Proposed Online Course Standards
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ollie1 (Peterman): Iowa Online Course Standards - 2 views
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The course content and activities are of sufficient rigor, depth, and breadth to teach the standards being addressed (iN 1.3, QM 5.1, ROI 3.c)
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I'm feeling that this class is very rigorous, tons of digging to do to learn the content. However, that opinion may be based on the fact I'm learning the vocabulary needed to comprehend assignments, etc. I'm relating to our ESL students, they face my frustration all the time when trying to interact with academic content without the understanding of vocabulary needed to fully learn the content.
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(CP) • Course provider uses multiple ways of assessing course effectiveness.
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(K-12) • 21st century skills, including information literacy and communication skills, are incorporated and taught as an integral part of the curriculum. (iN 1.4)
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I talk about 21st century skills and information literacy with public librarians a lot, and try to emphasize how important they are to education and that libraries should play more of a role supporting them. Now I have a specific standard to refer to. It's always nice to have something official to refer to.
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• The course provides opportunities for appropriate student interaction with the content to foster mastery and application of the material. (ROI 3.a)
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This is where I struggle with designing online learning. I don't know enough about tools to create good interaction between the students and content. An additional hurdle for me is that I'm working with adult learners, many of whom are not comfortable with technology. So in addition to providing as much interactivity as possible, I need tools that are relatively easy to understand and use.
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Presentation Zen: Messages that stick - 0 views
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I like the acronym SUCCESs, though it's amazing how obvious these key principles are, yet we have made strides to steer away from using them! I'm really enjoying the aspects of unexpectedness, emotions, and stories - it only makes sense that when students become emotionally attached to the material, they will retain more.
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ollie_4: Article: Attributes from Effective Formative Assessment (CCSSO) - 4 views
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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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Has there ever been a time when teachers can't give feedback or adjust their own teaching because students refuse to do what was intended as an instructional task for learning? As an educator, I have some students who don't want to do anything, even when given a choice on how they might show their learning.
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Unfortunately, at least in my teaching experience, in content areas other than reading and writing, I have run into many teachers who believed in the Bell Curve still for classroom grading. Their numbers are dwindling, but they still exist along with teachers who believe, "I told them once. They should have it." I'm so glad your experiences make your question even possible. That is growth and improvement in instruction.
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Learning goals and criteria for success should be clearly identified and communicated to students.
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I have found that learning goals are broader in scope since we no longer memorize, skill and drill, and have the detailed oriented mechanisms of learning in place. Maybe I am missing the boat, but I want my students to be: great speakers who project their voice(yes, I do use a decibel reader) when they are public speaking. It's a great to incorporate the science of speaking. I do want them to be great writers, and I will say a well written rubric can enhance this. I am also after great thinking and problem solving. I have found that the middle level learner can seem to problem solve in some situations, yet they have become inept at problem solving on how to "get a pencil" when they don't come to class with one in their possession. Being able to get along with many within their peer group would be great. This seems to be an ongoing battle for some individuals who "want to work" by themselves. I have had my share of accountants in my classroom.... :)
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Are you saying accountants are loners? They have to be able to work with clients :) (I'm a business teacher and just couldn't let this slide :)
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Jodi, That was a narrow view, please forgive me. I stand corrected by you....Thank you for your correction. I will say, I have students who want to work by themselves....that is great for reflection, yet collaboration is a skills that we all need to develop.
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Mary, You are definitely not missing the boat! All those goals are excellent and very necessary for students to obtain. Do not give up on your broader learning goals and keep letting your students know that this is what you want for them. You might need a poster in your room with your broader goals stated on it as a constant reference for you and your students, and then post on your board your daily learning goals for your students. You are such a wonderful teacher and your students learn so much from you! Keep up the good work!
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Mary, I can absolutely relate to your comment about students that want to work by themselves! Some TAG students are "past masters" of wanting to do things on their own - I live with one!! Learning to collaborate is often a very difficult task for them in middle or high school. In my own experience, this improves for these high achievers when they reach college and are able to work with others that have similar abilities.
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Descriptive feedback should be about the particular qualities of student learning with discussion or suggestions about what the student can do to improve.
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I have found it interesting how the "Boy's Town" model from a long time ago....always started with a positive statement of praise and supporting details; yet if negative feedback was needed, it would weave in concern statement that didn't use words like "but or however". For example: I can appreciate how your started your paragraph with energy and great discriptive words. As you work on your thesis, you may want to keep in mind.....or have you ever thought of....? Yes, constructive feedback is an "art form" when communicating to students who think they have excellence, yet fall short....I mean way short.
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I have never heard of the "Boy's Town" model but I like how you wrote about giving concerns to a student without using "but" or "however'- I can see that making such a difference and being more influential and beneficial to students!
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Creating such a culture requires teachers to model
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substantial interest in formative assessment
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is to provide evidence that is used by teachers and students to inform instruction and learning during the teaching/learning process
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Self- and Peer-Assessment:
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Collaboration
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process requires the teacher to share learning goals with students
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It makes such perfect sense to be doing this, and I'm not sure how much it is actually done. Just like in our class here, we want to know what we are expected to pick up from this and appreciate having the opportunity to self-assess our learning in a format where we can get instant feedback to see if we understand.
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Clair, To be honest, in my experience out in the schools as an AEA Literacy Consultant, it is being done very little. No matter how many times I include this in professional development trainings over things like effective instruction, iowa core, etc., there are truly only a handful of teachers that share their learning goals with the students. Many of them write the goals out in their lesson plans, but never get around to telling the people who really need the information.
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learning progression teachers have the big picture of what students need to learn, as well as sufficient detail for planning instruction to meet short-term goals.
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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 have done something pretty unique I think in my classroom. I (and several student volunteers) have spent a lot of time over the last couple years writing out each unit's learning objectives on posters that I laminate and hang on the wall in my classroom for every unit in every class. I made little, cute colored checkmarks that I also laminated and cut out. As we progress through the unit, I checkmark the learning objectives we have covered in class, so students can see very easily what we have done and what is left to cover. And above my posters, is another poster that says exactly what is written here: "Where amd I going? Where am I now? How can I close the gap?" I remember reading this quote during PD on FA, but now I know where it came from! :) It has taken a lot of time to make the posters and takes time to change them, put checkmarks on/off, etc, but I really like that it is a focal point in my room and is very unique. Students should know exactly what they are learning and use the questions above to self-assess as we go through our units.
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That is a great idea! I am curious, have you found that your students are using the posters? Are they self-assessing? Are they taking ownership in their learning?
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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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student- and peer-assessment should not be used in the formal grading process.
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teachers must provide the criteria by which learning will be assessed so that students will know whether they are successfully progressing toward the goal.
