risk for another.
  • Moreover, some teachers have noticed how students who were good writers become wooden when writing under the influence of a rubric.
Peggy Steinbronn

Engineers Week is Feb 22-28 - here are some great resources on Engineering - 0 views

www.techlearning.com/...8939

STEM OLLIE Iowa

shared by Peggy Steinbronn on 24 Feb 15 - No Cached
  • Peggy Steinbronn on 24 Feb 15
     
    The Resource for Education Technology Leaders focusing on K-12 educators. Site contains a Software Reviews Database, articles from Technology & Learning Magazine, articles from Educators in Educators' eZine, Event and Contest listings, Reader suggested Web sites, and weekly news updates on education technology leaders."
anonymous

Implementation in a Secondary Classroom (Articles) - 0 views

moodlesw.aeapdonline.org/...view.php

shared by anonymous on 24 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • “We have all these different methods of how kids can present the project, for example, through Photo Story, xtra normal (an animation site where kids create their own animations), PowerPoints, vodcasts, podcasts.
    • kelsi-johnson
      kelsi-johnson on 24 Feb 16
       
      My biggest struggle with this is the lack of technology knowledge that my students possess. This type of learning would definitely have to begin and be supported at lower levels of education in order to find success at the secondary level. My students know how to use technology for social means but have very little experience with academic applications and websites. We struggle with giving them individual learning opportunities because of the excessive amount of time we have to spend explaining how to use these resources rather than actually applying/demonstrating their learning.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 27 Feb 16
       
      I agree with your comment completely. I would love to give individuals the opportunity to create their final project in multiple formats. Unfortunately, it requires both them and me to be well versed on each of the options. The individuals I teach are so afraid to hit the wrong button, time constraints and lack of experience play a huge role as to what I can offer for options within the classroom.
  • For example, when a teacher assigns a research project, some students will prefer to have a broad range of topics, others will prefer a small list of options, and yet others will prefer to be told what to do. Giving students a short list of topics with an option to create their own topic, with the teacher’s approval, often works well.
    • kelsi-johnson
      kelsi-johnson on 24 Feb 16
       
      I definitely find this to be true in my own classroom. I have some students who can come up with great, original applications and products to demonstrate their learning. However, I have others who would simply choose to do nothing or throw a project together last minute if it is not clearly laid out for them. I want to strive to be better about fostering a sense of independence in my students' learning and not simply spoon-feed them all of the information that they need. Ultimately, this is going to allow them to be the most successful after leaving school. Now, I just need to figure out the best way to do that!
  • Some students chose to remain at their desks, others crawled under the desks, and still others found comfortable places elsewhere.
    • kelsi-johnson
      kelsi-johnson on 24 Feb 16
       
      I give my students this choice at all times; I have tables, chairs, bean bags, a couch, and two cushioned chairs in my classroom. I don't care if students sit at these locations or even on the floor (though under a desk may not be the best choice!) as long as they are working productively. Most classes want to continue to have this privilege, so they are typically very respectful of our classroom-established norms for behavior.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • Once teachers have planned their methods and strategies, they can fit their work into a timeline. Because the design is flexible and students are responsible for taking charge of their own learning, coverage of the content is ensured and depth of understanding is achieved
    • kelsi-johnson
      kelsi-johnson on 24 Feb 16
       
      I would like to see an example of such a timeline for a secondary English classroom. I understand the concept but would love to see it in full application to gauge how I can make this work in my own classroom. It seems like a good idea to also have students keep some sort of reflective journal tracking their progress as well. This can be beneficial for the student and the teacher in guiding/creating future tasks.
  • The screencasts, which I create with Zaption, Screencast-o-matic and Video Ant,
    • kelsi-johnson
      kelsi-johnson on 24 Feb 16
       
      It seems like this type of learning would require a lot of technology support for both teachers and students; technology courses and/or training would be really helpful for all involved in the personalized learning process.
  • “One of the things I had to learn recently was to let go and allow the kids to experience the consequences of their choices. And maybe there’s a failure.
    • Megan Schulte
      Megan Schulte on 25 Feb 16
       
      This is something I'm struggling with, particularly with my group of middle schoolers.  They're really good at "looking busy" but then I discover they really aren't.  I think this is something that easier to fix at the beginning of the year when they don't know any different than it would be at this point in the school year.  Will this ever be fixed 100%?  I would say frequent checkins or ways for them to demonstrate their progress/learning.  Just something I keep thinking about...
  • They’ll have to post a couple of responses—and post a couple of responses to responses— as part of the class. That’s going to get them trading ideas about the literature we read in class.”
    • Megan Schulte
      Megan Schulte on 25 Feb 16
       
      ELA info!!!  Yeah!  I was wondering if this would be an appropriate activity to use for the speaking and listening standards or do those have to be assessed in an actual vocal conversation?  They'd be responding and building upon others' ideas?  But I wasn't sure if this would be one way to do that?
  • But I was simply using technology in place of my normal face-to-face teaching. When asked to explain the “why” behind my choices during professional learning sessions, I realized there was more to creating blended lessons than simply adding technology.
    • Megan Schulte
      Megan Schulte on 25 Feb 16
       
      This is where I'm at with implementing PL (or more specifically, blended learning).  While this may help students learn at their own pace, it doesn't really help differentiate much else.  We have to start somewhere.
  • 5. Assess as you go.
    • Megan Schulte
      Megan Schulte on 25 Feb 16
       
      This is a huge part of our professional development this year, but the ELA teachers are having a hard time managing the formative assessments because it's not easy to assess ELA in multiple choice questions.  We're finding a few resources that help with question stems for DOK levels and Bloom's but it's not as easy for us as it may be for science or math.  We're getting there though...there's a light at the end of the tunnel at least.
  • Low motivation does not need to be a recurring problem in the classroom.
    • Megan Schulte
      Megan Schulte on 25 Feb 16
       
      I'm nervous about this aspect, but I feel the more blended or PL that they've experienced the better it will be.  Think back to when we first started using Google Docs and all the explicit instruction we had to do to create and share a simple document, and now the kids know more than I do.  I feel this is where PL will go.  The more this type of learning is the norm, the less they'll question or resist it.
  • Teachers must identify the big ideas in their content area, establish essential questions to guide the students toward these ideas, determine what students will need to know and be able to do to thoroughly understand the ideas, then create appropriate tools to assess whether the students are learning what they need to know. Classroom assessments for personalized teaching are always varied, ongoing, and carefully designed to give the teacher useful information from multiple perspectives. Collectively, the measures provide feedback on where students still have misconceptions, where they are learning and applying skills, and where they are recalling and using information effectively.
    • Megan Schulte
      Megan Schulte on 25 Feb 16
       
      This is right where we are as a department, so I feel it's natural to implement some PL (blended).  Start small where it makes sense and build as you can; that's the only way to do this successfully.
  • Units of study in each learning community are planned around the “big ideas” in each subject area and often have interdisciplinary ramifications.
  • Once they feel ready, they can submit their analysis by writing a traditional essay, creating a website, or writing a script for a video that they then record.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 27 Feb 16
       
