Use the “Save” option to bookmark a page. Bookmarking saves a link to the page in your online Diigo library, allowing you to easily access it later.
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Getting Started with Chrome extension - Diigo help - 0 views
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Highlighting can also be accomplished from the context pop-up. After the Chrome extension is installed, whenever you select text on a webpage, the context pop-up will appear, allowing you to accomplish text-related annotation. Highlight Pop-up Menu – After you highlight some text, position your mouse cursor over it and the highlight pop-up menu will appear. The highlight pop-up menu allows you to add notes to, share, or delete the highlight.
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Sticky Note Click the middle icon on the annotation toolbar to add a sticky note to the page. With a sticky note, you can write your thoughts anywhere on a web page.
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ollie1-cohort8: Iowa Online Teaching Standards - 11 views
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6. Incorporates social aspects into the teaching and learning process, creating a community of learners (ITS 6) • Maintains an online social presence that is available, approachable, positive, interactive, and sincere (SREB C.3, Varvel VII.A) • Creates a learning community that encourages collaboration and interaction, including student-teacher, student-student, and student-content (SREB D.2, Varvel VII.B, ITS 6.a) • Sets and models clear expectations for appropriate behavior and proper interaction (SREB D.6, ITS 6.b) • Creates a safe environment, managing conflict (Varvel VII.D, ITS 6.e) • Communicates with students effectively and consistently (SREB D.1, ITS 1.g)
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Assists students with technology used in the course
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With so many tools available, this one could be tricky. The instructor has to have content and pedagogical knowledge, while also being savvy with technology. That can be a tough mix for some.
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Videos are one way to walk participants through some of the technology tool issues. One trick I've learned is to try to be generic in my videos. This way I can reuse them in different courses. I've even shared some with other instructors to use in their courses. I wonder if it would be worthwhile to create some general criteria that technology tutorials need to include and then post them in a community space (Agora?) so that we could swap video tutorials. Hmmm...
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Technology is so important in our classrooms today. I believe that teachers need the TPACK knowledge in order to teach content and technological knowledge.
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It can be difficult to address the myriad of technology issues for a course, but having a working knowledge of the technology used and knowing where to find the answer is key. Also, it is important to stay updated on new technologies so you can be flexible with the changes.
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Selects and understands how to evaluate learning materials
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With so many tools to use available, this is one of the hardest things for me. It's important to remember that the tool just has to "get the job done" sometimes, not necessarily be the flashiest or most current. If it works, use it, right?
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Agreed - I am doing this on a personal computer because I cannot load software to my work laptop that is connected to the state network.
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The criteria seems to be addressing specifically materials (such as online lessons or resources) that you might use in the classroom. Just because a resource is labeled "coolestthingever" doesn't mean it fits within your class. Though it might not be addressing technology, per se, we have to align our tech use with our objectives as well. In this case, not only do we want the tool to get the job done, but also do it in a way that is simple for students (as Barb mentioned... can't be having too fancy tools when you can't install them)
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Has experienced online learning from the perspective of a student
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So important! This is one of the benefits of taking the OLLIE courses. I have already been able to realize some things that I should change, just based on being an online student now instead of the instructor. Great standard.
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I'm going to admit I had a similar experience. I actually interviewed for my job at Heartland thinking it was for technology integration (the positions that Tyler, Marisa, Erica, and Alex have). Then they mentioned it was for online learning. Small problem... I had never taken an online course before. So now, I was "helping lead" agency policy on online learning with no experience whatsoever. I took an online class... an awful one, and learned a few things of what not to do. But taking other online courses has helped me tremendously in being better versed for what makes good online teaching.
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Understands student motivation and uses techniques to engage students
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It seems that choice has a big part to play in this standard. Having lots of tools available with technology helps the instructor to provide this choice.
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I agree having choice increases engagement, however, as this is stated, I would rather have technology increase authentic engagement not compliance.
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Choice does increase engagement and students online need to know that they have choice about how they are learning and what ways they can show what they have learned from the content. Writing may not be everyone's strong suit and videos may fit best for others.
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Continuously uses data to evaluate the accuracy
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Continuously uses data to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of instructional strategies
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I think of this as formative assessment. This seems to be one of the most effective tools we have for student learning.
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In essence, it is. Some people define formative assessment to be all about helping assess the student. This is about self-assessing your work as a teacher (and the teaching that you are doing). The tough part here is gathering data that allows you to evaluate effectively.
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Knows and aligns instruction to the achievement goals of the local agency and the state, such as with the Iowa Core (Varvel I.A, ITS 1.f, ITS 3.a)
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Understands the differences between teaching online and teaching face-to-face
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We want to give students an experience that is even better than face-to-face. In other words, we don't want to given them less or be missing anything they would be getting from face-to-face instruction.
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This is so important!! I get so frustrated with people who say "I teach this face-to-face so I can just put it online" Not everything is appropriate in every venue!
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I agree that not everything can be taught in an online fashion. There are just some areas that need to be face-to-face but yet there are others that can easily be adapted to online teaching. I think about a lot of science courses that would require lab work so that would require some face-to-face time. I took this into consideration when thinking about what course I was going to put together. I really wanted to do something with Team Teaching but I don't think it is really appropriate for an online course but it could be done if thought about for awhile.
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Creates a learning community that encourages collaboration and interaction, including student-teacher, student-student, and student-content
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It is very important that students share what they are learning with both the instructor and each other.
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Yes! building the social interactions (so very important for adult learners) can easily be done in an online format, but must be done with intention!
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I have received several comments from course evaluations that the best part of the course was assignments that allowed them to share their experience with other participants and learn from each other.
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I think students in online classes really like the opportunity to share, but it isn't a given that sharing = meaningful experience. Sometimes, sharing is just posting and others are ignoring it (or replying "I agree!"). Creating activities that elicit good collaborative feedback are challenging to do, but the payoff is that the course is highly meaningful.
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This is one of my favorite aspects about teaching online. I love the team collaboration. As teachers and professionals, we need to learn from each other. No one knows all the answers and what might work for one person might work for others. I am always willing to share new ideas and would hope to instill that on my students that would be taking my class.
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I think this is especially important in online courses. Teachers need to consciously incorporate opportunities for collaboration into any course (online or face-to-face), however it is even more important in online courses. A certain amount of collaboration will always occur in a face-to-face course, even if it is not facilitated by the instructor. However, an online environment places a few more limits on the opportunities for collaboration unless they are incorporated in the course.
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I believe online learning has a lot of potential for effective differentiation. The teacher doesn't have to be the one to deliver all of the instruction. Students can have access to different tasks and resources depending on ability, interests, and work habits.
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Online learning can be leveraged in ways that allow students to access their own resources and their own learning opportunities. However, there is a law of diminishing returns here. If there are too many opportunities or too little guidance and delivery from the instructor, it can become the wild west. Every time we offer this course, many participants comment that the Cool Tools site is so overwhelming. That is in the context of a guided lesson and a guided activity by the teacher, for adults. I can see how K-12 students can easily be wandering without quite a bit of guidance.
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Promotes learning through online collaboration group work that is goal-oriented and focused
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Moodle offers a safe controlled evironment that fosters collaboration with other students. Even when students are working outside the walls of a school they are still can be learning along side others. It is important to embrace that feature.
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This is a good point. It is the "walled garden" approach, allowing you a lot of freedom to learn/explore/collaborate within, but keping you safe from things outside. There are places where you want students to interact with things "outside", but those have to be well thought out.
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• Tailors instruction to meet the different needs of students, including different learning styles, different interests and backgrounds, and students with special needs or whom are language learners
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This is important both both face to face and in an online learning environment. I believe it is easier to provide it online because they can provide so many more resources guided towards their needs and interests.
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It does require the instructor to pay attention to posts and requests, and to do some specific questioning of participants to provide the appropriate resources.
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A well crafted online course can absolutely meet the different needs of students, learning styles, interests, and students with special needs, but it is a lot of front-end work. What's great about the online classroom is that you are aware that your students are connected and being in the connected environment allows for greater flexibility on the fly.
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course evaluation and student feedback data
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As Evan had mentioned before, especially with changing technologies, it is more important than ever to evaluate and continually improve our courses
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We'll look at improving our courses through revision more in Instructional Design (and a bit in Assessment, Feedback, and Evaluation for those who take it as well). This course will help reinforce for us the need to continuously evaluate our use of technology, including the new updates within the tools themselves.
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I've not been in an online environment where I was the sole instructor and desired evaluations and student feedback, but I have sought this information in my face-to-face classes and found it to be extremely valuable.
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Selects and uses technologies appropriate to the content that enhance learning
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The lesson "Introduction to Online Tools" has helped me sift through some of the most popular tools and their primary functions/purposes. For example, one time I was using a wiki in a course...when a discussion forum would have been much more effective. When i go back and review the purpose of a wiki it became a lot easier to see that I had chosen the wrong tool.
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Maintains an online social presence that is available, approachable, positive, interactive, and sincere (SREB C.3, Varvel VII.A)
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Building rapport with participants is so important. It will prevent participants from falling through the cracks.
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If a participant feels comfortable contacting the instructor for guidance at the beginning of the course, the supportive attitude will continue throughout the course.
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The instructor does need to be available to answer questions and allow flexibility (depending upon the learning group). The instructor should take into consideration the students, their environment, and motivation to learn the new material.
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Another crucial aspect to being an online instructor. You must have an online presence that establishes the rapport that you would typically do in the face-to-face classroom. However, I think norms must be established because being online 24/7 is not a reasonable expectation for the instructor. A set of online office hours might be important or a dedicated time to communicate via a #edchat or something might be a good way to connect with your students.
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Communicates assessment criteria and standards to students, including rubrics for student performances and participation
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Setting clear expecations on assignments and assessments will help you get the evidence of learning that you need and also help ensure student success.
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I agree that having clear expectations is key to student success. We have always posted a detailed syllabus but found students still had a lot of questions - so, we added a webinar in the first week of the course that explains the course policies and requirements and always time for questions and concerns. This webinar has been very well accepted and has reduced the value of individual questions.
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Shannon, I like your example here. This is a good illustration of how it takes multiple approaches and some customizing by the teacher to make things most effective.
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Adheres to, models, and guides ethical behavior, including technological use (ITS 8)
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Including course policies is a good idea. Hopefully, they aren't needed, but in the event that an issue pops up it is good to have course policies to fall back on.
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Agreed, it's better to have developed policies in advance rather than not have a plan to deal with problems if they arise.
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AUP are important for online courses. I think they should be short and sweet and should be easily accessible in case of an issue that needs to be resolved.
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align with course objectives and assessment
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Is knowledgeable and has the ability to use computer programs
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Meets the professional teaching standards established by a state-licensing agency, or has the academic credentials in the field in which he or she is teaching
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6. Incorporates social aspects into the teaching and learning process, creating a community of learners (ITS 6) • Maintains an online social presence that is available, approachable, positive, interactive, and sincere (SREB C.3, Varvel VII.A) • Creates a learning community that encourages collaboration and interaction, including student-teacher, student-student, and student-content (SREB D.2, Varvel VII.B, ITS 6.a) • Sets and models clear expectations for appropriate behavior and proper interaction (SREB D.6, ITS 6.b) • Creates a safe environment, managing conflict (Varvel VII.D, ITS 6.e) • Communicates with students effectively and consistently (SREB D.1, ITS 1.g)
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This is very important early on in the course to assure student success throughout the course. Often the student is so afraid of not meeting course requirement, they just need a little boost of confidence. Once they settle into the routine of the course they gain confidence and can focus on digesting the content and collaborating with others.
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Creates a safe environment, managing conflict - Participants need to feel comfortable competing assignments and commenting back to each other. I have received comments on course evaluations from participants who stress about assignments that ask them to provide suggestions to other students. Shannon Hafner
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Demonstrates growth in technology knowledge and skills in order to stay current with emerging technologies
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This is exciting and frightening since new technologies are developed so frequently it's difficult to stay current.
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Agree. Technology is changing everyday! One thing I have found helpful is to develop a network of a variety of educators with different areas of expertise. We formed a Voxer group. They are my "go-to group" when I have questions about tools, their use, new advancements, etc... Twitter is also a good source to stay current. (Kathy Perret)
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Iowa Teaching Standards
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Provides and communicates evidence of learning
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Online learning must include ways to communicate and learn with and from others (just as this DIIGO assignment is asking us to do!)
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This is an important point. As the points above mention the importance of data in evaluating courses and instructional strategies, this provides evidence (data) of student learning. This data demonstrates the level of learning, which is important for students and can also contribute to the evaluation of instructional strategies implemented within the course.
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Designs the structure of the course and the presentation of the content to best enhance student learning
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Networks with others involved in online education for the purpose of professional growth
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Networking is a critical component of any online learning - whether it be a formal course or being a connected educator through tools like Twitter, Blogs, Voxer, etc... Learning needs to be dimensional and collaborative! (Kathy Perret)
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My ISU cohort has been an essential part of my learning during my Master's program. I believe that a cohort has been the best way for me to go through my master's program because I developed relationships with individuals from across the state and nation. These individuals have supported and challenged my thinking.
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Demonstrates techniques for dealing with issues arising from inappropriate student technological use
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It is important to build skill not only to work with willing learners, but learners who push the limits. Effective online learning utilizes effective classroom management practices. (Kathy Perret)
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This is something I had not really thought about. How to deal with inappropriate technology use. I look forward to learning how to deal with these situations.
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These situations are a part of my everyday job. We have an AUP but making sure students, teachers, and staff are following through with these expectations is difficult at times. Appropriate consequences for the behavior are also important.
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Provides substantive, timely, and constructive feedback to students
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Timely feedback is an essential part of online (and face-to-face) learning. (Kathy Perret)
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Providing descriptive, timely feedback is a necessity in any course. Learning is limited without feedback. Relevant feedback promotes more learning from a task and helps to limit misunderstanding of content and/or the expectations of the teacher.
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and understands how to teach the content to students
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The "and" is extremely important here. Both understanding the content and being able to deliver it in a way that is understandable to student is essential for any course.
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I believe that this has the biggest impact on student learning. Instructors (whether online, face-to-face, or some other hybrid) must understand effective instructional practices or students will not learn the material. Content knowledge is obviously important, but it does not result in student learning without a solid understanding of best practices in instruction.
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Identifies and communicates learning outcomes and expectations through a course overview/orientation
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Demonstrates competence in content knowledge (including technological knowledge) appropriate to the instructional position
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multiple learning needs
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Applies research, knowledge, and skills
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privacy
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assessment
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multiple assessment instruments
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s ability to enhanc
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I shared this annotation because having been a student in online courses since high school, I've found this learning standard is often overlooked. The community aspect is crucial to making everyone feel a part of the learning environment and for keeping students engaged in the learning process. I've had professors/instructors who maintained little online social presence and consequently, I felt disengaged and disjointed from the course. On the other hand, I've had professors/instructors who were deliberate in attaining this learning standard and the end result was much more positive.
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ollie1 (Peterman): Iowa Online Teaching Standards - 40 views
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Has experienced online learning from the perspective of a student
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I feel that this is essential for any teacher of an online course. Just as a classroom teacher has at some point been a student in a classroom, so should a teacher of an online course have been an online student. It is an imperative experience that provides empathy and understanding that would otherwise be absent
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I agree with this comment. While I think it is possible to be successful teaching in an environment one has not experienced personally, having that experience makes it easier and more likely. As I take the first steps in designing an online course, I think about how I would experience certain elements if I were the student and am able to draw on personal experience.
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absolutely! It is very important to me to be able to do what I ask my students to do. If I don't know what they are doing, it is my hope they can teach, or at least show, me how they did what they did.
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I agree. I think this applies to all teaching, not only online teaching. Whenever I assign a new project to my students, I like to go through the assignment myself so I can be ready for questions or make adjustments to avoid confusion or frustration for my students.