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self- and peer-assessment are important for providing students an opportunity to think meta-cognitively about their learning.
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supporting students as they monitor and take responsibility for their own learning, helping students to provide constructive feedback to each other, and involving students in decisions about how to move learning forward are illustrations of students and teachers working together in the teaching and learning process.
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Amen! I think this statement is key. If students take ownership of their learning, they will become more passionate about it and ultimately want to do better for the pure knowledge and not just for a grade. Students need to feel as though they will have support through the learning process and will be able to rely on teachers and fellow students for help along their journey.
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In peer-assessment, students analyze each others’ work using guidelines or rubrics and provide descriptive feedback that supports continued improvement.
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I've been trying this with lab groups in order to promote discussion both about experimental techniques as well as data analysis. After the initial work, I split groups up and have each partner discuss results with a member of another group.
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I like that idea Jason! When we looked at rubrics at the beginning of this class and shared a rubric we use in our teaching, the project for the rubric I shared is something I always have students self-assess and peer-assess when the projects are complete. I then give the students a few days if they wish to make any changes before they turn the project in to me for a final grade. I have definitely seen an improvement in scores and cognitive thinking when I started the self- and peer-assessment.
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This feeling is dependent on a classroom culture characterized by a sense of trust between and among students and their teachers; by norms of respect, transparency, and appreciation of differences; and by a non-threatening environment
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during recent years
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I personally have learned a ton of information about FA the last several years. I took a class on it for my master's degree about 4 years ago or so and that next school year, it was the focus of PD in our district and is always something we revisit. I wish I would have learned more about it in college before I started teaching! But I'm glad to have the knowledge now.
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Learning progressions describe how concepts and skills build in a domain, and show the trajectory of learning along which students are expected to progress.
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I know that in science, organizations like AAAS have worked hard to develop these progressions for many topics and created resources (Benchmarks, ATLAS, etc.). But for some topics these need to be developed by the teacher. And even with the AAAS resources, developing these learning progressions into a course that helps students connect everything together is the job of the teacher. Collaborating on these tasks with other teachers is extremely worthwhile - I just wish this was valued by more school districts and administrators by allowing more time for these things during the school day. Many seem to think that "courses" are already planned out. I even had one superintendent that told me "Any minute not spent with students is a waste of time for teachers" - she was obviously lacking in knowledge about what professional teachers do with their time.
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Good grief! I'm glad the state government is now stepping in to require schools to allow teacher collaboration. The only problem is the state's requirements are vastly lower than what should be and needs to be provided to teachers so that real collaboration on student progress and course development can happen.
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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 your position with an effective contrast. What can you do to improve or strengthen your opening paragraph?
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Effective formative assessment involves collecting evidence about how student learning is progressing during the course of instruction so that necessary instructional adjustments can be made to close the gap between students’ current understanding and the desired goals.
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This says it all. How many times do teachers check for understanding along the way and then just keep rolling through the lesson, ignoring the fact that some kids are missing something. Does no good to check for understanding as you go if you do nothing when the data says not everyone gets it yet.
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Why do so many teachers assign a grade to formative assessments when, according to this, it is to collect evidence on how student learning is progressing towards the desired goal?
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I have no idea Jodi, but I support a number of schools that firmly believe if they do not give something a grade then there is no use in doing it with the students. This statement is so perfect as to the purpose of formative assessment yet I would say the majority of teachers in the schools I come in contact with give a quiz, complain that the kids don't get it - as though it's all the kid's fault, and move right on with the content. It's frustrating!!
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On the student side of Jodi's argument, many students do not see the importance of something if they are not getting a grade. Just yesterday, a couple of my students were complaining about something they had to do and they, "weren't even getting a grade on it so why bother". I agree with the statement that we need to see where they are, a lot of teachers just keep plowing through even though the infromation they get back indicates that a lot of students aren't getting it. It isn't helping the kid's perspective if they fail quizzes along the way and then fail a test.
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Because the formative assessment process helps students achieve intended learning outcomes based on explicit learning progressions, teachers must first identify and then communicate the instructional goal to students.
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a process rather than a particular kind of assessment
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language readily understood by students
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ormative assessment
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It seems that there has been all this buzz about formative assessment like it is a new thing. For ever teachers have been using formative assessment to guide instruction on a daily basis. I appreciate that is has gotten attention so that teachers can collaborate to build assessments together and analyze data.
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Holly, I am an AEA Literacy Consultant and you have no idea the number of times over the past 6 -8 years that I have found teachers who have absolutely no idea what the difference is between formative and summative assessments or how to conduct them in the classroom. In fact, the majority of teachers, even after training, want to be able to attach a grade to all formative assessment. They do not understand that this type of assessment can be accomplished in ways that do not involve a piece of paper, a homework assignment, or a pop quiz. It is truly an ongoing battle in a number of schools.
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Formative assessment is not an adjunct to teaching but, rather, integrated into instruction and learning with teachers and students receiving frequent feedback.
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Helping educators integrate the formative assessment process is key to helping them be successful. They can't see it as one more thing to do.
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I agree completely, if only I could get teachers to understand this fact! They see it as "one more thing I "gotta" do" rather than a way to see if their students are really understanding the material.
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Feedback to the student in terms of what they need to do differently is the most frequently ignored part of the process.
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evidence-based feedback
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students and their peers are involved there are many more opportunities to share and receive feedback
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may be accompanied by realistic examples of those that meet and do not meet the criteria
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I used to be hesitant about showing my students examples because I didn't want to limit their creativity. Once I started showing them, however, I saw that more students understood how to demonstrate their knowledge of the goals set out, and the end products were much more high quality. I first only did this with big projects, but have slowly begun showing students more high and low quality examples for smaller projects too.
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In addition, students can be encouraged to be self-reflective by thinking about their own work based on what they learned from giving feedback to others
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Self and peer reflection is something that I still struggle with. I have my students in Spanish III and IV often perform peer reflections with the writings that they do, but they still do not always take it seriously. I have tried to tell them that they should work hard to improve someone else's paper because they want their peers to help improve their own papers. As for self reflection, I am still working with my students to see the value in their own thinking.
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Instead, there are a number of formative assessment strategies that can be implemented during classroom instruction.
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This is where teachers get to use their covert,'sneaky' skills. They have to figure out how to get the information necessary to assess where the students are while appearing to go about their usual daily business. You have to be able to track that info too, which can be hard if you are collecting data on the sly.
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students must be actively involved
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“just right gap”
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The problem here is that the students in one class are not all at the same growth point and with growing class sizes, it can be difficult for the teachers to adjust to all students at the same time. Usually the advanced students will push themselves, but what about the lower students that need more time? With so much required of the teachers, they feel the pressure to move on so they can cover all of their units even when some students have not achieved the short term goals. This can lead to even bigger problems down the road.