      I like what this says about how writing does not always need to be in essay form. I also like how the writer points out that there are several ways students can express what they have learned. My main question is: when do students "feel they are ready?" Eventually, grades are due, how does one motivate those who are not just paced slowly.
  • The more meaningful an activity is to the person engaging in it, the more likely he or she will be motivated to continue doing it. A sense of purposefulness or meaningfulness is also heightened if the activity strengthens relationships with others.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 27 Feb 16
       
      I have always encouraged the kids to ask why they are to do some task. They now are sure to ask how their [writing] task will apply to them later. I tell them the practical application of analysis or persuasion. Sometimes it is just an extension to high school or college, other times it is a real life application. Either way, I think making the project relevant and purposeful gives them more of a buy in.
  • Almost all teachers find it emotionally fulfilling and personally energizing when students begin to succeed, especially where they have previously failed.
    • anonymous
      anonymous on 27 Feb 16
       
      Personalized learning also helps the student take control of their learning. I think they also feel pride when they succeed in areas they have previously failed. 
schreckkimberly

"Personalized" vs. "Personal" Learning - 1 views

moodlesw.aealearningonline.org/...view.php

shared by schreckkimberly on 02 Jul 18 - No Cached
  • A personalized environment gives students the freedom to follow a meaningful line of inquiry, while building the skills to connect, synthesize and analyze information into original productions.
    • hinzmanna
      hinzmanna on 02 Jul 18
       
      I think at the lower elementary level this can be seen through play. Not everyone connects to the same linear way of doing something but when they realize it can be done a slightly different way it can be a powerful moment for the child. This realization can be found through play and exploration of the topic in various ways.
  • Thus, while making sense of ideas is surely personal, it is not exclusively individual because it involves collaboration and takes place in a community.
    • hinzmanna
      hinzmanna on 02 Jul 18
       
      This statement resonated with me because I feel that so much emphasis has been put on the individual and their progress that we have lost sight of the fact that some of the best ideas came from collaboration. Think about all of the meetings teachers have to go to and collaborate on what is best for the school/classroom/student/etc...teaching isn't strictly an individual endeavor so learning shouldn't happen in such a closed minded, individual setting either.
  • ...24 more annotations...
  • “Personalized” learning is something that we do to kids; “personal” learning is something they do for themselves.
    • hinzmanna
      hinzmanna on 02 Jul 18
       
      Perspective! I felt like I had a pretty good understanding of what I needed to work toward, but this makes me feel like I need to adjust my mindset a little more, to go a little deeper in my understanding. I know I need a lot more help (or learning on my own) about how to implement PL in my classroom, especially finding a balance with PL and structure for the younger students.
  • If we can’t engage our kids in ideas and explorations that require no technology, then we have surely lost our way.
    • hinzmanna
      hinzmanna on 02 Jul 18
       
      I have to say, I think technology has it's place and is an excellent tool and resource for students and teachers alike, but it should NOT be the only way that we find our students are engaged in learning. I feel that engagement should happen in connections in the community, should be active in their learning, and through collaboration with others. I worry that some may come too dependent on technology if that is what they come to expect as their only way of engagement to learning, rather than as a tool and resource for richer learning experiences.
    • trudicabrera
      trudicabrera on 10 Jul 18
       
      I couldn't agree more with your post! I worry that with the huge push on technology and everyone sitting behind a screen, our ability to communicate and have an effective/respectful conversation/debate with someone in person will disappear. I already work with my first grade students about making eye contact and looking at someones face when you are talking with them!
  • seductive
    • ljurich
      ljurich on 02 Jul 18
       
      I like the word "seductive" because often, when students are engaged in a personalized learning experience utilizing their passions and exploring their interests, they don't even realize they are actually learning!
  • personalization only comes when students have authentic choice over how to tackle a problem
    • ljurich
      ljurich on 02 Jul 18
       
      For personalization to ensure results in learning, I'm thinking of how important it is to have a structured process for providing individual students with ongoing, specific feedback. As they make choices in how to tackle a problem, a process for feedback on how to improve performance would need to be a standard practice.
  • make sure everyone they work with is on the same page about what that phrase means
    • ljurich
      ljurich on 02 Jul 18
       
      YES! A proactive practice before anything happens in the classroom would be to develop common language so everyone has the same context, same vision, same expectations, etc.
  • many school district leaders require public school educators to teach a specific curriculum that will be evaluated on standardized tests, while at the same time telling teachers to be innovative and creative within their classrooms.
    • ljurich
      ljurich on 02 Jul 18
       
      We have "arrived" as an educational system when personalized learning is not perceived as "one more thing on a teacher's plate" and instead is "just the way we do things around here," replacing old practices.
    • dixieluna
      dixieluna on 05 Jul 18
       
      Personalized learning may help students become better problem solvers, innovative, and creative, however, will personalized learning help students know how to take standardized tests? Let's be honest...as much as we all dislike standardized testing it is still used for college entrance.
    • ctinkham
      ctinkham on 06 Jul 18
       
      And to add on to that, colleges are still looking at class rank and GPA as well, which is often attained by "playing the game" by the rules, not being creative and innovative. Square peg in a round hole.
  • meaningful (and truly personal) learning never requires technology
    • ljurich
      ljurich on 02 Jul 18
       
      This makes me think of PURPOSE. Once the learning targets are determined, IF technology is considered for the lesson, what's its purpose? Why?
    • ctinkham
      ctinkham on 06 Jul 18
       
      technology should simply be the icing on the cake...not the purpose for the lesson.
    • schreckkimberly
      schreckkimberly on 12 Jul 18
       
      Amen. We all know they WANT the technology. They must know it as a tool we allow them to use to reach the learning target. Otherwise it's just a time filler, and they will happily do just that. :)
  • his moment of huge disruption requires us to think deeply about our goals and practices as educators,
    • ljurich
      ljurich on 02 Jul 18
       
      It is easy to be drawn to the "shiny new object" as the quick fix to raising student scores, so I appreciate this point of view in giving thoughtful consideration to goals and vision when considering what's next for improved practice.
  • compliance.
    • dixieluna
      dixieluna on 05 Jul 18
       
      I recently had a conversation with an educator that stated we should teach compliance because that is what will be expected in the workplace. Does personalization in the classroom hinder the reality of some jobs (labor jobs, military, etc.)?
    • ctinkham
      ctinkham on 06 Jul 18
       
      That's a really interesting question---it almost seems like the pendulum is swinging the other way---this movement is really emphasizing creativity and problem-solving---great for those engineering/stem/arts jobs, but not necessarily so for some labor jobs. Although, I'd also argue that problem-solving is pretty necessary even for construction jobs, car/engine maintenance, etc. I'd say the military probably would not necessarily appreciate it as much, though.
    • marthaschwind
      marthaschwind on 10 Jul 18
       
      I think there needs to be a balance. There's a need for compliance at every job, even construction where they must have a finished product by a deadline, but there is also a need for creativity and problem solving, too. How do we fit that balance in with personalized learning? Setting deadlines/meeting standards but they choose the method?
    • schreckkimberly
      schreckkimberly on 12 Jul 18
       
