Part+5+30-34

Part 5 Instruction

30. Martin Brooks and Jacqueline Grennon Brooks. "The Courage to Be Constuctivist"

As I begin reading this article I feel affirmed in the stance that I took during my Teach for America interview. Although vocalizing my opinions may not have aligned me with their idea of an employable candidate, I truly believe what Brooks and Brooks said in this article, “We are not holding our profession accountable for learning, only for achievement on high-stakes tests” (pg. 181). I am convinced, as these authors seem to be, that students are being educated to grow up to be test takers. Test taking strategies are what students are learning.

Through reading this article I have come to find out that I am a constructionist. We have been learning about different pedagogies in my classroom management class and I hope we have just not gotten to this one yet. It is my belief that this is the way that students should be taught and the way classes should be run. I can see the positive effects of teaching in this manner as my students become engaged in the challenging work of Chaucer. Teaching them the history of condoms made them engaged. Challenging their preconceived notions about rape should cause them to become personally invested in discovering new facts that go against their beliefs.

The story of the teacher who shot down the poetic interpretations of her students is disheartening. This teacher is splattering the precious blood of creativity and individualism all over the white walls of her classroom. When she asks the students what this bloodied crime scene means they will have learned to shrink their hands away from untested answers, gut feelings, and personalized responses. In their weakened states, the students’ bodies will be so occupied with generating new blood that the only responses that can be mustered are the regurgitations of answers fed them.

-ashley gwinn

While reading I was thinking it would be wonderful if all classrooms were designed like this; students’ interest reflected in the curriculum and an engaged class. I found it interesting that one critique of the constructivism is that “it is overly permissive,” and teachers who didn’t like the concept weren’t fond of letting students control the information that is being learned. Initially, I felt this concern belongs to a teacher who feels they have no power over their classroom and needs to be in a position of authority to tell students what they will and won’t learn. In addition, a teacher not comfortable with this style of teaching may feel unconfident in their knowledge of the material and be concerned that if student interest directs the course they will have a hard time tying activities to the ‘big picture.’ I can understand a new teacher or controlling teacher’s frustration about the philosophy, but isn’t the point of teaching kids to make them lifelong learners? If teachers want to be successful at instilling habits such as, curiosity, examining, questioning, analyzing, interpreting, then it is our job to create an environment that best mimics real-world situations. After all, once students leave the academic setting no one will be telling them what to learn and when to learn it; education becomes their choice. However, if we as teachers design our classrooms to foster independence and encourage students’ interests and participation, they may be more likely to enjoy learning and //choose// to continue learning outside of school. Personally, I have attempted to incorporate students’ interest into my grammar lesson. Most of my students prefer being interactive and enjoy visuals—whether its video or pictures, and they definitely like to talk. Therefore, with my grammar unit, I have tried to add hands-on activities, use relevant pictures in my presentations (i.e., Despicable Me, The Detroit Lions, etc.) and give them many opportunities to discuss grammar with the class or a neighbor.

--K.McCollum This article states the same message every teacher is preaching: standardized tests are not improving the classroom but limiting the learning taking place within it. With jobs being tied to standardized testing, good teachers are placing their interactive lesson plans to collect dust on a shelf while picking up the standardized approved textbook. I do believe that teachers should be held accountable for their actions. There are teachers in the school systems that have lost their drive and are riding out the education system to retirement, but standardized testing is not the way to achieve this kind of check system.

