Getting Students Talking

12/8/2017

Student Led Discussion

http://ajjuliani.com/three-step-system-getting-students-talking/

By A.J. Juliani

Some great stuff here - neat techniques worth using! I trying to talk less (hard, because...well...I like to talk 🙄😂) and have the kids engage more. It’s a breeze with three of my classes, a nightmare with my fourth. Maybe, just maybe, this system would work for them.

And then there’s this - my kids complained about the lack of guidance I’d given them, so for our last project, I really gave ‘point and shoot’ directions. It felt good and made the ever present reality of grading easier. But I had this constant niggling feeling that I should have just given them the standard...seen how they would translate and produce from that...and then I see this in the article:

“For project-based learning, most of my students were used to a very detailed project outline, with step-by-step directions that were more like a recipe than a wide-open project. They would get a rubric that was geared towards the final product, and rarely had anything to do with the process of learning.”

Oh my. Yes. I was so explicit that it was more about compliance. Yes, they had to understand the terminology. Yes, the choice of product was theirs. But it was handed to them on a plate. No digging deep required.

Ugh.

My only saving grace was that it was a formative review, so specific practice was a requirement. But still.

So. Hmmm. 🤔 That’s kind of another conversation for another time. This is about the talking. The author’s ideas of the colored cards is great. Maybe something to use in our upcoming Socratic Seminar. With some small tweaks, it would work well.

Here’s the basics. Each student gets a number of different colored cards to use throughout the discussion. They must play each card once, but can play the question card multiple times after using all other cards.

Red Card = I think
Blue Card = I know (because)
Yellow Card = Pose a Question
Green Card = I feel
Orange Card = Connect (to yourself, to the world, to another text/idea/subject)

Not rocket science, but a simple twist to ensure all have a chance to speak and that everyone understands what participating entails. I can change to include evidence, paraphrasing - questioning, changing questions. Maybe a wildcard of some kind.

Ideas to better what I do. Love it!

Turning “I can’t” into “I can”

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/making-failure-harder-work-angela-campbell

By Angela Campbell

Some interesting twists from the normal material that I read about grading. First of all, it is written by someone who works with older kids, and clearly buys into the grading culture more than I do. Secondly she clearly states that what she does is time consuming and causes her to bring home grading every day. This is not about reducing the load. Finally, she opens explaining that her change came not from the overly Grade-focused students, nor from those who don’t care or don’t do the work. Her motivation came from those students who do just enough to pass the class. A good reminder for me that I have those kids too! Doing just enough is safe, takes less investment, and is much more manageable than trying to be on top of the heap. The author says,

“A significant number of students just want to pass the class to meet their graduation requirement, and do it with as little effort as possible.”

“Many students will avoid working hard in a class that they see as challenging because of the risk involved. If they work hard and fail, they’ve proven their inadequacy. But if they don’t work hard and manage to get a D, their pride remains intact and they haven’t lost anything. That’s why I make failing harder work than passing.”

By changing the process, enforcing retakes for those with 70% or less (60% is a passing grade for her), and slowing it for anyone under 90%, she has made it harder to ‘scrape by’, and easier to strive in the first place. YES 🙌 that’s what went. So, I don't believe that I can make retakes mandatory, but maybe I can? Something to think about.

As I kept reading, I did find a fundamental difference of opinion at times - I disagree with the emphasis on grades - but some sections really spoke to me:

“I also use formative assessments, which can be homework, quizzes, or labs. They count for very little in the grade. The point of these assessments is to give kids a lot of practice with the material in a low-risk environment, and to provide feedback on their progress toward mastering the objectives.”

“I give them a test map....showing which objectives they didn’t master. The test map is accompanied by an intervention worksheet organized by objective. Students are expected to complete the worksheet sections that they need to practice in order to improve their score.”

We have used similar maps - I need to do it more - and this would tie directly into my goal of grading/reporting by standard. This would definitely be a tool to add to my box of tricks as I rebuild the ‘how’ of grading and giving feedback. Imagine that world where their 'number' reflects their standard, and they know EXACTLY what needs to be done to meet that standard.

Yes.

That's what I want.

I just know that there has to be a better way to give feedback that matters to the students, and ‘numbers’ that mean something. I think that I am getting there, I really do.

Copying docs with comments

http://www.controlaltachieve.com/2017/11/force-copy-comments.html

This is just plain COOL! I can use this on things like the Grammar hyperdoc, or for things that are self-graded. Not just the answers, but the WHY! Maybe add links to resources in case there was a struggle. Perfect. I need to find ways like this to make self-grading more of a possibility, while ensuring that they are reviewing and paying attention. Maybe they have to go through a process to get the answers, perhaps a link to a review game that has to be played. I don't know, there's a lot to play with here - and a ton of options of how to use it come to mind!

Using Private Comments in Google Classroom

October 26, 2017

Using private comments in google classroom has created a vastly more independent learning environment.

How?

I can personalize my teaching because I can make comments that those students and only those students can see.
I can be immediately reactive to the work or question, not having to go back through things to remind myself what I had originally said.
As soon as I have graded, or given feedback on something, I can immediately go into the private comments-which I often use for the feedback-to give my thoughts and ideas, and next steps to take. This way the students can see it immediately also, and if they have the notifications correctly set up (which most of little app-savvy group have), they even get a message that tells them that I had left a comment.
Students can respond to me, and I get that immediately. When students are retaking work, making changes, editing, etc., I not only get a notification that they have done so, but I can go back to see my original comments, to make sure that we’re all on the same page. It’s so much easier, than trying to figure out what changes were made!
Personal comments give clues to individual misconceptions and help me to correct them for that individual student. I can ask seeking questions and determine where the problem might lie.

So, How Does it Work?

Every assignment and announcement allows Class Comments. These are useful for moments that are helpful to all. Annoying until the students understand that a litany of, “Hi!” is not acceptable. That’s useful. But what is really powerful is the private comment feature.

Once students have opened an assignment, there is a place for private comments. These messages come right to me and allow an immediate response. Perfect. No one has to fear the silly questions in front of their peers. No one has to worry about others hearing their question. I don’t have to look to far to understand the question as it is irrevocably linked to the assignment in question. Plus we all see the messages that went before and are able to refer back to them as necessary!

Example of a 'Private Comment' conversation for a student advocating for herself.

But, Aren’t You Always Available?

Well, sure. But you can always receive an email too - and this is far more convenient. You could turn off notifications too so that you can schedule that non-work time. Or you can be like me, who’d rather get the message and answer it in a timely manner. That way it isn’t hanging over me, work gets done, and I don’t ha e another item for the morning to-do list.

I can scarcely comment about students not being invested in their learning but then ignore them when they are, now can I?!