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The experience of being an on-line learners helps me as an on-line teacher be more sensitive not only to learning to content but also the stress new on-line learners go through. Am I doing this right? Where do I find this? Learning to "routines & procedures" in the on-line classroom can be stressful!
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Meets the professional teaching standards established by a state-licensing agency, or has the academic credentials in the field in which he or she is teaching
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My concern here is with the word "or." My opinion is that the correct word should be "and." Although I believe that it is of utmost importance that an instructor have academic credentials in the field in which he or she is teaching, I also perceive it to be just as important that he or she meet the professional teaching standards established.
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Has knowledge of learning theory appropriate to online learning, which may include (but is not limited to) age and ability level, multiple intelligences, didactic conversation, student developmental influences, constructivism, behaviorism, cognitivism, connectivism, and group theory
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Creates or selects multiple assessment instruments that are appropriate for online learning (SREB H.1, Varvel VI.C)
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I agree that administering varying types of assessments is important to ensuring that students who learn and communicate in different ways will have an opportunity to demonstrate what they know. Some might be most successful in responding to direct, objective test questions, while others might be more effective in writing essays. Multiple types of assessments can also reveal the depth of knowledge of any one student, regardless of learning and communication style.
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Understands and uses course content that complies with intellectual property rights and fair use, and assists students in complying as well
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I am curious to learn about complying with intellectual property rights online. While copyright law allows for "fair use" for educational purposes, online courses seem especially suited to drawing material from other parts of the Internet. At what point might a teacher cross from "fair use" into a violation of someone's intellectual property rights?
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I am intrigued by this thought. the term "fair use" seems vague and undefined. I agree that online courses do seem particularly suited to drawing material from the internet. Perhaps examples of acceptable use vs. unacceptable use would be helpful.
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This is a great question. I don't feel I fully understand "fair use" when it comes to using material from the internet for courses.
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I intended to highlight this as well. Perhaps since it is already highlighted I am unable to do so as well. Fair use issues and proper citing of sources is probably something many of us need an update on. Especially now that our content will be online for people to see and perhaps even borrow in their courses, we need to be sure we are legal in what we share and use.
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Networks with others involved in online education for the purpose of professional growth
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I think networking provides great opportunities in all field for learning. Sharing real experiences are some of the best "professional development" I have attended. Just attended the science TIC; wonderful experience of teachers sharing with teachers.
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You are correct. Networking is the best way to learn. It isn't always easy finding time to get together face 2 face but technology is enhancing our collaboration across the state in order to learn from each other
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Understands student motivation and uses techniques to engage students
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content knowledge (including technological knowledge
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great connection to Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) ...attempts to identify the nature of knowledge required by teachers for technology
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Technical knowledge is a hard one for me. I feel like technology changes at such a rapid pace and with not being in a physical classroom I have to rely on myself to further my tech knowledge. That doesn't happen easily.
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Promotes learning through online collaboration group work that is goal-oriented and focused
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• Provides substantive, timely, and constructive feedback to students (SREB D.8, Varvel VI.F, ITS 5.e)
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As a student and as a teacher, I have found getting my assignments graded online as a student and grading them as a teacher is very time consuming. Sometimes I have even wondered if my assignments were graded by my instructors. It takes a lot of time sitting in front of the computer, opening up each student's assignment, and grading it with quality feedback. I have found that online work tends to take a lot longer to grade.
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We are currently using a lot of Google Docs in our classes at Woodbine, and I too have been a bit overwhelmed by the time it takes to grade work. Some resources like Flubaroo are helping me with multiple choice type work but basic writing stuff takes a long time.
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This seems to be a common theme and something that on-line teachers struggle with. Getting timely feedback as a student is important so new learning is affirmed before I move on to the next topic. As a teacher it requires allot of time and self discipline to attend to.
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Getting feedback on student work is key for motivating students to work hard daily. Google Classroom has made a big difference in face-to-face classes and I believe it could also make a different in online classes. If the assessment is a paper, then the teacher can give feedback daily or every few days instead of just grading the paper at the end when it is due. This feedback would allow for students to know if they are on the right track as they are working on it.
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• Selects and uses technologies appropriate to the content that enhance learning (SREB M.3, Varvel IV.D, ITS 3.e, ITS 4.f)
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• Has knowledge of and informs student of their rights to privacy and the conditions under which their work may be shared with others (SREB E.8, Varvel I.D)
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Course evaluations have been interesting to me in the past. If they are not well designed they can create a forum for feedback that is not as "helpful" as you'd hope. Putting a lot of thought into the feedback you are seeking and then asking about those things in particular with carefully worded questions might help a person avoid "extra input" that sometimes is not as helpful. (I've had students use them as a place to judge and criticize. That CAN be helpful, but it is often not the type of feedback that leads to creating change for the overall good of the course.)
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• Utilizes a course evaluation and student feedback data to improve the course (Varvel VI.F)
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Be careful as to the questions used for bringing in feedback and think hard about whether to make it anonymous or not as well. Open ended feedback from anonymous posters is sometimes not as helpful as you'd hope it to be. :)
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My experience is that course evaluations for online or traditional AEA courses are often not completed. Those that are posted often do not have enough detail to help guide changes. We have tried to send out a separate SurveyMonkey and don't get a good response there either. Would be concerned re: how this criteria would be evaluated. AND, I would love to know how to encourage more course feedbackk!
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When this was trialed in my last course, I found the pre-course evaluation fairly straight forward. The co-teacher and myself had to revise the post-course evaluation a few times as we walked through the course to ask questions that provided us with usable information.
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Incorporates social aspects into the teaching and learning process
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Collaboration is key to a successful online course. It is not enough to read content and complete assessments. A student needs to be actively involved in the learning process. This is where discussion forums become important as do the activities that you are directly involved with during the class. Reflecting and responding increase the social aspects and allow for learning to go beyond the content provided. - Cari Teske
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Is knowledgeable and has the ability to use computer programs required in online education to improve learning and teaching, including course management software (CMS) and synchronous/asynchronous communication tools (chat, email, web 2.0, videoconferencing, webinar, whiteboard, etc.) (SREB B.3
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• Creates a learning community that encourages collaboration and interaction, including student-teacher, student-student, and student-content (SREB D.2, Varvel VII.B, ITS 6.a)
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Tailors instruction to meet the different needs of students, including different learning styles, different interests and backgrounds, and students with special needs or whom are language learners (SREB C.7, Varvel V.H, ITS 4.c)
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Demonstrates growth in technology knowledge and skills in order to stay current with emerging technologies (SREB B.5)
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Very important for all instructors on either side of the screen. Keep current on new research by reading, taking classes, collaborating and networking.
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Online instruction is more than just putting print up on a website (the online version of worksheets perhaps!)--one must strive to learn all aspects of the technology and use it to be an effective online instructor.
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Knows the content of the subject to be taught and understands how to teach the content to students (SREB A.3, Varvel II.A, ITS 2.a)
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Identifies and communicates learning outcomes and expectations through a course overview/orientation
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Understands the differences between teaching online and teaching face-to-face (SREB C.1, Varvel V)
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There is a HUGE difference between face-to-face and online learning/teaching.
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Very true. Also, between blended and those mentioned above. Strategies used need to be developed to provide learning to be at it's optimum.
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I feel there is a definite challenge that is larger barrier than teaching face-to face. You must get your thought across without that personal face-to-face and not loosing anything in the interpretation. you must also feel as though you have your message getting across ....quite a challenge.
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I agree that there is a huge difference between online and face-to-face teaching. I also believe that some people think it's "easier" to teach online and takes less time. Actually I think it takes more time!
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• Demonstrates techniques for dealing with issues arising from inappropriate student technological use (SREB E.7)
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Students believe that copying and pasting from several sites alleviates the worry of plagiarism while never translating the material into their own words. In addition, sometimes students have the false idea that posts are anonymous unaware that what is said online remains. And edits and deletions may be impossible. With this comes responsibility.
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This is a huge concern in our building since going 1:1. Students don't understand that they can't copy and paste something word for word from the Internet. I have had students simply change one or two words and think they can all it their own.
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Demonstrates techniques for dealing with issues arising from inappropriate student technological use (SREB E.7)
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• Understands and uses data from assessments to guide instruction (SREB J, ITS 5.c)
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https://diigo.com/08anyu I have found assessment data to be very valuable in seeing if what you are teaching matches the goals of the course. Data often show gaps in instruction. It also indicates areas that may need to covered in more detail.
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Creates a safe environment, managing conflict (Varvel VII.D, ITS 6.e)
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https://diigo.com/08anyu I have found that dealing with the problem before it escalates usually is the best approach. If a student is having a problem, talking with the student in a normal calm voice can beneficial. Sometimes, things just blow up and then the main goal is to keep the students safe.
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• Applies research, knowledge, and skills from professional growth to improve practice (SREB C.8, ITS 7.c)
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Knows the content of the subject to be taught and understands how to teach the content to students
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Selects and uses technologies appropriate to the content that enhance learning
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I believe that the content being learned must be the focus and not the technology being used. The technology should only be a tool that enhances student learning.
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Good comment! Even with students that we work with face 2 face.... technology should not be a subject or an objective but it should be used to enhance their learning with core curriculum.
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presentation of the conte
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Understands and uses data from assessments to guide instruction
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Teaching is all about constantly tweaking the material to meet the students' needs. What worked a year ago may not work at all with the current students.
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Yes, reflection is always good. But, often times it needs to happen during the course. As instructors we often assume that others will be able to follow along with the instruction. When that is not the case, material needs to be retaught. In a face-to-face classroom, one can observe the students. In an online class, it may be more difficult to see and the method of gathering understanding from participants may take a different approach.
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I find it very helpful to document immediately following a lesson with a student before going on to the next. It helps keep data clear and immediate.
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Establishes standards for student behavior that are designed to ensure academic integrity and appropriate use of the internet and written communication
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Some students are under the mistaken impression that copying and pasting from several different websites and compiling this info is NOT plagiarism. Translating into their own words hasn't been done and yet they don't understand that they are stealing content. We, as educators, must establish the guidelines for writing with integrity.
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Maintains an online social presence that is available, approachable, positive, interactive, and sincere
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Demonstrates effective instructional strategies and techniques, appropriate for online education, that align with course objectives and assessment
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The details in this criteria include 2 items that are recognized as cornerstones of good teaching and likely share common definitions-overviews & reviews and patterns in lesson sequencing. "Appropriate visual web design techniques" on the other hand does not have a widely held definition. Where will this come from? How can online instructors keep up with what are appropriate techniques?
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Understands student motivation and uses techniques to engage students (Varvel V.D, ITS 4.d)
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Assists students with technology used in the course (Varvel III.C)
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Knows and aligns instruction
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instructional strategies
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planning, designing,
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When starting an online class is important to design it with the end in mind. What do you want students to know by participating in this course? Planning and designing how to get to those goals is critical. It can often be difficult for instructors to 'unlearn' what they are already know. In a regular classroom they pick up clues by observing the students as to whether they understand the content. That is much harder to do in an online environment. Therefore, it is important to carefully review your course throughout the planning and designing stage in order to deliver a clear message of instruction.
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Communicates assessment criteria and standards to students, including rubrics for student performances and participation (Varvel VI.D, ITS 5.b)
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As a yearbook advisor, I've always taught students that you can mention film, media, music, games, etc. and you can use portions of lyrics but not whole songs or poems. Attribution is important, but doesn't necessarily let you use whatever you want. If kids want to use pictures in our book from Facebook or Instagram, I make them ASK permission from the person who took the picture. As an Art teacher, I explain to students that it gets a whole lot messier. No one blinked when Warhol parodied advertising labels or art masterpieces or when Marcel Duchamp recreated the Mona Lisa with a mustache, but Shepherd Fairy was sued by the Associate Press for basing his Hope/Change/Progress posters of Barrack Obama on one of their news photographer's images from a press conference. I encourages students to use Photoshop, Pixler or Google Drawings to create their own graphics and MeMes rather than simply downloading preexisting material, but I don't think I'll ever manage to stop them from looking up pictures on the internet to draw or paint.
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Okay, but don't we also need to have a feel for each individual student's learning styles, cognitive abilities, behaviors & intelligence strengths & deficits? Anyone who's been a classroom teacher for very long can also tell you that every group seems to have a "chemistry" or personality or relational dynamic which is unique too. Every year I've had to adjust because of how groups get a long or work together or respond best to. I would like to know if the social/group dynamics play as much of a role in online teaching if any. Is it like classroom teaching, something that you gain instincts about through experience? It there just as much art and science to teaching with moodle or in a chat room as in an actual school?
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Designs the structure of the course and the presentation of the content to best enhance student learning, including using unit/lesson overviews and reviews, using patterns in lesson sequencing, and using appropriate visual web design techniques (SREB C.14, Varvel V.F)
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I agree to be the best teacher you have to experience the lesson from the students perspective. Having been on both sides give the educator a much better understanding of how things should be taught.
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Implementation in a Secondary Classroom (Articles) - 0 views
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When you give students choice, it opens up a lot of avenues. When they are given the option to decide what they’re going to do, whatever the product is, it’s theirs—giving them ownership and responsibility for their own learning.”
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This flipped learning setup frees up my students to use classtime to practice their skills. For instance, they might annotate a short story or poem in Google Docs or take part in a Socratic seminar. During our unit on research into social justice issues, students receive a digital review of the research process and choose their learning activities based on their needs. Some may meet with me to review how to embed quotes while other groups start planning their presentations and still others work idependently on gathering valid research.
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The online presentations lessons definitely need to have something tied to it to make students have to use it - if they know that it will be retaught/played in class, they won't watch it but if they know they have a task tied with the video, will they be more apt to watch it? A fellow teacher found that out that it can't be just what you would say/do in the classroom...:)
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And our classroom is often noisy and active as we play a round of Kahoot, which gives me instant, actionable feedback on what we need to do next, who needs to be pulled into a small group for reteaching and who would be better off in a group that pursues extended learning while I reteach the rest of the class. I also gather formative assessment data through: Discussion threads. Self-grading quizzes, which give students immediate and actionable feedback on their proficiency in specfic skills. Monitoring of their works in progress on Google Docs. Exit tickets, which assess the class’ comfort level with new concepts
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My next goal is to let them “test out” of some activities when they show content mastery.
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Now they have access to the full unit from the beginning, so they can gauge their own pacing and get practice in time management. Completion rules also give me the freedom to have small-group or individual conferences to assess learning and make choices about future instruction.
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For my Spanish classes, this would be an exciting concept for those students that learn the language faster and can work ahead or enhance their communication to a higher level - they would not be "stuck" in a concept they've already mastered & would be able to get to more complicated grammar/sentence structures, become more fluent.
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rofessional development must be stitched into the work routine of teachers, not tacked onto the work day or week” (p. 1)
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It is a messier way to teach, though it takes more organization on the teacher’s part, not less. You really have to be on top of things to allow the students choice since now there is more than one “right” way of doing something in the classroom. And Julie Ison (the team’s mathematics teacher) adds, “You have to have a principal who understands that when he walks into a room and it’s not silent, it’s okay.
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“Giving choice is about empowering students. It makes them feel that they are part of the process, not powerless; that’s the kind of feeling that motivates everyone.”
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Across the board, my students acknowledge that they feel better prepared for college or jobs because of our use of collaborative technology. I feel that I am on this blended learning journey with them, and I truly believe it has made us all more engaged in our work and more focused learners.
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When you want to give students choice, it is often optimal to give them a limited number of options, but be as flexible as possible
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ollie1sweetman: Iowa Online Teaching Standards - 11 views
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Maintains an online social presence
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This phrase always makes me nervous today. I am definately on the side of cautious about how much you interact with students socially online. Even the phrase "online social presence" isn't clear on what that means.