The article also talks about constructivism. To be honest, I didn’t know that I believed in constructivism until I read this article. Students should be able to explore their own views when learning new information. The seventh grade classroom was a disturbing description. A teacher that tells students their opinion is wrong is a teacher that doesn’t deserve a classroom. His actions had several consequences including giving his students the impression their opinions do not matter, created a hostile classroom where students are frightened to raise their hand and caused any learning that would have happened that day to dissolve in insecurities. -Katie Reilly I find it interesting that this article which was published over a decade ago discusses the known disadvantages of failures of high-stakes testing. This article, written before No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, likely hoped to never see such draconian measures as were instituted through these two less-than-beneficial programs. I think constructivism is an important concept in education and one that I don’t think we talk about enough. I think that with so much pressure being applied in a standards-based system, we all often forget that we all only learn when, what, and how we want to learn – no matter our age. I wish I knew more about psychology and how exactly the brain processes information, it is one thing that I think would be immensely helpful in the classroom. I know that I will continue to challenge my students to think critically, dig deeper, and learn through their own discoveries – no matter what test scores say. I just hope that the system soon recovers enough that a teacher can do this without fear of losing their job. I guess only time will tell, but the way things look now – both major political parties have their heart set on “accountability” and “choice.” -Aaron Noordhoek I think that within this chapter there are a lot of major flaws which exist within the educational system. The emphasis on the high stakes tests is ruining the learning process and it seems as though Constructivism teaches to the tests. Also the fact “Failure, or the fear of failure, breeds success on subsequent tests” (182) is an awful sentiment to have when it comes to teaching and student success. However, within the section “Constructivism in the Classroom” I found myself agreeing with a lot of the main principles. First off, I am a big supporter of teachers seeking and valuing students’ points of views. Having a student-centered classroom provides a lot of new chances for teaching. We can see what they know, what they want to learn, and how the learning is residing within them. Secondly, I like attaching real world relevance to the curriculum. Too often the material we learn seems so abstract or irrelevant that I have found myself pondering why will I ever need this versus actually learning the material (probably why I struggled with Chemistry). If there is no reason to learn it, I often wondered why learn it all? And lastly I agree with presenting the material to fit into some larger idea versus just many mini topics. Not only can this attack the big themes of life but it can be set up in a way so that multiple subjects can be working with the same unit (*interdisciplinary unit*). -Derek Boillat

The idea that standardized tests are evil is nothing new; we knew that when we took them and we learned it again in our quests to become teachers. It is, however, nice to see that reaffirmed by professionals. I agree that by “teaching the test” we are not teaching our students the information they need to be successful in the future but rather how to take a test. I imagine that wasn’t the point of standardized testing in the beginning, but hopefully someone in power realizes that this is what it’s become.

I was disappointed but not surprised that the example of a non-constructionist teacher was an English teacher. I recall not wanting to raise my hand in class when we went over poetry, afraid I would have the wrong answer. I don’t want to do that to my students, and I think that adopting a mild constructionist philosophy might help with that. In my current classroom, the assignments that my CT has done haven’t really challenged the students to think for themselves much (mostly worksheets and reading), and I’ll admit that my grammar lessons were spawned more out of necessity than student interest. I’m going to work diligently to make my next lesson plan more engaging for my students.

- Kristy McPherson

31. Seana Moran, Mindy Kornhaber and Howard Gardner. "Orchestrating Multiple Intelligences."

First of all, multiple intelligences are multiple preferences. Profiling students into these roles fixates them into believing that they only have one way that they learn things or that they have a less developed searchlight profile.

I agree with these authors in regards to offering students rich experiences. Every student should be exposed to all types of learning so that they can hear information explained in multiple ways. I notice in this article that it is argued that these rich experiences provide diagnostic information. This information gained can help teachers get to the root of the problem so that problems cannot just be smoothed over but fixed completely. I agree with the in-depth look that rich experiences give teachers about their students, and I want to incorporate these holistic activities into my classroom.

-ashley gwinn

The authors discuss the importance of considering students’ multiple intelligences when designing one’s curriculum and selecting teaching strategies. I liked that immediately they said the purpose of knowing and acknowledging multiple intelligences is not to create 8 different lesson plans. Instead, by teachers having information about students’ intelligences, they can construct activities which strengthen their weak areas while utilizing their proficient or extraordinary abilities. My CT’s instruction is primarily effective for students who are linguistically intelligent; there are rare occasions when students are asked to use another form of intelligence. Although she does teach English, my CT should try to incorporate activities which involve the other intelligences to use and improve the other areas, as well as, enhance their linguistic understanding by employing different intelligences. I especially liked the idea of composing groups with students who have different intelligence strengths. I want to remember this idea for my future classroom because students’ level of understanding can dramatically increase from examining the material through various intelligence lenses.

