For our writing unit on reviews, we posted rubrics on our "Reviews" wall in the classroom. We made the rubrics using our ideas about assessment, but incorporated suggestions from the kids on what they felt were important elements of good reviews. For example, we put "juicy lead" on there because the students thought a first sentence filled with fun adjectives was really important. Looking at the rubric daily as they were writing really helped students focus on what they needed to include in their reviews. It also allowed us to point them to something concrete when they had questions about what information their reviews were lacking.
After reading the articles, I also decided to try contracts with some of the kids. I came up with one for a girl who has been really struggling with focusing on her work and has been distracting others from doing theirs. I talked to her about the situation and asked if maybe we could write down a promise that we would both sign, and see if that helped her reach her goals. She thought it was a cool idea and was really eager to contribute her own language to the contract. We came up with a list of goals for the week, including working quietly, staying on task and saving "chatty time" (her words) for recess, lunch and after school. I wanted her to have an incentive/consequence, so we also included a reward of a good written report being sent home on Friday, with the consequence being she would have to eat lunch in the classroom alone with a teacher on Friday. Because she is so socially driven, the idea of missing out on lunch with her friends was very powerful. She didn't do a complete turnaround, but there was a marked difference in her performance this week. When she wasn't following directions, I was able to remind her of the promise she made and she could reread the contract (we each had a copy). By Wednesday, all she could talk to me about was how well she was doing and how excited she was to bring a note home from me to show her parents, which she did today!
This sounds excellent! Are you going to renew the contract each week or does she think it is for the rest of the year? If it is unclear to her, just talk about it.
I am glad to hear rubrics work for some. I never used them when I was teaching (they hadn't been "invented" yet) and am always interested to hear if they really work. You seem to suggest they do. I think a lot has to do with how they are used!
I think rubrics are a great idea, as they give students an idea of what a "good" grade means. I can't stand vague rubrics, however, that seem a little more subjective than objective. We used MCAS rubrics to score as a group some of our 4th graders writing responses to their practice prompts before the MCAS. I think a lot of the wording went over their head, but I think it was good for them to see what a 4 was, versus a 3, a 1 versus a 2, etc. The interesting thing was that they were quite hard on themselves after seeing the rubric! We let them grade their writing based on the rubric and some of the kids were really tough graders even on themselves. I think they enjoyed having something concrete to base their grade on.
The thing I don't like about rubrics, however, is that it might lead kids to "write" or think inside the box. That's kind of boring. Yes, there should be correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation, but I think often times (as what happened in our MCAS rubric exercise), the students decided, "oh, a 4 means I have 10 similies in my writing." It becomes like a prescription for "good" writing that makes for boring pieces. Literally, some of the intro sentences were identical to their concluding sentences and this was accepted simply bc they HAD an intro sentence and concluding sentence. Maybe I'm too tough on them but I would encourage them to be a little more creative than that because that's a bad habit to get into when writing! So, basically what I am saying is that I would want rubrics in my classroom that are very specific and articulate in language but not rigid in expectations. If that makes sense. Like, "less than 3 spelling errors equals a 4" would work, but it is also important to not sacrifice creativity while using them. -Lauren
We've been implementing behavior plan rubrics in my class recently. I call it a rubric, even if it isn't an academic rubric, because it's very clear on whether a student has succeeded or not. One girl just started one today, while another has been on one for about 4 weeks, and a third started one last week. I've definitely seen an improvement in the behavior of the boy who's been on one for 4 weeks. All of these behavior plans monitor some social behavior (such as, "Am I listening to the teacher and to my peers, showing respect for their opinions, and taking care of myself?") as well as their academic behaviors (such as, "Am I focused on my work and finishing it in a timely manner?"). I do ask the student to tell me whether they think they've succeeded for that lesson, but I also tell them what I observed and believed they showed. The students who've just recently started theirs are still learning what behaviors we are looking to see from them. It's a pretty basic format: we've listed all the different things the students do during the day (morning meeting, literacy centers, recess, etc) and will place a + or a - for these two areas. One student is simply attempting to get pluses on half of the day, while the other two are working to get 3/4 of the day filled with pluses. I also take time to talk to the student when I believe they deserve a minus, and they disagree. Overall, I do see an improvement in their behaviors--they recognize that we are serious, but are also serious about helping them.