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I agree, every other day there is some hullabaloo about interacting with students or privacy issues. I really wish there was a little more clarity out there about social media and educators.
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Agreed: I've been communicating via Facebook with students for years, and have been using text messages for longer than that. Students don't use emails anymore. But then this fall, we were told that any texts to students need to be also sent to our AD. What a waste of time. And now we're going to set students up with their own gmail accounts??? We need to be giving them a lot more leeway with their cellphones and social networking sites.
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Has experienced online learning from the perspective of a student
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I think we are definatley getting that right now! I love learning more about online tools for students, but I do feel a little overwhelmed about the amount of information and how to use it best in my classroom.
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Agreed, there is a lot of stuff out there to keep track of, but at least as students we don't have to get it perfect. That's one of the up sides of being a student after all.
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I like being in the student's position so I can catch the pitfalls and hangups that will frustrate on-line learners. Hopefully, this will help me make a clear focus and transitions in on-line classes that I build
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Being a student within this course has definitely opened my eyes as to what makes sense and what is difficult to follow...
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Amen Perry! I think Moodle could be an entire coursework of class. I'd like to see our tech offerings to students get more up-to-date than simple word processing. The applications classes should also be more oriented to Google Docs, etc...
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• Is knowledgeable and has the ability to use computer programs required in online education to improve learning and teaching, including course management software (CMS) and synchronous/asynchronous communication tools (chat, email, web 2.0, videoconferencing, webinar, whiteboard, etc.) (SREB B.3, Varvel III.B)
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Demonstrates growth in technology knowledge and skills in order to stay current with emerging technologies (SREB B.5)
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Maintains an online social presence that is available, approachable, positive, interactive, and sincere (SREB C.3, Varvel VII.A)
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Assists students with technology used in the course (Varvel III.C)
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This would be a good opportunity to use recorded screencasts so students can watch it over and over.
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Diigo has a lot of potential. I wish that this was like Zotero and would do a bibliographic citation with my note.
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I like the biliographic citation idea. I also wish the students had options to take courses like this during the academic year.
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Identifies and communicates learning outcomes and expectations through a course overview/orientation
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Has knowledge of learning theory appropriate to online learning, which may include (but is not limited to) age and ability level, multiple intelligences, didactic conversation, student developmental influences, constructivism, behaviorism, cognitivism, connectivism, and group theory
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4. Understands and uses instructional pedagogy that is appropriate for the online environment and meets the multiple learning needs of students (ITS 4)
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I think this whole section is critical! A friend of mine has taken a couple of online classes from a jr. college in another state. While the courses had instructors, they were mostly all automated. The instructor told the students there is nothing she/he can do to effect the grade (all automated online tests) or even help them understand what they did wrong. Just because something can be put online doesn't mean it is good quality learning. A course MUST be designed differently for online.
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Creates a learning community that encourages collaboration and interaction, including student-teacher, student-student, and student-content
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Demonstrates effective instructional strategies and techniques, appropriate for online education, that align with course objectives and assessment (SREB C.1, SREB G.6, Varvel V.C, ITS 3.d, ITS 4.b)
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• Creates or selects multiple assessment instruments that are appropriate for online learning
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Tailors instruction to meet the different needs of students, including different learning styles, different interests and backgrounds, and students with special needs or whom are language learners
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This used to be just the "sped" part of my job, but now we are all expected (rightfully) to differentiate.
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In my experience on-line learning actually makes this part of the job much easier. You can build in visuals, audio, and other instructional strategies and the students can spend as much time on them as they need to
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Demonstrates techniques for dealing with issues arising from inappropriate student technological use (SREB E.7)
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Understands and uses data from assessments to guide instruction
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Selects and uses technologies appropriate to the content that enhance learning
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integrity
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4. Understands and uses instructional pedagogy that is appropriate for the online environment and meets the multiple learning needs of students (ITS 4) •
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• Understands the differences between teaching online and teaching face-to-face (SREB C.1, Varvel V)
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• Understands the differences between teaching online and teaching face-to-face (SREB C.1, Varvel V)
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• Communicates with students effectively and consistently (SREB D.1, ITS 1.g)
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Continuously uses data to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of instructional strategies (SREB J.7, ITS 1.c)
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Networks with others involved in online education for the purpose of professional growth (SREB L.1, ITS 7.b)
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Understands and uses course content that complies with intellectual property rights and fair use, and assists students in complying as well (SREB E.5, Varvel I.B)
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I am trying to post a comment under the "maintains an online social presence...". This is difficult to do considering the situations that can happen when teachers and students communicate together thru various websites... It doesn't take too many days of watching the news to find another incident of inappropriateness between teacher and student.
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Implementation in a Secondary Classroom (Articles) - 2 views
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At the end of the project they can choose how they will present their findings.
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In my classroom, this might be allowing students to choose themes or subjects for their final projects while using the techniques we are studying.
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I find that the possibilities are endless in the English classroom as well. I use RAFTs often where students choose the role of themselves as the writer, their audience, the format of the writing, and the topic, and they excel with this. With English, work is not just organized around a work of literature, it's really much more about what is gained through that exposure to said literature. This really helps makes giving choices possible in this type of environment. It is hard to give much choice when students need to be able to write a research paper in MLA format, however. They do have the opportunity to choose a topic, resources (I give them some, but do not force them to use the ones I provide because they are pretty knowledgeable when it comes to tech resources). The research paper is probably the most difficult unit for students and I think it is because it is so rigid of an assignment. I would love to offer more choice with this, but I am not sure if that would be possible. Choice in my classroom relates to learner interest as well. I always make sure to offer options that appeal to all, whether it is acting out a scene, writing an alternative ending, creating a Facebook account for a character, a podcast, writing a blog, or creating a comic book storyboard.
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It is a messier way to teach, though it takes more organization on the teacher’s part, not less. You really have to be on top of things to allow the students choice since now there is more than one “right” way of doing something in the classroom. And Julie Ison (the team’s mathematics teacher) adds, “You have to have a principal who understands that when he walks into a roo
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This is very true. As I attempt to make sense of this for my classroom, I am realizing the amount of prep work that is involved. I realized I can continue to develop the resources that I make available to students, but I want it to be meaty to begin with.
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I am often overwhelmed by the amount of resources there are for Spanish since there are 20+ Spanish speaking countries. It is often difficult to know where to start since I write my own curriculum.
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This is also true in the special education environment. Each student is working individually on the subject they need assistance with or on an IEP goal area. It is often difficult for people who are not familiar with what we do to see what we are working towards.
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The classroom is more disorganized, with one student working one way, another a different way—you get the picture.
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This quote really spoke to me. This is often what an art room looks like. To a degree it is already personalized, but it can be more personal for the students. That is my goal. It is funny because so many times administrators assume I can do more because I 'just' give my students a project and they work on it all week, so of course I must have all kinds of time. But really the classroom is constantly in motion, I just don't stand at the front and direct all the motion. It really does take an understanding administrator for this to work well.
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This spoke to me as well. Working in an alternative education environment, I may have 10 students working on 10 different classes at any one time. Some may be working on-line while others are working out of a text book. Others may be in the hallway doing some fitness activities and still others curled up in a comfy chair reading a book. I, in the meantime, am usually traveling from student to student providing assistance. There is never a dull moment, that is for sure! And yes, an understanding and supportive administration is KEY!!
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What is normal to the spider is chaos to the fly. That is how I view my job! I love when administration walks in shakes their head and leave!
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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
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This whole quote reminds me of the importance of critique. Implementing this method of teaching really makes critique even more important. It also allows students to learn from each other and explore ideas and techniques even deeper.
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I really like this idea because it allows deeper thought and more meaningful conversations to happen. I can see where this would lead to larger conversations with students and the class as a whole.
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Coach Debbie Camp remembers with a chuckle what most of the kids said—they loved doing it because it was a break from math!
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choices that promote feelings of control, purpose, and competence are likely to be more motivating than choices that do not.
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What if a student doubts his choice to the point of frustration? How can the student be redirected to make a confident choice that will turn into a learning experience? As the teacher, I would be afraid to over-assist a student with choices, if that student is not confident in their learning.
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I agree! I think students need to learn how they work best and to make choices based on that. I think this is hard for some of the students that I work with. It can be difficult when students just are not used to being given choice, then all of a sudden they are asked to choose what is best for them... I think there are some that will struggle(successfully and otherwise) and some will be even resistant to the choices offered, but students will learn how to make choices that best suit them. It just takes time. We cannot just expect them to make the best choices right away. (Alissa Hansen)
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“without deep and flexible understanding of content, teachers are handicapped in the critical task of helping diverse students find points of access to the school curriculum”
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sense
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Not anymore. Now she says, “One of you needs to move. You decide.” It is less stressful to her and focuses the students on what they need to do to regain control.
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I love using this technique when students aren't being productive when sitting together. I'm all about giving students choices and then they learn they have to deal with the consequences of their choices. I've had students ask me if they can leave early. I always tell them, "It's your choice, but be prepared to live with the consequences of not meeting attendance and progress goals."
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I have use the you decide but I really like your answer to students about leaving early. I am going to try it out this year.
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I also use the "it's your choice" technique. It is important for student to take responsibility for their own actions and learn that sometimes the consequences of making that choice is not worth it. Real life learning at its best.
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I use this quite often also. It puts students in control of consequences. It's interesting to hear their reflections when graduation requirements aren't met. Most take responsibility for not attending and getting work done.
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“One of the things I had to learn recently was to let go and allow the kids to experience the consequences of their choices.
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I see this as my biggest struggle in the day-to-day happenings in my classroom. Many of my students have already failed based on the choices they have made in the past. They attend the alternative program as what some may consider a last chance. I feel like I'm not doing my job if I "let go and allow failure." I guess in my eyes, if they fail, I fail. My principal has told me numerous times over the years that there will come a time where you just have to let go.
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Lisa--This is a struggle for me as well. The feeling of "if they fail, I fail" is something very real for educators because we care so deeply about our students.
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I oftentimes feel like we, as educators, care more about our students' education than the student does. It's an uphill battle I face every year...not with all of them, but there are always a few.
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I understand allowing a student to fail, but it seems silly to allow a student to fail a core class because they were unable to problem solve or troubleshoot a technology issue. I think we need to evaluate what it is that we want students to come away with. Also, project based curriculum can often times be lengthy, so I would fear students we allow to fail could loose weeks of learning.
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I have heard the same thing and I really believe that because we take our job so personally- failure is not ok. I always try and focus on the success not the failure. You may have failed the class but you did this this and this right.
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Choices like this honor divergent ways of thinking and, in doing so, help promote strong feelings of competence in students.
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I enjoy seeing students come up with different ways to solve the same problem. For those that struggle, I try to model a few different techniques and then have them pick the technique that makes the most sense to them. Sometimes they come up with something totally different and I'm OK with that.
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I like the idea of having students pick a technique that makes most sense for them and that was modeled because if I see students struggle, it is usually because they just don't know where to start. Not every student will have that innate ability of taking the initiative. I know teaching freshmen that this is an area students really struggle with because they just don't trust themselves and moving forward can be paralytic because of it. (Alissa Hansen)
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Photo Story
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Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses - I usually let students choose how they want to present their information too. Unless I'm trying to teach a specific skill such as how to create a strong power point presentation, where everyone would be required to create one.
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I would love to see the rubric aligned with standards and benchmarks to see how they reach goals through activities and through their culminating project.
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give my students a choice:
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For my 6th graders Spanish speaking country capital unit for example, I have four ways that they can choose from to study for the quiz - two technology based (quizlet.com and a youtube video) and two more paper based - worksheets and flashcards. This works well in case kids don't have internet at home.
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The kids can choose any one of those methods as long as they follow a rubric that I created about what I am looking for.”
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I love it when I have the opportunity to allow students to choose how they will demonstrate their learning. We use one common rubric to suit multiple ways they present their information. I have found, however, that sometimes when students have freedom to choose, some are resistant to it. Some want a specific, step-by-step set of instructions or blanks to "fill in" and having freedom to choose how they present their learning makes some uncomfortable. I find that interesting!
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It is great when students have an opportunity to present in their own ways, but I find my students struggle with it. I give them the opportunity to present their final financial literacy project any way they want, but most of them just wrote me a paper that covered what the rubric asked for. I think students will need as much training as teachers to get used to individualized learning
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Giving choice is about empowering students. It makes them feel that they are part of the process, not powerless; that’s the kind of feeling that motivates everyone.”
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This quote really speaks to me because it holds so much truth! It's amazing how much psychology goes into teaching! That said, choice, motivation and empowerment all go hand-in-hand. Students do so much better when they can own something (well most of the time), and when they have the opportunity to choose how they will represent their understanding to you, it also shows that you as their teacher, trust them to make that decision and I think students respond well to this. Now, sometimes students will take what they perceive as the easier approach, but they learn the consequences pretty quick. And this extends not just to those choices relating to academics, but behavior as well. I work with freshmen, who are still trying to figure out what it means to not be an eighth grader anymore, and I have found that when it comes to discipline, giving them a choice allows them to hold themselves accountable and establishes trust. I have used, "who is going to move to a more productive place in the classroom?" often, and I have not had a situation yet where one of the students didn't make that choice. The system works for toddlers too! (Alissa Hansen)
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One of my favorites is the closer to graduating, usually the closer the student sits to my desk or me. The 1:1 time helps them get done faster.
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I think getting at risk students to trust me as a teacher is the toughest thing I do. I need them to believe that I will move every obstacle I can.
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2. Use the technology you have.
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ound of Kahoot
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This is my favorite discovery by far and students LOVE IT! It is a great way to review content with a program that has gaming qualities and offers a sense of healthy competition. Students can use phones, desktop computers or laptops to gain access to the interactive program and I will say that once you do it once, students will ask for it daily. You can even quiz students using the program and it will compile the data for you so you can enter in scores if you wanted to. I highly recommend it to all educators. It is a valuable resource, and it is free! (Alissa Hansen).
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I love Kahoot too as a whole class assessment. Another great (and free) resource is quizizz. It is similar to Kahoot except that students can go through and take the quiz at their own pace instead of it being a race to see who can answer each question first. It still compiles the data for you, but gives the students a little more privacy.
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in a typical story unit, they can choose between just reading, and reading along as they listen to a story. They can also decide whether to annotate online or on a printed copy. They can take notes on paper or record their thoughts verbally as they analyze the story.
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These choices are awesome! Underlining and writing notes in the margins online is way different than on paper!
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I like these ideas as well. So simple and yet it gives choice to students. I like real, specific ideas to begin the implementation of PL--actually, I feel like I was not as far behind on giving PL a try because I am using strategies such as these. Feels like a postiive boost!
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Choose the best content delivery method.
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I love utilizing technology (freetech4teachers.com is a site I visit often), but I sometimes struggle because there is just so much out there. I do a lot of playing around with different programs and resources before introducing them to students, but I do feel overwhelmed by it all at times and I am sure students feel the same way. I think this is a very important statement because with the wealth of information/tools out there, students should have the opportunity and be able to decide what is going to work best for them and teachers need to make decisions about the best tech tools to get them there. This is easier said than done as every summer I have about 100 new tech ideas to incorporate and feel there is no time to do it all...talk about cognitive overload! (Alissa Hansen)
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skip forward, pause or rewind as needed until they get the lesson.
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Kahoot,
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AP students would each have produced their own 10-page research paper.
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Personally, I'm glad I had to write two 10 page papers on the topic of my choice for AP College English my senior year of high school, since papers of that length were the norm as a Spanish/Art/Education major in college. It was good preparation.
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I agree, we do not want to 'cheat' our students from learning and practicing valuable skills needed for success in college and/or their careers.
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This would be a huge undertaking for some of my students. I wonder what types of supports and assistance is offered to students who need help.