Additionally, I plan on having my students take some form of multiple intelligence tests in order for them to be aware of their strengths and weaknesses. The authors discussed how students need to develop intrapersonal intelligence to understand the ways they learn the best, as well as the worst. This information allows not only teachers, but students, to know what type of learner they are and the areas which require work. The most important part of having students complete a multiple intelligence test is that they may feel some sense of accountability. For example, if students know they struggle with musical abilities, and they find themselves in choir as an elective, it is their responsibility to inform the teacher, pair up with a student who excels at choir and ask for help. By having knowledge regarding their intelligences, students no longer have the excuse to say “Well, I didn’t know I was bad at that,” or “I don’t know why I am not getting it.” I think it would be a smart time investment for all teachers to have students participate in some kind of multiple intelligence quiz because they will know what strategies to use, how to address the students, and –if the student is defiant, resist, or doesn’t care—they can always use the information to pass along to the concerned parent/guardian who may have no clue why their child is falling behind.

--K.McCollum

This article addressed every teacher’s fear when multiple intelligence are mentioned, how many lesson plans do you write to address every child? This article’s solution of creating activities and lessons broad enough to incorporate the different intelligences is something I am interested in. Activities in the classroom should be accessible for all the students. My CT has a lot of reading out loud in her classroom. This kind of instruction loses students who do not learn well by hearing the information. An example of how many students can get lost by not modifying instruction is in the students’ summaries. We have read five different stories now and the students have been required to write a summary for each one. This past summary, we still have some students who do not know what to put in their summaries. If we showed the students a different type of plot outline more of them could grasp the concept. -Katie Reilly

There has been so much debate within my education classes as of late as to not only the value, but the validity of multiple intelligences. I really enjoyed this article’s ability to speak from a level of authority about what the true intent of the theory was, and what implications were expected in education from its research. I agree with the authors that a multiple intelligence profile could be an effective tool in reaching students, but that it is very important to use a variety of instructional strategies to reach all children in various ways. I think that the recommendations expressed within this article regarding the use of multiple intelligences as a tool, rather than as an essential instrument has revived whatever legitimacy it lost in my mind. I think that educators often have a tendency to be critical of new findings and strategies; this is a likely result of numerous “fads” and failed “educational” creations. I look forward to implementing the authors’ recommendations to build active learners within my future classrooms, reaching all students is key to a successful classroom in the twenty-first century. -Aaron Noordhoek

In my Psychology classes I remember learning about multiple intelligences, and frankly I think that most educators have heard the premise however may be unfamiliar with the term. In my class, I will appreciate the fact that not all students learn the same; I believe that full heartedly. I like how this article provides the table listing and explaining the different ways students learn along with example careers which each category connects with. I have never looked at it like that. The one area that I was always hesitant with was how to teach to all the different ways of learning? There simply is not enough time to reach all the different Linguistic, Spatial, Inter/Intrapersonal students. So the section “Building Active Learners” resonated with me. Instead we need to create the enriching experiences in which students learn through several different dimensions at once. -Derek Boillat

This article provides a huge challenge to educators: how can we A) identify which intelligences our students are without singling them out and B) teach to all of the different intelligences and still touch each point in the curriculum? To be honest, I’m nervous about how to reach all of my students, particularly those of different intelligences than I. In my current classroom, my CT hasn’t done anything noticeable to teach across the intelligences, and I honestly had never really thought to before. I will, of course, work to provide rich experiences to my students.

- Kristy McPherson

32. David Johnson and Roger Johnson. "Making Cooperative Learning Work."

I am immediately impressed with the research based approach that the formation of the Cooperative Learning Center took. I am interested in the fact presented that base groups can help increase attendance. I can see this being the case as it would not be ideal to let the other members of your base group down with your absence. I can also see how this would reduce anxiety about necessary absences and would not hinder as much learning through this absence. In my future class I would love to have a yearlong group service project become part of class. Perhaps this project could take the form of a newspaper or book writing.

