EDU 550 Educational Assessment

Joseph McCune               

11/1/14

EDU 550 Educational Assessment

Week 8 Blog Thoughts on Education by Grant Wiggin     

                Per usual, the reading is another great article for this week’s blog. Education has changed so much over the last ten years. From bench marks, to state standards, to common core, the ideas are similar; some would argue that the concepts are the same, but with different window dressing. It is easy to get caught up in the innovation and technology infusing today’s classroom. Wiggin’s article reminds the reader that as much as things might change with instructional goals, human evolution is yet to catch up.  Educators need to keep the target audience in mind when creating lessons and hoping to get the most out of young minds.

                Point one from the article is one I noticed about two years into my tenure as a teacher. Many students cannot possibly sit focused for an extended amount of time on one task. It is easier to think of my class as two 22 minute lesson cycles. Having at least two things planned per period is a must. The practical level students demonstrate this need most of all. LHS works on an eight period day (classes of 45 min). With block scheduling, this can compound the issue if teachers are not ready to plan for activity and movement. My mentor teacher when I was student teaching also reminds me of this. Peter Majoy loved to begin or end class with a game of Simon Says. It gets students up, moving, and ready to pay attention. On some days, I still use it. Sometimes students even ask to play.

                Another section of the reading I felt reassuring was the idea of beginning where students have questions. Putting this together with having students work on these questions in small groups and learning is going through a number of levels. This reminds me of an impromptu Socratic Seminar.

                These are things teachers know, but they are sometimes blinded by the need to cover curriculum and a pressure to get students prepared for standardized tests. This serves as a reminder that educators need to stand up for what works best for students beyond test scores. Here is a novel idea, how about using the testing to measure growth and drive curriculum rather than just a high stakes game? More teachers might be able to take the time to make a classroom that reflects the best from the Wiggin article.

Joseph McCune               

11/1/14

EDU 550 Educational Assessment

Blog #6 Boosting the Power of Projects John Lerner, Can Assessments Motivate? Richard Curwin

 

            After looking at ideas and concepts behind project based learning, it is evident that project based learning has the ability to transform how students learn. John Lerner’s article about, “Boosting the Power of Projects,” provides some sound guidance so that projects are more than just more complicated assignments. His first suggestion, give students more voice and choice, seems like commonsense. With independent reading I give students a choice as to what they will read. The idea being that they will be far more invested if they are selecting the reading. It works. Students who feel a stronger locus of control about the work selected tend to be more invested.

            It can be intimidating to allow students to have more control of a project. Will they make appropriate choices? Will they take opportunities to challenge themselves? Will they provide evidence that they have tackled the objectives? The answer in many cases is yes, but guidance is still needed. I have been most successful in this when the students and I explore possibilities and give them a genuine voice. This can come in the form of setting deadlines or waypoints for the project or even the form that the final project will take.

            The step I have the most difficulty with is number seven: Have students present their work to a public audience. The work day seems often crowded and getting time for students to gather, set up, and then present their work to an outside group. One project that needs to go this route this year is for my World Studies class. In this class, we have adapted an outdoor education component. It has been a very successful part of this class for at-risk students. The students are gradually required to take over planning and execution of all of the trips we take. At the end, they often produce a post-trip packet. This packet details what we did, what we saw, and what we experienced. It would be so much better if students were able to show others outside of our class what we do that is so amazing.

            “Can Assessments Motivate?” by Richard Curwin also highlighted some important issues for helping students understand the purposes of assessments. It also provides some insight for instructors and how to present information so that assessments can be more than just tests. There are particular quotes in the article that validate what I have experienced in my time as an educator.

            In the first section, Curwin writes, “Many educators believe that success breeds success… Motivation or effort leads to success, not the other way around (Weiner, 1986).” I have known this to be true for some time. Because I teach a “practical” level, student who are not performing well in the “college prep” track are sometimes dropped into my classroom. One of the first questions I ask is, “Why?” Is the student’s lack of performance due to over placement, too fast a pace in class, or work being too difficult? Too often, it is that the student is not motivated and chooses not to do the work required of the class. However they end up in my class, it is my responsibility to work with them and try to empower them so that motivation might return.