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use their fantasy football stats during class
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encourage you.
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Imagine that you are a student at Tidewater High School, a fictitious comprehensive American high school that is organized into small learning communities.
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This a great resource for developing a personal plan and establishes a useful blueprint so one can see what a truly personalized learning environment would look like for: the student, teacher, administrator and even a parent! This is a resource I am going to use for my personalized plan. I especially like the breakdown from the student's experience, the purpose, what the structure of the class content would look like, assessment, and there is a useful checklist that once could use to assess yourself on implementation. (Alissa Hansen)
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I feel that I am on this blended learning journey with them, and I truly believe it has made us all more engaged in our work and more focused learners.
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Students do not always need to work at their desks. For example, one teacher noticed students were getting restless during independent reading in class. They became more motivated and less fidgety when the teacher allowed them to find a comfortable place to read. Some students chose to remain at their desks, others crawled under the desks, and still others found comfortable places elsewhere. Even simple choices like this can give students a meaningful sense of control.
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Students
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Depending on the unit of study, the students in my 9th and 10th grade English classes are given regular reading days to enjoy the novels they are reading. I love it when they ask to move around the room to get comfortable to read. When they're given the choice of where to read, I agree that it does give them a "meaningful sense of control."
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even in small ways, of their own education.
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The phrase "even in small ways" really caught mu attention. Instead of focusing on what we can't do and can't change, I need to focus on baby steps of implementing change, one step and one student at a time. Over time it will become more natural for the teacher and student to change the traditional roles of schools and really become engaged in learning.
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t is the purposeful design of instruction to combine face-to-face teaching, technology-assisted instruction and collaboration to leverage each student’s learning style and interests for deeper learning. When done right, it meets several of the ISTE Standards for Students and Teachers while leading to a more rigorous, challenging, engaging and thought-provoking curriculum.
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I think some of the hesitation for teachers to work more fully in a PL modeled is the issue of rigor. Are students really challenging themselves? Am I giving them enough guidance and feedback to take their learning to the next level? How will I know for sure?
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I agree, it would be difficult to gauge or measure how rigorous, challenging, and engaging each students' personalized path is for them.
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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. Today I carefully construct my units with specific learning goals that drive the method of delivery and learning activities.
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My students’ input and further pedagogical study helped me refine my lesson planning until I got it right.
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Now they have access to the full unit from the beginning, so they can gauge their own pacing and get practice in time management.
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Certainly, giving choice to students often means that teachers need to allow students to make their own decisions, and it can be difficult to give up this control.
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“We have all these different methods of how kids can present the project,
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‘Okay. Here’s a list of choices. Choose one. As long as you follow the steps in my rubric, you’re fine.’”
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technology failures
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access on their own phones
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Giving students a short list of topics with an option to create their own topic, with the teacher’s approval, often works well.
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When activities require students to work in groups
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A student frustration has been when the group members don't show for class. We've tried to debate speeches and members don't show to prepare or present. It's frustrating for the students.
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I feel that if student interest drives the group dynamics, students won't feel socially pressured to group with their friends.
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This one is tough because we all have to work with different types of people and its a skill that students are lacking. I try and put groups together based on a lot of factors but knowing the students is the key to success
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t combats the dea
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Okay, you’ve done this project. Show us what you’ve learned,’ and there we offer the kids choices. We might say to them, for instance, if you establish a future city on the moon, how would you prevent all these environmental problems on the moon that we have had on earth?
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he screencasts, which I create with Zaption, Screencast-o-matic and Video Ant, are better than PowerPoints because students can hear my voice instead of clicking through a silent slide deck. A
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“Your class is easy. I don’t mean simple — I mean it is easy for me to learn because I can pick assignments that let me do my best work.”
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ollie1: Iowa Online Teaching Standards - 3 views
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Tailors instruction to meet the different needs of students
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The majority of trainings I am involved in are ones that require participants to use some type of technology from low to high tech. Knowing where my participants are starting at is so important to my planning and being able to individualize techniques to meet them where they are comfortable. This is the only way I get buy in and eventual implementation.
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I started using Google Forms a couple years. Since all my trainings revolve around technology I like to get a feel for whether the learner (typically adult) is a technology novice or an early adopter. Have had the full range.
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If I'm in a face-to-face training, I usually start with a five-finger assessment: rate your knowledge of this thing from zero to five, and hold up that many fingers. Just by looking around the room, you get a feel for their comfort level. A Google Form would be a very easy way to do the same thing.
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Understands and uses data from assessments to guide instruction
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I think this would be difficult in a course you set up prior to instruction..how to be flexible and responsive to learning..
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I'm thinking about that too, how would you set up a course that could be responsive to each learner? I was thinking part of the responsiveness might occur with pacing. That if you're skilled at one of the 'assignments' you wouldn't have to spend time on all the tutorials. What I don't understand is how an instructor would change an online course once it is created and students are enrolled...?
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We do an assessment at the beginning of our courses to see where teachers are with the content.
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Provides substantive, timely, and constructive feedback to students
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Challenging if you have a hundred participants. Also requires very clear targets so feedback can be about the LEARNING.
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You have made a good point Kim. I also think from a students perspective if you are taking the class for credit timely feedback is highly important to know if you are matching teacher expectations. I can see how for an instructor this would be very difficult with a hundred participants.
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Assists students with technology used in the course
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Sometimes it's hard for me to remember that I use technology all the time, and many people don't. I have to remember to provide scaffolding for people that are not only learning the content of my course, but are also learning the technology I'm using to deliver the content and assess their learning.
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This is so true. One of the big challenges I am facing this Fall is not only how to provide support to staff on the use of iPad apps, which does lend itself to some online PD, but how do I demo and assist attendees with the divice navigation piece? I don't seem to have the correct tools to do a live demo or recorded demo showing such things as pushing the home button twice, practicing gestures etc..
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This is one I was going to place an annotation on too. If a student gets stuck on the technology that I have embedded in Moodle then I need to be able to be an expert and walk them through it. There is nothing more frustrating than being a student, having questions on not the content but the tools in the course, and a teacher who is unable to assist and send you to someone else.
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You're absolutely right. It's very frustrating to have difficulty using tools that seem to make understanding the content difficult.
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Maintains an online social presence that is available, approachable, positive, interactive, and sincere
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Maintaining an online social presence can be very time consuming, depending on your other job responsibilities.
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I agree with both of you that it's important to keep it manageable. I think facilitating an online class could be a good lesson in time management. I like the idea of online office hours and the ability for your to reach you in multiple ways. I think you need to make a multi-faceted plan and stick to it as a personal commitment to yourself.
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I am currently teaching a fully online course for Morningside right now, and I am finding that I have to force myself to stop and not spend so much time online. Students think they need immediate feedback, and I typically feel as if I need to give that feedback. Noticing I have more to do with this class, work, and family, I just can't be online 2-3 hours every night addressing their questions. I'm learning to set boundaries and making students accountable for deadlines.
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Has experienced online learning from the perspective of a student
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I appreciate so much more the student perspective and it will make me more consious of trying to develop an understandable format to improve their opportunities to learn online.
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If we can empathize with a student, it make the relationship that much stronger...
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I am one that has never taked an online class before this. It is necessary to experience an online class to be able to construct a decent class for others to take online. I am learning so much by doing this.
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Selects and uses technologies appropriate to the content that enhance learning (SREB M.3, Varvel IV.D, ITS 3.e, ITS 4.f)
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I agree with some of the other posts that it's important not to use technology for technology's sake. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should include it. Sometimes I am "wow"ed by a technology and find it tempting to use without thinking about whether it's the most appropriate in a particular case. That's one reason why I hope to gradually learn a wide variety of online tools so I can better determine which tool to use when - and if at all.
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uses techniques to engage students
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We have to remember that technology alone isn't enough to engage students. Just because it has a screen and buttons doesn't mean people will learn.
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Student engagement at a high level will be key in improved student achievement.
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Amen!!!! If students are not engaged in the methods being used to teach them or in the learning process in some way, teaching becomes a mute point!
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uses techniques to engage students
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opportunities that enable student self-assessment and pre-assessment
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I have not mastered this at all, but I do keep trying! So many times I have found that staff participating in trainings I conduct, come with the feeling that they have no background knowledge in what I will be addressing. I view it as my responsibility to help them draw connections between what they are already doing or know how to do and what I will be presenting. Ideally I try to develop a pre assessment the uses their current knowledge and will help them make the connection to what the training will entail. When I succeed at this anxiety levels are lowered and the training goes smoothly and retention seems to be improved.
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Designs the structure of the course and the presentation of the content to best enhance student learning, including using unit/lesson overviews and reviews, using patterns in lesson sequencing, and using appropriate visual web design techniques (SREB C.14, Varvel V.F)
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I think it is very important to keep the technology structured. When you are teaching face-to-face there is usually an agenda, planned breaks, planned activities, etc. Careful considerations need to be taken when structuring an online course too. I am finding with this class a consistent set up helps me feel much more comfortable and I can focus on content and not get held up on the technology.
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Utilizes a course evaluation and student feedback data to improve the course
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This is going to be very important especially in just beginning to teach online classess. Feedback will help improve the course and improve the chances of participants recommending the course to others. Colleagues of mine put together a course, asked for feedback, and learned their quizzes weren't working on every section. Pretty important to know but nobody said anything until they were asked for feedback.
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Creates a learning community that encourages collaboration and interaction, including student-teacher, student-student, and student-content
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Knows the content of the subject to be taught and understands how to teach the content to students
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We can't assume that all teachers have a deep understanding of the content to be taught
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Are you referring to the teachers taking the course or the teacher teaching the course? If a teacher has choosen to teach an online course, I would hope they have a deep understanding of the material/content being taught otherwise they shouldn't be teaching the class.
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Understands the differences between teaching online and teaching face-to-face (SREB C.1, Varvel V)
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I think this standard is particularly essential to teaching online successfully. We have to realize that online learners have different needs than students we are teaching face to face, and our instruction must change accordingly.
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I agree completely! After taking a couple of online courses and then teaching face to face courses, it is a completely different teaching and learning experience.
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Communicates with students effectively and consistently (SREB D.1, ITS 1.g)
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Demonstrates growth in technology knowledge and skills in order to stay current with emerging technologies
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First, if we have students go to a link or a tool that is no longer accessible for some reason, that could be a bit of a problem and would hold the class up. Also, staying up-to-date on new technologies and skills provides many more opportunities to incorporate tools into a course to make the delivery of the content of the course as accessible and appropriate as possible
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Understands and uses course content that complies with intellectual property rights and fair use, and assists students in complying as well
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I think this would be an area that would be easy to find yourself getting into trouble with. We need to give credit where credit is due, and gain permission from owners of sites, materials, etc. before using them. With so much information out there, we want to make sure we have quality information, without trampling on the rights of those who created the material.
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ifferent learning styles, different interests and backgrounds, and
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Learning styles is an interesting concept to be included in teaching standards. Recently I have been studying the research for another class. I have always trained PD considering learning styles and consider myself a "visual" learning, I also have taught Gardner's theory to teachers, however there is little empirical research to support this concept. In fact in our years of Every Child Reads work, they had this listed as a myth to reading strategies! If you want to consider this as a myth, here is a link you might be interested in; www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIv9rz2NTUk
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Link not working. Search Youtube for learning styles a myth and you will find it.
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Maybe rather than referring to the visual, auditory or kinesthetic needs of a learner, they are referring to whether a student learns better by reading material and "digesting" it on their own vs. collaborating with others over the material read; showing they have an understanding of the material by video taping a lesson in their classroom vs. writing a learning log of the lesson: lesson description, what went well, what they would change, what didn't work, etc. Just a thought!
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Demonstrates effective instructional strategies and techniques, appropriate for online education
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Selects and understands how to evaluate learning materials and resources that align with the context and enhance learning
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It is always important to align resources and learning materials with learning goals and choose the things that will enhance learning. I find that it is easy to get caught up in all the cool web 2.0 tools out there and I need to remind myself to focus on the things that will help students meet their learning goals.
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I believe it is so important for a teacher to constantly evaluate the data being collected in their "classroom" - whether it's an assignment or journaling, etc - to evaluate if the instructional strategies that they are using to teach the course are actually helping the students to learn or causing more confusion! It is only by analyzing the data collected from the students in various forms that a teacher can truly know if their methods are helping the students learn and if they are not, by changing those strategies or methods so that the information is more accessible/understandable to the student. Teaching is only truly effective if the students are also learning!
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Identifies and communicates learning outcomes and expectations through a course overview/orientation (Varvel IV.A, ITS 3.b)
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I wish ALL teachers would do this, including middle school and high school teachers!! I feel it is so important to make sure students know what they are going to be learning in a course and the expectations of how they will be learning the material presented. Otherwise, students are going in blind to the reality of what the course is all about and how they will be expected to learn the information.
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You are so right, Andrea. In my learning about formative assessment, I have learned that it is critical that students know what the expectations and the learning goals so that they will know if they are on the right track. It is very difficult for students to self-evaluate if they do not know what the learning goal is.
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Continuously uses data to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of instructional strategies
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A teacher is only teaching if the students are learning! I believe it is so important for a teacher to look at their class data (coursework) to determine if the students are learning or able to learn the material being presented. If all the students or a majority of them are failing, it's probably not the students fault as much as it is the teachers. Teachers need to be open to changing their instructional strategies based on the needs of the students, and if the students are not learning then it's time for a change!!
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• Aligns assessment with course objectives
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Through learning with formative assessent the assessment must be aligned with the course abjectives. It is entirely unfair to assess something that is not a part of the objectives, and students will be quick to point that out. The course objectives must be the guide for all that is done in the class.
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Knows the content of the subject to be taught and understands how to teach the content to students (SREB A.3, Varvel II.A, ITS 2.a)
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The idea that one might start an online course AND learn the content at the same time seems like a recipe for disaster to me! While I consider mystelf a lifelong learner and there are new things to learn all the time, if I had to study conetent to stay one step ahead of my students in an online course AND develop the tools, it would be one daunting task!!
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ollie1: Iowa Online Course Standards - 0 views
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interaction with the content
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Instruction provides students with multiple learning paths
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Providing multiple learning paths is essential if we are to teach for learner differences. Sometimes online learning can be very formulaic.
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Being open to all learning styles will be important when designing an online course....
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Learning how to address the different learning styles through the online format will be the challenge for me.
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The course is easy and logical to navigate
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higher-order thinking, critical-reasoning activities and thinking in increasingly complex ways
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Sufficient learning resources and materials to increase student success are available to students
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I am wondering if there is another word that could be used. I am thinking back to the Cool Tools for Schools site, and others I have encountered as resources, including what I put together and there may a tendency toward too many resources. My online trainings are and will continue to be with adult learners, they respond best to targeted, quality resources that are easy to negotiate and retrieve information from.
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The self-introduction by the instructor is appropriate and available online, and students are likewise asked to introduce themselves to the class.
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The course content and assignments are of sufficient rigor, depth, and breadth to teach the standards being addressed
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I think most of us have a good idea of what this looks like in a face-to-face class. The challenge will be to make sure the activities and assignments provided during this class meet all of the same opportunities. It might be easy to ease up on the rigor because multiple choice type tests are easy to set up and grade automatically in Moodle. A balance needs to be present, esuring that students are engaged in higher order thinking.
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The course structure includes a wide variety of assessment procedures to assess students’ mastery of content.
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Just like in face-to-face classrooms, it is important to use formative assessments as well as summative assessments. These might include forums, quizzes, feedback, etc. Like I mentioned in another annotation, it is important that we don't stick with the easy to grade assessments. Online courses have the potential to have more students than a classroom might be able to hold, but as instructors we owe to our students to make sure we ask questions that probe their thinking more.