An example of an academic rubric we regularly use is our story problem steps. The story problem steps are 1) underline the question. 2) Write the number sentence. 3) Show your work! and 4) Restate the question. These are posted on the wall for all students to see and remind themselves. They can check and recheck to see whether they have done all four steps. If they have not done one of the steps, they recognize that they will not get the top grade (my teacher uses the MCAS grading numbers to clarify what we are looking for).
I, too, loved the example of a contract. I showed it to the first grade team, and we are all going to use a contract for some items that we are sending home with the students this weekend/next week. It's very much like the one in the example, clarifying the use of these items, what the student expects to do with the item, the signature of the teacher, and then a reflection area for the student to write about the experience of using the item, and what they wished had been different. I'm excited to use them, and I'm very curious to see whether it will help the students use these items (a notebook and a camera) more purposefully!
I used a KWL chart with my class because we have done it in the past and they understand the concept. Our reading stated that KWL charts do not chart the progress and preconceptions of the individual, only the class as a whole. While this was mostly the case, I did feel that I could get some idea of how at least some individual students understood the main points of the lessons in this unit (Discovering Justice, social studies). We discussed as a group all the parts of the chart, and I felt that the group conversation allowed me to see what my students knew, wanted to learn, and learned about our social studies topics. Hearing students explain what they took away from the lessons helped me see what points I needed to emphasize more, or what needed further clarification. It also helped me determine what follow up questions to ask in order to find out more about what my students knew. Although I did get some assessment of individuals, the assessment was mostly effective at offering a big picture assessment. Using this type of assessment didn't inform individual or even small group instruction, but it did inform and effect the way I carried out future whole group instruction.
Excellent use of KWL charts. They did for you just what they are designed to do. Did you do the L part at the end of the study? This should have given you somewhat of an idea of what the class learned. Nancy
For out math assessments a lot of times we use a performance checklist as the students complete a familiar task. For example, for our unit on counting, the students had to fill in an outline of their foot with pennies, tiles, and beans and then count how many of each took up the inside of their foot. As they were completing this activity, the teachers in the room watched a table closely and observed the students abilities. We had been given a pre-written checklist through the math curriculum to follow and make notes regarding how students were counting, how they were keeping track, etc. I felt that with tasks with simple instructions and accessible procedures, a performance checklist works well. I was able to organize the data that I observed and know exactly what I was looking for. It was an activity that required little questioning from the students as they had already completed a similar activity a few days before. It also worked well because due to the nature of moving the materials around and the task of counting, it was very easy to see what their math thinking was. I would not use this assessment strategy on tasks with complex steps or activities where it may not be clear what a student's thinking is just by observing the student.
It would be interesting to know what you were looking for and what you learned. Was there another way you could learn the same thing - just to know if the checklist actually told you anything? Nancy
We use a lot of informal assessments in our class, in addition to Cambridge's city-wide assessments for writing and math that are given 4 times a year. During my take-over week, I introduced a patterns unit based on the Investigations curriculum we follow in math. On Friday, I wanted to try out a different sort of lesson that wasn't part of the investigations curriculum, using a picture book called Pattern Bugs to discuss patterns and show how they can be explained a variety of ways (colors, shapes, words, body movements...) After we finished the lesson with the book, as an informal assessment, I asked students to go to tables and create their own pattern and write a description, similar to those from the book, to go along with the pattern. For example, a student drew a picture of a Bumble Bee and talked about the black-yellow pattern. They then wrote "Buzz-Buzz-Sting, Buzz-Buzz-Sting..." to describe a pattern the bumble bee was making with sounds. They then made a body-movement pattern of wing-flap, wing-flap, spin... I found this informal assessment very effective; it showed me who understood the weeks mini-unit on repeating patterns and how much the story aided in their comprehension. I liked that students could use their creativity writing and drawing, and it incorporated kinesthetic learning with making body-movement patterns to match the color and word patterns their created. I was able to tell who would require extra support as we moved along to growing patterns the following week. -Elyssa Nadler
In line with what Elyssa was saying, my classroom relies heavily on informal assessment. Studies show that at a certain age, homework does nothing to reinforce concepts learned in the classroom. Assuming this study is accurate, and taking our class' high levels of achievement into consideration, we put a lot of weight into our informal assessments.
