Report Cards =)

Oh report cards! What can I say about report cards?! Well first off they do a great job of showing you a grade, but that’s all they really do. You add up all the scores and divide by the amount of tests taken and assign that number a letter grade equivalent and call it a day. In my opinion what is more important than the “final letter grade” is the overall improvement or progress the student has made since day one. Although the grade is what counts, its not all that counts. The child who has went from barely a D to a C+ or a B- is just as note worthy as the student who has maintained an A+ all year long. I don’t see the use of report cards becoming obsolete any time soon however, I do think that some new methods of grading need to be implemented!

Standardized Testing

Luckily, my standardized testing score were always above average. In grammar school I frequently receive honor roll and was recognized for having an above average reading level. In high school I have to admit I did rather poorly. I simply didn’t apply myself. However, my SAT’S would have told you otherwise. I did very well on my SATS which really wasn’t a reflection of how I was actually doing in school. I chalked it up to being a good test taker. Since I seemed to excel at reading and English I always blew through those parts of the test with ease. When it came to math, now that was another story. I feel that standardized testing is a double edged sword. I can prove to be both detrimental or beneficial to a school in terms of title 1 funding etc… To be quite honest, I don’t think that the testing scores should be calculated into the equation when the BOE is deciding on what schools/ districts get what funding.

Essay Tests VS. Multiple Choice Tests

I will incorporate both types of tests in my future classroom. However, you need to be conscious of the fact that some students are not necessarily good test takers or writers. By combining both types on each test each student gets a fair shot. Multiple choice questions allow the student to do a process of elimination if they are unsure of the correct answer (they have a 25% chance at getting the question right.) Whereas if your test is entirely essay and your students don’t know the answer they will just leave it blank and receive no credit.

Portfolios

I think that Portfolios are a great tool for both students and teachers to use. When used and maintained correctly they can show students/ parents/ teachers/ administrators exactly what progress the student has made and what they have “been up to” lately. It can be used as a way to monitor a student’s writing proficiency as well as keep track of their “best work.” They can be actively involved in the creation and maintenance of the portfolio by letting them to select and revise their best work as well as present their portfolios to their parents. By allowing them to take part in this process you are also allowing them to critique themselves; to decide what areas are in need of improvement, what areas are strengths, what areas are weaknesses, and how much they have improved since day one.

homework

As a current student as well as a future educator, I have mixed feelings about homework. Although the benefits/ positives of homework assignments far outweigh the negatives I feel that some teachers abuse homework. Homework should be given as an extension of a lesson already learned. Students should not be given things for homework that they are expected to teach themselves. THAT'S OUR JOB, TO TEACH!!! Sometimes teachers resort to using homework as a bargaining tool, such as: no homework if _ _ _ OR if your not quite you'll have to write your vocab words 10 times each. Homework shouldn't be a dreaded task, but for most students that's exactly what it has become. Also, homework as an assessment tool can give the teacher some insight as to what the child is able to do on his/ her own, at what efficiency level the student completes work, and how much is left to learn. In short, give MEANINGFUL homework that you are ACTUALLY going to grade and/or assess!!!!!!!

power teaching

The concept of power teaching baffles me. I personally don't understand how any learning could go in in that type of environment. In the video we watched I saw some good use of gestures. However, I felt that the classroom was too chaotic for any real learning to take place. The students were constantly competing to just be heard by the person next to them. None of the students that the video focused on were able to finish a complete thought/ sentence without being interrupted or losing their train of though, how is that LEARNING. In addition, I feel that power teaching shifts the teaching responsibility on to the students; which I definitely don't agree with. Overall, I do not see myself utilizing this method of teaching in my classroom.

Rubistar Website/ Rubrics in General (double post for Modual 3)

Personally I think that the Rubistar website is a great tool for teachers. Instead of spending so much time creating your own rubrics you are able to use other teachers as well as get suggestions from the template itself. If there is anything you disagree with you can just take it out and if there is anything that you think should be included that wasn’t, you can simply add it! Despite the ease of use of the website I do believe that sometime Rubrics are not the best way to assess a students’ performance. There are some assignments or tasks that cannot be assessed you and kind of a format. It is up to the teacher to decide when and where the use of rubrics is applicable.