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The instructional materials are aligned with the content and module/unit learning objectives, and this alignment is clearly explained to the student.
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Why We Like Diigo - School Computing - 0 views
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While an overall annotation can be helpful when sharing resources, thoughtful comments tied to specific portions of the text are more illuminating. These localized comments also lead to fruitful conversations more often than do summary comments.
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Diigo for Professional Development | Education Is My Life - 0 views
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video,
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it is a research and collaborative research tool on the one hand, and a knowledge-sharing community and social content site on the other.”
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Personal Learning Network:
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collaborate:
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ollie1-cohort7: Iowa Online Teaching Standards - 0 views
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• Maintains an online social presence that is available, approachable, positive, interactive, and sincere (
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From both taking and teaching online classes, I know that this is extremely important. Students want to feel like someone is watching them and cares about what they are doing and contributing to class. If a teacher 'shows up' to class more often and updates class, then students will want to log on to class more often too.
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Yes, Kellie, I agree. Relationship building is so important. Students are much more likely to take creative risks and accept/give feedback when they feel a connection with the instructor and other students.
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• Promotes learning through online collaboration group work that is goal-oriented and focused
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This for me is a big challange when I teach online classes. I want my students to collaborate, but I hate the uncertainty of wondering when my students will log on and complete work. I hate the thought of one student working really hard on group work and then another student coming in at the end and not having an opportunity to complete anything, because the project is already done.
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Something to consider might be building in a number of different timeframes thorughout the unit or class where students need to respond or work collaboratively within their group. This could result in all students working together as opposed to a few. Setting a number of target dates with certain assignments to be complete could reduce the number of students who see an end date posted and wait until the last minute to complete their work.
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However, one thing I have found with my one attempt at providing a course for graduate students at the University is that they are very opposed to such timelines, indicating the reason they signed up for the class is so they can complete things in their own time.
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Personally, I like having some mini due dates built into the course (as I complete my assignments for one of those mini due dates at the eleventh hour). I helps me stay forcused and priortize what needs to be finished by what point.
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iNACOL
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iNACOL = International Association for K-12 Online Learning. Are these standards "universal", or do you think a different set would apply to teaching adults?
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As I read through these standards I thought they would apply universally. I searched for standards related to online learning for adults. I found one resource that has teaching standards for k-12 as well as postsecondary. http://publications.sreb.org/2006/06T02_Standards_Online_Teaching.pdf
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• Identifies and communicates learning outcomes and expectations through a course overview/orientation (Varvel IV.A, ITS 3.b)
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I think it is essential that the learning outcomes, targets, and expectations are clearly explained, stated, and communicated to the online participants. This not only sets the stage for learning, but also provides a roadmap for the work that is to be completed. The online learning environment can feel isolated at times. Knowing the outcomes and expectations can help to put new and experienced students at ease.
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You've made a good point here, Travis. I can feel like you are isolated at times. The roadmap is critcal - especially the big picture, not just the details of the assignments.
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Travis and Deb, Both of you make some good points on providing participant with a roadmap. Knowing what is needed up front along with estimated timeframes can provide participants with a suggested plan on what can be accomplished today, tomorrow, and next week.
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Creates a learning community that encourages collaboration and interaction, including student-teacher, student-student, and student-content (SREB D.2, Varvel VII.B, ITS 6.a
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I think that this will be one of the most important yet challenging parts about facilitating an online course. Insuring that the course is designed to encourage collaboration and interaction in all three of theses areas without making the course cumbersome and overly time consuming could be a challenge. The use of forums and wikis would seem like to two tools that could easily aid in making this possible. However, at times I feel that forums turn into posts that are done due to obligation and become a contrived conversation and interaction.
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I agree completely, Travis. One of the things I loved about my masters program is that it was based primarily in face-to-face classes with some work online. Since we were in the same place at the same time, the learning community really seemed to develop naturally. In an asynchronous course, these opportunities have to be far more explicit (without feeling completely contrived.)
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Tailors instruction to meet the different needs of students, including different learning styles, different interests and backgrounds, and students with special needs or whom are language learners (SREB C.7, Varvel V.H, ITS 4.c)
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Evan has done this with our course by allowing those of us who are not familiar with or have much experience with online teaching with the option of using the template site (BB101). This has allowed me to focus on the process and use of tools rather than worrying about the content of my "course".
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I don't like the "language learners" term. Aren't we all language learners? I assume they mean non-native language.
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Recognizing that our students may have a variety of differnt learning styles should result with instructrion being customized. Evan has tailored our course to provide us with the opportunity to focus on the areas needed (whether it be the course tools for set up and design or the content).
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Networks with others involved in online education for the purpose of professional growth (SREB L.1, ITS 7.b)
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Incorporates social aspects into the teaching and learning process, creating a community of learners
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Understands and uses course content that complies with intellectual property rights and fair use, and assists students in complying as well (SREB E.5, Varvel I.B)
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This is something I did not take as seriously as I should have in the past. I am trying to get up to speed with copyright, fair use, COPPA, etc. There is a lot to wrap your head around and it seems like there's a lot of gray area.
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Unfortunately, I think you'll find that the gray area is only going to get even murkier in the years ahead. Just look at the variety of creative commons licenses available now.
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I agree, there have been videos from youtube that I have embedded into instructional videos that later I was contacted by someone saying it was copywrited materials. Who knew? I feel like the more I get into this, the more I realize I don't know.
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technologies appropriate to the content that enhance learning
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There are literally hundreds of technologies available to online educators. However, the most effective teachers know that you should only rely on "cool tools" when you have a clear instructional objective in mind.
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Yes, Steven, I ageree with your assessment here. It seems like you first have to think to yourself what is that learning target and then match instructional technology to the learning target that helps facilitate the learning.
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Demonstrates techniques for dealing with issues arising from inappropriate student technological use (SREB E.7)
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Administrators need to understand that taking away a student's device or trying to "lock down" a network are NOT the most effective way to deal with inappropriate technology use. Not only does it take away a valuable learning device, especially in 1:1 schools, but it can also create additional hurdles for the students who are using the technologies appropriately.
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This is an interesting point Steven, as an individual who works with students with behavior problems, I can see how there would be a knee-jerk response to just take away the device (I am not currently in any 1:1 schools, so have not see it happen yet). What might be some other alternatives?
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Utilizes a course evaluation and student feedback data to improve the course
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Evaluations and feedback are essential for effective design and delivery of a course. Upon completion of every course I teach a survey is made available for participants to complete (the return is around 80%). Questions presented to the participants are related to the course content, materials, connections to the curriculum and state standards as well as instructors knowledge, organization, support and availability. The information received from the survey will often times result in making some modifications within different unit/modules along with changes in the amount of time spent on a specific topic area. A pre-assessment (survey) is also sent to participants ahead of class to gather information on internet access, technology skills, knowledge of content, grade level and curriculum area. There survey includes an open ended question for other concerns. This has been helpful in gauging the amount of time needed for instruction along with customization towards curricular areas.
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Knows the content of the subject to be taught and understands how to teach the content to students
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Knowledge of the content for instruction is significant. Participants for a course rely upon each of us as experts and look for us to provide the highest level of training possible. The worst impression one can present is the inabilitiy to respond accurately to a question or fumble through the content being delivered. We need to be continuously on alert and checking for changes or updates. I will often spend the night or morning before a class checking websites and links to make sure something hasn't been changed or removed.
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Assists students with technology used in the course
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Technology can be overwhelming to our students and if we are asking them to utilize specific tools we need to be available to provide support as needed. There are a number of databases that are utilized in my courses and teachers sometimes find it difficult to set up teacher accounts, create folders and save content to specific folders. I have already seen the value of creating a short video to walk-through the steps, instead of a phone call or face-to-face meeting. The short video used to demonstrate highlighting and annotations has spark the idea of creating video to set up teacher accounts among other items for certain databases used in my course.
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Kathleen, I agree with you that technology can be overwhelming to students…adult or school age….maybe more for adults. Right now I am teaching the Para Certification class to 42 adults, and I am amazed that some people do not know how to do the basic functions on the computer. But, I am determined that everyone will be successful. Being new to online learning, I can identify, though, with the feelings of inadequacy or panic that my adult students have felt. When taking Ollie: Introduction, I was so appreciative of Mary's patience and help with technology. Now Evan is assisting. The video clips are very helpful. A participant can see, hear, and then do which is multisensory.
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I agree that video clips can be very helpful. My experience in trying to talk my mother through navigating her new iPad over the telephone reminds me of how futile and frustrating for all this can be. Providing a video and screenshots can be extremely helpful in helping to guide people in using technology that is new to them.
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Understands and uses data from assessments to guide instruction
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This statement reminds us that "creating" an online should not mean there is a finished product that does not change with the needs of the students. I know the next time I provide an online class, I hope to utilize more formative assessment measures that better differentiate the instruction based on student need.
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Having taught several online courses as an adjunct instructor for a local university, I found it very difficult to use data from assessments to guide instruction. It was difficult because the courses were all designed (not by me) prior to the start of the course, and students were given access to all discussion topics and assignments when the course began so they could proceed through the requirements at their own pace. Therefore, there was no opportunity for me to let the assessments guide the instruction. This was very difficult for me having come from an elementary classroom where formative assessments guided my instruction on a daily basis! Do you have any thoughts as to how you might utilize more formative assessment measures the next time you teach an online class? I would love to hear your ideas!
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Is knowledgeable and has the ability to use computer programs required in online education to improve learning and teaching, including course management software (CMS) and synchronous/asynchronous communication tools (chat, email, web 2.0, videoconferencing, webinar, whiteboard, etc.)
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This is a statement that will need to be supported by teh institutions doing teh pruchasing of the CMS programs. It seems taht many times an institution with change their software and/or hire new faculty with little to no orientation as to how best to use the program
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I agree with your statements here Julie. The purchasing of a CMS program is a huge investment for an instution. It seems that is order to get the best return on investment instutions should provide ongoing PL opportunities for faculty who are using the CMS. All programs - although somewhat similar - have very nuanced differences. For example, I have worked with both Moodle a little and ANGEL a little more and although they have many of the same features they do have enough differences that it is not always an easy transition.
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Communicates assessment criteria and standards to students, including rubrics for student performances and participation
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It is helpful for students to have an idea of the expectations and how they align with the standards. I have used rubrics several times in my teaching and students, and teachers, appreciate knowing what is expected of them.
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When students can see expectations and where they are in line with the standards, they are more prepared to learn.
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Provides opportunities that enable student self-assessment and pre-assessment within courses
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Has knowledge of and informs student of their rights to privacy and the conditions under which their work may be shared with others
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Provides substantive, timely, and constructive feedback to students
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Timely and constructive feedback to enhance learning has been well documented in educational research for face-to-face instruction. I am finding as a student taking part in online learning, it is critical for me to have feedback to enhance my learning. It is not about the grade. I want to learn. I want to know that I am understanding what is being taught and I can apply that learning.
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Designs the structure of the course and the presentation of the content to best enhance student learning, including using unit/lesson overviews and reviews, using patterns in lesson sequencing, and using appropriate visual web design techniques (SREB C.14, Varvel V.F)
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Designs the structure of the course and the presentation of the content to best enhance student learning, including using unit/lesson overviews and reviews, using patterns in lesson sequencing, and using appropriate visual web design techniques (SREB C.14, Varvel V.F)
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I think this is really interesting becuase I never really thought about how necessary it is to have a basic understanding of web design when one is an online instuctor. I guess it makes sense becuase you have to figure out ways to visually represent content to your audience. It seems as though the best online instuctors wouldn't necessarily be those with the best understanding of threir content, but rather the best understanding of how to communicate that content in an effective, visual manner.
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Has experienced online learning from the perspective of a student
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Knows and aligns instruction to the achievement goals of the local agency and the state, such as with the Iowa Core
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I find this to be one of my biggest challenges this year when working with teachers in mathematics. Several districts still use a curriculum that is not aligned to the Core, and some teachers are torn between aligning their instruction to the Core and teaching each lesson from their curriculum as they have for the past several years.
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Demonstrates effective instructional strategies and techniques, appropriate for online education, that align with course objectives and assessment
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We have had many discussions as AEA consultants about what our Professional Development offerings will look like in the future. Knowing that online course offerings are more than likely coming down the pike for us in the future, being able to demonstrate effective instructional strategies and techniques appropriate for online education will be something that requires a lot of thoughtful planning.
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Understands the differences between teaching online and teaching face-to-face
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At this point in my online learning, as a student going through this class it is very apparent what the differences are between online teaching and face to face. I think that each instructor should be required to take an online class such as this to help guide them in how to be a more effective and helpful instructor.
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ollie-afe-2019: Educational Leadership: The Quest for Quality--article - 6 views
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I thought this quote was interesting. I always believe that having more than one data point helps a teacher see more of a rounded picture of that student. Relying on just one assessment isn't fair to the student. I believe we should look at multiple assessments, formative assessments, check points to help our students grow. JN
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assessor needs to have a clear picture of what achievement he or she intends to measure. I
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Students learn best when they monitor and take responsibility for their own learning
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I really like this idea of having students take responsibility for their own learning, and putting the learning target in language they can understand would definitely help!
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I agree that students do learn best when they take on the responsibility but I also think this is the ideal situation and often does not happen. How do we motivate more students to do this?
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I agree with this, but it seems so foreign to students. I think we need to plan on a lot of modeling to shift the responsibility to them.
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f we don't begin with clear statements of the intended learning—clear and understandable to everyone, including students—we won't end up with sound assessments.
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While this seems like a straightforward idea, in reality, making a learning purpose clear and understandable to everyone - students included - can be difficult. Especially in English, the skill were teaching is not clear cut. CCSS Reading Literature 11-12.6 asks students to "Analyze a case in which grasping a point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant." However, there's no "right" answer to this skill. Student analysis of "what is really meant" could encompass a huge range of ideas. Crafting an assessment and teaching/learning opportunities that clearly delineate "proficient" analysis from "poor" analysis can't always be put into clear and understandable language. How can you quantify the qualitative?
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There is truth in the challenge. But I know I have been guilty of knowing what I was looking for but not clearly communicating it to students. Then they are left to guess...which means they are likely to guess in at least some ways incorrectly. I think the more modeling we do, the more "anchor papers" we provide, the better students achieve our expectations. Putting those expectations into words and examples is its own challenge, but a worthy one.
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It is nice to hear from other high school English teachers about the difficulty of measuring such subjective skills. I always struggled. One strategy I did find helpful was assigning paragraph writing as an assessment and scoring them 1-5, with a 3 being adequate and a 5 outstanding Then we would do several together and discuss what constituted a 3 and the differences between 3-4-5. That did seem to help, and students personalized the challenge of getting at least a 3 to show competency and reaching for outstanding.
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t also helps them assign the appropriate balance of points in relation to the importance of each target as well as the number of items for each assessed target.
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minimizing any bias that might distort estimates of student learning.
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This is where I know as an English teacher, I can get bogged down in the details. All of my writing assignments have an assessment category for "M.U.G.S." as we call them (mechanics, usage, grammar, spelling), but those aren't actively taught and retaught every unit. We just expect students to have a certain level of proficiency at this point. However, that isn't always the case. There are MANY students who have not internalized the "rules" of writing. Their mechanics (punctuation) seems haphazard, grammar atrocious, usage nonexistent, and spelling like they fell asleep on their keyboard. However, a complete lack of those skills might not prevent them from being able to distinguish "what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant." I have to be careful to not allow my internal bias against poor writing ability to distort an accurate estimate of a student's learning and demonstration of the skill.
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When I read through this about minimizing bias it made me think of the old ITBS/ITED tests and a student we had that was new to this country. The student was very bright but he did not perform well on the test because of bias. One example I recall was he had no idea what a fir tree was as where he was from there was no such thing.