I am completely in favor of cooperative groups being formed for school personnel participation. Being held accountable by a peer group and having the ability to bounce ideas off of that peer group is an irreplaceable asset.

I see the way in which cooperative groups can increase positive relationships of students in my current classroom. I placed students together who did not even know each other’s names. In a school this small it was surprising to me that not everyone knew each other. I have come to find out that these students form very tight social circles which end up conflicting with other circles because of built up tension. I am hoping that by putting kids who typically do not associate with each other will assist in breaking down boundaries that they have put up.

-ashley gwinn

While reading the //Making Cooperative Learning Work// article I couldn’t help but to think back to my own experiences of “group work.” I can’t think of a time when working in a group has actually benefited me; I loathe the idea of group work. To this day when teachers pass out their syllabi and I skim though to find the projects, I am either relieved at its absence or aggravated at group work’s presence. Has a group existed where all members participated and worked //equally?// My experience provides no evidence for such a thing. The only times I have experienced somewhat of a collaborative learning effort that was genuine and beneficial were instances of ‘othering.’ For example, a challenging language class or a difficult capstone course, would always bring students together who had common goals—passing the class—and who were concerned about their understanding of the material, as well as mine. Perhaps it is because my class members had the same amount of investment in learning the material as I did.

I do like the idea of group work, especially when groups are properly functioning and every member is gaining from the experience. I would love to have groups in my class for long-term, multi-faceted projects, but I am realist and recognize that I would need to create a different way to monitor and evaluate groups. Until I find this way to create an atmosphere of total student participation, motivation and investment, I will never have group work for large, long projects. I don’t believe it academically benefits any kind of student.

--K.McCollum

I am a firm believer of groups in the classroom. Group work has students interactive with the information that is just not possible in a lecture based class. Creating a cooperative group could be difficult in a classroom. The article talks about how most groups tend towards the //traditional classroom learning group// where students are individually assessed and students rely on others to get the work done. When reading this article I was thinking about how one of my friends is doing groups in her teacher assisting classroom. Before assigning groups she had the students answer a survey where they stated who they thought they could work with best and who they thought they couldn’t work with in a group setting. These answers were confidential and the thought process was that best friends could say they couldn’t work with each other without hurting the other’s feelings. After reviewing the surveys, she put them in groups according to their preference. She also made sure the final groups were going to be productive. For instance, if all of the failing students wanted to be in the same group she made the executive decision to not put them all in one group. By allowing the students to have some input, it might create the productive atmosphere where all the students help each other to reach the common goal of the assignment. -Katie Reilly

I absolutely loved this article about cooperation and its potential benefit when used correctly in a school. I especially enjoyed the authors’ brief commentary on the need for the school administration to not only create an “atmosphere of collaboration,” but to take real steps that ensured real cooperation among teachers, staff, and higher administrative officials. Having spent the past few years in a corporate setting where cooperation was the obvious setback to progress within the company, it is very promising to find research to shows that cooperation is ESSENTIAL in the field of education. I really hope to find a school that has great cooperation among teachers and administration. I think once this cooperation is established, the potential for cooperation among students both inside and outside the classroom is limitless. A key benefit of public school education is the important set of social skills that students develop through cooperation of students from ‘ideally’ diverse backgrounds. I look forward to the challenge of ensuring student cooperation in my future classrooms. -Aaron Noordhoek

In my class, the majority of class time is spent doing group works. The room is set up with desks grouped into six groups of six to promote ease in students working together. While the students are working together I am constantly walking around checking for understanding. I have seen all the forms of Cooperative Effort defined within this book, just didn’t know the terms. For example, one group last Friday were working together and two of the students chose to break away because they didn’t want the other members knowing there answers. This is an obvious example of Pseudo learning group. The key is teaching why group work is so important. I can understand where the group is coming from, several of the members were excelling and feeling held back by the others. I recently experienced this in a group test setting in which it was clear that one of my group members did not study and was simply copying our answers. It’s frustrating. If the effort simply is not there by everyone, the group will never reach the High-Performance level. What I will take away from this is not expecting students to be put in groups and work at the top level of collaboration. We need to stress why group work is so important (real life examples). And there needs to be some form of individual accountability. That is why I love Lit Circles. The group is working towards a common goal, but everyone has their own part they must fulfill. -Derek Boillat