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allow the student an opportunity to identify ways to move learning forward
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ollie_4: Building a Better Mousetrap - 1 views
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I understand why teachers want to allow students freedom to be creative in the process of completing a product that demonstrates learning, but the fact is that without the criteria for completion and mastery (two rubric dimensions) students won't know what exactly it is they are supposed to demonstrate to prove learning. Additionally, most students don't know where to go with a new product to demonstrate learning and to be creative with it. If they had that kind of mastery of a product/learning then they wouldn't have to be taught it in the first place. Rubrics or some identification of critical elements that demonstrate that learning has happened on the standards necessary is vital.
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Your comment about students not knowing where to go with a new product is huge. I have found that "regurgitation" of others notes/lectures/explanations/ideas seem to come through for many students. That creative component is difficult
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well-designed rubrics help instructors in all disciplines meaningfully assess the outcomes of the more complicated assignments that are the basis of the problem-solving, inquiry-based, student-centered pedagogy
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“Meaningfully” here means both consistently and accurately
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Very true. I am guilty of not always being consistent from student to student. Rubrics help, but also for me to complete the grading of an assignment in one sitting :)
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As an educator, I have the tendency to place in my rubric.....teacher impression in comparison to the peer group. Yes, that is one area students do not like because the view it as "opinion". This is usually from my A students who want the path of least resistance.
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I love rubrics because it not only helps me be consistent but it makes very clear my expectation on an assignment/project. If they ask a question I can often say, "refer to your rubric".
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“latticing,” or “scaffolding”—if they are shared with students prior to the completion of any given assignment.
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“Perhaps the greatest potential value of classroom assessment is realized when we open the assessment process up and welcome students into that process as full partners”
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the vital “traits,” key qualities, or “dimensions,” to be rated
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I agree that this is powerful. But unfortunately, having the students build the rubric and then complete the product of the rubric becomes very time consuming. It is important to pick and choose when instruction will be furthered by the students' participation in the creation of the rubric and when it is not feasible because of the time commitment and loss of time that would need to be committed to another set of learning goals.
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I would agree with this. I think it also makes a difference if the purpose of the rubric is for final grading or scaffolding. Students may not have a good feel for the different levels when first tackling a topic/project.
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withholding assessment tools (whether they are rubrics or more nebulous modes of evaluation) from students is not only unfair and makes self-assessment more difficult
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It is so unfair to students not to give them a rubric for assessment purposes. Without a rubric they are left in the dark to guess what the teachers wants, what the teacher expects, what emphasis the teacher is placing on various parts of the assignment, etc. Rubrics make assessment transparent rather than secretive!
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best of both worlds here, by designing a rubric on a PC that allows for the easy insertion of assignment specific traits.
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Is this a skill most teachers possess? It boggles my mind and intimidates me just reading about it.
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I would hope teachers have these skills - if not, they need to develop the skills in order to provide the best assessment procedures possible. There are many available resources - books, classes, etc. - for learning these skills.
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“Standards, Feedback, and Diversified Assessment: Addressing Equity Issues at the Classroom Level,” reports that extensive use of rubrics can help minimize students’ educational disparities and bring fairness into assessment on numerous levels: “In short, explicit performance criteria, along with supporting models of work, make it possible for students to use the attributes of exemplary work to monitor their own performance.”
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A rubric that tells students, as a typical example, that they will get an A for writing a 1000 word essay that “cites x number of sources and supports its thesis with at least three arguments” will lead students to perceive writing as a kind of “paint-by-number” endeavor (Mathews).
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extremely short scales make it difficult to identify small differences between students.
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some rubrics are dumb.’”
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I agree completely! I love the example quoted below - this was one bright and creative student! Some rubrics are dumb, and this is why it is so extremely difficult to develop a "one size fits all" rubric! This is also why I feel teachers should be developing their own rubrics based on the needs and requirements of their subject area and class.
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A holistic rubric is more efficient and the best choice when criteria overlap and cannot be adequately separated
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analytical rubric, however, will yield more detailed information about student performance and, therefore, will provide the student with more specific feedback.
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If you visit the web page I cut and pasted this from, you will find that each item is hyperlinked to a full explanation of the step.
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Clearly defining the purpose of assessment and what you want to assess is the first step in developing a quality rubric
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The collaboration among colleagues to create a rubric can not only create a much more reliable and valid rubric, but can also lead to professional growth (through the discussion) and improved instruction because of the collaboration and growth.
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I agree that this collaboration is well suited for bringing reliable and valid data. With the new "collaboration" mandate where we have over 30 hours to collaborate, documenting on Diggio can enhance the situation for true collaboration... :)
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Mary, that's so true. Diigo and other sharing forums like it will be incredibly helpful as we move to the new collaboration requirements. This is especially true when 30 hours of face-to-face time (depending on how it will ultimately be defined and delineated) might be impossible to find.
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a meta-rubric to assess our rubric
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Barbara Moskal, in her article “Scoring Rubrics: What, When, and How?” insists that rubrics should be non-judgmental: “Each score category should be defined using description of the work rather than judgments about the work.
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I think this is important. It will take some careful consideration to phrase statements in a way that is descriptive of the expectation without judging it.
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I agree completely. When a student uses a rubric as a guide to how their work will be assessed it is not possible for them to define our meaning of the word "good" which is why that would not be a reasonable expectation on a rubric.
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advocates of rubrics at all educational levels have argued that rubrics provide students with clear and specific qualities to strive for in those assignments that “are open-ended, aligned more closely to real-life learning situations and the nature of learning” (Skillings and Ferrell) and mitagate both teacher bias and the perception of teacher bias (Mathews).
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As mentioned earlier, having access to the rubric prior to instruction, and using it to self-evaluate provides the student with more guidance as they do their work.
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I think they make grading look more objective then subjective and that should help with students thinking teachers grade them lower than their peers simply because "they don't like me".
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I would like to see more resources that specifically show more designs that are for open-ended writing prompts and projects - this kind of student work is often expected to have different elements depending on the project, writing these rubrics is tricky!
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static elements encouraging students to simply make sure their essays have those features
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I think there is still a place for a few of these in a rubric - they identify key pieces that are expected in a final project. Unless you're going to have students continually revise until they are at the top level in every category, this kind of thing may be needed from time to time.
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I agree with you that this kind of thing may be needed from time to time to show the students that the essays need to have those features in the paper.
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I agree also, but those are only a small part of a good rubric and shouldn't be the emphasis of the expectation.
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if you feel that one dimension is more important than another.
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I always used this to emphasize the main point of the project, but still give some weight to other important pieces, such as organization and mechanics.