These assessments come in a variety of forms. To me, anything that isn't a graded assignment. is an informal assessment. Many times, I will not require them to put their names on the slips of paper they hand me, as it is not so important to me how individuals are doing when I give exit tickets. It's a way for me to gauge the climate in the class after we've covered a hard topic. Once I have reviewed the exit tickets and know where the class is at in terms of content knowledge, I can then focus on individual assessment when I give homework or exams.
In my first grade classroom we do several types of assessments. The more common assessment we complete is informal assessments to gauge if the students understanding the curriculum content. Asking questions to students orally, or asking them to write down answers on a white board, are two methods used in my classroom to decide if students understand the content. Within our math curriculum, we use formal written math assessments each time we complete a chapter. These documents are copied and saved in each students file so the teacher can have documentation on the students’ annual progress.
I haven't been able to try any of these assessment tools. My teacher likes to stick to the ones she typically uses. I usually do exit slips for Math and have whole class discussions for reading or writing. I meet with small groups all the time to make sure they understand basic concepts in math and conduct "writer's conferences" with individual students as well.
In the classroom I'm student teaching in informal assessments are done all the time. Many times the morning work will follow the lesson from the day before, it really helps us to decide who needs some extra help or practice. I just started a unit on seeds and I gave a survey to gauge students prior knowledge so I know where to go for the test at the end. Also in math each day the teacher starts the lesson with a white board warm-up. This helps to see the students knowledge and watch them working out the problems without calling them out if they were wrong. A lot of assessment can be done by merely walking around the classroom to see who needs more help or who is right on task. It's also so helpful to keep track of students work each day. I love seeing the improvement that can be made day to day.
In my 1st & 2nd grade classroom, we mostly use informal assessments.
However, one of the more official rubrics we use in our 1st &2nd grade combined classroom relates to story problems. This rubric walks students through a step by step list of best practices when tackling a math problem. It was conceived by the school’s math coach in conjuction with some other teachers in the school. The day we introduced it, we handed a checklist to every student to fill out (check off) as they were working their way through the story problems. From that point on, we left a copy at every table during story problem work periods and also posted it in the classroom.
Ultimately, I am not sure how helpful it was. I think in some ways, it made the story problems even more overwhelming. Even though children need to do the outlined steps anyway, I felt seeing it printed out was a bit off-putting.
I agree with Lauren that one down side of a rubric is that it may limit the thinking or creativity. Perhaps a way to surmount this would be to also hand out examples of great work of students AFTER the assisgnment has been completed so students can see how other kids interpreted the assignment. Personally, I wish that this was done in the Lesley classes I’ve taken – (and in previous classes during my earlier eductation) as I think it really can expand academic and creative horizons.