            Before I was aware that the seven ways in the article existed, I used many of them because they make sense. Coaching lacrosse has also helped me to see these interpersonal ways of working with people transcend the walls of the classroom. Starting with positive comments seems like the best place to begin. Students are far more able to face criticism (even if it is constructive) when their emotional tank is full (taken from the Positive Coaching Alliance). People like genuine praise. Coaching suggests no less than a 3:1 ratio of positive to corrective statements. I try to keep this in mind whether we are working collectively through a discussion, or evaluating a paper with the six traits of writing.

            Giving “do overs” is a more recent development I have added to my teaching. Since going back to school for my masters, instructors have allowed me to make up work and improve on assignments. If I did not get something quite right, I made corrections or had a conversation about what needed addressing. I thought, “why not give my students the same opportunity?” Some students decide not to fix work, but I have noticed that many take the time to conference with me and are interested to try and do better. It can be an inconvenience for me (especially at the end of the quarter), but it is worth students taking steps they might otherwise not.

            Getting students to realize that education is not an interpersonal competition is perhaps one of the most difficult messages to get across. Comparing students to the progress they have made is easy to explain in concept, but it must be reinforced repeatedly. Being genuinely invested in students’ success, communicating clearly, and making reference to growth truly help to break the cycle of grade competition.

            Overall, I found these articles to be thoughtful and worthy of the time spent. I wish we had time to go over them in class are there are a couple of points over which I have contention, but such is to be expected. Until next post, Ciao.

Joseph McCune               

10/21/14

EDU 550 Educational Assessment

Blog Post #7

Motivated to Learn - Amy Azzam (modified from her interview questions with Pink)

·        In Pink’s book Drive,
he wrote, "While complying can be an effective strategy for physical
survival, it's a lousy one for personal fulfillment." Nevertheless, people
spend a lot of time complying in school. What needs to change?

·        Pink wrote about the
importance of building mastery—and that one way of doing this involves turning
work into play. How can schools do this in a more substantial way than just
reducing a task to a bunch of "fun" activities?

-Motivating Young Adolescents- Rick Wormeli

·        With the Middle School Frame of Mind,
reflect on two of the motivators described- do you also see these in your
classroom?

·        Looking at the 12 de-motivators - what
is your gut response? Are some of these prevalent practice in your building?

 

The readings for this week could not be more important to the profession of teaching. While some students will cooperate because they desire a good grade, or even if they can see through the educational haze, perform because the skills will be needed in the future, others will balk. Motivation is tricky for it is not the same for all. Still, Pink seems to have some sound musings.

One part that is of importance relates the idea of performance goals and learning goals. Too often, the focus of students, parents, and teachers is on the grade earned. The tragedy here is obvious. The grade should be a reflection of mastery. How many times does a student just want to know what the grade is, and after looking at the grade, discards the assignment. They just want to know what the result is. The focus should be on the task and how well it is accomplished. It should be on what can be improved. Unfortunately, this is too frequently lost as students contemplate praise, punishment, or reward for grades. The grades simply become a means to some other method of gratification or a reason to run for cover. Getting students to understand that grades will come as a result of mastery is initially a tough sell. This can be undone, but it takes time and conversations.

The section regarding “Goldilocks” challenges is a powerful section in regard to human psychology. Game designers are masters of giving just enough challenge so that players remain hooked. Make a task too easy, and it becomes boring. Make it too difficult and it gathers dust as players move on to something else. Hitting the sweet spot is the challenge of game designers and educators. Again this requires conversation and a certain degree of independence. The Procrustean bed of education has difficulty with this concept. It is up to competent educators to weave mandated curriculum with the individual needs of students.

Play is also an important part of learning. So much of what youngsters learn is through experiential learning. Even in Pink’s response, the most significant response was from the scientists’ free time. They were playing and just experimenting with possibilities. The motivational quotient is the x factor in the equation of how much rigor and effort are applied. With the age of standardized tests and driven curriculum, how much time is give to actually play, experience, and reflect?

The motivational factors mentioned in Wormeli’s article, although effective for middle school students, needs to also apply to early high school students. Because not all students mature and reach milestones at the same time, these also apply to some students I have had the pleasure to teach.  Number two and four from the article are methods I have used with a great degree of success in the past. “If you build it, they will come,” is not just a line from Field of Dreams. Prof. Carol Langelier of Rivier University made this clear. To reach students, one must value them and make the connection known. A teacher may not have this bond with all of their students, but if the connection can be made, the strides can be great. I admire one of my colleagues in this way. She goes beyond what is mandated to get to know her students and she often gets great results from students that others might find difficult. The key is to recognize and value the person first.