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Me also, it seems unbalanced to give the same weight to the non-essential but still important parts of an assignment, rather than weighting the most importart parts higher.
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I have done weighting before as well. I wonder if this causes some students to play the "points game." If they do the main element really well, can they still get the grade they want and not do the other elements. But I guess the good point would be that they got the main element.
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Look at some actual examples of student work to see if you have omitted any important dimensions.
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I think this is a really good idea. Many times we think our rubric is what we are looking for, but many times we might have missed a key point.
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I find that a lot in my teaching- I will develop a rubric for a specific assignment and then make modifications the next year, if I find something wasn't quite right after I used it to actually grade assignments.
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This is why making a template and being able to make modifications - add and subtract - each year or throughout the year makes things so much easier.
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educators in all disciplines to assess outcomes in learning situations that require critical thinking and are multidimensional
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“on what students have actually learned rather than what they have been taught,”
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I like this quote- it reminds me of another quote that says "If the students didn't learn, did the teacher really teach?" Good food for thought...
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What a concept! Love to read that this at a post-secondary institution.
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This is indicative of the changing paradigm from teaching and instruction to focus on learning, and I think that is the correct point of view for teachers/educators to take. I remember when I started teaching 25 years ago and was aghast at the teachers who were still devoted to the Bell Curve. The paradigm then, teach so that only the very top students can understand what you are instructing on, trick the students as much as you can, and, of course, don't worry about the ones who don't get it. We've "come a long way, baby."
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the rubrics their institution developed can be used to reliably score the performance-based and problem-solving assignments that now form a significant part of the undergraduate engineering curriculum at the University of California at Berkley.
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When instructors plan on grading student thinking and not just student knowledge, they should articulate the vital features that they are looking for and make these features known to the student.
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I believe this is where it is important to have models of different levels of student work with explanations why the work is at that level.
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I agree with your comment about having different levels of student work to use as models. Have you tried providing the examples of different levels and letting the students use the rubric to determine which example fits which level? I have tried it a couple of times and it is a big eye opener for students. I need to make a point of doing it more often.
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they should articulate the vital features that they are looking for and make these features known to the student.
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This sentence is interesting because I have never heard that you shouldn't share rubrics with students- I have always thought students need to have the rubric as they work on the assignment, so it seems obvious that we should make those features known to the student.
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Items in a rubric shouldn't be a secret. I go over the rubric with my students so they understand what I want. That way I get what I want!
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both assess and encourage student learning
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the criteria must be made clear to them and the jargon used must not only be understandable to the student but also be linked specifically to classroom instruction
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Pilot test your rubric or checklist on actual samples of student work
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red, “
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Red in poetry means love....or murder, blood, death or despair. I know colleagues who "love" rubrics and I know colleagues who struggle to build a rubric that truly shows high expectations for students who "beat the system" by following the rubric, but not truly having the "spark" to the overall outcome.
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“The instructor’s comments on papers and tests are done after rather than before the writing, so they cannot serve as guidelines, compromising the value of writing comments at all.”
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Conveying expectations before starting an assignment helps the student focus as they are completing the assignment. Comments at the end of a paper are useless unless students are allowed to fix their paper after reading the comments. Not sure if the students learn much if they don't get feedback along the way so the final product can be a quality product.
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When students are full partners in the assessment process, as Mary Jo Skillings and Robin Ferrel illustrate in their study on student-generated rubrics, they tend to “think more deeply about their learning.”
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Moreover, some teachers have noticed how students who were good writers become wooden when writing under the influence of a rubric.
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When instructors do not explicitly delineate the qualities of thought that they are looking for while grading, they reduce learning to a hit or miss endeavor, where “assessment remains an isolated […] activity and the success of the learner is mostly incidental”
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Rubrics can be designed to measure either product or process or both; and, they can be designed with dimensions describing the different levels of that “deep learning” so valued in WAC programs.
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ollie_4_1: Educational Leadership: The Quest for Quality--article - 0 views
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In the past, few educators, policymakers, or parents would have considered questioning the accuracy of these tests
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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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If 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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Making this understandable to students is key. I ventured out and taught my own children a series of swim lessons (I usually teach other people's kids) and when I talked to my daughter about being able to go off the diving board this summer, she stayed more focused on improving.
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A clear learning target contributes to better measurement and incentive for improvement.
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Are results communicated in time to inform the intended decisions?
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We've come a long ways technologically speaking in the ability to use real-time data to instruct students since the publication date of this article, but unfortunately a lot of the decisions (as far as policy goes) are to still completed on an annual basis.
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I agree. A perfect example of that is with Iowa Assessments. In my school district, teachers usually don't see the results until the end of the school year when those students will no longer be in their class.
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Technology tools within LMS platforms can allow for better "real-time" feedback from assessments
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Teachers should design the assessment so students can use the results to self-assess and set goals
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Inherent in its design is the need for all assessors and users of assessment results to be assessment literate—to know what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate uses of assessment results—thereby reducing the risk of applying data to decisions for which they aren't suited.
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Using misinformation to triangulate on student needs defeats the purpose of bringing in more results to inform our decisions.
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Creating a plan like this for each assessment helps assessors sync what they taught with what they're assessing. It 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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Sound Assessment DesignThis key ensures that the assessor has translated the learning targets into assessments that will yield accurate results. It calls attention to the proper assessment method and to the importance of minimizing any bias that might distort estimates of student learning.
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Bias can also creep into assessments and erode accurate results. Examples of bias include poorly printed test forms, noise distractions, vague directions, and
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keep wording simple and focused, aim for the lowest possible reading level, avoid providing clues or making the correct answer obvious, and highlight crucial words (for instance, most, least, except, not).
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Student Involvement in the Assessment ProcessStudents learn best when they monitor and take responsibility for their own learning. This means that teachers need to write learning targets in terms that students will understand.
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we might put the learning target in student-friendly language: "I can make good inferences. This means I can use information from what I read to draw a reasonable conclusion." If we were working with 2nd graders, the student-friendly language might look like this: "I can make good inferences. This means I can make a guess that is based on clues."
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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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So important in science with the move to NGSS. You just can't assess a performance task with a multiple choice test (unless the performace task is taking multiple choice tests, of course)
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Really, in all the NGLM, you need to be able to assess performance tasks. I hated that there was less focus on actually speaking a world language when I taught Spanish than on the assessments of vocabulary. If I were to go back in the classroom, my classes would look a lot different now.
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This is done using both formative and summative assessments, large-group and individual testing, assessing a range of relevant learning targets using a range of appropriate assessment methods.
