Communicate
"Students need feedback and lots of it, but grades are not the best forms of feedback." Rick Wormeli, Fair Isn't Always Equal
I have found that the KUDs and learning targets have helped to articulate what I expect students to learn but it is the communication of where they are along those targets that helps them make progress towards achieving or exceeding for that particular skill. As Wormeli states in the above quote the more feedback the better. Whether it is immediate informal feedback while observing during an activity or more specific feedback on an exit card or assessment it helps the student to know where they are and then I can help them make progress through differentiation. As I mentioned before in my articulate page, I feel like communicating feedback using the learning targets has helped students take more ownership of their learning and to be more informed about what questions to ask. They are seeking help on a particular skill, rather than asking for help to get a better grade. In turn I am able to be more clear with them about why the are at a particular level on the target and how to get to the next level.
We still live in a world of grades though so unfortunately we do have to convert all of these targets to a grade and therefore it is still in the student's mind as a motivator. The more we can communicate based on the skills though I feel like we are able to steer their focus in the right direction. As part of how I get students to focus on practicing their skills and that it truly doesn't matter what they can do until the end of a unit, I allow for students to retake any formative assessments such as quizzes. I try to get them to see that they can try, make mistakes and hopefully learn from them so that they feel more confident in their skills when they get their summative assessment.
The use of the Jump Rope program has been a great way to help communicate to students and parents about their skills. Below is an example of a unit report for my first unit in Algebra I. I would like to think that students and parents are really looking at the individual skills and the habits, but I know that there is a main focus on the overall grade at the top. I just hope that it doesn't get the only focus.
"Students need feedback and lots of it, but grades are not the best forms of feedback." Rick Wormeli, Fair Isn't Always Equal
I have found that the KUDs and learning targets have helped to articulate what I expect students to learn but it is the communication of where they are along those targets that helps them make progress towards achieving or exceeding for that particular skill. As Wormeli states in the above quote the more feedback the better. Whether it is immediate informal feedback while observing during an activity or more specific feedback on an exit card or assessment it helps the student to know where they are and then I can help them make progress through differentiation. As I mentioned before in my articulate page, I feel like communicating feedback using the learning targets has helped students take more ownership of their learning and to be more informed about what questions to ask. They are seeking help on a particular skill, rather than asking for help to get a better grade. In turn I am able to be more clear with them about why the are at a particular level on the target and how to get to the next level.
We still live in a world of grades though so unfortunately we do have to convert all of these targets to a grade and therefore it is still in the student's mind as a motivator. The more we can communicate based on the skills though I feel like we are able to steer their focus in the right direction. As part of how I get students to focus on practicing their skills and that it truly doesn't matter what they can do until the end of a unit, I allow for students to retake any formative assessments such as quizzes. I try to get them to see that they can try, make mistakes and hopefully learn from them so that they feel more confident in their skills when they get their summative assessment.
The use of the Jump Rope program has been a great way to help communicate to students and parents about their skills. Below is an example of a unit report for my first unit in Algebra I. I would like to think that students and parents are really looking at the individual skills and the habits, but I know that there is a main focus on the overall grade at the top. I just hope that it doesn't get the only focus.