The fourth rule I take to heart as an English teacher and as a student in this program of study. I long to hear what others think of my ideas about a topic. I want to be challenged and acknowledged. High school students are no different. Unfortunately, they have often been conditioned into the conveyer belt effect where the objective is to complete a task and never look to see what was created. The reflective process is so important in learning. Acknowledging the success of a project is a priority, but equally important is how one gets to the point of success so that it might be replicated. Often more lessons are realized during this reflective process.

Of the 12 “Demotivators,” from the article, I have seen them and been a part of them before. It pains me to write this, but when one is a young educator, it is easy to focus on pacing guides and not acknowledging the needs of individual students because you need to cover material. Fs and zeros have been replaced by additional help and “do-overs”.  Veteran teachers recognize that different students need different challenges and can work within a curriculum to challenge individuals where they are rather than where they should be. I think that mentoring programs have helped countless educators to realize these truths.   

Joseph McCune

10/6/14

Blog Post #4 Essential Questions

                This week’s articles are a potential tinderbox in relation to the forms of assessment used to test school achievement. With so much focus on Essential questions, why do experts and test makers insist on using “leading” questions with little exclusion? What role do economics play in the modern education game? Is there a better way to assess what students know? It seems like this articles linked (here and here respectively) have found a home with me.

                In the article  “Essential Questions,” by Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins, the reader is introduced to the concepts of essential questions and the importance of thinking that is fostered. To summarize, the questions used by an educator combined with the intent can greatly enhance learning of broad concepts and show the connectedness of learning across disciplines. The authors take care to keep concepts simple ( sorry Orwell, no eduspeak here). The importance of essential questions is made clear as these are the reasons professors and scientists continue to experiment and research. What is there for a pattern? What can be applied from what was learned previously? An entirely new genre of thinking and entertainment has spun off through this thinking. Whether it is America Unearthed or Ancient Aliens, they are produced by people who continue to ask why established answers don’t seem to support an accepted body of knowledge in some capacity. They also find an audience with many as well. While some of the conclusions drawn are hasty and not necessarily causal, it is the questioning and research that remain exciting and true to establishing interest.

                Making education engaging and useful is essential. The second reading, “An excerpt from our just-released book on Essential Questions,” by Grant Wiggins addresses the various levels of questions. I like that he recognizes the values of all different types of questions. Leading questions do have a place; however, the answers to the questions are too often the goal. I find that this is too often the case with so much of the standardized assessments students are subjected to in high-stakes testing. While the tests can give a glimpse of student skill acquisition, they don’t allow for one to demonstrate how the skill can be used. From the English 12 example test I took, the Common Core style of assessment comes closer to the desired ideal of education. It requires that students attain a level of background concepts, composition skill mastery, and requires students to synthesize information for a purpose. Doing well on this style of test requires a different classroom experience across much of the curriculum. Tests that focus on leading questions with predictable answers are no longer enough. Teaching students how to use the information gained is going to require an evolution in thought.

                The good news is that the concept of Essential Questions seems to be a bridge from a fact based classroom toward the new ideal of using what is known to solve problems. It makes sense to move in this direction. Constantly educators are reminded that we are preparing young people to face a more technical world where jobs and opportunities have not yet been invented. Learning to create, analyze, and synthesize will be the determining factor in helping students reach their dreams.

Joseph McCune

9/22/14

EDU 550 Educational Assessment

Blog Assignment #3 Response to Tomlinson Article, Homework Penalty Box, and Cheating

                 So far this class and the readings have provided a great deal of material that has me questioning how I have come to certain conclusions regarding education and how we test students to ensure competence. Tomlinson’s article drives home ten points about the way formative assessment can best be used to enhance student performance.

 Using feedback and making students part of the assessment process are what spoke to me most. Too often when students hear assessment, they think test. While assessment does translate to test of some kind, we need to pull back the curtain surrounding what the tests are for. In the case of formative assessment, it is the idea of improving a skill set or checking on how a student is progressing along a course of study. Using this approach could help stem the growth of “grade grubbing”. The value is placed on the growth and a consciousness of progression rather than solely on the final grade. There are still numerous pressures on students where parents and students are valuing only grades. Fortunately, this gives all parties involved in a process focus rather than just a summative view.