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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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This is such an important foundational piece. When we haven't done backwards design we often have misalignment between the assessment and what we are assessing
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So true! - When I teach swimming I always think with the end in mind, but so many times we forget to do that when we're doing things like creating a rubric.
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Center for Teaching - 1 views
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Team-based learning. By Cynthia J. Brame, CFT Assistant Director What is it? Team-based learning (TBL) is a structured form of small-group learning that emphasizes student preparation out of class and application of knowledge in class. Students are organized strategically into diverse teams of 5-7 students that work together throughout the class.
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Article(s): Self- and Peer-Assessment Online - 1 views
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One way to make sure students understand this type of evaluation is to give students a practice session with it. The instructor provides a sample writing or speaking assignment. As a group, students determine what should be assessed and how criteria for successful completion of the communication task should be defined. Then the instructor gives students a sample completed assignment. Students assess this using the criteria they have developed, and determine how to convey feedback clearly to the fictitious student.
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Goal setting is essential because students can evaluate their progress more clearly when they have targets against which to measure their performance. In addition, students' motivation to learn increases when they have self-defined, and therefore relevant, learning goals.
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Students do not learn to monitor or assess their learning on their own; they need to be taught strategies for self monitoring and self assessment.
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It also informs the teacher about students' thoughts on their progress, and gives the teacher feedback about course content and instruction.
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the learner will benefit far more by completing a self evaluation (that is well crafted to include focused self reflection questions) that forces him or her, to examine how he or she contributed [or did not] to the group process. The tool also encourages the student to consider actions that he or she demonstrated to support the team and to estimate what percentage of the work he or she contributed to the project
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Based on coursework done during the OllIE courses, I feel this approach will be the best place to start to incorporate into my own courses. It combines 2 separate types of evaluation. The important element to include is teaching students how to accomplish the assessment by modeling the activity.
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I totally agree with this. The goal should be to help students to self assess and grow. The idea of peer evaluations could get ugly if not carefully handled.
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the primary method for assessment
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4) When learners are mature, self-directed and motivated
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Our views on online learning couldn’t be more dissimilar, yet I appreciate Professor Rees’ perspective and enjoy reading his posts
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The concept of peer review, which leaves for the most part the instructor out of the equation, aligns with the social constructivist learning orientation. There is strong support in constructivist theories for the peer review which is grounded in student-centered learning where students learn as much from the review process itself as from the final grade on an assignment.
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It can also be very effective in small, closed online classes where students are at similar skill level and receive instruction and guidance in how to grade within the process
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For peer evaluation to work effectively, the learning environment in the classroom must be supportive. Students must feel comfortable and trust one another in order to provide honest and constructive feedback.
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One way to begin the process of introducing students to self-assessment is to create student-teacher contracts. Contracts are written agreements between students and instructors, which commonly involve determining the number and type of assignments that are required for particular grades.
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Portfolios are purposeful, organized, systematic collections of student work that tell the story of a student's efforts, progress, and achievement in specific areas. The student participates in the selection of portfolio content, the development of guidelines for selection, and the definition of criteria for judging merit. Portfolio assessment is a joint process for instructor and student. Portfolio assessment emphasizes evaluation of students' progress, processes, and performance over time. There are two basic types of portfolios:
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It is helpful to introduce students to the concepts and elements of assessment against specified criteria in the first weeks of class when you explain the unit of study outline. This requires taking time at the outset of the group activity or unit of study to discuss what is required, and to provide guidance on how to judge their own and others’ contributions. Students will need to be assisted to develop criteria that match the learning outcomes with regards to the output and process of the group work. If assessment criteria for each element are set up and clearly communicated, your role will also change to one of facilitator.
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The break down in peer grading occurs when the learning environment cannot provide the conditions as mentioned above. Also, there are other factors that can sabotage its effectiveness, including an assignment that requires a high level of critical thinking skills, or when there are students in the mix that are non-participative, or have intentions that don’t align with the course.
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students are looking at their work and judging the degree to which it reflects the goals of the assignment and the assessment criteria the teacher will be using
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Students in this sample reported that their attitudes toward self-assessment became more positive as their experiences with the process accumulated.
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As this work illustrates, self-assessment need not necessarily be about self-grading. There are ways of framing and then using self-assessment that can help students develop that all-important ability of looking objectively at their work and then making changes that improve its quality.
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Self evaluation and team grade.
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My experience has been similar- and it is why I hated group work. I always ended up doing all the work so I got a decent grade and the others were just dragged along for the ride. I try very hard to avoid this in my teaching, but am working on implementing more of it using the best practices I learn here!
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The purpose for assessment is so important. It is why I preach and practice backwards design, so I know where I'm headed when I am teaching. I think back to my larger college classes where I could snooze through lectures, download the powerpoints, and ace the multiple choice exams...would some form of peer assessment/group accountability been more effective?
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well written rubric not only helps the facilitator score the assignment but it and can greatly increase the quality and effort put into assignments by giving students a clear expectations with knowledge that must be demonstrated
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I do not recommend including an option on the peer evaluation for team members to make comments about their peers. Should team members have negative comments to make about peers, this tool is not a constructive venue.
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I often help my ex-wife with her group projects (she's a full time adjunct). She uses this method and provides spaces for people to make comments. My experience is that the only time people make comments is when they have something negative to say. This often turns into "flaming" versus constructive criticism.
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8 Ways to Engage eLearners Infographic - e-Learning Infographics - 0 views
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8 Ways to Engage eLearners Infographic
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Since this is a graphic file, I can't put comments within the graphic itself. First, read through this graphic. Good suggestions for business that mirror that of education. Second, keep scrolling down. Notice the text of the same info. Ask yourself which you'd rather read! Without saying anything, the made a significant point by following the infographic with the text.
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ollie_4_1: Article: Attributes from Effective Formative Assessment (CCSSO) - 0 views
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helping students to provide constructive feedback to each other, and involving students in decisions about how to move learning forward are illustrations of students and teachers working together in the teaching and learning process.
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I feel like we're hitting the bend in the curve here where teachers are feeling more comfortable being part of a learning community and allowing students to know that they are learning with them. Maybe it's just my perspective from an online and blended learning environment, but I am hoping that the paradigm is shifting.
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This feeling is dependent on a classroom culture characterized by a sense of trust between and among students and their teachers; by norms of respect, transparency, and appreciation of differences; and by a non-threatening environment
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Helping students think meta-cognitively about their own learning fosters the idea that learning is their responsibility and that they can take an active role in planning, monitoring, and evaluating their own progress
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what the student can do to improve
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This information should be communicated using language readily understood by students, and may be accompanied by realistic examples of those that meet and do not meet the criteria.