      I worry a little about the lack of "structure" in personalized learning. Kids need to know how to develop self discipline to follow through on a task (project with deadline), and well as the ability to follow step by step instructions when needed--instead of throwing out the manual. An appropriate example here is that teachers must teach the CORE to assure that we are all not just exposing students to what we want them to learn. Can a student have "too much voice"? Won't many students unknowingly limit themselves to a strict palette of interests and skills if they only try want they want to try? How will they even know what they are missing if we don't require them to be exposed to what we as an education system have deemed worthy of note? Would any eighth grade choose to explore/tackle Shakespeare if not required? Have we shorted them if we don't require it? I supposed balance is the key. Shakespeare, even through a graphic novel or movie, is still Shakespeare, I suppose.
  • Personalization promises better student achievement and, I believe, a more effective delivery method than any one teacher with 25 or 30 students in a classroom can compete with
    • dixieluna
      dixieluna on 05 Jul 18
       
      This is my "ah-ha" moment. What teacher doesn't want better student achievement? At the least, teachers should be willing to explore and dabble in personalization.
    • trudicabrera
      trudicabrera on 10 Jul 18
       
      I agree, we all want better student achievement for our students. With Personalization in the classroom I think students will be so much more willing to learn as they are able to work on what interests them.
  • tasks have been personalized for kids, not created by them
    • dixieluna
      dixieluna on 05 Jul 18
       
      I feel like this is where I am at now. I think that it is hard for educators to give over some of that control to the students.
  • A term like “mass customized learning,” meanwhile, may sound Orwellian but it’s not really an oxymoron because what’s customized is mass-produced – which is to say, standardized. Authentic personal learning isn’t
    • dixieluna
      dixieluna on 05 Jul 18
       
      Ouch!
  • resource rich.
    • ctinkham
      ctinkham on 06 Jul 18
       
      I think this is sometimes where I struggle with personalized learning. It's overwhelming at times to start students on a project, and they want lots of resources to help them get started....I have to balance that line of giving them something to start so they aren't frustrated, but also giving them the opportunity to figure out how to find those resources themselves through research and choosing reputable resources.
  • it’s crucially more important to have the dispositions and the skills to create our own educational opportunities, not be trained to wait for opportunities that someone else has selected for delivery.
    • ctinkham
      ctinkham on 06 Jul 18
       
      This is so key, and where students who know nothing but traditional struggle. They are used to "sit and get", and the world just is not like that. This gives students the opportunity to explore, to try, to fail, and to reflect.
    • schreckkimberly
      schreckkimberly on 12 Jul 18
       
      Couldn't agree more. Just this morning I was chatting with a neighbor kid who was telling me about how he and his dad are breaking a mare (training a horse to be ridden) for a friend of theirs. He said it was going pretty well but would take the rest of the summer before she got used to the reins instead of just the lead rope. Then he added, "I wish school didn't start again soon. I don't really like school. It can get boring." And of course I had an AHA moment right then, with this course to thank. I couldn't help but think, this kid COULD LOVE school if he was able to bring his interests and experiences to the table and use those as a springboard for learning -- allowing him to decide (within reason) what was necessary for him to learn so that he could grow as a learner and a horse trainer. Of course a red flag also arose in my mind -- wait, let's not pigeon hole him into a career in horse-training just yet. So here's where the teachers step in to help him connect his interests and experiences with those of others, and help him see the value in those as well. Grow and challenge the whole person, so to speak. This is how I would like to develop more as a teacher-- I'm hungry for ideas on how to do so!
  • the prevailing narrative seems to be that we can’t engage kids without technology, without a smartphone, tablet computer or some other multimedia device or tool.
    • ctinkham
      ctinkham on 06 Jul 18
       
      I hear this a lot in my district---it's all about what technology we can get into students' hands. Yes, technology is great, and I do think it's a huge part of being able to personalize a class of 32 kids, but I also think it's not mandatory for personalized learning.
    • marthaschwind
      marthaschwind on 10 Jul 18
       
      I feel that a lot in our district, too. I'm in agreement that it's not required for personalized learning but can be very helpful for management purposes with such large class sizes.
    • trudicabrera
      trudicabrera on 10 Jul 18
       
      I think having technology in the hands of our students is a great resource for them to further and deepen their learning. However, I do feel like the technology can be abused at times. In my opinion students shouldn't be staring at the screen all day, students need to interact with one another, and do hands on learning as well. A lot of learning can be done through actual books and conducting experiments of their own.
  • the best thing we can do for kids is empower them to make regular, important, thoughtful decisions about their own learning
    • lfreund
      lfreund on 10 Jul 18
       
      So many students have difficulty with problem solving and decsion making on their own...could traditional teaching be part of the cause?
    • trudicabrera
      trudicabrera on 10 Jul 18
       
      Traditional teaching could be part of the cause but I also wonder if students today have difficulty problem solving because parents are impatient and are quick to give in to help their child. For example, when students are learning to tie their shoes. It can take a long time to figure out where the shoes laces go and how to move them around to make a knot. It's easier, more convenient, and takes less time if the parent/guardian does it. Maybe that has some role in difficulty problem solving as well?
  • But if the point is to help kids understand ideas from the inside out and answer their own questions about the world, then what they’re doing is already personal (and varied). It doesn’t have to be artificially personalized.
  • But if the point is to help kids understand ideas from the inside out and answer their own questions about the world, then what they’re doing is already personal (and varied). It doesn’t have to be artificially personalized.
  • Personalization is an even more disturbing example of this phenomenon because the word has come to be equated with technology
    • lfreund
      lfreund on 10 Jul 18
       
      Using technology can personalize instruction, but students also require personal instruction, such as discussion with a peer about a book or collaborating with a team about a science experiment
  • Personal learning tends to nourish kids’ curiosity and deepen their enthusiasm. “Personalized” or “customized” learning – not so much.
    • lfreund
      lfreund on 10 Jul 18
       
      This statement really helped me to see the difference between personalized and personal. Personalized is more of the skill being taught while personal is the connection that's made
    • schreckkimberly
      schreckkimberly on 12 Jul 18
       
      Great point here. How do we balance what skills they "have to know" with what we allow students to explore on their own?
  • We often say we want creativity and innovation – personalization – but every mechanism we use to measure it is through control and compliance
    • schreckkimberly
      schreckkimberly on 12 Jul 18
       
      Yes, very much a paradox. How is it possible to let students have choice in how they learn content and yet they all need to fill in the same bubble when testing time comes around. That's a LOT of balls to juggle at once. This is frustrating for teachers like ourselves who want to give choice and thus keep kids engaged, but who also know that scores will be what validates our success as content teachers.
  • better test scores. And, if that’s what we value as the most important outcome of schooling, it’s hard to argue that we’re in the midst of a huge advance
    • schreckkimberly
      schreckkimberly on 12 Jul 18
       