I agree with Kylie – a lot of things can go wrong with group work. I remember one instance in particular where I was placed with two students who decided not to do their parts of the project, resulting in a C for all of us. I do, however, see merit in the idea of collaborative learning. I can see a classroom in which students were asked to discuss an idea in groups or have lit circles, etc., functioning effectively.

My students have done one group project this year, and in some cases it showed collaborative learning, but in most, it was an ineffective way to learn. In both of my classes, there were some groups in which one student did most of the work while the other did nothing. The more productive students told me they were worried their grades would suffer because their partner wanted to goof off instead of doing work, and I could tell they felt resentful at being placed with such an incompetent partner. In cases like this, where a good chunk of a student’s grade depends on the work of another, I don’t think that group work is effective.

- Kristy McPherson

33. Carol Ann Tomlinson. "Mapping a Route Toward Differentiated Instruction."

Resist comfortable answers.

Try Monday morning s In school. we can achieve equality and excellence.

Skip one step. Actions do not need numbers. Plan s made need to come First. Mr. Appleton is a simpleton. I wish I was Mrs. Baker. Mrs…saturate me with choices, drown me in my success

es stay with me.

if I understand I will be engaged not shackled, but inter es ted.

Unlock interest with choice. Guide with a magnet a needle and a dish of water.

I will be Harriet Tubman.

-ashley gwinn ( i am frustrated at the formatting of this page. I will bring a paper copy also)

I found it particularly interesting when Tomlinson mentions that differentiation instruction with a fact-based curriculum is difficult. She continues to go on and say the only real way to differentiate the material is to manipulate the amount of facts or the time allocated to drill the facts which I thought was really clever. Being an English teacher, I think most of us would have our classroom curriculum structured around ideas instead of facts; however it solidified the importance of presentation of curriculum. I will—and am trying to with my grammar unit—use larger themes to teach facts so each students can apply what they are learning to what they know. I can think of some students who will get a better understanding of grammar because I express its relevance and importance. These students may have thought grammar had no real significance in their life and tuned out during the lesson. I have other students who know the material I am teaching; they are advanced and could be potentially unchallenged. However, because I try to explain the importance of grammar and the larger reasons for why learning grammar is important, these students can question and contemplate their verbal or written usage. Lastly, students who struggle to understand the basic concepts have the idea of why grammar is important to make connections between the grammar facts and other areas of their brain. These students may not get the larger picture, but they have that knowledge to fall back on as a memory technique for remembering facts. --K.McCollum I liked how this article looked at the two extremes that are found in a classroom and stated how they both do not create optimal learning experiences. Most people would look at the fun Mrs. Baker class and say that she was a teacher reaching out to her students. When I started to read the description of her classroom, I was thinking what a great and inventive way to look at Rome. However, this article makes a great point that teachers have to have an objective for their student’s to reach during the curriculum. When creating activities and projects for my classroom, I know I have to make sure my ideas have an objective in my curriculum. I tend towards having these creative ideas that in the end do not teach students something tangible about the topic. -Katie Reilly