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timely feedback should be based on the learning goal and criteria for success. 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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lternatively, feedback could be given using a format such as “two stars and a wish,” which provides a structure for a student to identify two aspects of the work that are particularly strong (stars) and one aspect the peer might improve (a wish).
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ollie_4_1: Building a Better Mousetrap - 1 views
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rubrics can help the student with self-assessment; what is most important here is not the final product the students produce, but the habits of mind practiced in the act of self-assessment
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Perhaps the greatest potential value of classroom assessment is realized when we open the assessment process up and welcome students into that process as full partners”
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The result is many students struggle blindly, especially non-traditional, unsuccessful, or under-prepared students, who tend to miss many of the implied expectations of a college instructor, expectations that better prepared, traditional students readily internalize
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I once gave extra credit to a student who realized that without providing a shred of meaningful content she could meet all the requirements of a state writing rubric he posted in his classroom. As required she used the word “persuade” and two synonyms, composed a clear topic sentence and closing sentence, and made no spelling or grammatical errors. But she did it without saying anything coherent
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Rubrics can be designed to measure either product or process or both; and, they can be designed with dimensions describing the different levels of that “deep learning” so valued in WAC programs.
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by designing a rubric on a PC that allows for the easy insertion of assignment specific traits.
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Is the description of criteria judgemental?
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I struggled with this when we were creating a group rubric. I guess I was using it as a self-assessment tool, but I could be off track there too.
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I also struggled with the group rubric because I was unclear as to the intent of the assignment. I will sometimes use the rubric as a teaching strategy, so students can see the expectations and then self -assess through the process.
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Rubrics that are prescriptive rather than descriptive will promote thoughtless and perfunctory writing; such rubrics are as limiting to the development of rhetorical mastery as the five-paragraph essay. And, rubrics cannot be the sole response to a student’s paper; sound pedagogy would dictate that rubrics should be used in conjunction with other strategies, such as the letter writing/dialogic approach to assessment that Halden-Sullivan describes as preferable to the rubric.
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the teacher that uses specific rubrics is always composing new descriptions of quality work, but their students have clearer directions for each assignment.
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Rubrics can have any number of points along a scale—the ISBE’s rubric rates each trait on separate six-point scales—as long as each point on the scale is well-defined. This may be difficult to do for longer scales. While longer scales make it harder to get agreement among scorers (inter-rater reliability), extremely short scales make it difficult to identify small differences between students.
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Evaluate your rubric using the criteria discussed in Part 1. Pilot test your rubric or checklist on actual samples of student work. Revise the rubric and try it out again. Share the rubric with your students and their parents.
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Evaluating, pilot testing, revising and sharing the rubric are essential to creating a useful tool. It isn't until you begin using it that you discover points that need to be clarified, or revised, or gaps that must be addressed. As I mentioned in an earlier note, rubrics must be fluid and updated frequently.
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While many educators make a compelling argument for sharing rubrics with students, others worry that doing so will encourage formulaic writing.
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. Clearly defining the purpose of assessment and what you want to assess is the first step in developing a quality rubric. The second step is deciding who your audience is going to be. If the rubric is primarily used for instruction and will be shared with your students, then it should be non-judgemental, free of educational jargon, and reflect the critical vocabulary that you use in your classroom.
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Does the rubric relate to the outcome(s) being measured? Does it address anything extraneous? […] Does it cover important dimensions of student performance? Do the criteria reflect current conceptions of excellence in the field? […] Are the dimensions and scales well defined? […] Is there a clear basis for assigning scores at each scale point? […] Can different scorers consistently apply the rubric? […] Can students and parents understand the rubric? […] Is the rubric developmentally appropriate? […] Can the rubric be applied to a variety of tasks? […] Is the rubric fair and free from bias? Does it reflect teachable skills or does it address variables over which students and educators have no control, such as the student’s culture, gender or home resources? […] Is the rubric useful, feasible, manageable and practical? […] Will it provide the kind of information you need and can use effectively?
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explicit performance criteria, along with supporting models of work, make it possible for students to use the attributes of exemplary work to monitor their own performance.”
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a typical example, that they will get an A for writing a 1000 word essay that “cites x number of sources and supports its thesis with at least three arguments” will lead students to perceive writing as a kind of “paint-by-number” endeavor
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"Personalized" vs. "Personal" Learning - 2 views
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Educators at the EduCon conference hosted by Science Leadership Academy eagerly discussed the merits and challenges of personalizing learning. Dozens of teachers agreed that a truly personalized learning experience requires student choice, is individualized, meaningful and resource rich. This kind of learning allows students to work at their own pace and level, meets the individual needs of students, and perhaps most importantly, is not a one-size fits all model. Technology was strikingly absent from these conversations. 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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So do the students get the necessary skills first from the teacher then are able to choose what they want to learn about? How would a teacher then keep track of how they are learning?
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I wonder that. Would they use the portfolio method? I also wonder about the choice issue. How is this being accomplished? Are they given the assignment / task and have choice within the project or do they have complete choice over what they learn?
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I was wondering some of these same things too. How do students get the necessary prerequisite skills needed to complete their chosen task...the teacher? a computer? If you have 25 students and they all want/need to learn about a concept in different way or they choose different projects at multiple levels of learning, how does one teacher possibly manage that? Are young students able to have as much choice as older students or does that increase as students grow and understand more about themselves as a learner?
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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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I would think there would be math and science teachers asking about how personalized learning would help students improve standardized test scores for those areas. Should the specific curriculum in the U.S. educational system be tweaked to allow more personalized learning?
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I think there is a balance between personalized learning and standardized learning. I would like the end goal would be the same for everyone, but the road to get there would be personalized.
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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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I love this idea! As a Spanish teacher, I want to give them the skills for communication but then let them explore and learn what they want to learn how they want to learn - can't wait to explore that option!
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I agree! Students need to have the skills first then explore what and how they want to learn.
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I like this idea because it teaches students to take ownership of their learning. It might also motivate those kids who constantly encounter on a daily basis that hate school. I wonder though from an elementary perspective, how do we change how we do things to better prepare our students for this kind of education?
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Whenever students and apply the skills to a passion of theirs students are able to see the purpose of courses they have taken. Students who struggle in math and science learn many of those skills in my agriculture class because they are engaged in a passion of theirs.
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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 edu
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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, and to frame our use of language in that larger shift, not simply in the affordances for traditional curriculum delivery that the tools of the moment might bring.
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Personalized’ learning is something that we do to kids; ‘personal’ learning is something they do for themselves.”[4]
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This is the second reference I've seen for this quote - should we then be gearing students towards a more "personal" learning concept?
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I was thinking the same thing. It looks like the actual definition of Personalized Learning is widely debated. It would be nice if there was one term that, when spoken by educators, we would all be on the same page as to what it refers to. Either way, and no matter what it is called, the outcome that we are looking for should be the same - learner-centered schools that give students complete voice and choice.