      Ha very true-- IF test scores are what matters, we could strap each kid to a computer to get them there. But I don't know any teachers that became teachers for the numbers. ;) Do better scores make better people? Do they make happier people? A great argument for "personal" learning vs. personalized learning. But again, it has to be a balance. We can't ask them to make of map of places they've never been. Thus we have the CORE. A tricky marriage of ideas!
  • As a high-school English teacher, I was flipping in the classroom in 1983, having my students read the literature at home and come into class ready to discuss it. That was flipping the curriculum
mschutjer

ollie-afe-2019: Building a Better Mousetrap - 1 views

moodlesw.aealearningonline.org/...view.php

shared by mschutjer on 31 Mar 19 - No Cached
  • Rubrics can be used either for “filtering”—as they are used in placement testing—or for “latticing,” or “scaffolding”—if they are shared with students prior to the completion of any given assignment.
    • alisauter
      alisauter on 31 Mar 19
       
      I think communicating the rubric ahead of time makes them easier to score. I have had to conduct technology camp entrance interviews using a rubric that is "blind" and they are more challenging because the students come into the interviews completely blind to any of the questions or criteria.
    • zackkaz
      zackkaz on 03 Apr 19
       
      Ali, I agree I feel like giving the rubric for the assessment with the directions at the beginning helps students understand what the assessment is assessing. I just hope it doesn't lead to students formula writing like suggested late in the article. Or possibly killing creativity.
    • tmolitor
      tmolitor on 09 Apr 19
       
      I can easily see both sides of the coin here. On one hand it's tough to give students an assignment and not tell them how its being graded. On the other if a student knows exactly what they need to do to get the score, then it does kill creativity.
    • barbkfoster
      barbkfoster on 09 Apr 19
       
      I can see where sharing the rubric might "kill creativity" but I think sharing the rubric is a great way to let students know what you are looking for and what is important. I know of many teachers who share the rubric at the very beginning of a paper/project/assessment, but I don't know of many who use it somewhere in the middle. I think we get too caught up in the completion that we forget to take time in the middle to help students self-evaluate their work. I think this is a great way to teach students to be owners of their own learning, and thus success.
    • rhoadsb_
      rhoadsb_ on 14 Apr 19
       
      I really like this for pre-assessment. Students can self assess and start where there are with their learning. The teacher will need to have the classroom set-up to meet all the needs of the students accordingly.
  • habits of mind practiced in the act of self-assessment.
    • alisauter
      alisauter on 31 Mar 19
       
      THIS! I think developing the right mindset in our students when it comes to grading and rubrics is so important, although sometimes challenging.
    • Wendy Arch
      Wendy Arch on 02 Apr 19
       
      I agree, but we will need to put more of an emphasis on student self-assessment and justification as well as post-assignment reflection. Much of the time students and teachers see final assessment as a "post mortem" evaluation of where they were with nothing to be done about where they can go.
    • Deborah Cleveland
      Deborah Cleveland on 04 Apr 19
       
      Here is an interesting critical thinking rubric https://educate.intel.com/download/K12/elements/pba_lessons/resources/24_Critical_Thinking_Rubric.pdf This rubric could be used throughout a project to help the learner think about their thinking.
  • others worry that doing so will encourage formulaic writing
    • alisauter
      alisauter on 31 Mar 19
       
      I think that this depends on how the rubric is written.
    • Wendy Arch
      Wendy Arch on 02 Apr 19
       
      I've found it also depends on the student. Ironically, I've found that the higher achieving students will tend more strongly toward formulaic writing because they are worried about "missing points." If the grade on the assessment puts their GPA at risk, they are not willing to do any intellectual risk taking.
    • sjensen21
      sjensen21 on 04 Apr 19
       
      Seems to me that if a student meets the criteria, then that is what is expected. (Coming from a person who is not inherently creative.)
    • cathy84
      cathy84 on 04 Apr 19
       
      LOL. I just wrote this very thing "students create their paper too closely like the model" in last paragraph. The problem with following it so closely is that I wasn't sure they really understood the concept if they couldn't recreate it in an independent way.
  • ...89 more annotations...
  • Rubrics that are prescriptive rather than descriptive will promote thoughtless and perfunctory writing; such rubrics are as limiting to the development of rhetorical mastery as the five-paragraph essay.
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      This is hard for me to do. I am a concrete thinker, and writing prescriptive rubrics is something I need to work on.
  • adopt a rubric
    • alisauter
      alisauter on 31 Mar 19
       
      Rubistar and https://rubric-maker.com have different academic content area rubrics and grade levels.
    • kmolitor
      kmolitor on 04 Apr 19
       
      rubistar is helpful...sites like this can help build your skills as you create your own rubrics on that site as well.
  • While the fundamental focus of assessment is always to promote learning, there are other reasons why we engage in assessment: curriculum reform, placement, promotion, diagnosis, accountability, and so on (Critical Issue).
    • alisauter
      alisauter on 31 Mar 19
       
      Establishing your purpose is so vital.
  • well-designed rubrics help instructors in all disciplines meaningfully assess the outcomes of the more complicated assignments that are the basis of the problem-solving, inquiry-based, student-centered pedagogy replacing the traditional lecture-based, teacher-centered approach in tertiary education
    • robertsreads
      robertsreads on 02 Apr 19
       
      Well-designed and meaningful - I think these are the keys to a good rubric. If it doesn't measure what it aims to measure, then a rubric is completely useless.
    • mgast40diigo
      mgast40diigo on 03 Apr 19
       
      I agree as well. It is important that students see what his or her expectations are before they right instead of getting the information from teachers at the end.
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      When I started many moons ago, in the classroom, almost every period was lecture. Student based learning is so much more effective.
    • kimgrissom
      kimgrissom on 06 Apr 19
       
      This is interesting that they're using rubrics at the post-secondary level. I agree that the best use of rubrics is for complicated assignments that ask students to problem-solve, show conceptual understanding, or even just write extended explanations. Rubrics are too time-consuming to write to use for simple tasks.
    • tmolitor
      tmolitor on 09 Apr 19
       
      It's important to have something to objectively assess outcomes of these types of assignments.
  • Rick Stiggins, of the Assessment Training Institute, contends that we ought to illicit student input when constructing rubrics
    • robertsreads
      robertsreads on 02 Apr 19
       
      While I assume the author means 'elicit' and not 'illicit', I do agree that getting student input is essential, especially at the high school and college level where we are seeking to have students think meaningfully and critically about their work.
    • cathy84
      cathy84 on 04 Apr 19
       
      I struggle with this a bit, for how do students know exactly what is quality of a product they do not have extensive knowledge of?
  • Moreover, some teachers have noticed how students who were good writers become wooden when writing under the influence of a rubric
    • robertsreads
      robertsreads on 02 Apr 19
       
      This does not surprise me at all. My six year old was docked for not using the word "next" in one of her writings. I read the work, and her transition was much more advanced than that (something I would have encouraged as a high school teacher).
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      I could see how students would get stagnant in their writing.
    • mschutjer
      mschutjer on 27 Apr 19
       
      Maybe I do not make rubrics correctly...because I really do not see this happening!
  • Look at some actual examples of student work to see if you have omitted any important dimensions.
    • robertsreads
      robertsreads on 02 Apr 19
       
      This is a great idea! It's similar to requesting student input without the students feeling pressured to contribute.
    • Wendy Arch
      Wendy Arch on 02 Apr 19
       
