My Not-So-Active SBG

I have an issue with starting, but not finishing posts. This results in an overly large "Drafts" folder that more often than not gets pushed aside and forgotten. Every once in awhile I go back and see if what I started is still relevant to what I am doing now.

Today, I got lucky and found this:
I am sitting in our brand new gymnasium over in a corner, waiting (probably in vain) for the parents to come visit with me about their child. Ever notice that the parents that come to parent-teacher conferences are NOT the ones you really need to talk to?

So I have opened up my Google Reader for the first time in I don't know how many days. 397 unread posts. My first thought was to just mark all of them as read and figure out what to do in Geology next week, but it's been so long since I have heard what is going on in other people's classrooms that I decided to at least skim through some of them.

Riley has a "new" post on Active SBG.

Active SBG means:

1. Emphasizing the learning that grades represent, and trying to avoid holding grades as the final product of education.
2. Allowing students to react to their grades. Grades are the beginning of a conversation, not the end.
3. Helping students to understand their grades by organizing them into topics (vanilla SBG).
4. Actively keeping students informed by assessing their skills often and giving them feedback as soon as possible.

It's #1 that really has me stuck. It seems like the more I emphasize the learning process, the more my kids seem to emphasize the grades.

This post was started over a year ago, but I am in exactly the same situation, right down to not being sure what I am going to do in Geology next week.

I mentioned a while back how my SBG adventure is stuck in a rut. So I decided to start the Great Non-Grading Experiment. Actually, I didn't so much decide to start it as I accidentally clicked on the wrong box in our grading program.

Now, kids are still getting grades. I still have all of the same targets entered into the grade book. We use PowerSchool, and when you enter in your assignments, there is a little box that says "Do not include in final grade." Somehow, this box got checked.

So here I am totally oblivious that I am entering grades, but they are not visible to the outside world. Last week, some brave soul finally came up and asked me when I was going to put grades in because she wasn't sure if she was going to be grounded for Spring Break. Our internet was down that day*, so I asked her to get her grade sheets out and tell me what she thought she had.

This trimester, I am infinitely better about having kids keep track of their own scores. They get a grid with each target and I am even having them color code those scores. (If you have kids keep track, I highly recommend the color coding. Green = Good, Yellow = Almost, Red = Bad)

Anyway, we sat down and she immediately started figuring percentages. Her score sheet was all green except for one red box, so I had her look at her scores and tell me what she thought her grade should be. She looked at me like I had just asked her to explain string theory.

"What do you mean, what do I think?"

I nearly laughed at the total confusion on her face. She honest to goodness had no idea what I was trying to ask her. So we spent the next several minutes discussing what all those colors meant. We finally decided that  she should end up with a B+ and that she would come in and relearn what she had missed on that lone red target.

I have never felt so good about giving out a grade. So I decided to give it a try. The next day, I told the entire class that they would need to set up an appointment with me to discuss their grades. A stunned silence followed by that teenager look that says "is she serious"?

I have sat down with over half the class now to mixed reviews. Some kids really jump at the chance to defend that one bad score. Some still try to figure percentages. Some are hoping they can BS their way through until Mrs. Schroeder comes to her senses and just unchecks the box already.

I think I like it. One of the things that has always bothered me about the SBG idea is the percentages I am supposed to assign. They never really worked out like I wanted, and this just skips right over that part. The big issue I have is getting to everyone. The time and energy involved in this is incredible. I am working on a way to incorporate it into class time, but I have a terribly needy first hour and it makes it hard to give one individual my full attention. I got away from our Manic Mondays for awhile, and I am thinking I will revive that and work it in.

So just like everything else, we will see how this goes.


*Good Lord, have you ever tried to work on a day like that???

My Point, and I DO Have One...

I have this bad habit of going to the Internet to search for something specific and ending up on a tangent that in no way answers my original question. Today, I can't even remember what I started out looking for, but I clicked on a link to an article on about.com that gives a list of the Top Ways to Fail a Chemistry Class. Usually, these lists are fairly general in their advice and could easily substitute "Math" or "History" for "Chemistry" in the title. I didn't even get past the first number on the list, so I don't even know how specific this list is. Number one on this list is "Don't Show Up". This seems pretty obvious, but the short explanation really wasn't what I expected:

Possibly one of the easiest ways to ensure failure is to not attend class. It's possible to teach yourself chemistry without ever setting foot in a classroom, but learning a subject isn't the same as passing a class. If you don't put in the time, you probably won't know what is expected of you for exams. You won't know what problem sets are due. You can't do labs if you aren't there. Even if there isn't an attendance policy, it helps to put in face-time.