The other point about feedback in a timely and relevant fashion is part of the curriculum I am currently working on with students. Learning how to see and revise is a difficult skill set with many of my students. I ensure that the feedback I give on student writing goes well beyond “good job” or “fix”. I focus on letting them know what details are or are not working for their writing. Specific references are part of good teaching and coaching. The challenge is now to get students to recognize qualities of good writing (using the Six Traits of Writing). Developing a common way of talking about writing and what to expect is the first step. Now we are working on developing our constructive revision voice in comments. We are not there yet, but student’s drafts are beginning to show progress of writer’s awareness.

The homework proposition Myron Dueck brings to light is interesting as I have an interest in homework from the perspective of educator and parent. One of my sons attended a public charter school because we felt that it suited his situation and learning style better than the institution in our town. Prior to attending he was an average student and social matters took precedence.  While attending this school, he had a significantly reduced homework load, yet he blossomed as a student and person.  School became something he looked forward to rather than an avoided labor. I wondered how he would make the transition back to the high school and it has been smooth. He is in advanced classes and all without the specter of volumes of homework.

From the educator perspective, I have changed how I view homework over the years. While practice seems like a valid reason for homework, some of the logic for assigning homework falls short and is supported in the article. The caring part is especially true of the population for “at risk” students. Many simply don’t care about their grades enough to actually complete the work. Lost on them is the idea of mastery. Most work for many of them is about just keeping up with the conveyor belt of work rather than understanding the ideas behind the work. Giving them the opportunity to demonstrate mastery and understanding beyond homework completion is a way to make the work they do meaningful. As a policy, I don’t assign homework just to have homework. The work assigned is important to the work we are doing. It is pragmatic and practical. It will be used in class the next day and the expectation is that students will use what they have produced. An example of this is perhaps a copy of their composition for peer review or notes on a reading regarding concepts that students will be expected to use in a composition.  While this is not a silver bullet, the promise I make to students (not to give busy work) seems to resonate with many of them.

As to cheating, anytime students are focused on the grade rather than the actual gains made from hard work, cheating is a possibility. From the NFL to the Navy, people who feel the need to cheat have two principal modes of thought; one is the likelihood of getting caught, and the other is the value of the experience. The psychology of getting caught is more likely to influence behavior. If a person perceives risk of getting caught, they are less likely to act on impulses. People who speed on the roads do not “think” they will get a ticket. If they did, they would slow down. Reality of getting caught does not truly matter; it is the perception that matters most. Can we expect students to buck this trend of human evolution? If educators set up situations where the risk does not preclude the reward, the answer is obvious.

Joseph McCune

Blog Post #2

Common Controversy

The battle over the implementation of common core has become a political hot potato. The issue has gone beyond an issue of educational opportunity for districts to take a hard look at curriculum, and instead, it has turned into a divisive party platform for the Republicans and Democrats. Republicans have taken the opposition to Common Core as a party line. They tend to look at CC as an attempt to grab power and dictate the language of education by the Federal Government. It is thought that the standards will erode the power of local districts to control the principles and curriculum taught in schools. While some fears might be valid (read 1984, by George Orwell to get an idea of power contained in the ability to define words), the best promise Common Core offers is to close gaps in educational differences between states. This would ensure that students, regardless of geographic region, would meet similar standards. Currently, education earned in different states varies greatly. Few would argue that the education in Massachusetts is of the same quality as Nevada (first and last respectively according to Education Week).

The largest hurdle to Common Core has been the roll out and public relations fiasco. People looking to use this to improve education so that our students can compete globally need to take a different approach and make it seem less like a federal mandate. There needs to be far more focus on explaining how CC was developed and what it will mean to individuals. Turning CC into more of a grassroots effort that will benefit individuals in communities would be a better approach. Emphasis on the collaboration required to construct the standards and comparing CC to the current curricular standards would do wonders for the image of CC.

The article, “Are Kids Too Coddled,” by Frank Bruni questions some of the resistance to Common Core. He writes, “tougher instruction (should) not be rejected simply because it makes children feel inadequate, and that the impulse to coddle kids not eclipse the imperative to challenge them.” It is easy to agree with Mr. Bruni’s sentiments. People grow and thrive when faced with adversity and challenge. One thing it seems that he overlooks is the diversity of a population. Not all people benefit from the same challenges or to the same degree. Plants share a common distinction in that they have a single taxonomic kingdom, yet different plants need different soil compositions and conditions to thrive yet. The key is to find the challenges and environments that are most appropriate for growth in each plant species as with students. This approach would make for a rather poor lot of farmers and educators.