      Often this recalibration happens the year after in my experience. As an English teacher, we rubricate everything - for good or bad. I've found that once we ask students to go through a task and use the rubric to assess it, we see where the task, our teaching, and the rubric fail.
    • zackkaz
      zackkaz on 03 Apr 19
       
      Student feedback can be just as useful to us to Wendy.
  • a set of standards and/or directions for assessing student outcomes and guiding student learning
    • Wendy Arch
      Wendy Arch on 02 Apr 19
       
      I see the confusion stemming from a linguistic debate about whether "directions" refers to the task requirements (e.g. write a persuasive essay using 5 sources) or the assessment criteria (cites strong and thorough textual evidence). Many times students ask to see the "rubric" when they really just mean the specific task requirements.
  • “performance benchmarks” for the “behavioral objectives” appropriate to each year in the program. E
    • Wendy Arch
      Wendy Arch on 02 Apr 19
       
      I find this interesting that they are assessing "behavioral objectives." Much of what our discussions around grading versus assessing have focused on is the need to grade/assess the demonstrated learning and NOT the behavior which lead to the demonstrated learning.
  • study on student-generated rubrics, they tend to “think more deeply about their learning.”
    • Wendy Arch
      Wendy Arch on 02 Apr 19
       
      I tried having students create their own rubrics for an independent learning project. They were all high achieving seniors near the end of their secondary academic career. And across the board, NONE of them said they enjoyed the process, calling it one of the hardest parts of the project as a whole. ALL said it was very eye opening. Ironically, these high-achieving, point grubbing seniors found it MORE difficult to define for themselves what a "perfect" project would be, then to just rise to standards already set by someone else (me). Having to set the bar themselves made them far more nervous about meeting it than if I had set a goal for them to meet. It does make sense, however. By setting their own standards, they would potentially be letting themselves down if they did not rise to their own challenges. Whereas, if they did not fully meet the criteria on a teacher generated rubric, it did not necessarily reflect badly on themselves.
    • cathy84
      cathy84 on 04 Apr 19
       
      Fascinating and insightful!
    • kimgrissom
      kimgrissom on 06 Apr 19
       
      Wow. Good points!
  • writing a 1000 word essay that “cites x number of sources and supports its thesis with at least three arguments”
    • Wendy Arch
      Wendy Arch on 02 Apr 19
       
      See, these seem more like task requirements rather than assessable rubric criteria
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      Yes Wendy, I agree. This would be an assignment, but not in the rubric.
    • kimgrissom
      kimgrissom on 06 Apr 19
       
      Yes, and if that's all you want to grade, you could just make it a checklist and save yourself a lot of prep time!
    • tmolitor
      tmolitor on 09 Apr 19
       
      I think that a checklist instead of a rubric in that case is a great idea.
  • Of course, a teacher could have the best of both worlds here, by designing a rubric on a PC that allows for the easy insertion of assignment specific traits.
    • Wendy Arch
      Wendy Arch on 02 Apr 19
       
      Is there anyone who DOESN'T do this?
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      Most of mine are the same but then I change the content part for the details of the assignment.
  • A holistic rubric is more efficient and the best choice when criteria overlap and cannot be adequately separated; an analytical rubric, however, will yield more detailed information about student performance and, therefore, will provide the student with more specific feedback.
    • Wendy Arch
      Wendy Arch on 02 Apr 19
       
      Interestingly, until the 2019-2020 school year, the College Board and AP programs have always used holistic rubrics to score the written essay portions of the exams (at least the English Language and Literature exams). These were used because, especially for the third free-response question, students could choose to respond to any aspect of the passage they chose. With the third free-response question, students had a choice about what text to use to respond to a very vague thematic prompt. Holistic rubrics were necessary to meet the needs of all these different approaches. Beginning next year, during the 2019-2020 school year, the College Board and AP program are replacing all holistic rubrics with analytic ones to "more specific feedback on your Instructional Planning Reports about your students' performance." Interestingly, this feedback is not to the students - students never see their rubrics - but to the teachers so the teachers can adjust their teaching. https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-english-literature-and-composition/course/updates-2019-20
    • kimgrissom
      kimgrissom on 06 Apr 19
       
      That's interesting! The College Board switched to an analytical rubric for social studies a few years ago. It will be interesting to compare those.
    • kimgrissom
      kimgrissom on 06 Apr 19
       
      In the case of social studies, it gives the student and teacher more specific guidance in what should be included rather than feedback.
  • In addition to these basic directions, you should consider your purpose and audience.
    • Wendy Arch
      Wendy Arch on 02 Apr 19
       
      I mentioned this above, but the College Board and the AP program are changing their use of rubrics from holistic to analytic to provide TEACHERS with a better understanding of student performance and comprehension. It's interesting that the audience for these new rubrics will not be the students who are being assessed, but the teachers who taught them. Who is really being assessed here?
    • cathy84
      cathy84 on 04 Apr 19
       
      Great point!
  • we need a meta-rubric to assess our rubric.
    • Wendy Arch
      Wendy Arch on 02 Apr 19
       
      While this makes complete sense and would be a great use of PLCs, my instinctual response was "Oh Geez. Yet another thing..."
  • will lead students to perceive writing as a kind of “paint-by-number” endeavor (Mathews).
    • mgast40diigo
      mgast40diigo on 03 Apr 19
       
      There are some rubrics that I have used that remind of this. Students basically being programmed on what to do to get an A without any deep learning taking place. However, I still see the need for rubrics like this.
    • barbkfoster
      barbkfoster on 09 Apr 19
       
      I agree. Unfortunately, many times students use rubrics to get the grade they want without focusing on the learning. Maybe it's not the rubrics themselves but how we are using them in the classroom?
    • mschutjer
      mschutjer on 27 Apr 19
       
      I feel students are programed to give us what we want and not explore their own learning. So often when I give a writing assignment I hear first, how long does it have to be? How do we get away from that?
  • advocates of rubrics at all educational levels have argued that rubrics provide students with clear and specific qualities to strive for in those assignments that “are open-ended, aligned more closely to real-life learning situations and the nature of learning”
  • Indeed, since rubrics allow for widespread assessment of higher-level thinking skills, performance-based assessment is replacing or complementing more traditional modes of testing; this in turn means that teachers are changing their instructional modes to prepare their students for these tests
    • mgast40diigo
      mgast40diigo on 03 Apr 19
       
      Obviously a good thing with standardized tests focusing more on state standards.
  • Share the rubric with your students and their parents.
    • mgast40diigo
      mgast40diigo on 03 Apr 19
       
      Great for students to know expectations and criteria. Have never thought about sharing a rubric with parents. See the benefits of that as well.
  • “rubrics promote ‘mechanical instruction in writing’ that bypasses ‘the human act of composing and the human gesture of response’” (
  • More conceptually, critics claim that rubrics, in effect, dehumanize the act of writing. According to Thomas Newkirk, an English professor at the University of New Hampshire,
    • mgast40diigo
      mgast40diigo on 03 Apr 19
       
      Curious to know what methods of grading are popular among the critics of rubrics.
  • You can adapt a rubric—
    • zackkaz
      zackkaz on 03 Apr 19
       