Did you catch that???? Learning a subject isn't the same as passing a class.

Whoa!!! I think one of the teachers down the hall may have just imploded.

Basically, the person who wrote this seems to believe that main the reason you go to class is so you can decode what the professor seems to think is important enough to put on the test or know when you are supposed to turn in your work. I can't really explain it, but this assumption has been bothering me all day. Oddly enough, I just read a post by Michael that helped me tie some things together. His daughter and mine are about the same age, so I can relate to a lot of what he writes about her. My girl just came home a few weeks ago with the same comment. She is extremely bright and loves learning about new things, but school? Meh, whatever. I have been worrying about this whole problem for awhile now, and not just because of her. I have kids that are bored to death in my class because they aren't challenged. I have kids who couldn't care less because they don't see the point. I have kids who are struggling to keep up and kids who are in the Goldilocks zone. I don't want my kids to pass my class if they do not understand what was taught. If they can Google the information they need, am I teaching it correctly? Is it too easy if answers.com can do their homework for them? Is that what learning should be about?

Maybe the planets are all aligned or something, but today at lunch, we were discussing a similar situation. We just finished our second trimester a few weeks ago and one of my colleagues was talking about a student who missed 21 out of 63 days of class. Now, we have an attendance policy that says that if a student misses more than 5 class days, he cannot receive credit for that class. For various, annoying reasons that I will not get into, this policy is rarely enforced. This teacher was complaining because the student missed a LOT of class time, but still earned a C in his class. He thought that the policy should be enforced and this student should not receive any credit, and every one at the table seemed to be in agreement.

I finally came out of my state of shock and asked him how in the world did that kid miss a third of his class and still pass? Obviously, students do not need to attend his class in order to "learn" what he wanted them to. What is it about his class time that is so incredibly pointless?

This is why people outside of education believe that teachers can be replaced with computer programs. This is what must change within my walls. I have 70 minutes a day, how am I going to use it?

Awhile back a group of students in my class were discussing ways in which to cheat on various tests.* Eventually, I asked them how they cheat on mine. Every single one of them shook their heads. One dear child finally said they hadn't figured out a good way to do it. I reminded them that they could use the calculator on their phone, and it would be so simple for most of them to search for an answer or text someone else. "We thought of that, but your tests are pretty much unGoogleable."

While I had never actually thought specifically about it, that is actually my goal. I don't want a bunch of parrots in my room regurgitating what I said. I want kids who can think and work through problems. What is the point of information if you can't use it? How can we create classes that are challenging, yet doable?

This is one of my weaknesses. I so want to create a classroom that is engaging for all kids. I have such a difficult time coming up with questions that can be answered by both gifted Garrett AND slow little Susie. I struggle with giving out enough information to complete the activity, but holding back enough so I don't give it away. I want to walk that line, but can't always see where it is.

I also, more than anything, want kids to feel like they really missed out when they miss my class.



*I love it when they forget I am in the room.

Sinking in the Ocean of SBG

To say that I am struggling this year, really doesn't begin to describe this feeling.

A couple years ago I dove right in and switched over to Standards Based Grading. I loved (and still love) the idea of kids showing mastery on specific learning goals.

However, as some of you know, it can quickly become overwhelming trying to keep up with assessments, reassessments and fielding questions and criticism from the confused administrators, parents and children.

For the first month or two of a new class, I have to explain, again and again, why there is no entry in the grade book that says "Quiz 2". I think this comes back to the whole points chasing theme. We have focused so much on points and grades that it is extremely hard for those kids to let go and focus on the learning.

Some kids buy in right away. They get what I am doing. Some are even relieved. These are typically the kids who have struggled or those kids who have never needed the safety net that busy work points provide.

Some dig in their heels and refuse to come along with me. These are the grade junkies who don't really care about their education unless it makes them look good on paper. Points is points and that is what is important.

Some kids don't really care one way or the other, there is still no way I am going to make them do any work.

I also think there is a small group who simply don't get it. They seem to be so confused by the whole process that they simply accept the number at the top of the page and move on.

Try as I might, I can't keep this up if the kids don't buy into it. And it is nearly impossible to convince some kids to focus on the learning when other teachers don't focus on it at all.


Then there are the targets. I'm still not sure about my targets. I have gone through at least one year in each of my classes with the targets that I have written and I like them, or at least rewritten them to where they are less horrible than they were. They are good goals, but some are easier to assess than others.

And that right there is my big obstacle. The target must be written so that anyone who reads it can figure out what exactly it means. I had a few targets that were pretty vague. This works pretty well when I am writing test questions that I want to ask, but don't really fit in with any of the other targets.