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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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I like how this is worded. Students have freedom and choice. The task / learning is meaningful. Many high school students become frustrated because they do not see a reason for doing something. They learn skills that goes beyond just memorizing materials. They have to synthesize and analyze the information. Well worded.
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lend themselves well to the computerized, modular and often very standardized system of “personalization” many ed-tech companies are offering.
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I become frustrated when I hear about this programs or are being pushed by administrators. I know they work for some students, but even those students need some guidance. I feel learning is more than just reading and completing material on the computer. It is interacting with people. The business world wants students that graduate with people skills (communication, cooperation, collaboration, etc.). Will this happen in a ed-tech "personalization" program only?
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It’s a dramatic shift that requires new literacies to navigate all that access and, importantly, new dispositions to take advantage of it for learning.
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"Ah, ha": As a person who has been teaching for a while and one who did not even know what a computer was until having to take a course at college for education, this rang true for me. It is a literacies that has to be learned by the older generation. My students are so immersed in this technology literacy. They navigate the web very quickly. They do not usually have the fear of the web which needs to be taught. Most of my students just laugh at me when I ask for help but do it willingly and are great teachers. I have learned a lot from them and appreciate their technology literacy skills.
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“personal” learning is something they do for themselves
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But if the point is to help kids understand ideas from the inside out and answer their own questions about the world, then what they’re doing is already personal (and varied).
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because of the larger preoccupation with data data data data data.
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in the best student-centered, project-based education, kids spend much of their time learning with and from one another. Thus, while making sense of ideas is surely personal, it is not exclusively individual because it involves collaboration and takes place in a community.
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Dozens of teachers agreed that a truly personalized learning experience requires student choice, is individualized, meaningful and resource rich. This kind of learning allows students to work at their own pace and level, meets the individual needs of students, and perhaps most importantly, is not a one-size fits all model.
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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. 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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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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She cautions educators who may be excited about the progressive educational implications for “personalized learning” to make sure everyone they work with is on the same page about what that phrase means.
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Personalization promises better student achievement and, I believe, a more effective delivery method than any one teacher with 25 or 30 students in a classroom can compete with. It’s a no-brainer, right?
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The main objective is just to raise test scores
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it is clear that all children don’t learn the same way and personalization seems to honor those differences
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I agree. Personalization seems to be an almost perfect answer to addressing all of the different needs, learning styles, and achievement levels in our classrooms today. I wonder if this approach will become the norm for schools, and, if so, how long will it take for schools to completely adopt this model.
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I also agree. In a time we look at test score more and more it is increasingly more important to move every student forward. Not all children learn the same way; we can't expect them to show growth if we don't personalize the learning.
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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
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I feel much more knowledgeable about Personalized Learning today than I did a week ago. If someone would have asked me then if an adaptive learning or a computerized program that is tailored to a student's level and progresses them at their own pace is personalized learning, I surely would have said, "Yes!" I have now come to realize that there are many Personalized Learning components that are missing with just an adaptive learning program. Where is the student choice or goal setting? What if a computer is not that student's preferred learning method?
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The only choice a student gets is what box to check on the screen and how quickly to move through the exercises
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Teachers often use websites that will modify lessons to the student to push them ahead of their peers. I am just as guilty of this because I will often have students who are high in math, and have no one to put them with, so I use a website to help them progress. They make progress because it is personalized to them, but it doesn't tap into their interest and learning style.
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For many educators that’s not the true meaning of “personalized learning.” “That has nothing to do with the person sitting in front of you,” Laufenberg said. “It meets the needs of an individual in a very standardized way, but it doesn’t take into account who that kid is.
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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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It is a great thing that we have such incredible access to information and others in our profession. It allows us to make connections, and reach out in education to see how other districts are getting it done. However, we as educators need to teach our students that while the access is wonderful, we need be careful of what we read. Students need to be taught the literacies of technology, and how to be critical of information found.
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Adaptive Learning System Articles - 0 views
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The point is that these technologies can open up a world of new possibilities.
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Adaptive learning products track how each student is doing and provide teachers with class reports. Teachers won’t have to work individually with students for hours to assess which skills each student needs help with, because they’ll have on-demand data aggregating that information.
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technology does not necessarily replicate face-to-face learning (as with online learning), but rather, drives learning from start to finish by incorporating the right mix of online and face-to-face instruction where suitable.
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"The technology is now cheap enough and powerful enough for this kind of approach to be applied effectively and widely,"
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Implementation in an Elementary Classroom (Articles) - 0 views
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Reduced recess, cuts to physical education courses and limited free time in the classroom coupled with an increasing emphasis on testing are propelling this decline all over the country.
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Increased emphasis on 'teaching to the test' and as well as reduced funding to schools directly impacts students. Resources are declining while requirements are not, making it difficult for teachers to allow for play which as stated in this article is "how children are wired to learn."
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Agreed! An emphasis on covering the overwhelming number of standards and testing, testing, testing!!!...leads to limited instructional hours spent on play.
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By engaging multiple areas of the brain simultaneously, play links to “foundational capacities such as memory, self-regulation, oral language abilities, social skills, and success in school,”
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Ask them how they like to learn and present their knowledge, and what their favorite activities are
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They started small, and they've grown and honed their strategies each year.
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Expert learners and assessment as learning is the key for learners taking responsibility for their learning
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Inquiry-based instruction, a teaching technique rooted in questioning — both students’ questions about the material under investigation and the interrogation of students by teachers to elicit understanding
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Students who miss time to play miss opportunities to let their minds soar and connect the dots between what they do at their desks and what surrounds them in the world
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Survey parents about their children.
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You will use your Class Learning Snapshot to determine the physical redesign of your classroom based on different examples of learning zones and flexible learning spaces
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I may ‘correct’ these misconceptions and later the students may even be able to answer test questions on the subject properly.” But they may not — and, she contends, frequently do not — give up those misconceptions
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Check for understanding
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lass Learning Snapshot that guides what a teacher anticipates their learners strengths, challenges, aptitudes, interests, preferences, and needs. We introduce the Personal Learner Profile.
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inquiry-based instruction stands a better chance of demolishing the misconceptions — eliminating them completely — by encouraging and allowing students to discover fundamental principles on their own.
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Inquiry based instruction allows students to dig right into their learning, take what they already know or think they know and apply it. The hardest part for teachers is giving up the control to your room, and allow students to "just go". I love the conversations with students after they discover a misconception because you can ask them to dig deeper by thinking why.
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Teachers struggling to find time for both free and structured play may find it beneficial to fuse the two.