      Honestly, I feel like this is what I do the most. I adopt a lot of rubrics and tweak them to fit what I want. I feel like in education there is a lot of resources available to me and people way smarter/better than me at their jobs. No point in reinventing the wheel, so why not adopt and tweak to fit the need that I have for my assessment.
  • “The Effects of Rubrics on Learning to Write,” has found that, while rubrics increased her students’ knowledge of the grading criteria and helped most of her students (especially the young male students) do well on the state writing test, many of the young female students, who had been more expressive in previous writing assignments, wrote poorly when writing, as we might say, to the rubric.
    • zackkaz
      zackkaz on 03 Apr 19
       
      That's always been a fear of mine with rubrics when writing an opinion or free write. Does this stifle the creativity of some students. It's really interesting to also look at who was seeing the bias as the article states girls/boys. Does it also bias ethnicities?
  • The issue of weighting may be another area in which you can enlist the help of students. At the beginning of the process, you could ask a student to select to select which aspect she values the most in her writing and weight that aspect when you assess her paper.
    • zackkaz
      zackkaz on 03 Apr 19
       
      +1 for student choice. Hopefully this would develop lifelong learning.
    • barbkfoster
      barbkfoster on 09 Apr 19
       
      I think by enlisting the help of students in creating the rubric, it will promote ownership of learning. It should also help students keep in mind what is most important while they are creating their product.
  • “Is the assessment responsive to what we know about how [students] learn?” and “Does the assessment help students become the kinds of [citizens] we want them to be?”
    • zackkaz
      zackkaz on 03 Apr 19
       
      As a SS teacher that second part hits home. Will they be a responsible democratic citizen.
    • cathy84
      cathy84 on 04 Apr 19
       
      To me, this gets to the content of the assignment...not conventions.
  • rubrics should be used in conjunction with other strategies,
    • mpercy
      mpercy on 04 Apr 19
       
      Rubrics are a great tool but not necessarily the way to go all the time. Students need to be exposed to other strategies as well.
    • kmolitor
      kmolitor on 04 Apr 19
       
      I agree multiple strategies should be used as that will help our students grow as learners.
  • Perhaps the greatest potential value of classroom assessment is realized when we open the assessment process up and welcome students into that process as full partners”
    • mpercy
      mpercy on 04 Apr 19
       
      When students are part of the process there will likely be more enthusiasm and buy in from the students.
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      I have to admit, I have not gone this far yet. But it makes total sense, that if students are a part of creating the rubric they would have a better understanding of the expectations.
    • jennham
      jennham on 08 Apr 19
       
      I agree. It will give them a sense of ownership in their own learning. Even my elementary students would be more than able to help with this. I plan on rolling it out to my colleagues to try with an upcoming paper.
    • whsfieldbio
      whsfieldbio on 10 Apr 19
       
      I have seen this done with second graders. They were not creating criteria based on standards, but rather criteria for quality. The students decided what the quality of presentation and speaking were. They actually were pretty tough on eachother and set the bar high. This is a great process, but can also be a challenge if you have multiple classes and want to have some consensus with evaluating.
  • Revise the rubric and try it out again
    • mpercy
      mpercy on 04 Apr 19
       
      Would this be the point to gather student input? I would want to make sure my objectives were being met and then allow students to input.
  • Each score category should be defined using description of the work rather than judgments about the work.”
    • mpercy
      mpercy on 04 Apr 19
       
      Does this really make a difference to the student?
    • barbkfoster
      barbkfoster on 09 Apr 19
       
      I like using rubrics so that it takes the teacher out of the grading. I like that communication is clear without bias.
  • When instructors plan on grading
    • Deborah Cleveland
      Deborah Cleveland on 04 Apr 19
       
      By giving students the langugage to talk about thinking we open the door to them reflecting on their thinking and eventually refining it.
  • , rubrics cannot be the sole response to a student’s paper; sound pedagogy would dictate that
    • Deborah Cleveland
      Deborah Cleveland on 04 Apr 19
       
      A writing assignment that is part of an authentic learning opportunity that the student chose to participate in might decrease the emphasis on simply meeting the criteria of a rubruc.
  • sions differently if you feel that one dimension is more important than another. There are two ways in which you can express this value judgment: 1. You may give a dimension more weight by multiplying the point by a number greater than one. For example, if you have four dimensions (content, organization, support, conventions) each rated on a six-point scale, and you wish to emphasis the importance of adequate support, you could multiply the support score by two. 2.
    • Deborah Cleveland
      Deborah Cleveland on 04 Apr 19
       
      I tend to use the "multiply a dimension by 2" method of weighting grades. In writing a particularly like this because it allows you to address things like conventions, but at the same time emphasize orther aspects of writing.
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      I use weight dimensions in History class. I'm not as worried about the writing style, sentence structure etc.... But I'm more concerned with the what they know and if there research is thorough. I still include those things on my rubric, it's just worth less points.
  • The instructor’s comments on papers and tests are done after rather than before the writing, so they cannot serve as guidelines, compromising the value of writing comments at all.”
    • tommuller4
      tommuller4 on 04 Apr 19
       
      This is very important thing to think about. A student can't make changes to something they are doing after it is already turned in. They may think they are following all things on the rubric correctly but teacher may think differently
  • In any case, withholding assessment tools (whether they are rubrics or more nebulous modes of evaluation) from students is not only unfair and makes self-assessment more difficult
    • tommuller4
      tommuller4 on 04 Apr 19
       
      Seems kind of stupid to not give the students the rubric for the assignment when they are working on it. You expect them to turn in something worth while without knowing what you want from them.
  • hose students who had been natural writers, those students who had “stylistic voices full of humor and surprises, produced less interesting essays when they followed the rules [as outlined in a rubric]
    • tommuller4
      tommuller4 on 04 Apr 19
       
      I can see this being true across the board. Lots of time when I start a project the first thing some of the students ask is "what do I need to do to get an A." They don't care about learning the content. They just make their project geared to meet all requirements on the rubric and don't care about anything else.
    • jennham
      jennham on 08 Apr 19
       
      I hear that comment often. Until our system changes to not be so focused on the grade itself, I totally side with the students. We put so much pressure on kids to achieve and achieve well so that they can apply and receive scholarships, be inducted into NHS, make it into the college of their dreams...I feel we leave them absolutely no room to worry about the learning. Teachers are just as guilty. I can't count the times I have heard, "I don't know why he has a B; there isn't any reason why he shouldn't be getting an A in my class." (This is without me asking why my child has a B instead of an A.) To me that makes the focus on the grade. They never mention what my child is actually learning or not.
  • clear understanding of how rubrics operate can help educators of all levels design rubrics that facilitate, rather than obviate, student learning and teacher improvement.
    • kmolitor
      kmolitor on 04 Apr 19
       
      This is so true. Rubrics should be designed to help teachers facilitate learning so it's more student driven which will improve both student learning and allow teachers to improve.
  • Doing so, many educators argue, increases the likelihood of a quality product.
    • tommuller4
      tommuller4 on 04 Apr 19
       