I like how the author contrasted the two extremes through two different examples of classrooms. I think that we often forget that the healthiest classroom is one that has temperance and is moderate in its pedagogical approaches. I especially liked the author’s point that even though differentiation is a rather new stress-point in educational circles it is not a recent phenomenon; educators have been individualizing instruction for generations. I know that differentiation is so important and it is something I really want to focus on in my classroom. Over the summer I read a book called //Fair isn’t Always Equal// that had some really great ideas about differentiated instruction and assessment. I guess my biggest fear is that differentiating instruction is going to seem to overwhelming and too daunting a task once I have my own classroom. The idea of modifying, individualizing, and reworking lessons, assessments, and goals on a daily basis seems unrealistic. I hope I am able to find a healthy medium, just as the author suggests that allows me to meet students’ needs without sacrificing valuable time. -Aaron Noordhoek The majority of teachers fall into Mr. Appleton’s class. The reason is why? I bet every educator who would read this article would agree that Mrs. Baker class sounds like the more ideal learning environment. Students receive choice, the lessons are enriching experiences which, as we learned, promote multiple intelligences, and students take ownership of the material. I will say that I find myself liking Mrs. Baker over Ms. Cassell. I enjoy the democracy of both yet the structure of Baker. Maybe the last Professional Development day painted an awful picture in my mind when it comes to Differentiated Instruction, but because of that lecture, I find myself wanting to stay away from it…maybe someone in class can convince me otherwise. And this article did not push me towards liking it anymore. I find it semi-unrealistic and more or less an ideal. The way the final part is worded makes me think that this style of teaching may help for YAP, but not the standardized test where everyone is treated exactly the same. -Derek Boillat I agree with the authors that both of the extremes presented, Mr. Appleton and Mrs. Baker, would be ineffective, especially below the high school level. I’ve had many Mr. Appletons but few Mrs. Bakers, and to be honest, I think Mrs. Baker’s class might actually be more ineffective for me, personally.

I like the idea of differentiation. I feel that presenting information in a number of ways and using different ideas (which might include choices for students) would be a huge help to students, all of whom learn differently. As a teacher, I plan to give my students opportunities to show me how much they have learned as individuals, whether it be through a written report or some sort of project. However, I see the importance in having connectedness and structure in my classroom as well.

-Kristy McPherson

34. Lorrie Shepard. "Linking Formative Assessment to Scaffolding."

The distance between what we know : what we don’t, is An earsplitting scream.

Ladders offer rungs Teacher placed with desire For students to learn Scaffolding upwards toward knowledge just out of reach. Job status: Teacher.

Interest and I will guide my students.

-ashley gwinn

Shepard suggests that eliciting prior knowledge is a beneficial scaffolding tool. I have been trying to incorporate my students’ prior knowledge while teaching my grammar lesson. Sometimes, it is really simple and students are able to get it right away because of route memorization. (I guess this can be helpful for the students, as well as the teacher.) For example, if I ask the students “What is a noun?” They will shout “A person, place or thing.” I attempted to draw on their previous knowledge by creating a note card activity in which students received a card with a person, place, thing or idea and they had to find two other people in the class whose theme of the card matched. I gave the example if someone had the card “Harry Potter” they would look for people with cards such as, “Magic,” “Broomstick,” or “Hogwarts.” After, I gave a few other names for students to brainstorm aloud who they would look for if they got a certain card, (The Detroit Lions, The Wright Brothers, Thomas Jefferson, etc.) The activity went well because they knew the concept of a “theme” and had prior experience with categorizing based on likeness or relatedness. During and after the activity, I thought students had a good grasp on nouns. However, I ran into a problem while trying to review the properties of a noun that was unexpected. The students were asked to complete a pretest that was included in my required grammar textbook, and although the students knew the definition of noun and could verbally give basic examples of nouns, they bombed the pretest. This is because the language of the pretest was difficult for the students to read and decipher the nouns. I have said before that my class has horrible vocabulary skills; therefore, they struggled pulling out nouns because they were unfamiliar with the vocabulary. If the book was better designed, or if I were able to create my own pretest, I would use students prior vocabulary knowledge as a scaffolding technique that would allow me to genuinely assess their understanding of a noun and their ability to locate them in sentences. --K.McCollum This article’s message of focusing on learning rather than grades is one every teacher should exercise in the classroom. Students are obsessed about their grades. I have one student in my classroom right now that asks every Friday what his grades are in the two classes my CT and I have him during the day. It turns out his parents reward him on a weekly basis if he has an “A” in every subject. When students get assignments back they do not look for the information they have missed, but they look at the big grade on the top of the paper. Is there any meaning to grading papers if the students do not learn from their mistakes? The current system of grades gives the illusion that students are learning the information in the classroom but in reality the students are competing for the best grade. -Katie Reilly Each section of this article I found myself nodding my head to. “Effective Feedback” specific, quick responses to students help correct/ or engage students further depending on your teaching model (Behavioral vs Developmental, etc.). The part that I found the most interesting was “Teaching for Transfer Knowledge”. The ability for students not only memorize and regurgitate the information but take that and apply it to a specific scenario is invaluable. My midterm last week was a mixture of what does something mean, and how would you use it. It challenged me, because you can’t just simply know the basics of a term, you need to understand it fully. After the test, I feel I know the material even better. So as teachers we need to find those ways to get students to take the information they are learning and actually use it. Maybe that means they do a project, or an experiment, something to get them to think use the material. Student self-assessment is an interesting concept as well. To this day, when I hear professors say part of our grades are self-assessments, I feel hesitant. Throughout my educational career, I have never been pushed to reflect on my own learning so the concept still seems relatively novel. I am actually going to talk with My CT and see if there is a way we can implement this in my classroom (seeing as grades were due last Friday). -Derek Boillat In this article, the idea of effective feedback really struck a chord with me. I am a fairly decent writer, but as a student I have to adapt my writing style to each of my professors’ preferences. I’ve been frustrated multiple times when my professors commented on only the bad parts of my papers because although I knew what I still needed to work on, I had no idea what my professors liked in my papers. I wasn’t fishing for praise, but it would have been nice to know if someone liked my wording in a particular phrase or felt that my take on a certain subject was unique. I plan to give both positive and negative feedback when grading my students papers to not only point out what they still need to work on but also to give them credit for what they already do well.