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I try to every Friday to do "Friday Fun". During this time I set some boundaries, but allow for a lot of student creativity. I pick out certain recess toys, students then come up when they see someone take the one they want to play with, however I limit it to only 4 or 5 a game. If there are too many they have to decide on their own who gets to stay. Once they are playing they have to decide what they are playing and solve problems amongst themselves. They cannot involve me in anyway, unless obviously something breaks or isn't working.
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Find online materials for different levels.
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PLE Articles - 2 views
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These tools provide a medium for students to create their own learning space that is more natural and unique to their interests and learning styles.
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I like this idea with special education students. I think to have a place where they can find resources to help them is a great idea. I have provided many resources, but since they are not easily available or at least the students feel they are not, the students do not use them. I also like that they choose which ones will be helpful to them. I can't wait to try this.
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teachers must learn to effectively incorporate these social media based initiatives into their lessons.
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A concern for me. I have grown greatly in my skills with technology, but it still takes me time to learn the skills and how to implement into my classroom on top of all the new initiatives that the district is adding to our plates. I'm diving in but concerned.
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I agree! It seems as I master something new in the area of technology, something bigger and better takes its place. Hard to keep up with technology in the education world.
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It is hard to keep up, and it takes time to implement anything new into a classroom, even with students that are pretty techie. In my experience with younger students, most of them need a lot of instruction and guided practice before they feel comfortable working independently.
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Not every student is ready for this responsibility, so teachers need to have strategies in place to guide and support these learners.
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I’ll continue to collect feedback from students on how this learning tool is working for them and how they are using it for themselves as well as within their groups
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I like how the author collects feedback on the usefulness of the tool. I have done this many times. As I approach Symbaloo, I will remember to ask students for things that worked for them and concerns.
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I would be interested in how many students use Symbaloo on future projects that doesn't require its use.
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I’ve been slow to use tools and develop skills for managing online resource, such as the use of vehicles like Symbaloo, Evernote, or Diigo
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The concept of PLE is not a way to replace classroom learning, but to enhance it.
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As a higher level Spanish teacher, every year I am trying to incorporate a system or resources that can allow students to go to a deeper and higher level of their language learning. Some students want to go on to minor and become more fluent, while others just want the credit. I'm hoping that a PLE can reach those students to dig deeper to become more fluent and culturally aware!
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It’s easy to use A learner can pull information that’s personally useful to him/her Learners can personalize tiles to make them easy to spot Learners can add to, and draw from, a community of webmixes Interactivity + personalization = fun Instructional uses for Symbaloo include using Symbaloo to help learners create: A personal learning environment (PLE) with personal knowledge management (PKM) tools An eportfolio A collection of resources related to a problem-based learning challenge
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I have created quite a few symbaloos and knew it was a cool tool but never knew how to incorporate those into my classes for students to use - I'm super excited to know how to set this up so that they can access my webpage see what they need to do on a daily/weekly basis and then have resources right there to help them do what they need to do. Can't wait to try for fall:)!
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you can create tiles that link to challenges, quiz questions, polls, discussion forums, chat pages, and other types of content and media that will facilitate more student involvement and creativity. You can provide a tile linking to a web page describing a number of exploratory activities a student will need to engage in, but make the path for accomplishing these activities (e.g., the numbers and types of tiles used) up to the student.
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Love the idea of creating a path for students... could there be a digital checklist also? Teacher could guide students for all class Kahoot game or other challenges. Students can also add a presentation/doc tile to prove their learning - love that, also. Great for project based, research and problem solving activities.
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I like the idea of the students having the resources to take responsibility of the learning, and they can review and learn at their own pace. It is like a one stop shop.
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students had to subscribe to news feeds and blogs, discern the value of social bookmarks, and set up the aggregator to manage all the Internet resources.
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Many students in the first class that tried Symbaloo today commented that they liked the clean, visual interface of Symbaloo and the ease of adding content; they also liked that they could customize the “tiles” they were adding and that their webmixes loaded quickly.
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students could demonstrate their learning through their PLE by creating blogs, wikispaces, prezi presentations and photo collages as final projects; thereby diversifying instruction. Some instructors empower students to use their own mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones as a means to create PLEs.
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The notion of a PLE for students, grounding them intentionally in an environment of information tools and productive applications, is a great way to seek, develop, and structure that balanced approach.
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Teachers, she explains, are no longer the primary or even the best source of information available to students, and our work must increasingly attend to supporting students in developing their skills and motivations for becoming themselves networked and sophisticated online learners.
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The employ of PLEs in the classroom can go horribly wrong if teachers fail to prepare students and set usage parameters.
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I imagine there would need to be some prior (and ongoing) instruction for students in regards to internet safety and online ethics. My 3rd graders, who are probably much less connected with social media sites than older students, have had issues keeping their focus on the task at hand. Having access to online tools is great, but it can also be very distracting for my students. It is just too tempting for them to visit YouTube or another "fun" website rather than focusing on the task at hand. This is definitely a management issue that I have faced in the past couple of years.
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The Symbaloo interface looks a bit like a high-tech Scrabble board with movable “tiles” on it. These tiles give you access to Web pages or other webmixes.
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The social media platform that supports PLEs creates a perfect space for peer collaboration and sharing information.
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I like this concept of PLE because it allows students to take ownership of their learning. It allows them to go as in depth as they want, and students are able to collaborate on their learning. I see this type of environment being very successful in an upper elementary to high school level classrooms. I worry, however, about lower elementary. I feel as educators we should take those early years to teach the skills needed to prepare students for this type of learning environment. Also to make it clear that learning can happen without technology. Technology is great tool for students to use and a great motivator, but I worry about the hands on experience and building of knowledge through the outside world.
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ersonal learning environments are beneficial because they support learning anywhere and allow learners to connect the diverse environments of school, home and play
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The idea of having one site to log into daily and then a pre-constructed dashboard of all the learning tools and spaces available to us seemed appealing to the 7th period students today.
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I love this concept because it allows the teachers to give the students a starting point, but plenty of opportunity to organize it and add to it. Students could use this for projects to organize their findings. They wouldn't have to sit there and search through their history. I like the fact that students can access it from any computer.
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I could definitely see students using this as a way to visually organize their sources them find on a project.
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While it’s easy to create webmixes, you also might want to explore the Symbaloo gallery to find webmixes the Symbaloo community has create
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Students now have access to desktop computers, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and game systems that connect them to free online tools that are always available
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It is important to remember that, while many schools are working in a 1:1 environment, there are still many other schools that have limited access to technology. I would imagine that personalized learning would be much less challenging when there is ample access to technology, as well as professional development for teachers.
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PLEs place a large amount of responsibility on students and thus requires a high level of self-management and awareness.