I have also had targets that were not nearly vague enough. For example, I wanted kids to know that a milliliter contained the same volume as a cubic centimeter. So I wrote a target specifically for that. Well, there are really only so many ways you can ask that question. When a target is too specific, you kind of back yourself into a corner when it comes to assessment.

In my Chemistry and Physics, the targets are more skills based. I find this so much easier to handle than my Astronomy, Ocean, Meteorology and Geology classes where the targets are based more on the big ideas. I am pretty happy with my Chemistry and Physics targets, my big problem now is developing ways to assess them. I give tests and quizzes. I would love to use other assessments, but I haven't reached that comfort zone when it comes to the unwritten. That is one of my priorities this year is to step out into that abyss.

My other big issue, as mentioned, is my Big Ideas targets. I think my targets, for the most part are pretty good, but I don't have a cut and dried way to measure how those targets are assessed, so it always feels so subjective.

So I am slowly getting there. I only have a couple issues that I really need to work through. The thing is, they are pretty big issues and I can stare at the problem for hours and never get my mind wrapped around a solution.

Baby steps. I didn't get in this mess in a single day, so I can't expect to get out of it too quickly. This has been a huge change in my classroom that I have taken on more or less alone* in my district. I think I have a long way to go, but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of comfort level. Once I can breathe again, I can take a step back and look at it  from another angle.


*In the words of Spongebob, "Not you guys! You guys are awesome!"

Early Graduates: A Clash in Philosophy

I'm going through something of a mid-career crisis right now. It's not that I don't still love my job, I do. I just feel like I am doing something wrong. Actually, not so much me personally (although I am sure there is a lot I am doing wrong), but more the whole system.

It's pre-enrollment time here at my school. This morning, we sat through an "inservice" designed to help us to help our seminar kids to figure out what classes they need to take next year.

One of our big issues this year has been getting kids (mostly seniors) to take an actual class instead of "volunteer service" or being a student aide. We had some problems with our schedule this year that caused sort of a traffic jam with certain classes and kids ended up being placed into classes they really didn't want to take or being shuttled off to be an aide somewhere.

During our discussion, this issue came up. We were being told to encourage seniors, especially, to take more rigorous classes. Don't let them slack off just because they are seniors*. Actually, encourage is not the right word, more like force them to take classes they really don't want to take, just so we can tell ourselves that we are encouraging rigor.

They are resisting. They are pushing back. I know this is not new. Kids have slacked off their senior year probably since the senior year was invented, but lately, it seems like it's a much bigger issue than it has been in the past.

My district allows early graduates. Traditionally, this option has only been allowed for a few kids a year, and those kids are usually ones that struggle and see it as an incentive to pass all their classes. Since we went to a trimester schedule, it has been a lot easier for kids to get all the credits they need to graduate before the end of their senior year. This has served to add to the list of those who can escape graduate early.

It has also agitated our principal (and many of our teachers) as we cling to the idea that we have these kids from August to May for four years.

I've been thinking about this today and maybe I'm in the minority here, but what I can't figure out is why is this such a big deal? For my state, funding is based on the enrollment at the end of September, so that would not be affected. Are we afraid of everyone thinking that our school is not rigorous** enough?

Maybe I feel this way because I know those kids are going to be stuck in one of my classes because they will think it is the easy way out. When a kid truly does not want to be in my classroom, I hate it just as much (maybe more) than he does.

I feel like we are doing so many things wrong in our schools. We have a system that has not changed in decades. We still require the same things that were required when I graduated. And probably more or less the same things that were required when my mom graduated.

Have you ever really sat down and thought about how much the world has changed since then? Good Lord, we've really only had Internet for the last decade or so.

Kids have different values, different home lives, different expectations. Kids have changed. Is it for the better? I don't know, but I don't think we can ignore that fact.

I think we have to adapt. We can't keep talking about "21st Century Skills"*** like they are things we will need in the future. We needed them a decade ago. We have to find a way to meet the needs of these kids. We have to be willing to realize that we have to change when the world does. 

Otherwise, I just don't see how we can survive.


NOTE: Sorry about that. I realize this may not represent a string of coherent thoughts, but boy do I feel better.

*What you don't have that problem???

**I am beginning to hate that word, but that is a whole other post.

***What are those anyway? Could we BE any more vague?

****Got a little crazy on the foot notes. See NOTE above.

This is Why My Job is So Much Harder

During my seminar, students are not allowed to go anywhere if they are failing a class.