For our writing unit on reviews, we posted rubrics on our "Reviews" wall in the classroom. We made the rubrics using our ideas about assessment, but incorporated suggestions from the kids on what they felt were important elements of good reviews. For example, we put "juicy lead" on there because the students thought a first sentence filled with fun adjectives was really important. Looking at the rubric daily as they were writing really helped students focus on what they needed to include in their reviews. It also allowed us to point them to something concrete when they had questions about what information their reviews were lacking.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the articles, I also decided to try contracts with some of the kids. I came up with one for a girl who has been really struggling with focusing on her work and has been distracting others from doing theirs. I talked to her about the situation and asked if maybe we could write down a promise that we would both sign, and see if that helped her reach her goals. She thought it was a cool idea and was really eager to contribute her own language to the contract. We came up with a list of goals for the week, including working quietly, staying on task and saving "chatty time" (her words) for recess, lunch and after school. I wanted her to have an incentive/consequence, so we also included a reward of a good written report being sent home on Friday, with the consequence being she would have to eat lunch in the classroom alone with a teacher on Friday. Because she is so socially driven, the idea of missing out on lunch with her friends was very powerful. She didn't do a complete turnaround, but there was a marked difference in her performance this week. When she wasn't following directions, I was able to remind her of the promise she made and she could reread the contract (we each had a copy). By Wednesday, all she could talk to me about was how well she was doing and how excited she was to bring a note home from me to show her parents, which she did today!
This sounds excellent! Are you going to renew the contract each week or does she think it is for the rest of the year? If it is unclear to her, just talk about it.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear rubrics work for some. I never used them when I was teaching (they hadn't been "invented" yet) and am always interested to hear if they really work. You seem to suggest they do. I think a lot has to do with how they are used!
Nancy
I think rubrics are a great idea, as they give students an idea of what a "good" grade means. I can't stand vague rubrics, however, that seem a little more subjective than objective. We used MCAS rubrics to score as a group some of our 4th graders writing responses to their practice prompts before the MCAS. I think a lot of the wording went over their head, but I think it was good for them to see what a 4 was, versus a 3, a 1 versus a 2, etc. The interesting thing was that they were quite hard on themselves after seeing the rubric! We let them grade their writing based on the rubric and some of the kids were really tough graders even on themselves. I think they enjoyed having something concrete to base their grade on.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I don't like about rubrics, however, is that it might lead kids to "write" or think inside the box. That's kind of boring. Yes, there should be correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation, but I think often times (as what happened in our MCAS rubric exercise), the students decided, "oh, a 4 means I have 10 similies in my writing." It becomes like a prescription for "good" writing that makes for boring pieces. Literally, some of the intro sentences were identical to their concluding sentences and this was accepted simply bc they HAD an intro sentence and concluding sentence. Maybe I'm too tough on them but I would encourage them to be a little more creative than that because that's a bad habit to get into when writing! So, basically what I am saying is that I would want rubrics in my classroom that are very specific and articulate in language but not rigid in expectations. If that makes sense. Like, "less than 3 spelling errors equals a 4" would work, but it is also important to not sacrifice creativity while using them.
-Lauren
Your assessment of rubrics seems very valid. As you use them with children you know better, you will probably change your mind several times!
DeleteNancy
We've been implementing behavior plan rubrics in my class recently. I call it a rubric, even if it isn't an academic rubric, because it's very clear on whether a student has succeeded or not. One girl just started one today, while another has been on one for about 4 weeks, and a third started one last week. I've definitely seen an improvement in the behavior of the boy who's been on one for 4 weeks. All of these behavior plans monitor some social behavior (such as, "Am I listening to the teacher and to my peers, showing respect for their opinions, and taking care of myself?") as well as their academic behaviors (such as, "Am I focused on my work and finishing it in a timely manner?"). I do ask the student to tell me whether they think they've succeeded for that lesson, but I also tell them what I observed and believed they showed. The students who've just recently started theirs are still learning what behaviors we are looking to see from them. It's a pretty basic format: we've listed all the different things the students do during the day (morning meeting, literacy centers, recess, etc) and will place a + or a - for these two areas. One student is simply attempting to get pluses on half of the day, while the other two are working to get 3/4 of the day filled with pluses. I also take time to talk to the student when I believe they deserve a minus, and they disagree. Overall, I do see an improvement in their behaviors--they recognize that we are serious, but are also serious about helping them.
