October 2, 2020

Did you write the most amazing lesson? Have the cutest bitmoji classroom? You worked hard and planned every second but you have students not turning in assignments, not showing up to class? This is frustrating but there is a way - build relationships to where they want to attend your class, they want to turn in the assignment because they have built a relationship with you- they don't want to let you down. Here is a great podcast to get some ideas during distance learning: PODCAST I know it is frustrating and YOU are exhausted but these extra steps will pay off so you see more students and more students completing work :) Now more than ever they need us! 

Read this Anti-Racist Grading article. Below is some information from it.

If the ultimate goal is more equitable grading, where can teachers start?

If I were to give teachers a starter kit, it would be to examine the ideologies that you bring into classrooms—the bad code, to repeat the computer metaphor. Three particularly pernicious ideologies show up in grading. The first is the ideology of should know. There's this false belief that if a 2nd grader walked into my classroom, there are certain things she should know. Rather, it's our job as teachers to discern what students do know and then move them forward.

The second thing I would eliminate is the ideology of transactional gratitude. In most academic spaces, there is a silent pact that teachers make with students: I will agree to teach you well if you demonstrate to me that you are thankful for it. And if you do not demonstrate to me that you are thankful for it, I will withhold quality teaching from you. A teacher will be in the lounge and say something like, "You know, I've done everything to make sure that McKibben kid understands how to add. But all she does is yell. She's not thankful. So I'm not doing it no more." Or, "Can you believe I stayed after school for two hours to help Sarah with her essay and she still didn't turn it in? That kid can forget about it from me." We expect students to show up with gratitude because we do our jobs.

The third is the ideology of deservedness. Even though grading is about proficiency, it often gets conflated with behavior. You can have a student who is proficient at calculus, but if the teacher doesn't like the fact that they are consistently late to class, that kid gets marked down. Again, there's an unspoken pact teachers have with their children: I will agree to teach you well if you demonstrate to me that you deserve it.

If teachers start by examining—and eliminating—those three ideologies, then the grading that will come out on the other end of the system will be far better for children.

NO EXCUSES UNIVERSITY

Culture of Universal Achievement

Collaboration

Standards Alignment

Assessment Plan

Data Analysis

Interventions

“We spend time at our Institute distinguishing between formative and summative assessments and how grade level teams can take responsibility for gathering or creating formative assessments that make sense for them.  We emphasize the importance of this work as a support to teachers, because this allows teachers to track those students who are not making adequate academic progress towards proficiency, and then identify specific content areas that require intervention.”

There are some key topics to consider when implementing an assessment plan:

#1:  Assessment is NOT about the teacher, it’s about the student

#2:  Balance between of and for learning assessments

#3:  Scheduling, benchmarks for growth, and continuous improvement are crucial

Assessment is NOT about the teacher, it’s about the student:  One of my favorite quotes from the summer institute was that data does not belong to the teachers.  It was on loan from the students.  In order to help students achieve proficiency, we must support the teacher in analyzing the data and making the necessary adjustments.

Balance between of and for learning assessments:  There needs to be a balance between formative and summative assessments.  Think about the teachers on your campus.  What percentage of the instructional time is dedicated to formative assessment?  What percentage of the instructional time is dedicated to summative assessment?  In a NEU school, both assessments are equally important.

Scheduling, benchmarks, and continuous improvement are crucial:  When you get your data…what do you do about it?  Is it used as a learning opportunity to better understand what your students know and don’t know? Everything we do should be about providing opportunities for continuous improvement.  Do we have systems in place that allow for such a process?

Observable Fish Moments at SV:

Be There: The amount of time and energy you are putting into your lessons is not going unnoticed. I know you are working 500% more. I just want you to know that I appreciate it.

Play:  Make sure you take some time to RELAX.

 Choose your attitude: BE POSITIVE!!!

Make Their Day:  Lunch with the Principal is on Monday. Please choose one student for me to have lunch with :)