Yesterday I sent a student to a teacher whose geography class she was failing. Today, she was so excited that she was now passing that class. She said that by going in to talk to him about her grade, he was willing to give her an extra 50 points just for having a good attitude.

I really can't compete with this.

Modeling: Year 2

To say that this year is going better is such an understatement that I have deleted and retyped it about ten times trying to find a better word.

For one, my room is MY ROOM this year. There is no ghost of chemistry past whispering to kids that this class was so much easier last year.

I am also much more comfortable with the material. Last year, I just seemed to be a day or so ahead of my kids and really did not feel prepared enough to keep them focused. Not only were they learning how to Model, but so was I. This year, I have been able to sit down and write out detailed lesson "plans" for each day, including a list of questions (and answers) to ask during the whiteboard sessions. Having a clear goal in mind sure helps me focus and get the kids where they need to be. Who knew?*

One aspect that really bothered me last year was the lack of engagement on the part of my kids. Whiteboard sessions were still treated as a presentation to me rather than a class discussion of their results. I just couldn't get them to let go of me as their safety net. This year there have been a couple things, one on purpose and one accidental, that have made a huge difference in our whiteboarding.

After a week or so of whiteboarding "practice", I got tired of asking the same questions of every group. Seriously, did they not hear me ask the last group? So I made out notecards. These are handed out randomly and have a general question written on them.** If the presentation does not include the answer to your question, then you are to ask it of the group. This forces the kids to actually listen to the presentation, evaluate whether or not the question has been asked, and if not, then get it out there.

This has made such an amazing difference that I can't even believe it. All of a sudden, kids are sitting up and paying attention. They are asking questions, and you can bet that if the question has already been answered, someone is going to let you know. The quality of the presentations have also improved. For some reason, having me ask those questions every single time didn't seem to register with them, but now it's their peers who are asking and that seems to be much more important.

The other turning point this year was a total accident. I was gone. There were two weeks in there that I was gone for four days. The first day was typical, not-get-much-done-pull-one-over-on-the-sub-pretend-we-don't-know-anything. I came back the next day and pretty much just lit into them about responsibility and maturity and all that. They rolled their eyes and I rolled mine.

And I told them the test was still on. They panicked and they whined. "But, you are going to be gone!" Yep. So you had better figure out pretty quickly what you need to do to be ready.

I was gone the next day for their review. They whiteboarded the study guide that day and when I came back the next day, you would have thought it was Christmas morning. Kids jumping up and down, grinning from ear to ear. One boy, I swear I heard him giggle.

They had done it. They didn't need me. They could have a group discussion and learn from each other. They even kicked out a student who wouldn't quit talking. They were even relatively excited about taking the test.

Since then, my room has transformed. I can honestly say that kids are (mostly) engaged. And I feel so much less stressed about whether or not I am doing it right. We whiteboarded a worksheet today and I sat in the back and didn't say a word. Kids were following along, asking for clarification and checking each other's work.

This is actually my ultimate goal. I don't want to be the center of attention. I don't want to be needed. I want those kids to figure it out on their own, and I think they are well on their way :)


*I know, you probably knew.

**I have eleven as of right now and am pretty sure I am going to add in some lab specific questions later.
1. What is your independent variable?
2. What is your dependent variable?
3. What is the relationship between _____ and _____ ?
4. Is your y-intercept negligible? How do you know?
5. What kind of relationship is this?
6. What about the particles themselves cause this relationship?
7. Do we know what "x" represents in our equation? "y"?
8. Is the relationship constant? Direct?
9. What does your y-intercept represent?
10. What does the value of your slope mean?

The Delta

Have you ever seen the Mississippi River? I mean really, truly seen it? Thought about how much power there is across those couple hundred yards? All that water, all that sediment. Some coming traveling from the tops of the Rocky Mountains, some washed off a field twenty feet away. All those particles being pushed and shoved hundreds of miles until it reaches the Delta.

And then is just stops. Heavier stuff sinks immediately. Lighter stuff just floating out into the ocean.

That's what I feel like right now.

Floating.

All the rushing has subsided.

I can breathe again.

I can focus again.

I can teach again.

I can visit my home again.

It got a little ridiculous there for a couple weeks. The insanity that is a robotics competition took all of us by surprise and left all of us more than a little shell shocked.

Everything happened so quickly that I have not even begun to process it all.

So here are my goals this week:
     *Finish cleaning up my lab room.
     *Reflect on the robotics competition.
     *Realize the miracle change in my chemistry modeling classroom.
     *Outline eportfolios for astronomy and one chemistry section.

If someone knows what I need to do, I think I will be more likely to actually get it done :)