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Will the users of the results understand them and see the connection to learning?
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This is also where I struggle. Our department uses the online program Turnitin.com to give students feedback on written assessments and grade almost all work. This is partially to alleviate issues with plagiarism, but mostly because it gives students and teachers a one access point to communicate feedback. The program allows users to submit rubrics that students can see. We've started assessing rough draft using the final rubric so students can see where their work is in the rough draft stage so they know which paper criteria need work. They also can view my feedback on the paper that tells them how to fix what they need to fix. My frustration is when students aren't willing to go back and look at the feedback on the paper or rubric so they know what learning skills they still need to work on. How can we motivate them to look at the results, see the connections, and make the progress in learning?
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That is a great point! How do we motivate kids to go back and look at the feedback and make changes. Many of our kids just want to know what do I need to know to pass the test or assignment and once they pass that's all that matters.
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You have mentioned before that kids always want to know what they have to do in order to get an A or pass...but that's what I want to know when I take a course. I want/need to know what the expected outcomes are. I feel that kids have so many classes, tests, and assignments that if they don't ask those questions or think in that kind of a structured fashion that they will crash and burn. I get that we want them to LEARN and be passionate, but especially in required courses, the passion just isn't always there and the class literally is a box to check off.
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From a formative point of view, decision makers at the classroom assessment level need evidence of where students are on the learning continuum toward each standard
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This is another area where I personally struggle. The time and flexibility needed to be truly responsive is astronomical. I currently teach 4 of the 10 sections of English 10 at Indianola High School. As a class cohort, we try to be within a day or two of each other in content delivery. However, if my students don't get a concept, it's difficult to take a day to reteach since that throws off my alignment with the other teachers. It also means that I would have would have different periods at different places. I'm hoping the flipped and blended learning opportunities will help with the time and organization issues I currently have. If I can break groups up into smaller cohorts based on skill, then use flipped/blended methods for each group, I can (hopefully) accomplish more within the time frame. It makes organization more complicated, but allows more flexibility.
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This is why common formative assessments can be so helpful. If some of your students aren't getting something, it's likely that others aren't either. If you look at the whole team's formative data, it could be that everyone needs to adjust rather than just you.
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And if your class is doing more poorly than another class, you can have conversations about the different instructional practices being used. We all do our best but it's ok to not be the best. Together we can do what is best for our students.
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Do the results provide clear direction for what to do next?
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A grade of D+, on the other hand, may be sufficient to inform a decision about a student's athletic eligibility, but it is not capable of informing the student about the next steps in learning.
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SBL and transitioning from all letter grades is a lengthy process but very beneficial for feedback purposes. MG
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I agree with you about the SBL and how it shows a student exactly what they know or what they need to improve on. A letter grade just give them a percentage of the time they have a correct answer. Doesn't give them any information at what they know or don't know.
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aim for the lowest possible reading level,
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I think this is also interesting because I know there are some tests that do this purposefully to "increase the rigor" of the test. For instance, AP exams notoriously use vocabulary to make the questions harder. This is saying it could be not just separating those who know less about the content, but also those who have different background, cultural knowledge, or just English as a first language. I, too, wonder how the ISASP will do with this.
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Are we challenging our top students and preparing them for their futures when we use low reading levels? Seems to contradict what we are trying to accomplish.
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This is so very important as we are seeing a dramatic increase in student populations that are not fluent in English.
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I have developed a system where I always read math tests out loud. That way students are not missing information due to not understanding the vocabulary.
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Jenn that's an interesting concept of reading the tests outloud....have never thought of doing that in a HS classroom but might help!
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The classroom is also a practical location to give students multiple opportunities to demonstrate what they know and can do, adding to the accuracy of the information available from that level of assessment.
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Most assessments developed beyond the classroom rely largely on selected-response or short-answer formats and are not designed to meet the daily, ongoing information needs of teachers and students.
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Five keys to assessment quality
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To summarize, the 5 keys to assessment quality are: 1. clear purpose 2. clear learning targets 3. sound assessment design 4. effective communication of results 5. student involvement in the assessment process
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Great idea on how to use an annotation tool. I can see this being very beneficial to high school students
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thats a really cool usage! Could see teaching my kids to do this when doing technical reading
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grouping the assessments
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Grouping assessments into levels: ongoing classroom assessment (daily work/observation), periodic interim/benchmark assessment (weekly quizzes/ group work), and annual state/district standardized assessments. I would add summative unit assessments (tests/projects) here also.
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Grouping assessments should give us a better picture of where students are at and help to identify where they need help.
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cannot measure more complex learning targets at the heart of instruction
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Our school district is doing the ISASP this year for the first time. This is a computer based test based on the Iowa Core. I worry how these results will be used to evaluate student mastery of content specific standards. How much effort will students put into the test and are there too many distractors that will bias the results?
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Those are legitimate concerns. On the other hand, what this quote makes me think of regarding the ISASP is that at least the types of questions are not only selected response. So many of the standards in the Core can not be measured by the only multi-choice questions in the previous test.
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Bias can also creep into assessments and erode accurate results.
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descriptive feedback
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We do need to make sure that our feedback is helpful. Telling students "fix this" or "revise this paragraph" doesn't help them learn, the feedback needs to be more specific and point to the learning target.
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I totally agree with giving feedback about why they missed a question or problem. If you just count it wrong the student might now have any idea why they got the question wrong.
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The assessor must begin with a clear picture of why he or she is conducting the assessment.
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I think a lot of times we default to "for a grade" but there are lots of other reasons to consider.
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I think this is very important sentence. I know I don't do the greatest job of outlining learning goals everyday and explaining value in each. It's same thing for test. Are testing because its end of chapter or because you want to assess learning goals from the chapter that were the most important from the chapter and meet the standards for your class.
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I agree Tom, I am not the best at covering learning targets with students. And maybe standards based learning will help focus my lesson designing and improve student learning.
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I think it is very important that we focus on the learning that is taking place within our classrooms and not on grading. Our assessments should be an avenue to strengthen learning and to inform the teacher what they need to do for learning to continue to occur.
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This reminds me of UBD, or working backwards. The teacher knows the outcome first, and then builds the learning and assessments.
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Selecting an assessment method that is incapable of reflecting the intended learning will compromise the accuracy of the results.
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I thought the assessment brainstorming we did at the end of last week with ways to assess face-to-face vs. online was an interesting way to think of all the ways we can assess. I think as teachers we often default to a couple content-specific norms and it would be good to open up to other alternatives on occasion.
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Many years ago I remember assessing my math students at the end of the year with a multiple choice test. None of my tests during the year were multiple choice, but finals were required and it was the most efficient way to get my grades done :( I'm sure it did compromise the accuracy of the results.
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This means that teachers need to write learning targets in terms that students will understand.
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common assessments.
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Teachers have choices in the assessment methods they use
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inform what decisions?
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This has been a large debate that we have been having at our district. We need some sort of feedback roll out that will say how we have managed the data and what the data is and will be used for.
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I think is important part for a teacher after each assessment to use results to maybe modify teaching topics that students performed poorly on. Maybe need an extra day to cover certain topics more in depth if students struggled with it on test or maybe we have a poorly written question on the test causing students to miss points.
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communicated
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This has been another large debate that we have had. We want to make sure that our assessments are given back in a timely manner but we also want to make sure that they have correct and accurate feedback as well as to help the student know what they did well and where to improve and all of that takes time.
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TIME! It's a four-letter word in teaching! The feedback we give students is WAY more important than the grade, and way more time consuming. How do we effectively give the feedback necessary for student growth in a timely manner? I'd love to hear strategies from others here.
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Summative applications
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Periodic interim/benchmark assessments can also serve program evaluation purposes, as well as inform instructional improvement and identify struggling students and the areas in which they struggle.
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Our math department has been looking at the AAIMS tests for Algebra students which could be used as data to support the learning taking place.
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This makes me think of the concept of scaffolding. Which I have used in my classroom when lesson designing. Now I need to do the same thing with assessing. Assess students periodically both formative and summative.
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minimizing any bias that might distort estimates of student learning.
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As teachers we do have to be careful of bias and making assumptions. When I read through this about minimizing bias it made me think of the old ITBS/ITED tests and a student we had that was new to this country. The student was very bright but he did not perform well on the test because of bias. One example I recall was he had no idea what a fir tree was as where he was from there was no such thing.
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I completely understand this. Teaching writing and reading at the secondary level is so very difficult.
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Creating a plan like this for each assessment helps assessors sync what they taught with what they're assessing
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Knowledge targets, which are the facts and concepts we want students to know.
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As our district moves toward standards based grading, understanding our knowledge targets is naturally happening during this process.
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We are working on Power Standards in our buildings. I think this would fit with those too.
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It all goes back to 1) what do we want them to know and 2) how will we know when they know it. We are working hard on choosing power standards. It is a long and exhausting process but a necessary one. Even after power standards are chosen, we need to break them down into learning targets our students can understand.
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students to track their own progress on learning targets
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I have seen this done throughout a unit of student with a Red Light, Yellow Light, Green Light rating for students to self assess their percieved understading of a learning target. This self assessment was revisited frequently and used to drive student to specific learning activities that they needed to work on.
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I think allowing the students to self-assess and set goals is really beneficial. I like the idea of using red light, green light, and yellow light for students to show the teacher their understanding.
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performance assessment or personal communication may be less effective and too time-consuming
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One dilema that teacher face is the factor of time which we all know. I have worked with teacher who have over 200 students in their classes and often default to a selected response assessment item even when a performance based would be more appropriate. It is challenging to assess and provide feedback in timely manner with this many students. This is not an excuse, but a barrier that needs to be explored.
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or making the correct answer obvious
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dependable data generated at every level of assessment.
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I wonder how much professional develoment or preservice teacher training is spent on looking at data to make decisions. There is most likely a range of understanding of what data should be used to design instruction. This is why is it good to have a strong PLC for teachers to work through data and assessment creation (which is really challenging in itself).
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It is amazing to me that data acquisition/analysis and student feedback/scores are largely two separate endeavors. In this day and age, these should be the same step. Without some automation, I don't think this can actually be done. At least not in a meaningful manner.
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track their own progress on learning targets
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I have seen this done throughout a unit of student with a Red Light, Yellow Light, Green Light rating for students to self-assess their perceived understanding of a learning target. This self-assessment was revisited frequently and used to drive student to specific learning activities that they needed to work on.
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if students will be the users of the results because the assessment is formative
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n the past, few educators, policymakers, or parents would have considered questioning the accuracy of these tests.
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Assessment literacy is the foundation for a system that can take advantage of a wider use of multiple measures.
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inform students about their own progress
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clear curriculum maps for each standard, accurate assessment results, effective feedback, and results that point student and teacher clearly to next step
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I believe that this is important because highlights the role feedback plays in the assessment process. I think we often forget feedback.
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I agree, feedback is really important. It also needs to be provided as quickly as possible.
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Feedback is most certainly key for something that can be so subjective like writing, but I also think providing feedback on LOT can also improve students understanding. I know that is something I struggle with - leaving the necessary feedback. There's always a time crunch, and sometime students that assessed well receive little feedback even though they could use it too.
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students can use the results to self-assess and set goals.
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learning targets represented in the assessment into a written test plan that matches the learning targets represented in the curriculum.
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Making decisions that affect individuals and groups of students on the basis of a single measure
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We're betting that the instructional hours sacrificed to testing will return dividends in the form of better instructional decisions and improved high-stakes test scores
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The goal of a balanced assessment system is to ensure that all assessment users have access to the data they want when they need it, which in turn directly serves the effective use of multiple measures.
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From a summative point of view, users at the classroom and periodic assessment levels want evidence of mastery of particular standards; at the annual testing level, decision makers want the percentage of students meeting each standard.
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assessment formatively
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I feel like we could do a better job of formatively assessing students. When students hear the word assessment, they think quiz or test and they get apprehensive. We need to change their mindset and show them how they can use formative assessments (exit tickets, class polls, one-minute papers, etc) to help them take control of their own learning.
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the use of multiple measures does not, by itself, translate into high-quality evidence
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At the level of annual state/district standardized assessments, they involve where and how teachers can improve instruction—next year.
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Who is the decision maker?This will vary. The decision makers might be students and teachers at the classroom level; instructional leaders, learning teams, and teachers at the periodic level; or curriculum and instructional leaders and school and community leaders at the annual testing level.
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or summatively—to feed results into the grade book.
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Effectively planning for the use of multiple measures means providing assessment balance throughout these three levels, meeting student, teacher, and district information needs.
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Reasoning targets, which require students to use their knowledge to reason and problem solve. A reasoning target in math might be to use statistical methods to describe, analyze, and evaluate data. Performance skill targets, which ask students to use knowledge to perform or demonstrate a specific skill, such as reading aloud with fluency. Product targets, which specify that students will create something, such as a personal health-related fitness plan.
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balanced system
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overflow of testing
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Yes. There is a lot of testing these days One of my friends mentioned that between testing and snow days she hadn't "taught" from MLK day to almost President's day. Needless to say she was anxious about how well students wee going to demonstrate learning when they hadn't had much instruction for over a month.
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schools now make decisions about individual students, groups of students, instructional programs, resource allocation, and more.
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We're betting that the instructional hours sacrificed to testing will return dividends in the form of better instructional decisions and improved high-stakes test scores
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about the overall level of students' performance.
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ollie-afe-2018: Article: Attributes from Effective Formative Assessment (CCSSO) - 4 views
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there are a number of formative assessment strategies that can be implemented during classroom instruction
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technology has made access to formative assessments easier (in my opinion) because once they are created.... they are usually there forever
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There are so many strategies that teachers can use to formatively assess. Some can be more informal than others, but they provide great insight into supporting teachers with the planning of their next steps.
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The students must be actively involved in the systematic process intended to improve their learning.
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This can be a challenging concept to teach, especially to high schoolers--- that they need to take part of their own responsibility in learning
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I agree that students do need to take responsibility in their own learning. Many times high school students don't do this, they just do the work asked and it is up to the teacher to do all the work in order for them to learn or understand.
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I have not personally done this, but data notebooks are a great example of this. I have students reflect on scores but I have not asked them to keep a notebook or journal.
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Yes! We struggle so much getting students to self edit their papers. However, it is important for them to review what they have written and improve their skills. The more we can encourage students to do this the better.
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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
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I know that often times teacher build in stepping-stones (formative feedback) to give students feedback on larger writings or projects along the way. What happens when kids don't turn these rough drafts in on time, though?
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That is a great point. Some of my LA teachers "assign" a copy to every student in Google Classroom - this way they can monitor the student work as it is being completed. Many give feedback throughout the process and are able to catch issues and help students to fix them before the rough draft is turned in. Is it perfect - far from it - but students are getting more timely feedback.
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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.
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In this type of classroom culture, students will more likely feel they are collaborators with their teacher and peers in the learning process.
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I worry about creating this type of collaborative culture online... I know there are plenty of tools, but I'm worried it won't "feel" the same.
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In my opinion, a key part of creating this collaborative feel is to make sure students feel like part owners in the process. They need to feel like the learning is something they are doing instead of being done to them. The potential for handing off control in the online class is greater because a student is independent, however the challenge for the teacher is to make sure the student doesn't feel along.
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classroom culture
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This is one of the most important aspects of teaching to me after knowledge of content. Students and staff should feel safe, respect for others, acknowledge and celebrate our diversity, consistency, and honesty. Falsifying test results, assessments with purposeful trick questions, and threats over scores is very disturbing. These things should not happen if the classroom culture matters to the teacher.
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A further benefit of providing feedback to a peer is that it can help deepen the student’s own learning.
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A further benefit of providing feedback to a peer is that it can help deepen the student’s own learning.
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A further benefit of providing feedback to a peer is that it can help deepen the student’s own learning.