      I agree you can get a quality product by giving students the rubric up front but I don't think you will get a great product because students tend to not go above and beyond the rubric. They just do enough to meet the criteria for the grade they want. No more and no less.
  • evaluate your rubric
    • kmolitor
      kmolitor on 04 Apr 19
       
      I think it is important to continually evaluate your rubrics or any assessments for that matter. It is important to consider if you are assessing what you want/need to and get feedback from students.
    • sjensen21
      sjensen21 on 04 Apr 19
       
      Stultifying: stunts creativity so that students achieve only what is required. Empowering: clarifies for students and teachers what is expected.
  • no longer appropriate
    • sjensen21
      sjensen21 on 04 Apr 19
       
      "no longer appropriate" is a bit over-stated. Students in Introductory Statistics still need to know these skills. I agree that we do need to focus more on developing statistical thinking, so more performance tasks (and assessment rubrics) are necessary.
  • features known to the student
    • sjensen21
      sjensen21 on 04 Apr 19
       
      Sharing the rubric with students at the beginning of the task holds students accountable and gives transparency to the task expectations.
    • cathy84
      cathy84 on 04 Apr 19
       
      That, for me, was the primary purpose of the rubric. I wished for students to know clearly what this project should show me of their knowledge and skill. It did always frustrate me that they didn't use it more as a resource as they edited and revised their papers.
    • jennham
      jennham on 08 Apr 19
       
      I agree as well. I found them useful as student so that I knew exactly what my teacher/instructor expected. I love them as a teacher as they give the students specific talking points before they start their assignment.
  • ull partners
    • sjensen21
      sjensen21 on 04 Apr 19
       
      This seems like a big time-waster to me.
  • Build a metarubric
    • sjensen21
      sjensen21 on 04 Apr 19
       
      This is a great checklist for evaluating our own rubrics that we have created.
  • a system which some educators see as stultifying and others see as empowering.
    • cathy84
      cathy84 on 04 Apr 19
       
      Not sure why it would be stultifying (which I looked up to be sure I knew what that meant). I mean, how much enthusiasm would a student have toward an assignment?
    • kimgrissom
      kimgrissom on 06 Apr 19
       
      In some cases, a rubric can be a little too prescriptive and actually curb creativity for students. A more open assignment--for some students--allows for more interpretation or flexibility. I think it really depends on how "tight" the teacher writes the rubric.
    • rhoadsb_
      rhoadsb_ on 14 Apr 19
       
      Rubrics can be empowering yes, but not everything needs a rubric in my opinion.
  • gineering programs
  • Closer to home, our own successful Allied Health programs depend on rubrics to both assess and encourage student learning.
  • rubrics can help the student with self-assessment
    • cathy84
      cathy84 on 04 Apr 19
       
      This was a big goal of mine as a writing teacher
    • mistermohr
      mistermohr on 09 Apr 19
       
      I think this is the biggest benefit of rubrics
  • “In short, explicit performance criteria, along with supporting models of work, make it possible for students to use the attributes of exemplary work to monitor their own performance.
    • cathy84
      cathy84 on 04 Apr 19
       
      I found the models to be very helpful for my students. My only problem is often students create something very close to the model. It often was a conundrum for me.
  • Is the description of criteria judgemental
    • cathy84
      cathy84 on 04 Apr 19
       
      That's a rule I have violated...and I probably knew best practice, but getting so specific in the criteria makes correcting so laborious
    • jennham
      jennham on 08 Apr 19
       
      You are so correct. Now that I have read this information, I know that when I would say "good", I meant, "following current conventions." Most 10-year-olds understand "good". Not so much for the other!
  • rubrics should be non-judgmental:
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      I have a hard time keeping judgement out of rubrics.
    • mistermohr
      mistermohr on 09 Apr 19
       
      this could be a place where submission into an LMS using blind grading can be a huge benefit! I love blind grading...rarely do I need to know who produced the artifact.
  • rubrics are now used similarly by post-secondary educators in all disciplines to assess outcomes in learning situations
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      As we are to assess the pros and cons of rubrics, I would say this is a con to using them. We need colleges to get on board and use them as well, and some are switching over.
  • solving real problems and using statistical reasoning
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      Rubrics are better at assessing real problems and statistical reasoning.
  • student thinking and not just student knowledge
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      Rubrics are better at assessing student thinking.
  • (
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      I do feel that rubrics are more closely connected with real life situations. In the workforce, you will not be given a grade. Instead, they will evaluate your performance.
    • kimgrissom
      kimgrissom on 06 Apr 19
       
      True...but sometimes with a rubric. =) I think of the way even my husband's corporate world annual evaluation tool is written.
  • when rubrics are published in the classroom, students striving to achieve the descriptions at the higher end of the scale in effect guide their own learning.
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      This is what we should all be striving for.
  • as long as each point on the scale is well-defined.
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      When looking at standards based learning it is encouraged to have the same scale number for each department. And sometimes there is disagreement between a 3 pt scale or a 4 point scale.
  • modify or combine existing rubrics; re-word parts of the rubric; drop or change one or more scales of an analytical rubric; omit criteria that are not relevant to the outcome you are measuring; mix and match scales from different rubrics; change the rubric of use at a different grade; add a “no-response” category at the bottom of the scale; divide a holistic rubric into several scales.
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      I surf the internet quite frequently, and use other rubrics ideas as a starter for mine. And then I adapt it to my objectives.
  • Steps in developing a scoring rubric
    • annott
      annott on 06 Apr 19
       
      This could be shared in Professional Learning Communities.
  • However, for the student to successfully use a rubric this way, the criteria must be made clear to them and the jargon used must not only be understandable to the student but also be linked specifically to classroom instructio
    • kimgrissom
      kimgrissom on 06 Apr 19
       
      I think this is really key, especially the part aobut being linked to classroom instruction. I've used rubrics by introducing them at the beginning and then using them to score at the end--and felt like students never looked at them and therefore got very little out of them. The key was when I used the rubric during instruction--as an explanation tool, as a peer reflection and self-assessment tool. We just have to be really deliberate and explicit and pulling it out and using it in instruction if we really want students to use it in their process.
    • jennham
      jennham on 08 Apr 19
       
      I have never used a rubric during instruction, other than to remind them to use it. I am excited to see how it will help them when we use the rubric continuously throughout a project.
    • mistermohr
      mistermohr on 09 Apr 19
       
      For me, I don't know how you do this in early elementary. Reading and comprehending "standard" language is not conducive to young readers. (ie subject/verb agreement)
  • maintains the traditional gap between what the teacher knows and what the student knows.
    • kimgrissom
      kimgrissom on 06 Apr 19
       
      Yes, and some students have more ability to bridge that gap than others. I think this is where we get into equity problems--some students are better equipped (by home life or personality/strength) for school and intellectual processes. In other words, they are more insightful and therefore better "guessers" of what teachers want.
    • jennham
      jennham on 08 Apr 19
       
      You are exactly correct and I could not have said this better.
  • non-traditional, unsuccessful, or under-prepared students, who tend to miss many of the implied expectations of a college instructor, expectations that better prepared, traditional students readily internalize.
    • kimgrissom
      kimgrissom on 06 Apr 19
       