ReplyDeleteAn example of an academic rubric we regularly use is our story problem steps. The story problem steps are 1) underline the question. 2) Write the number sentence. 3) Show your work! and 4) Restate the question. These are posted on the wall for all students to see and remind themselves. They can check and recheck to see whether they have done all four steps. If they have not done one of the steps, they recognize that they will not get the top grade (my teacher uses the MCAS grading numbers to clarify what we are looking for).
I, too, loved the example of a contract. I showed it to the first grade team, and we are all going to use a contract for some items that we are sending home with the students this weekend/next week. It's very much like the one in the example, clarifying the use of these items, what the student expects to do with the item, the signature of the teacher, and then a reflection area for the student to write about the experience of using the item, and what they wished had been different. I'm excited to use them, and I'm very curious to see whether it will help the students use these items (a notebook and a camera) more purposefully!
I like the idea of academic rubrics! I would also like to hear how contracts work, if you can say anything about them before the term ends!
ReplyDeleteNancy
I used a KWL chart with my class because we have done it in the past and they understand the concept. Our reading stated that KWL charts do not chart the progress and preconceptions of the individual, only the class as a whole. While this was mostly the case, I did feel that I could get some idea of how at least some individual students understood the main points of the lessons in this unit (Discovering Justice, social studies). We discussed as a group all the parts of the chart, and I felt that the group conversation allowed me to see what my students knew, wanted to learn, and learned about our social studies topics. Hearing students explain what they took away from the lessons helped me see what points I needed to emphasize more, or what needed further clarification. It also helped me determine what follow up questions to ask in order to find out more about what my students knew. Although I did get some assessment of individuals, the assessment was mostly effective at offering a big picture assessment. Using this type of assessment didn't inform individual or even small group instruction, but it did inform and effect the way I carried out future whole group instruction.
ReplyDeleteExcellent use of KWL charts. They did for you just what they are designed to do. Did you do the L part at the end of the study? This should have given you somewhat of an idea of what the class learned.
DeleteNancy
For out math assessments a lot of times we use a performance checklist as the students complete a familiar task. For example, for our unit on counting, the students had to fill in an outline of their foot with pennies, tiles, and beans and then count how many of each took up the inside of their foot. As they were completing this activity, the teachers in the room watched a table closely and observed the students abilities. We had been given a pre-written checklist through the math curriculum to follow and make notes regarding how students were counting, how they were keeping track, etc. I felt that with tasks with simple instructions and accessible procedures, a performance checklist works well. I was able to organize the data that I observed and know exactly what I was looking for. It was an activity that required little questioning from the students as they had already completed a similar activity a few days before. It also worked well because due to the nature of moving the materials around and the task of counting, it was very easy to see what their math thinking was. I would not use this assessment strategy on tasks with complex steps or activities where it may not be clear what a student's thinking is just by observing the student.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to know what you were looking for and what you learned. Was there another way you could learn the same thing - just to know if the checklist actually told you anything?
DeleteNancy
We use a lot of informal assessments in our class, in addition to Cambridge's city-wide assessments for writing and math that are given 4 times a year. During my take-over week, I introduced a patterns unit based on the Investigations curriculum we follow in math. On Friday, I wanted to try out a different sort of lesson that wasn't part of the investigations curriculum, using a picture book called Pattern Bugs to discuss patterns and show how they can be explained a variety of ways (colors, shapes, words, body movements...) After we finished the lesson with the book, as an informal assessment, I asked students to go to tables and create their own pattern and write a description, similar to those from the book, to go along with the pattern. For example, a student drew a picture of a Bumble Bee and talked about the black-yellow pattern. They then wrote "Buzz-Buzz-Sting, Buzz-Buzz-Sting..." to describe a pattern the bumble bee was making with sounds. They then made a body-movement pattern of wing-flap, wing-flap, spin... I found this informal assessment very effective; it showed me who understood the weeks mini-unit on repeating patterns and how much the story aided in their comprehension. I liked that students could use their creativity writing and drawing, and it incorporated kinesthetic learning with making body-movement patterns to match the color and word patterns their created. I was able to tell who would require extra support as we moved along to growing patterns the following week.