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constructive feedback
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Constructive feedback needs to be modeled by the teacher for students to do this successfully. Professional development refreshers and training may need to be provided for teachers to attend.
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I do like that there are many ways to do this now. Google Docs has made this easy with commenting. Of course we can use Diigo to. There are also several voice and video tools to use too.
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I agree that refreshers and training needs to happen for this time of constructive feedback. This would be a great PD for curricular area professional developments.
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It should help the student answer three basic questions: Where am I going? Where am I now? How can I close the gap?
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I appreciate McManus' statement that descriptive feedback should relate to these three questions. Rubrics can also help the student know where they are going. Learning progressions can help the teacher assess where the student is presently. Descriptive feedback can be given frequently to help the student know how to close the gap.
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This is a great way to break down the process. Sometimes with time constraints of classes and the school day it can be tough to do effectively with students. But for the really important "stuff" this is a great process.
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I really appreciate these three basic questions. They can be used for teachers as they look at student work and plan and they can also be used for students in their reflection process.
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It should avoid comparisons with other pupils
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One key feature of this definition is its requirement that formative assessment be regarded as a process rather than a particular kind of assessment.
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I think at first many times formative assessment was looked at as having to have some type of quiz or quizzes during the unit to say that they were given to the students. I think more teachers are now realizing that it is a "process" to help the students learn and understand and not just something the teacher has to give during the unit.
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I agree with Bryan. At first, I believed that formative assessment was referring to quizzes given during a unit to determine a final grade. I now understand that it is a process for teachers and students to reflect on their instruction or work during the learning process. It is a tool that is a more powerful indicator of the learning that is or isn't taking place and allows for adjustments in instruction.
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the teacher listens for the rules or properties in the explanations, and this becomes the focus of her feedback.
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Listening to students or discussing with them is a good way to assess whether a student knows the information, concept or procedure. Formative assessment doesn't always have to be a quiz that is graded, it can be talking to the student and discussing their progress.
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I huge mindshift as a math teacher is that sometimes it's not about actually solving the problem but being able to explain how to solve the problem. When you get into high level math basic computation errors can mess up a whole problem. It the problem were adjusted to explain the process the basic mathematical computations would be eliminated from assessing student understanding.
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I love this. Art standards and instruction is also being focused more on the process rather than solely on the product. Totally different set of values and viewpoints.
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students can work in pairs to review each other’s work to give feedback. 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.
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Peer review using a rubric or guidelines will help in showing both students what is important and that the student that is reviewing isn't just making things up and trying to be critical. Having the teacher model the behavior and show what is acceptable and unacceptable is important because students don't necessarily know how to do this and might not feel their is a safe learning environment.
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This is a great way to use peer review. If the students know the rubric expectations and then can break off into smaller groups to do the more specific peer reviews. Having the teacher go over the rubric first and then modeling what the peer review looks like gives the students a sound foundation.
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nstruction so that necessary instructional adjustments can be made to close the gap between students’ current understanding and the desired goals
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provide opportunities for students to monitor their ongoing progress.
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I have seen teachers use student monitored formative assessments where students will rate their own learning from a 1 -10. One teacher used different colored cups to rate their own learning. Students would put a green cup out if they understand and a red cup if they did not
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I commented on this above. Simply telling the students where they are in the learning process, while important, is not enough. The students need to take ownership of their learning. i used a similar activity Noel, where students rated their learning 1-4 on a google form and i used that data to form small groups the next day. I experienced mixed results as the students eventually just started giving themselves 3s and 4s to avoid small group work.
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I have not done this very well as an educator and appreciate the feedback. The key to me would be would students be truly honest with their self evaluations. Sometimes it seems the kids that struggle the most for me are looking for the easy way out.
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That's interesting, but it makes sense that most students knowing that their rating would mean small work instruction would start claiming they were fine. So, it makes me think that actual checks on the skill itself are needed to really determine understanding.
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I think as teachers we need to use a combination of student self reflection and teacher evidence as our guide for helping students to move forward.
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I still struggle with this element when assessing students. I may giv the may give them a quick exit ticket to see what I need to change but never give them feedback on how they did. In our learning about rubric it might actually help the kids set some personal goals to improve and I need to be better about this. I think it's important that the students be involved in determine what are the appropriate next steps whenever possible.
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instructional goal to students.
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Students should always know the objective of the lesson and why it is important for them to learn it. They cannot monitor their progress if they do not know the goal.
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This is a reason why learning targets are so important and need to be explained and up for students to see in the classroom.
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Agreed to both! Do parents ever see these learning targets? That again would be helpful with communication so that everyone is on the same page.
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One of my favorite things to do in a classroom is ask a student what he/she is learning at that time. You know right away whether a teacher is identifying/posting/reiterating/supporting learning targets if the student can articulate the goals of their learning.
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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.
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Teachers might also discover they forgot a step in their learning progression. Sometimes I think students will have certain background knowledge and then discover they do not.
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A focus in our collaborative teams is to write out learning targets for upcoming cylces, it we could add the element of a matching common formative assessment it would help the teachers see the students learning and the unit or cylce is progressing.
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peers are involved there are many more opportunities to share and receive feedback.
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You have to teach students how to do peer reviews, or they do not work. Sometimes I find students will be immature when reviewing other students work if you do not set up the ground rules.
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Teaching the students the process of doing peer reviews is critical. The students can't do the process if they don't understand the process.
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teachers and students receiving frequent feedback.
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This is so important to provide feedback in any form not only to students but I also feel its important for teachers to use it as feedback for ourselves. In addition, especially with older students, it may be impactful to have students provide you with feedback to the formative assessment - did it work, how could it be modified to make more sense or meet their learning styles, etc.
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Feedback is critical. It doesn't matter whether it is at the k-12 or higher ed. level or even life, feedback helps us to learn and to grow.
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criteria
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I truly feel that this is essential in having students really understand and give them the best chance for proficiency from the start. From the get-go, students need to know what it is they are trying to achieve and perhaps a road map of how they may get there. That road map may not be specific to induce problem-solving and creativity but it will prompt their direct. In addition, I feel it is important to model examples for students that have used the criteria well, not so well and middle ground.
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timely feedback
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I would also include contains academic language that derives from the content area, unit and lesson objectives.
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Timely feedback is important. Too often we as learners have felt frustration if we do not receive feedback in a timely manner. We have to move forward uncertainly in these instances and do not know what the outcome will be moving forward. Most of us have faced this at some point. I often keep that in mind when working with students. If my students were working on a lengthy essay, then I would walk around the room and read a paragraph and provide feedback for each student during every class. Then, they can make adjustments during the writing process versus waiting to provide feedback at the end of the unit. If formative checks are not completed along the way with descriptive feedback, then students can feel frustrated when they think they were on the right track and receive a low score because they did not meet all the expectations of the teacher.
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I see this with teacher now that they give assessments but don't give the results back in a timely fashion. It is detrimental to the student learning and growth.
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I would rewrite the title of this section descriptive and timely feedback. I think it's that important. As Leigh points out, a little bit along the way helps avoid the big logjam at the end of a learning unit. Finding ways to accelerate feedback cycles helps students adjust faster and progress further.
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probably the most important thing in assessment...giving feedback quickly and not weeks down the line.
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So true, this is one of the most important parts to the assessment, if the feedback is not timely, it is not anywhere near as effective!
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provide structure and support so students learn to be reflective of their own work and that of their peers
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constructive feedback to each other,
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I feel like this can be the most challenging for students. They sometimes don't want to feel like they are "judging" or being "judged". It is important for them to realize what constructive criticism is and that is ok to give and receive feedback.
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Teaching students how to provide constructive feedback is essential. We have been working on this with students during substantive conversations taking place. Teachers can provide conversations starters and prompts to assist students when they are first learning how to build on another students idea or to challenge an idea, etc.
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Agree with both of you. It is critical that we teach students how to give constructive feedback. This can be done through teacher modeling of the process along with students practicing how to do it.
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used by teachers and students
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I think this is the most overlooked part of formative assessments. These are of course for the teacher to form instruction moving forward, but the students should use it as well Teaching students to formatively assess their own work is very powerful and discourages 'making the same mistake twice.'
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Agreed. It can and should be used by both teachers and students to reflect on their work.
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I agree we need to use them as teachers and students. Students need to be a part of the assessment process
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I also agree. Formative assessments are powerful tools for both teachers and students to use to improve instruction and learning.
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Agreed to both. Dont' forget that this information (especially in an elementary settying) is perfect to show parents,especially those who want to know specifics.
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a step that is neither too large nor too small
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Differentiated instruction at its best right here! "One size fits all" might work for an initial learning progression, but through formative assessments you might find some are ready to move on to the next progressions while some may need some reteaching, or at least a slower pace through the progressions. Two of our district's guiding questions are "What to do when they don't learn it?" and "What to do when they do learn it?" Unfortunately these two questions and answers might be happening at the same time in your classroom. A good teacher is prepared to do both!
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Nicely stated Shawn. Formative assessments provide a teacher with a real time snapshot of where students are with their learning. Ideally, all students would be at the same place in their learning of a concept or topic. However, experienced teachers know that in reality that rarely happens and adjust their instruction to improve all students' achievement.
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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.
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I really like this definition. I think when someone hears the word assessment that it automatically means they are getting a grade - when in reality it is a check for understanding to adjust teaching/learning.
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I agree that I really like the definition. I think it is something that has meaning, but those that aren't educators can still understand. Sometimes in education we tend to get a little to "fancy" with our definitions and in the end no one knows what it really means.
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My takeaway from this definition is that it is a process used by teachers and students. The only thing I would add to this definition is that formative assessment is something that not only happens during instruction, it should also be happening before and after instruction.
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I really appreciate the words to improve student learning. Isn't that what we are all about. It is not a show where teachers are in front just dictating information for students to regurgitate but to synthesis and hold on to for future use.
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I zeroed in on the word "process." Formative assessment is not a single event or a series of events. it is a process designed to provide feedback and adjust along the way...exactly what a process is.
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The "during instruction" is a huge mindshift for some teachers. Every time the assess the students they get hung up on how much teaching they have given. I give assessments just to see how much further I need to go before the class masters the concept.
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Many aspects of this definition provided me with a clearer vision of a formative assessment. A "process" describes the relationship between teachers and students during instruction. "Provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching" describes the need for teachers to check for understanding and adjust instruction accordingly. Finally, "to improve students' achievement" describes what teachers strive to do daily.
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Learning Progressions: Learning progressions should clearly articulate the sub-goals of the ultimate learning goal.
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accompanied
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Trying to piggyback on a couple of highlights already in this paragraph, communicating the goal and providing criteria. This has been an extreme challenge for me this year switching to standards based grading. I mean it's easy to tell the kids what the standard is, but making them understand what proficient work looks like ahead of time is the challenge. I (and our district) am trying to use rubrics to do this.
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While evidence exists in varying degrees to support the five attributes presented, there is clearly no one best way to carry out formative assessment. The way these attributes are implemented depends on the particular instructional context, the individual teacher, and—perhaps most importantly—the individual students.
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Students should be provided with evidence-based feedback that is linked to the intended instructional outcomes and criteria for success.
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I totally agree with this attribute ... eventually. In my intervention process I make 'awareness' the first step. In other words, I just let the student know their work was wrong, or didn't meet proficiency. This is usually marked with a simple mark, checkmark, x, etc. If the student can then self asses their own mistakes and resubmit work with an explanation of what they did wrong and how they fixed it, I don't intervene any more. If they can't, I begin the formal RTI process, where this statement comes into play heavily.
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Collaboration
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Big educational buzz word, collaboration. But we primarily hear of it in regards to just teacher collaboration (CTT, PLC, etc.) or student collaboration (small groups, peer-evaluation, etc.). For effective formative assessment to work, there needs to be this third layer, teacher-student collaboration, beyond just instruction from the teacher and assessment by the student. The five points in this article should be a must read for all teachers to become more effective!
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Agreed. Students are often left out of the conversation where they could be a part of the instructional design. Student goal setting has a really high effect size, and if they know how they will be measured, they are more likely to move toward those goals.
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realistic examples
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This is a tricky one for me as well. I do this sometimes to make sure students understand what I'm looking for. At times I decide not to as I don't want students to look at a model and think "ok, if it looks just like this then I've done what I need to do". At times I think showing examples can hinder a students creative mindset.
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d make adjustments to instruction accordingly
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I have struggled with the idea of adjusting instruction on the fly or overnight especially when there are 125 kids to adjust for. But, I did appreciate the ideas in the lessons of this week that talked about having a bank of activities, videos, etc. at my fingertips to use just at the right time.
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I agree that sometimes we need to do this...I have actually done this while teaching a digital citizenship lesson when I realized they had no idea what I was talking about and adjusted it right then and there.
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Lisa, one thing to consider is looking at the learning targets a head of time and trying to anticipate the pitfalls students might find themselves in and how you would correct those misconceptions. That way when it comes time for that quick check/daily data, you are able to adjust instruction without throwing out the playbook.
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Making sure that we, as teachers, are constantly adjusting our instruction based on formative assessments, observation, to best meet their student's needs.
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explicit learning progressions
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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.
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I would add that it actually needs to be a school culture for students to become involved in their learning, not just a class culture. I think the annotations to this article about most students do not act responsible for their own learning support this. For students to become partners, they need much practice and opportunities to do so in numerous classes in different formats and structures as described in the first four attributes of assessments. Plus, the affective attributes of a school as described in #5 . .. respect, transparency, appreciation of differences have to also be present for students to feel like partners. That is so hard to get a whole school to exhibit these qualities. But, I submit that one classroom cannot do it on their own.
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I've been thinking a lot about the student's experience throughout the school day in terms of technology. That is, most of the teachers at our school have a Google Classroom, but not all. There are differences between how Classroom is used between teachers. Point being, without a overall school culture, students experience 7 cultures a day when they change classes. In one period, they have the trust and transparency thing going on and then classes change and a student finds themselves in a more restrictive culture of sharing and learning. This is a tough task for teenagers to navigate on a daily basis. We should be mindful of this and aspire to bring our classroom cultures closer together in terms of look and feel.
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I wholeheartedly agree! This can't be something that is taught or used in isolation. Students need to learn the process of being involved in their learning. This is most easier said than done. Students have been conditioned to sit and learn - thinking that the learning just happens from what the teacher is doing in class. This whole process is a mindshift that takes some time to grab hold to be successful.
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Formative assessment is not an adjunct to teaching but, rather, integrated into instruction
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It is promising that teachers are beginning to discuss their formative assessments more frequently in my building, and one teacher asked for resources to assist her in varying the methods of formative assessment she uses. Recently, the importance of formative assessments was emphasized during a Science PD that I attended as well. There should be formative (ungraded) checkpoints along the way to monitor student understanding.
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LOve love love! we need to use assessment to drive further instruction...not just move on because the pacing guide says so. and create goals so the students know what they need to get to
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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.
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Creating an environment of safety and trust is important. The article mentions modeling by the teacher of the behaviors when interacting with students, and this cannot be emphasized enough. Students need reminders and modeling. Protocols for discussions should be in place, and students should be encouraged to interact with peers frequently with these in mind. The more students practice these skills the less time one needs to spend covering these expectations, but reminders are still necessary.
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Agree!! Safety and trust is very important as students are working together. The teacher may want to consider what project(s) they start with during the school year (or semester) to build that collaboration among peers. We can learn so much from each other and that includes the teacher.
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students’ ability to reason in increasingly complex ways
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This jumps out at me. The purpose of scaffolding and modeling along with high rigor for all allow students to reasons increasingly concept text. Let us not forget that teaching is incredibly difficult, and it truly is this that makes it challenging to do it well. But when done well, the results are amazing.
