Group Summative Assessment

As we end our NGSS Universe unit, students are working with partners to make a scale model of the solar system using receipt tape, stickers, rulers, and a planning sheet.  The overarching action is:

MS-ESS1-3. Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.

We've used astronomical units (au); students found these distances for objects in the solar system and started with these as the basis for the model.

This was a great activity as far as student engagement.  We worked on this in class for 3 days.  There was minimal teacher assistance. Students are naturally using the vocabulary of the solar system (planets, dwarf planets, au, etc.), and doing legitimate problem solving to determine where objects should be placed on their paper.

Once students are done with the model, they will respond to questions based on the model via a Google Form: https://goo.gl/forms/SS0XWZzMbfwIk8hf2.

We are going to take a day next week to align the models (based on their scales) to analyze for accuracy, errors, and general questions.

What I liked about this:
1. It was student-driven based on concepts we had already experienced, and they were engaged.
2. It led for some good conversations about size and scope of the solar system.
3. We decided to do a combination of hands-on activities and written work to assess for understanding.
4. My understanding of the size of the solar system and the power of the Sun's gravity has been enhanced; I know this is true of students as well.

What I didn't like about this:
1. Various students were absent for school activities during two of the days, so deciding what is necessary for them to do and finding the time for them to do it is a challenge.
2. Some of the groups' scales were wrong.  This will lead to a good discussion, but it was a challenge to address all of them.
3. I had to do mini-lessons on measurement, which wasn't an assessed skill, but students needed to know how to do it, and it could have affected their models. However, I think the general idea is that they understand the solar system is big, and that was accomplished.
4. This was a better activity for smaller classes than larger classes.

I think the big takeaway of this was that assessments take time.  Students need time to let the concepts marinate in their minds, students need time to work through the assessment itself, students need time to show their understanding, and time needs to be set aside for discussion of the final products.

What I don't know is how I am going to assess this.  I should have started with a rubric, but I wasn't sure what to expect. Perhaps I'll have the students help me determine how to assess this.....

Technology and Summative Assessments

This week we did a summative assessment on the motion of the Sun/Earth/Moon system.  After completing some discovery activities, I created a Google Slide and put it in Google Classroom where students then had to move certain icons to show where the Sun, Earth, and Moon would be for particular situations.  The drawing can be seen here:  https://goo.gl/Sng8uy.

I then used Doctopus to upload the assignment to a Google Spreadsheet where I could then use Goobric to assess, letting students know which models they had incorrect by marking "Not the correct order" and using the microphone to give oral feedback. I was also able to score students on a rubric scale in regards to their explanation and for their ability to create the models: https://goo.gl/J70JKJ.  The program then e-mailed students the assessment, rubric, and voice comments.

What I liked about this:
1. This assessment gave all students the opportunity to demonstrate their learning, not just the ones who read and write well.
2. Technology enhanced the amount of feedback and quality of feedback; the interval between my evaluation and students receiving the feedback was shortened.
3.  Using voice was interesting. I wonder what the students will think of that.
4. The technology served a functional purpose for both the students and me.
5. And most importantly, I can truly see what the students know.

What I didn't like about this:
1. Evaluating one class took an hour and a half.  And I have four more classes to go.
2. There are students who didn't do well on the assessment; what now?
3. The technology was slow at times, the program automatically creates an MP3 of the voice recording, and that could be wasted time.
4. I do not know if this is too much or too little.

Onward.

Friday

Today's observations:

1.  We did Genius Hour for the first time in two weeks.  I did not hear a lot of complaints about it, but I did hear a lot of yesses when students remembered it was Genius Hour workday.  They came in the room, grabbed their computers and got to work. We tweeted, e-mailed, sent out Google Forms, and saw our first two presentations which included us giving feedback to students about specific skills.  

2.  I have a class that is doing a "homework" experiment.  Instead of traditional homework assignments, this class liked the idea of doing one alternative "homework" assignment for the week such as oberving the Moon phases for a week, designing an experiment, doing an experiment, talking to a family member about what we are doing in Science, watching a PBS Science show and reflect on it, etc.  (We'll add different options each week if we decide to continue this).  The only thing I required was a reflection sheet that asked students to write at the beginning of the week, middle of the week, and end of the week; this was more of a tool for me to see what students accomplished.  The issue- I received a small amount of sheets today.  The impressive thing- all of these students said they enjoyed the opportunity to do something they wanted.