I also like the idea of giving students examples of good and bad work to help them assess where they stand. In my current classroom, I made an example of a project and did the sort of presentation my CT expected out of them to give them an idea of what to do or say. It may not have changed the way they presented, but I felt better about the grades that we gave them because we didn’t just expect them to know how to do the project or how to present effectively.

- Kristy McPherson

What Happened 2


 * What Happened?**

Almost the entire sixth grade failed our first unit exam. The students were yelled at and told they didn’t do well on the test because they can’t read and don’t put in an effort to learn how to read. When the students were handed the test they were told it was stupid because my CT did not write it. My CT is furious about how the test went and will be complaining about it at our professional development day. She had a meeting with the principal to determine if the grades worth forty percent would be entered into the computer. The principal said no way.


 * Why did it happen?**

The students failed the test because they were poorly taught. Instruction wasn’t relevant, interesting, engaging, or differentiated. The students also had no personal investment in the test because they were told it was stupid. I believe my CT was angry because she is tired of the district telling her exactly what she has to do in her classroom.


 * What does it mean?**

High failure rates on any test means that the teacher needs to re-evaluate his or her method of instruction. It also means that the system in place for evaluating student learning is failing. Complete failure does not mean the student’s aren’t smart. It means they are too bored and uninterested to take anything away from what they’re taught.


 * What are the implications for future practice?**

If this were to happen in my future classroom I would take a constructivist approach to fixing the problem. I would avoid teaching to the test and spending so much class time on learning test taking strategies. If I wanted my students to succeed I would never tell them the test is stupid (even if it is). I would not cut important content from my classroom curriculum just because it’s not on the test. Likewise, just because the curriculum is dry doesn’t mean instruction has to be. I would do whatever possible to make students feel that learning is fun. Instead of narrowing the curriculum to teach to the test, I would focus on big ideas and student curiosity. I would also differentiate the curriculum for my students and provide an alternate form of assessment to accompany the test. I would collaborate with other educators to combine resources and ideas. Lastly, I would set the bar high for my students. I will tell them over and over again how valuable their effort is and how capable they are of success.

-Kelsey Curlett

What Happened 3

What Happened 4