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formative assessment process involve both teachers and students
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Often, teachers use informal data to drive instruction or make quick decisions. I think in the last 10 years there has been much more focus on metacognition. Teachers should and will formulate ideas informally. I think the key is goal setting and kids truly identifying where he/she is and communicate it in some way.
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two stars and a wish
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I like this terminology. Through the years, we would read others writings and give feedback or other activities. I would say give at least 2 positives and one idea for improvement. I think this terminology is excellent! This definitely takes a lot of modeling as this is difficult for many. Modeling with the rubric is a way to explain how to use a rubric. This must be practiced often.
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I have actually planned a lesson with a teacher who used this type of feedback in art with her fifth grade students. It was a great way for students to work together and it gave them a great framework for discussion.
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I like the idea of this strategy two stars and a wish. This allows for some guidance to be utilized while working with other students work.
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involving students in decisions about how to move learning forward are illustrations of students and teachers working together in the teaching and learning process.
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This truly only works in a growth mindset classroom vs. a fixed mindset. For the students or teachers who do things just to get done or just to get the "A", this is tough and often time rushed through. It think it takes a lot of discussions about why we learn. The focus on the learning process and not the final "grade" has to be key. This is much, much harder than it sounds. It goes full circle on how to create the formative and summative assessments. Are we focusing on just the final product or the process? This is hard.
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Learning progressions describe how concepts and skills build in a domain
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Many schools and districts are working on creating unit organizers for instruction based around standards. This piece of that planning is so important. The creation of the progression based around the standard is valuable work for classroom teachers to help develop and plan around learning targets. Another piece of learning progressions though is looking at the work students have done with that standard in the grade level before and also looking ahead to the grade level to come.
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inform instruction and learning during the teaching/learning process
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unequivocal
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sufficient detail for planning instruction
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Both self- and peer-assessment are important for providing students an opportunity to think meta-cognitively about their learning.
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peer-assessment, students analyze each others’ work using guidelines or rubrics and provide descriptive feedback that supports continued improvement.
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they must feel that they are bona fide partners in the learning process
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teachers have the big picture
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In working more with the concept of learning progressions, I think the biggest benefit is the emphasis on the big picture. As I reflect on some projects that didn't work out quite right, I think had I shared more of the big picture, students would have performed better. I could see where they didn't understand how the part related to the whole. As this section discusses, you have to provide other details and goals to support the big picture.
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Agree! The big picture is important for not only the teacher to have, but also the students. When you can provide the big picture with details and goals to support it to students, hopefully the results of the learning will be better.
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Effective formative assessment
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I think there is a significant jump (especially at the HS level) to move from formative assessment to effective formative assessment. Often, it is simply about the grade and not about the learning or responsive instruction.
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I agree with you. I think sometimes teachers seem less willing to carry out more effective formative assessment because it is more work.
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a teacher could identify the “just right gap”
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Learning goals and criteria for success should be clearly identified and communicated to students.
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I think the criteria for success is too often simply the score on the quiz or test. A letter grade or % is not descriptive feedback for most students. As teachers we need to clearly articulate what success means and what the goals are.
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This makes me think of the rubrics and how they could make the student's progress be communicated with them. If you gave an an assessment that has multiple learning targets a rubric might better show them where they did well, and where they could improve on. A percentage grade would not communicated how they did on each "section" of the assessment.
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communicated using language readily understood by students
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particular qualities of student learning with discussion or suggestions about what the student can do to improve.
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but also to increase student scores on significant achievement examinations.
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A further benefit of providing feedback to a peer is that it can help deepen the student’s own learning.
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In this particular lesson, students have been asked to write an opening paragraph to their speech with the success criteria of introducing their topic in a way that engages the audience. The feedback the teacher gives to one student is, “The opening paragraph does not capture the audience’s attention because it does not clearly state what the speech is about. However, the opening sentence of the second paragraph states you
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formative assessment as a way not only to improve student learning, but also to increase student scores on significant achievement examinations.
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teachers and students receiving frequent feedback.
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formative assessment as a way not only to improve student learning, but also to increase student scores on significant achievement examinations.
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"Personalized" vs. "Personal" Learning - 1 views
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but every mechanism we use to measure it is through control and compliance
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This is such a true point. We emphasize wanting to produce independent critical thinkers, but most of our whole educational system is aimed at producing compliant students who have all mastered the same things.
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Do we have a need for students in society that haven't mastered the basics? I just feel we need both worlds. We need a traditional classroom with traditional standards and we need personal learning aspects to benefit the individual.
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As teachers, we think of adding choice or creativity is a simple way to differentiate and personalize learning for students. Yet, we are still in the mindset of assigning grades. How do you grade someone on creativity and innovation?
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I think it is difficult for teachers to offer a more personalized approach to learning when the state demands rigorous and frequent assessments on our students.
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crystalseier: "Yet, we are still in the mindset of assigning grades." I agree 100%. The realm of personalized learning is hindered by the current reality that we have to grade students. I see progress in this area because some schools are going away from class rank and some are even getting rid of GPAs. I think standards-based grading is progress towards being able to have more flexibility in the classroom and not being restricted by grades, both as a teacher and also in the minds of students (and parents!)
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Personalization is often used in the ed-tech community to describe a student moving through a prescribed set of activities at his own pace. The only choice a student gets is what box to check on the screen and how quickly to move through the exercises. For many educators that’s not the true meaning of “personalized learning.”
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This may not be "personalized learning" based on the definition, but I feel this is a common stepping stone for most teachers to move in that direction. I feel it would be very hard to move from traditional teaching to completely PL based on how it is defined.
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I think there can be a place for these tools in a classroom. However, they are definitely not personalized. My first graders use a math program like this. It adjusts instruction based on students' answers. I use it as part of my math stations, but I do not see it as the entire instruction by any means. I also do not see it as personalized learning. Students do not get to choose interest areas. It does not even really allow for solving math problems in unconventional ways. However, I do find it to be a useful resource for a small part of the school day.
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personalization only comes when students have authentic choice over how to tackle a problem. 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.
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This particular section revealed some real fears I thought I didn't have about relinquishing control.
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It seems like technology will be controlling the classroom instead of the teacher.
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When teaching very young students, how can the make an authentic choice to tackle a problem?
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Facilitating opportunities for 'authentic choice' for each student for every concept is an overwhelming thought. Students need to have the skill of being self-motivated.
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I love the idea of personal learning and kids would be more engaged in authentic work. But how do we give them the skills we are still required to teach while allowing this type of environment.
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However, in order to navigate the system of accountability in the U.S. educational system, 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.
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It seems that the older generation is more reluctant to change the way students learn. I feel that a large percentage of people that have been in education for quite awhile want standardized tests, data, etc. That is what they know. Changing to a personal way of learning is going to take many years for everyone to buy into that concept...in my opinion.
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Agreed. I think even the new generation of teachers out there are behind the pace of what students need nowadays because the conventional ways of education have been so slow to change.
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Yes, it's going to be slow change.... I think what complicates this is the rate at which technology changes things. We just can't keep up!
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From what I’ve seen, flipping doesn’t do much for helping kids become better learners in the sense of being able to drive their own education.
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I had a friend that taught HS English/French for over 30 years. She retired last year because she said her school was using more and more technology. Her exact words were "I have no desire to learn all that new technology." My first thought was "that's too bad. Maybe she would have really enjoyed the new changes."
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Her style of learning was having the students read the material at night and discuss the material during class.
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It really is a shame at what some of these teachers that are near retirement age are missing out on. I understand that change is not always fun at first. However, when we see the engagement and joy in the students' eyes with these new and exciting resources we have to offer them, that's when our jobs are most rewarding!
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That can be true, but I know students who feel the opposite. In some foreign language classes, they are being inundated with technology (videos, interactive sites, music), but they hate the courses because they aren't learning anything! No grammar, no sentence structure, no parsing, just parroting sounds pretending technology is giving them an education. Sometimes too many resources can be detrimental.
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Certain forms of technology can be used to support progressive education, but meaningful (and truly personal) learning never requires technology.
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Therefore, if an idea like personalization is presented from the start as entailing software or a screen, we ought to be extremely skeptical about who really benefits.
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It seems we can't do anything without technology. Does anyone think technology has went too far? I struggle with that question.
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I also struggle with that question. Is technology great? Yes. Is technology changing the way we think and teach at times? Yes. Should technology always be the main focus of our teaching/learning. I don't necessarily think so. I feel students need foundation skills (reading from print books, basic mathematics understandings, etc.) before they have the potential to be distracted by technology. Can a child learn to read on an iPad-of course! Can a child learn their numbers on an iPad-of course! But there is something about a child holding a book in their hand and flipping the pages as they are learning to read. There is also something about a child using counters and manipulating them to help them get a better sense of numbers.
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I think we need to think in terms of what works best for the student. I have students that hate getting on computers to do their work and would prefer just to work out of a workbook or have a worksheet with manipulatives. Part of personal learning is letting the students choose how to do the work, at a minimum.
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I agree that we need to think about what works best for each student. Even in preschool we have technology requirements and I have students that could care less if they ever had tablet time. I feel bad trying to force technology on them when the information could be learned a different way.
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I agree with you mogrena. Looking at education through a developmental lens, I do not feel that allowing young children large amounts of technology use is appropriate. Young students need to manipulate objects. It can't be done exclusively with a software program.
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I’m not sure we as a community are spending enough time digging to parse what those words really mean, especially in the context of what deep learning now requires in a connected world.
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In a world where we can explore almost every interest or passion in depth on our own or with others, 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.
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pumps out cookie-cutter students with the same knowledge and skills.
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I found this analogy very intriguing and have never thought of education in this way. However, now that I read this, it totally makes sense to me.
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It's a good thing to keep in mind as teachers, definitely. I have a senior doing her senior thesis on the failings of the Industrialized Education System, and it's hard to argue against her.
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It’s as if engaging them in learning without technology has become this impossible task.
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As educators and the rise of technology, I feel this is typically listed as one of the top 5 ways to engage students today. They are used to technology. However, it is our job to make the content engaging without ALWAYS having technology at our finger tips.
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We will never be able to keep up with the kids' access to latest technologies, so we just embarrass ourselves when we try to impress them with technology. We should focus on teaching them how to use it - kids don't know how to indent papers or format block quotations anymore!
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If we can’t engage our kids in ideas and explorations that require no technology, then we have surely lost our way.
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That strikes me as a crucial point. Why are we embarrassed to say "take your library card to the library and personalize your learning in there for a few hours a day"? Is reading books old fashioned and not "real learning" anymore? Surely with all the brain research coming in about the deleterious effects of starting at screens all day, we can't continue to advocate technology as the only solution for "real" education.
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Finally, it seems like everything is being “flipped” these days
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f the point is to dump a load of facts into children, then it may be necessary to adjust the style and rate of dumping – and to help teachers become more efficient at it.
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But is this not, at least in part, what is actually meant by "education"? Are we saying a third grader does not need to learn multiplication skills or division skills if he'd prefer a personal learning path of video games and potato chips all day? I'm bemused by the embarrassment over the history of human learning as if someone it is wrong for us to pass it on to the next generation. (Would we allow our children to create their own personal eating plan simply because their hearts tell them to seek out ice cream and tootsie rolls instead of vegetables and fruit?) Someone help me understand this, please.
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kids spend much of their time learning with and from one another.
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Some of the best "test answers" I've gotten over the years are from group tests, in which students are wresting collaborative ideas and interactions with the material out of each other in a much more engaged way than they would individually. And surely quality interaction with ideas is the goal? at least one of them?
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Some of my best days in my career have been days when my students are working with partners on a topic and I get to see them helping/teaching each other and fixing each others misconceptions!
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The main objective is just to raise test scores
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But when the Administration and the Board declare this is the only objective (to use the adjective) way we have to measure classroom "success" ... how do teachers counter that? Especially when SAT averages and college acceptance lists are the main selling points on the promotional material?
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Agreed with the premise that there are some serious issues in what counts as "success" in our school systems. Risk taking is fine, encouraged even, as long as the research behind it says it will help scores go up.
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This is a sad truth in teaching today. As a reading interventionist Fast score have a large influence in what I am to be working towards and what is considered success. However, my success is when students are becoming better readers. Good readers is a much larger picture than how fast they read. Are they monitoring their reading, do they understand it? These are skills that matter greatly as well.
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You want to really engage kids? Give them opportunities to learn personally, to create their own texts and courses of study, and to pursue that learning with others in and out of the classroom who share a passion.
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the best thing we can do for kids is empower them to make regular, important, thoughtful decisions about their own learning, what they learn and how they learn it
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new dispositions to take advantage of it for learning.
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The idea of personalized learning is seductive
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Follow the money” is apt advice in many sectors of education
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Personalized learning entails adjusting the difficulty level of prefabricated skills-based exercises based on students’ test scores. It requires the purchase of software from one of those companies that can afford full-page ads in Education Week.
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“Personalized” learning is something that we do to kids; “personal” learning is something they do for themselves.
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As a former special education teacher, I am very familiar with personalized learning. I'm just beginning to learn how personal learning is different.
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I agree, I too have been a special education teacher and feel that all I have done is personalized learning, but am on board with you that I am just learning about personal learning, about how it really includes the student, where my IEP's, although tailored to the student, didn't involve the student in decisions.
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As a reading interventionist I feel we are always giving personalized goals for our students and working towards them. Personal learning sounds exciting but will take a great shift in mindset. How do we allow for personal learning while still meeting kids goals in areas they need support in?
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Big questions, passion, personal interest are what should drive our use of technology, not the other way around.
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I think this is true- so many times it feels like we are using technology just to use technology. We should start with what we want to learn and then decide what technology will work best.
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I think teachers who aren't comfortable or well versed in all the latest technology feel incompetent, which is sad, because we can engage students without technology, but the current drive is to use technology all the time! If you're not using it, you're an old dog that can't learn new tricks.
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Education is about the transmission of bits of information, not the construction of meaning.
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"Learning" through rote memory is not learning. Students must understand the principles behind what they are learning to actually learn.
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A professor of mine in college called this "binge and purge" teaching, where the students "binge" on the content the night before a test, then "purge" it back out for the test, and then it's gone, not thought of again!
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most of the content knowledge that, as we know from experience, never gets applied in real life.
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that all children don’t learn the same way and personalization seems to honor those differences.
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The traditional education system is seen in a very negative light. While personalization helps build students interest in their learning and make their learning efficient, I would argue there is some value in learning to conform or be held to the same standards as peers. This is what they will face in the workplace and throughout life.
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Instead, the common view of personalization focused on giving agency for learning to the student and valuing each individual in a classroom.
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Our kids (and we ourselves) are suddenly walking around with access to the sum of human knowledge in our pockets and connections to literally millions of potential teachers.
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This is very true. Educators in today's world need to teach how to think and process information and skills to create and be critical thinkers instead of rote memorization. This is so much more complex for students and nearly impossible for teachers to teach in the traditional model. Personalization is needed for all students to be successful in the new world environment.
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I agree. We also need to teach students how to best make use of those little computers in their pockets. It's not realistic for them to tune out from their phones during learning. Students need the tools to use that technology to their advantage in order to be successful in the future.
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Digital literacy is a huge component missing from today's education. It is such a vital component to daily life, it needs to be addressed. The amount of time spent on rote memorization of facts that students will not necessarily need to have memorized, could be devoted to teaching evaluating internet resources.
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[10] Personalization is an even more disturbing example of this phenomenon because the word has come to be equated with technology
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When that happens, the structures around the classroom leave little room for the kind of authentic, whole-child personalization many teachers dream of offering.
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free up time for in-class problem-solving and discussion
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The idea of flipping can be a great concept, however, if you are truly giving the student the opportunities they need each student would be in different places in their learning. It seems to be impossible to teach all the different learning possibilities in a flipped classroom if you are going to allow students to learn at their pace or interest.
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