Grading "Fix #2"

     After reading Chapters one and two in Ken O'Connor's book entitled A Repair Kit for Grading: 15 Fixes for Broken Grades, I found fix number two to be one that I have given considerable thought.  It has made me view how I grade late work and implement some changes that I have made to help support students rather than give reduced grades or a zero on late work.
     When I first began teaching, I was fixed on set manners of grading.  Of course, many of those were followed by me in high school and college.  Responsibility was always something to consider when completing and turning in assignments on time.  If work was not handed in on time, the result was a reduced or failing grade.  For students who were concerned about their academic performance, turning work in late wasn't an option.  For others it may have set them up for failure.  Considering these two situations and listening to the good points that were brought up during our class discussion, I now have some different thoughts on how to deal with "late" work. 
     Students learn at different rates and may need more time to complete their work and master certain concepts.  Prior to the reading and discussion, I went from "no work equals a zero" to dropping the score on the assignments by 25% per day until it was turned in--with day four being an automatic zero.  By allowing students to take a zero or reduced grade, I have realized that I am not able to note improvement or see if the students are mastering the concept being taught.  I have since allowed them to turn in work within a given period of time.  If they turn something in "half" finished, they will get it back to fully complete.  The students are starting to realize that "half" isn't good enough for me and shouldn't be for them either.  Some would agree that this isn't teaching the students to be responsible as deadlines will more than likely be a part of their future whether it be in college or in their jobs.  I feel that if a student is working on mastery of a concept, and needs more time, that they should be able to have extra time to promote learning and mastery of that particular skill.  I have visited with my students about turning work in on time.  I have told them that if their work is not turned in within the time frame given, they need to come in and finish it with me so I can assist them if needed.  Most have been very receptive to, and welcome the extra help.  One other topic that was discussed in class that parents and students may find beneficial would be to incorporate "timeliness" on report cards.  It could easily be added into the "comment" section so parents are aware if this is an issue with their child.
     Of the "fixes" that we have read about and discussed in chapters one and two, "fix two" is one that has truly made me reconsider how I have been grading late work.  It has not only changed my approach on accepting and grading late work, but also the manner in which I am supporting the education of my students.

Thoughts on Grading

     Based on class discussions and information from the text, Elements of Grading, I am attempting to try some different approaches to grading.  For most of my career as an educator, I have been completely set on the "total points" system of grading with no assignments weighted at a higher percentage than another.  I have attempted working with different rubric methods, with none that I have felt comfortable as far as accuracy and specificity.  Immediate and clear feedback is one strength of the use of the rubric manner of grading.  I have since tried different techniques of grading and have gone back to the "total point" method.  Now, after reading and discussing other approaches to grading, I am more open to trying different methods of grading.  Ultimately, I am hoping to develop (with the help of my students) a rubric or point system that will be more accurate, specific and timely for my students.  The goal that I am hoping to achieve is consistent and quality feedback for the kids.  I truly believe that the use of a rubric or point system will better "communicate grades in a manner that is more clear to students and parents" as stated by Reeves.  During class discussions it was made evident that "grades" on certain assignments can be deceiving to students and parents as to how the kids are performing on certain tasks. Using a different approach such as the 4-point scale would be much more clear to students and parents as it can explain exactly how the student is performing on certain tasks.  Another approach that I particularly like is the following from Reeves' text:

A=At least four assessments with a final score of 4 and two assessments with a final score of at least 3.
B=At least four assessments with a final score of at least 3 and two assessments with a final score of at least 2.
C=At least three assessments with a final score of at least 3.

This would allow me to present each student with a more clear picture of their progress.  My final thought following the reading and discussion deals with the idea of praising students for their effort and performance rather than their grade.  Students may not master a certain concept as quickly as another.  The progressive steps toward mastering a specific concept should be recognized.  Not only will this encourage the kids to continue working toward mastering the task at hand, it will also help them to stay focused on the outcome of being successful in whatever they do. 
     My current practices will continue to change.  I am hoping,with the help of my students, to develop a more clear, timely and accurate system of grading that will be beneficial to myself as well as to my students.