Mr. Bruni also makes an incorrect analogy between athletics and education. On the athletic field, the objective is to win and triumph over an opponent.  “There are sports teams and leagues in which no kid is allowed too much more playing time than another and in which excessive victory margins are outlawed. Losing is looked upon as pure trauma…” Valuable lessons are learned on the athletic field such as dealing with adversity, losing, and how to be a gracious victor.  Education is different. Students should be taught that the educational realm is not a zero sum game. Everyone can strive to attain the highest level to which they are capable. Mr. Bruni would be well served to look into the psychology of video game design. Millions of people find them rewarding because there is a level of challenge that continues to build. Successful games (and educators) embrace the idea of progression and struggle that are appropriate to the skill level of the participant. Participants look at the challenge as opportunity for growth rather than drudgery. Would a student feeling overwhelmed by education continue to persevere if they felt there would be no success? The answer is no. The promise of success and gain needs to remain in the mind of the student; else they may just quit and find another game where the idea of success is perceived.

In The Giver, by Lois Lowry, children are promoted by age and expectations are made chronologically. If children cannot meet the prescribed benchmarks, they are “released” (euthanized). This seems like a ridiculous and inhumane treatment. No reasonable person would support this kind of treatment and the society in the novel seems cold and irrational. It seems that our educational system seems to follow a similar mindset. Students are expected to perform tasks at particular ages just because of their ages. Just as everyone goes through puberty at different ages, so too do people grow cognitively. Not everyone is ready for the same challenges at the same age.  While many will reach emotional, behavioral, and cognitive benchmarks at similar points, one cannot force this process any more than one can force fruit to truly ripen before it is time. Mr. Bruni seems to advocate a system that does not take this into account.

Educators and school districts need to challenge students with rigorous and appropriate courses of study; however, educational rigor and challenge cannot be overly simplified to his implied vision.

Joseph McCune

9/10/2014

Response to Articles

EDU 550 Educational Assessment

 

                The articles for week one provided a generous amount of fodder for discussion and contemplation. In general, I have never truly looked closely at how grades are compiled. I am given guidelines for what is relevant and beyond that there are few restrictions. The restrictions that are in place involve “competencies” and the formula used to determine credit for courses. Competencies are assignments that demonstrate a critical skill or task required by each course. They can be as simple or complex as teachers desire. They can also apply to more than one particular assignment. I am seeing a slight movement beyond the traditional grade system.

                One obstacle that has served its time is the idea of grades being competitive. I am constantly railing against this idea with so many of my students. As the article stated, our purpose should be to develop talent rather than select. Trying to get parents and students to understand that the grade itself is not the objective can be tough. Years of conditioning have developed the idea that the skills and ideas developed are more important than any letter grade. This type of thinking could not be further from the goals of education and the idea of life long learning! When does one get an “A” in life beyond the satisfaction of knowing one has mastered a skill through hard work? The “process” of learning is lost if the end product is the only thing of value. How empty life would become?

                Another note is that grades are used to divide and measure students against each other. What sense does this make? Surely, if there is an award for writing or mathematics, one must be compared to their peers, or must they? Using a standards based system can’t the standards system also be used? If the standards were such that only highly competent individuals attained the award, the competition goes against the standards and attaining them rather than against their peers. The Marine Corps has been using a system on this premise for promotions for years. One earns a “cutting” score that is used to determine which marines will make rank. The score is determined after a set amount of time and is based upon the number of promotion slots and a set of accrued point for various criteria. Physical fitness, pro/con marks, and completion of educational standards all contribute toward a marine’s cutting score. In this way, marines are competing against the standards to improve their individual scores of competence rather than against each other.

                As for the college admissions process, there seems to be no rhyme or reason for how institutions accept potential applicants for their schools.  Some seem to down play standardized test scores or grades to some degree. Some of the top institutions go so far as to say that recommendations matter most. Honestly, is this even a possibility? According to Wikipedia (I know consider the source), over 27,000 applied to the prestigious Harvard University. 2,175 were admitted (8%). To sort through so many qualified applicants, there must be some use of numbers or grades to decide which make the cut. They claim that it is the course of study and not the grades that are the focus. If a student has chosen an AP heavy course load but grades are not considered, how do they decide who is more qualified? Although many declare that grades are not the sole decider, they do make a difference in some capacity.