      Yes, exactly! We can even the playing field for students by being explicit in our expectations.
  • Pilot test your rubric or checklist on actual samples of student work.
    • kimgrissom
      kimgrissom on 06 Apr 19
       
      This is a helpful step because one of the downfalls of a rubric is not rewarding something students do well (because it's not on the rubric) or unintentionally rewarding something you don't want students to do.
    • barbkfoster
      barbkfoster on 09 Apr 19
       
      By piloting the rubric, we are able to make sure we are truly assessing what we intend to. These samples could also be shared with students to practice using the rubric (so they can better evaluate their own work).
    • nealjulie
      nealjulie on 08 Apr 19
       
      This is why I like rubrics. It helps guide student learning.
  • “on what students have actually learned rather than what they have been taught,”
    • rhoadsb_
      rhoadsb_ on 14 Apr 19
       
      this is the key to a successful classroom. it is not about what you teach it is about what have the students learned. Or it is not about providing time for student to be active, but what have you taught them that will lead to be active for a lifetime!
    • nealjulie
      nealjulie on 08 Apr 19
       
      This is an interesting quote about knowing what students have actually learned that what we taught. More of a formative assessment. How is the student's learning progressing and what do we need to do to get them there.
    • nealjulie
      nealjulie on 08 Apr 19
       
      This is the tricky part. A well designed rubric that does give the teachers the information that they need to understand what their students have learned.
    • nealjulie
      nealjulie on 08 Apr 19
       
      There is a lot of power in students who self assess themselves.
  • are about their potential to harm students learning.
    • nealjulie
      nealjulie on 08 Apr 19
       
      I'm not sure how a rubric can harm a students learning.
    • nealjulie
      nealjulie on 08 Apr 19
       
      Exactly, it has to be conferring with teachers along the way on their progress.
    • nealjulie
      nealjulie on 08 Apr 19
       
      I like this idea of enlisting the help of students.
    • nealjulie
      nealjulie on 08 Apr 19
       
      I like this idea of a pilot rubric!
    • nealjulie
      nealjulie on 08 Apr 19
       
      These should definitely be a checklist when teachers make their own.
  • “an established custom or rule of procedure.”
    • tmolitor
      tmolitor on 08 Apr 19
       
      It's important to have an established procedure for grading so that the grades remain objective.
    • chriskyhl
      chriskyhl on 10 Apr 19
       
      totally agree and is a large reason have gone to SBL this year. Also have to make sure no gray area in rubric
    • rhoadsb_
      rhoadsb_ on 14 Apr 19
       
      We are moving to SBL as well and it already is making a huge difference in the classroom.
  • consistently and accurately
    • mistermohr
      mistermohr on 09 Apr 19
       
      I feel that the most consistent and accurate rubrics are checklists. I understand rubrics should not be checklists, but I find they need to be checklist-esque to keep them objective.
  • traits, or dimensions, will serve as the basis for judging the student response and should reflect the vital aspects of the assignment
    • whsfieldbio
      whsfieldbio on 10 Apr 19
       
      This is a great reminder. I know I have failed in the past with having too much on a rubric or too little. Being focused on the vital aspects of the assignment will prevent you from assessing parts that are not important. This will also help students know what the criteria is without worrying about the fluff.
  • rubrics that are outside of the students “zone of proximal development” are useless to the students.
    • whsfieldbio
      whsfieldbio on 10 Apr 19
       
      Wow, rubrics are really challenging to create. In the assess this assignment I started off way to high and would not be in a student zone of proximal development. How does a teacher know thijavascript:void(0)s. I am assuming rubrics that are aligned with grade level standards would be appropriate but I now feel like i need to take a look at more examples. This could be a Con if the rubric creator does not understand this idea.
  • ubrics, Halden-Sullivan contends, reduce “deep learning” to “checksheets.”
    • whsfieldbio
      whsfieldbio on 10 Apr 19
       
      I once heard a speaker say that "rubrics make cooks and we should strive to make chefs." His statement refered to that fact that students simply follow the recipe to complete the task rather than using their own thinking and knowledge to create a product. I think there are rubrics that can do both, but I can also see that this is a concern.
    • mschutjer
      mschutjer on 27 Apr 19
       
      I think the deep learning should be coming from the teacher more than the student.
  • “performance benchmarks” for the “behavioral objectives” appropriate to each year in the program. E
    • chriskyhl
      chriskyhl on 10 Apr 19
       
      totally agree. Find that really interesting since so much research is on NOT grading behaviors and focusing on the learning itself
    • mrsmeganmorgan
      mrsmeganmorgan on 12 Apr 19
       
      I think I would like to see what are these behavior objectives are. Are they really just skills that students demonstrate?
  • Specific rubrics, on the other hand, are particular to a given assignment—one rubric for a narrative essay, another one for an argumentative essay
    • chriskyhl
      chriskyhl on 10 Apr 19
       
      this is one of the hardest things in SBL or rubric use. They take so much time but have to make sure truly fit an assignment
  • broader and more ambitious
    • kylelehman
      kylelehman on 10 Apr 19
       
      This is so true. The objectives are changing and sometimes they are changing in a way that we don't know how to assess them correctly
  • important assessment tool in “achiev[ing a] new vision of statistics education.
    • kylelehman
      kylelehman on 10 Apr 19
       
      100%. It is the expectation now that all of our assignments and work have some sort of rubric. Now, it doesn't have to be super detailed but the goal is that students know what they are trying to achieve
  • explicitly delineate the qualities of thought that they are looking for
    • kylelehman
      kylelehman on 10 Apr 19
       
      This is key I believe. This is also the #1 problem I see with rubrics today. Instructors need to know every detail of what they are looking for in order to make a rubric work out. With that said, sometimes you think of things late and that makes it hard to get them in the rubric
  • I once gave extra credit
    • kylelehman
      kylelehman on 10 Apr 19
       
      I have seen this happen before as well. The way that I look at it, there needs to be an aspect of the rubric that discusses that pieces of evidence from class need to be included.
  • However, for the student to successfully use a rubric this way, the criteria must be made clear to them and the jargon used must not only be understandable to the student but also be linked specifically to classroom instructio
    • mrsmeganmorgan
      mrsmeganmorgan on 12 Apr 19
       
      Some the best teachers allow students student to assess a sample assignment so they can understand the language of the rubric.
    • mschutjer
      mschutjer on 27 Apr 19
       
      I agree. This is an important step and sometimes I feel like it is missed, by myself as well.
  • a shred of meaningful content she could meet all the requirements of a state writing rubric he posted in his classroom
    • mrsmeganmorgan
      mrsmeganmorgan on 12 Apr 19
       
      This type of student know the system and how to chase points not learning. Rubrics or other grading tools are about giving feedback to the students so they can continue their learning.
  • The argument against using rubrics
    • mrsmeganmorgan
      mrsmeganmorgan on 12 Apr 19
       
      It's interesting that all of the arguments against rubrics are writing examples.
  • Does the rubric encourage students to be independent writers?
  • Can different scorers consistently apply the rubric?
    • mrsmeganmorgan
      mrsmeganmorgan on 12 Apr 19
       
      I think this is a great question. We might need to talk about it more with our teacher teams.
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