Rethinking Grading

After thinking more about how I grade, I realized that it may be more beneficial to allow the students to have more of a decision on how assignments are assessed.  I currently follow the "old school" methods and grade on total points.  I am now in the process of designing rubrics to allow the students to do more self-assessing than I had before.  I feel that if the students can actually "pick apart" their own work, they may be made more aware of the areas that they need to improve.  Likewise, I plan to have the students assess eachother's work, in hopes of having them help one another to improve.  Feedback is very important as well.  I choose to give the kids more time in class to work so that I can see the work being done.  This way I can try to give immediate feedback and can correct any errors as they may occur.  Asking the students for feedback on how I teach them has been helpful for me as well.  I have had some inform me that, at times, I may be going too fast for them.  Others have stated that more examples would be beneficial.  Getting this information from them not only helps me to improve my teaching methods, but also allows for them to know that they can feel comfortable coming to me.  After our class discussion, I have had my eyes opened to the many angles that grading may be approached.  The time that it takes certain students to learn a concept will obviously vary.  Do we give a zero on an assignment just because it takes one student longer to successfully grasp that concept?  I am timely in accepting  work from students.  I try to visit with each one daily to see how they are progressing.  I do give failing grades to students who have not turned in their work, but do allow them to hand in assignments for "late grades".  Many times the kids do not realize that they have not turned in their homework until I put a zero in the computer on their assignment.  Once they realize that the missing work is affecting their overall grade, they will turn in the assignment. I feel that they should be held accountable for their work and be responsible to turn it in on time.  However, if they are struggling to learn a certain idea, do I allow time for that?  If a student comes to me and lets me know that they don't understand the content being taught, I allow for more time to complete the work.  After reading the first two chapters (or the beginning of the first one)  my ideas of grading have changed.  I hope to continue to grow as an instructor and develop new strategies on how I teach and how I assess my student's work.  The reading of this text has enabled me to see just how much one can GROW!

Rethinking Homework

Changing Thoughts on Homework

 

                After our last discussion on homework, I have had my eyes opened to several things to take into consideration when assigning homework.  Homework should demonstrate learning.  Homework should be practice on content taught to the students.    Feedback on homework for the students is a must. Keeping these things in mind, I have changed my outlook on what types and how much homework is really beneficial to the students.

                Because homework should demonstrate learning, how much practice is really necessary?  I feel that if the homework, used as practice, is showing me that the students are learning do I need to assign so much for them to “practice” on?  Once they have shown me that they have grasped a certain concept, I now see extra homework as “busy work” for them.  Before our group discussions, I really didn’t think about the amount of unnecessary work that I have been assigning. 

                Feedback for and from students is very important as well.  I normally give necessary feedback to my students on their assignments, quizzes and tests.  One thing that will definitely change for me now is to get feedback from the STUDENTS.  Very rarely, until now, have I taken into consideration how the KIDS feel about how things are going for themselves or for me.  They are the ones who are doing the learning, so what better way for us to teach them, than to get their opinions on what is being taught, and how it is being taught?  I thought in our last discussion that letting the kids help write questions for quizzes was a great idea.  It involves them all in the learning process.  In the past, I have given small groups of students a choice of concepts that they need to re-teach to the rest of the class.  It gives them the opportunity to find a particular lesson that they maybe struggled with to “teach” to the rest of the students.  I have found this to be very helpful to the “teaching group”, to the “learning group” and to myself.  Watching them present the material that I have already shown them allows me to see how they present it from their own perspective.  I have even learned different approaches that make it easier to teach to the next class.  It is rewarding for the students and me as well. 

                Have my outlooks on homework changed?  I certainly feel that they have.  I now look at things from a different perspective when assigning homework.  How much is necessary for the students to demonstrate learning?  Is all of the repetition necessary?  Have I been allowing the kids to provide me with THEIR feedback?  These are some questions that I now pay more attention to than I have before.  I also feel that my ideas of homework will now be approached differently.

               

               

Post One

Homework:  Hindrance or Helpful?

Is ALL homework necessary?

 

            Homework has been a part of almost everyone’s life at some time or another.  I believe that there are many ways to view the benefits and downfalls of homework.  As one who usually had at least two to three hours of homework each night as a high-school student, a mere part of that led to retention or learning.  Most was simply memorized for the time being.  Feedback from my instructors was most beneficial to me.

 I, as a foreign language instructor, give little outside homework.  I prefer to watch the students work, correcting and helping them as they work in class.  Many of them do not have someone at home who can help with questions, which may frustrate the kids.  They ultimately will have some things to finish on their own, which allows me to see if they have learned the material presented to them and to teach them a sense of responsibility.

 One major downfall of the homework that I specifically recall was getting “corrected homework” back, but no feedback from the teacher to help me figure out what had been done incorrectly.  I accepted the grade that I had received and tried to do better the next time.  I believe that we do learn from our mistakes, not only with homework, but also with valuable lessons in life.  However, if simple mistakes can be corrected on homework, the teacher should address them and give feedback in a timely manner in order to help the students learn.  Another downfall of homework as I see it is what some may term as “busy work”.  I would rather engage with my students in class and encourage participation and learning than give them a “go through the motion” assignment that most will finish with little to no retention.

            Lastly, does homework promote responsibility?  In my opinion, the older the students get, the more they should take responsibility for their actions.  As discussed in one of our group sessions, the instructors who are teaching our upper-level students should expect more responsible behavior from their students.  They are the teachers who are helping to transition our young adults into college and the “real world”.  Homework is essential at this level and I believe it helps the student to learn responsibility.  All students need to see that their future college instructors and ultimately their future employers will expect them to be responsible in order to be successful young adults.

            In conclusion, I feel that homework has its benefits as well as its downfalls.  I also believe that instructors should take into consideration the busy lives that some of their students may have, and, in turn, limit the load of homework given.  Ultimately, is it “busy work” or are the students actually learning from the homework that is given?