Vignette 7

The Mighty Bell Curve!

            Personally for me I believe that has a teacher we are paid to teach the curriculum therefore we should grade based on the students’ knowledge of the curricular outcomes. So for me the POS plays a pretty big role in my determination of students’ grades. I feel that when I was in school I had to learn the outcomes in the POS and that’s what I was graded on and I turned out fine so I think I will do the same in my classroom.

            I have said before that I did not know the students in my IPT enough to sway their marks but in my own classroom, knowing the students and knowing the efforts that each and every one puts in would make a difference in the grades. With that said if I were to choose to use a bell curve to determine the final grades in my classroom I would only use the grades from my grade book to determine where each student would fall. BUT!!!! I will never use the bell curve unless I have no choice in the matter. Even as a university student I think the bell curve is stupid and pointless. I just do not think it is fair when you get all 80’s and 90’s during the year and you are in a class full of high achievers that those grades may fall in the ‘C’ category. For middle school I just do not see the point in using the bell curve in a class of 40 when it should be used in classes of 1000’s.

            I believe that the criterion-referenced grading is a better practice because in the end, like final grades, are not a huge shock to parents and students. I do not believe in exposing middle school children to the bell curve. When they receive 80% on an assignment they should not have to worry about it converting to a lower grade or have the expectation that it may end up being a higher grade. I think from personally experience I do not like the bell curve therefore if I have a choice to use it or not I WILL NOT. Also, if the government can change the cut off to determine a pass or fail on PAT exams then what is really the big deal for teachers to use the bell curve?

            To make sure my assessments are reliable and valid will come from reading ways to check for errors and to read and re-read assessment tools to ensure it is touching the bases I want it to and is testing what the students have learned. I think being a first year teacher there will be a lot of trial and error and until then I will not actually know a proper answer to this questions. I feel like I will have to find out what works for me and what works for the students and this may vary from year to year. So I guess not until I get into a school and have a class full of student will I know if my assessments are reliable and valid and have no room for error. With that said I do not believe there is any teacher out there who has assessment down pat!

Vignette 3

Get with the Program!

            Personally I feel that exams and assignment/projects should directly reflect 1 or 2 specific outcomes each. This way it is easy for the teacher to explain to the student and the parent what was supposed to be portrayed through the exam or assignment. I think that when grading things the students should know the criteria beforehand so they can look at and know what is expected of them in order to receive a good grade. By handing out rubrics with the assignment will lower the amount of confusion and can be evidence to back the teacher up when a parent comes in and questions their child’s mark. In my IPT, the last week of school before Christmas I thought it would be fun to do a body systems project where the students choose the body system they wanted to do and they had to research it. Then they had to trace themselves and add all the important parts of the system, label, and be able to tell me why they were important. When I gave the assignment sheet out on the back I had included the rubric that would be used in the grading process. This way every student had a copy and had no reason why they shouldn’t have received a good grade. They all did amazing!

            For me when I graded the project I strictly used the rubric and what they got they got. I knew the students to some extent but I do not think I knew them well enough to change a grade based on them personally. On page C56 of the text it gave explanation of different students and then showed a chart of the marks. Looking at the chart I could see that the grades were not all based on the criteria but on the students on a personal level. Student 1 received an A while he only had a 75% and you had to get 80% to actually receive an A. I do not believe in changing student’s marks because they worked harder on one thing more then another. If I am going to create a rubric I am going to follow it to the letter. I did notice in my IPT, when my mentor teacher would grade things she would look and see who it was and then determine the grade. Personally I did not agree but didn’t say anything. When creating a rubric I look at the things the students should be able to accomplish at the end of the unit and go from there. If they can’t do it they can’t do it.

            I will use a grade book when I become a teacher because I enjoy them. I think they can be used in order to align teaching with the POS. If you have written out the specific outcomes and can see them when entering grades you will be able to see if you are doing what you should be as a teacher. It would be easier to see if you are hitting the outcomes or if the students understand what you are teaching. Having the outcomes outlined in a grade book and you are entering grades once a week or so then you will always be reminded of the path you should be staying on when you are teaching, planning, and executing exams and projects.

Vignette 2

Let the Kids Know What’s Coming!


**** I answered the wrong questions for this blog, I will write my correct response in red ****

            This vignette was a very easy read and a good indicator of how every teacher is different and how teachers do things and view things differently in their classroom. I believe that Ms. Emerson lets her students know what the course expectations and evaluations are beforehand because she feels that if her students know at the beginning what they need to do in order to achieve a good grade in her class they are more likely to succeed. Also, by doing this when she gives an assignment she can just tell the students to refer to the handout that she gave them at the beginning of the year to know what is acceptable and what is not. Personally I would have mixed feelings about this because when I was in school and teachers gave us a big package of information I would never read it and was overwhelmed about it. Looking at it from an educator’s point of view I feel that it makes it easier for the teacher through the year. Pre-planning of classroom instruction helps grading practices because it allows the teacher to become familiar and confident in her work which in the long run will help the teacher and the student to become successful in the school year. If the students know what the expectations are and what they need to do as a student can help them prepare themselves for success. I feel that when students especially in middle school feel and receive success they are more likely to continue on to be successful, or at least give it their best.

Beginning of the school year is a busy time of the year for teachers but being prepared is key. Letting the students know their expectations and what the year will be compassing in the beginning will help lessen confusion and often help with classroom management. I will be sharing the learning outcomes and evaluation criteria with my students in the start of the year. We have learned that backwards by design is very good and if the students can do their work with the end result in mind it may lead to higher quality work. By sharing the evaluation criteria in the beginning the students will know how what they will need to do to receive an appropriate grade for what the quality of work that they hand in. I believe that if the students know the criteria from the start they will be use to the expectations and will be less likely to not complete work in a 75% range or lower. I think that huge packages of information are unrealistic to students so creating a 1-2 page summary of expectations will put things straight and to the point. The students will be able to relate easily to a summary of expectations and it will be easier for them to remember and look back at.

            Giving the students something relatable to the curriculum and their expectations is very important. If it is done right from the beginning students will have a higher chance of success.