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? (Yes, it does.).  If a student doesn't turn an "assignment" in does it mean they didn't learn something from the experience? (Not sure.). I realize that I can have students share their findings with me in other ways (Vocaroo, e-mail, Voxer, Padlet, voicemail, drawings, blogs), so this is something the class and I will have to make some decisions about.

3.  I watched half of the NOVA special "School of the Future" on PBS: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udckc_Uzi6g. 

I could only watch half of it so far because there was so much to process; it is good.  There is a section on middle school where a study was done with a social studies class. The teacher quizzed the students every day to help them retrieve the previous day's information.  These weren't graded quizzes, but opportunities for students to practice their ability to retain and retrieve information; the data showed that this helped student achievement. Quizzes without grades.  Students accountable for their own learning.  Rigor.  Essential questions.  Things we do now, but with a different focus. Retrieval for the sake of learning, not for the sake of reward or punishment in the form of a grade.  I am still processing what this means, but it felt like viewing this special could be a turning point in this journey.

What do all three of these observations have in common? Students need to be given the opportunity to have academic experiences that increase their learning. They need to "do" the learning.  

Pop Quiz Reflections

Continuing with this grading quest, students took a pop quiz about certain aspects of the Sun. Flubaroo was set up to immediately send students the results (incorrect answers).Students were able to take the quiz as many times as they wanted until 2:40 the next day; the highest score would be put in the grade book.

Though this is not an exact experiment, the data from this shows me that when students retook (is that a word?) the quiz at least 5 times, they lowered their chances of scoring in the 0-59% (F) range.  

There are many variables that could affect this- available resources, computer access, understanding, depth of knowledge, etc. And grading scales are not perfect, but is 5 opportunities to practice a skill or concept the magic number?

To be continued......

Hmmm..

There is a lot to know about the Moon; our NGSS-aligned standards ask us to understand the movement of the moon as well as eclipses.  In reality, both have to do with the movement of the Moon, however, there needs to be a deeper understanding that is in place.  And, students all come with varying understandings of this.

What to do?

Yesterday we read text and I modeled how to look for main ideas, to be insulted by statements that act as if we know nothing ("One half of the Earth is always facing the Sun."), and to pull out key words. 

Today we built on that.  Rather than give a worksheet that is "due," students received a packet with questions directed to developing an understanding of the Moon's motion and were given resources to use.  At the top of the packet was listed the two goals for this learning: to understand the motion of the Moon and to understand eclipses.  The packet included questions, an experiment, and a diagram of the Moon's phases with questions regarding that. Students can now use the packet however they like to build their knowledge and then they can use this packet for a Moon authentic-assessment type thing on Monday.

In class, students could work alone or with me to develop their understanding.   (The best moment came when a student took it upon himself to gather materials to demonstrate the umbra and penumbra of a shadow; this being the ultimate goal- students directing their own learning!).

The class was more relaxed, the students really did take this seriously and worked hard. Some came and asked questions.  How much learning was gleaned? That I don't know yet. 

I also still can't shake the feeling that this has to be "for" something.  Thus me telling them they could use the information for an assessment-type thing on Monday.  I really want the learning to be for the joy of it, but there must be something ingrained in me that ties learning with assessment, and that is either something I have to reconcile or fix.  In addition, students themselves are trained to think of grades and wanted to know how much of the packet they had to do to get a good grade.  They want some sort of credit for doing the work, but my big question is, what does that look like in a classroom that is grading differently?

To be continued.....

Going Gradeless?; 1st Post

This blog is not meant for anyone else's eyes except those who 1. have an interest in this topic and 2. can answer any of the burning questions I have about going "gradeless."  This is my journey through the myriad of research and topics about grading, what it is, what it means, and how it affects student learning.  I am currently going through some sort of existential crisis where the two sides of me are at odds with each other.  Grades? Of course we need grades.  No, we don't need grades, just thoughtful ways to enhance students' understanding of their own learning.  As I make my way down this dark path, I know that there are people passionate about this topic.  I also know that "research says" things.  But, in my 19th year of teaching this grade, at this school, I also know my students and their needs. So this blog is not my trying to persuade anyone (other than myself) about what to do. Instead, it is a personal map of me trying to get out of the thick woods to find a path that works for my students.

I am currently looking at the following practices: being gradeless, standards based grading, and traditional grading.

After doing some soul searching, I have come to one definitive conclusion in my investigation: there has to be some sort of evaluation, assessment, or feedback given so students know how they are "doing".  The weight, credence, and time given to this vary depending on method.  How? I am still working on finding that out.

Would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, values on this topic!

Sheila