ReplyDelete-Elyssa Nadler
This is a terrific idea. Keep trying out your own creations, especially if they are as good and work as well as this one did!
DeleteNancy
In line with what Elyssa was saying, my classroom relies heavily on informal assessment. Studies show that at a certain age, homework does nothing to reinforce concepts learned in the classroom. Assuming this study is accurate, and taking our class' high levels of achievement into consideration, we put a lot of weight into our informal assessments.
ReplyDeleteThese assessments come in a variety of forms. To me, anything that isn't a graded assignment. is an informal assessment. Many times, I will not require them to put their names on the slips of paper they hand me, as it is not so important to me how individuals are doing when I give exit tickets. It's a way for me to gauge the climate in the class after we've covered a hard topic. Once I have reviewed the exit tickets and know where the class is at in terms of content knowledge, I can then focus on individual assessment when I give homework or exams.
So you are in favor of homework! :) The exit tickets seem like a great idea - no threat to anyone so you probably learn a lot from them.
DeleteNancy
In my first grade classroom we do several types of assessments. The more common assessment we complete is informal assessments to gauge if the students understanding the curriculum content. Asking questions to students orally, or asking them to write down answers on a white board, are two methods used in my classroom to decide if students understand the content. Within our math curriculum, we use formal written math assessments each time we complete a chapter. These documents are copied and saved in each students file so the teacher can have documentation on the students’ annual progress.
ReplyDeleteDocumentation is a good idea, especially when you talk to the parents.
DeleteNancy
I haven't been able to try any of these assessment tools. My teacher likes to stick to the ones she typically uses. I usually do exit slips for Math and have whole class discussions for reading or writing.
ReplyDeleteI meet with small groups all the time to make sure they understand basic concepts in math and conduct "writer's conferences" with individual students as well.
What you are doing sounds fine. However, when on your own, you might want to try other things!
DeleteNancy
In the classroom I'm student teaching in informal assessments are done all the time. Many times the morning work will follow the lesson from the day before, it really helps us to decide who needs some extra help or practice. I just started a unit on seeds and I gave a survey to gauge students prior knowledge so I know where to go for the test at the end. Also in math each day the teacher starts the lesson with a white board warm-up. This helps to see the students knowledge and watch them working out the problems without calling them out if they were wrong.
ReplyDeleteA lot of assessment can be done by merely walking around the classroom to see who needs more help or who is right on task. It's also so helpful to keep track of students work each day. I love seeing the improvement that can be made day to day.
i agree with everything you say, however, sometimes it is good to have something more formal to show parents and the kids as well!
ReplyDeleteNancy
In my 1st & 2nd grade classroom, we mostly use informal assessments.
ReplyDeleteHowever, one of the more official rubrics we use in our 1st &2nd grade combined classroom relates to story problems. This rubric walks students through a step by step list of best practices when tackling a math problem. It was conceived by the school’s math coach in conjuction with some other teachers in the school. The day we introduced it, we handed a checklist to every student to fill out (check off) as they were working their way through the story problems. From that point on, we left a copy at every table during story problem work periods and also posted it in the classroom.
Ultimately, I am not sure how helpful it was. I think in some ways, it made the story problems even more overwhelming. Even though children need to do the outlined steps anyway, I felt seeing it printed out was a bit off-putting.
I agree with Lauren that one down side of a rubric is that it may limit the thinking or creativity. Perhaps a way to surmount this would be to also hand out examples of great work of students AFTER the assisgnment has been completed so students can see how other kids interpreted the assignment. Personally, I wish that this was done in the Lesley classes I’ve taken – (and in previous classes during my earlier eductation) as I think it really can expand academic and creative horizons.