UbDDI+Chapter+8


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Rachel B.
What jumped out at me in this chapter was, “In their classrooms, student variability is viewed not as a problem but as a natural and positive aspect of working with human beings (p.128).” The reason this stood out to me particularly is the fact that it says, “natural and positive aspect of working with human beings.” We need to remind ourselves that, both as future teacher and as students. I will be careful to stick that somewhere in my mind where it can regularly be pulled out. Overall, this chapter does a great job of bringing everything together, in terms of what we’ve been learning throughout the semester in EDU 221, practicum. The terms and description used are somewhat different than what we’ve heard prior to, but it is in many ways basically the same stuff. I enjoyed this chapter because it nicely wrapped many of the things in which I’m learning with all together to represent a more seamless approach to curriculum and instruction with differentiated instruction.

Jen T
I don’t believe in a grading curve, and I like how this book backs me up. It seems natural to me, to want all of my students to get the best grade they can. If they all wind up with A’s, that would be amazing. I know of other teachers, and I’m sure even some from my own high school, who are pressured into grading on a curve, or are just personally out to fail 7.5% of their class, plus or minus 4% depending on their class size. I don’t understand why teachers do it; I will never do it in my class.

Rachel F.
Chapter 8, //Grading and Reporting Achievement//, focused on grading and reporting systems as well as the flaws with current policies regarding these systems. It first discusses six key principles that need to be taken into account in order to grade properly. My favorite principle was “Principle 5: Avoid Grading Base on (Mean) Averages” (p. 132). This principle talked about the issue with teachers taking all the grades given out during the course of the class and averaging them up for one final grade. In the beginning of a class or unit, students haven’t learned much and probably are not going to get good grades on the first few assignments so how is it fair to hold them accountable for something they can’t help. Final grades should be based on achievements later on in a lesson so teachers have a better chance of getting accurate grades. I think that students shouldn’t really get evaluated until the very end because that’s when they know the most. I also loved the part of this chapter that talked about how students only care about good grades instead of true learning. I must say that this is mostly the case with me. Now in college, I care a whole lot more about learning because I’m pursuing my passion but in high school, all I cared about was impressing colleges. Most teachers in high school didn’t make sure that we learned the material but rather that we can repeat it on a test or essay. The whole goal is not to make students feel like crap with sucky grades but to make sure you’ve done your job and actually taught the students.

Courtney
This chapter provides an example of the long term unit that all of us in class are working on. It was nice to see a finished one provided by the book so that I have an idea of what it will all look like when everything is said and done. I have a better understanding of what I am creating now that I have seen a finished product from chapter 9 and from the students that came in the other day. Also a provides a list of all the goals a teacher should strive for when trying to incorporate UbD and DI into their classroom. Like I said that chapter provides a finished product of a unit but then it goes on to explain how UbD and DI can be applied to that unit. It gives ideas for different options for the students on the given assignments. Then when the unit is in progress it is good to sit back and look for the indicators of UbD and DI in the classroom. One indicator as a teacher would be that the teacher is very helpful and keeps the students engaged. Also if the students know and can explain what they are doing is a good indicator as well. This chapter ties UbD and DI all together with what it is and how to apply it with examples.

Stephanie L.
I've never really been a big fan of "grades". Learning should be about growth and trying new things. For example, when babies first learn how to walk and how to talk, their parents don't give them an A or an D- based on when these milestones were met. Instead, parents reward their children with smiles and "big-girl (or -boy)" objects. What makes school so different? Why do we have to be labeled with grades that say whether or not we are smart? Isn't this what we have been reading about in MI? There is so much more to intelligence than people realize and just because a student isn't so "smart" in one area, it doesn't mean that that student isn't extraordinary in other areas of intelligence. After spending a few weeks in the classroom it has become clear to me that there are more important things out there than grades. Middle school and high school are all about growing up and finding out who you are as a person. When a student receives a bad grade, they automatically label themselves as a bad student and may not feel motivated to do well for the rest of the year. I say we do away with grades because all they do is cause headaches for teachers, students, and parents alike. There must be a better way to assess our students!

Geoff
Chapter 8 in //Integrating Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction// deals with a troublesome and contentious issue: grading. Certainly, grading is something I grapple with internally already, and I’m not even a teacher yet! This chapter, however, provides tips on effective grading and reporting, and debunks the idea that effective grading is unachievable in a differentiated classroom. First and foremost, Tomlinson and McTighe recommend that standards and expectations are clearly laid out for grading. The next three suggestions are ones that absolutely drive me nuts, both as a student and as a teacher. I remember teachers who did take off points for forgetting to put our names on a paper; I also know teachers who gave points for putting out name on a test (for that matter, the SAT’s essentially give 600 free points for showing up and putting your name on the thing). Either way, I never saw the validity in doing this, and apparently Tomlinson and McTighe don’t either. I also grow extremely furious with teachers who grade on a bell curve, even when it stood to benefit me. From my point of view, I don’t care how I do relative to everyone else; and an adjusted grade was no longer representative of my understanding and my effort, which was what I want out of a test to begin with. I also strongly agree that grades should be reserved for summative assessments, and that everything preceding that should concern itself with student progress, instead of leaving a permanent indentation on one’s grades. Finally, I agree with the notion that a single grade can’t effectively indicate an entire quarter, semester, trimester, or year of student learning. Therefore, we need to expand on the report card as the sole indicator of student learning with reporting systems. I have already mentioned my support for the use of portfolios in a previous entry; as a teacher, I also plan on constantly engaging and communicating with parents (through email, and parent conferences) and students (through student conferences and self assessment and reflection) as additional outlets for reporting student progress and understanding.

Megan
Chapter 8 talked about grading and the 6 principles that should be used when grading. I’m not really sure about any of the principles. There were parts I agreed with and parts I disagreed with. However the principle I ended up focusing on the most was principle 5. First off, it suggests that “as an alternative to averaging all the marks, [they] strongly recommend that teachers evaluate student’s achievements later in a learning cycle. I understand the point, that when it comes to averages “early scores are likely to underestimate a student’s later achievement.” But I know that as it starts to get closer and closer to the end of a marking period students are suddenly picking up the slack and doing the work to being their grades up. Then suddenly it’s the start of the next quarter and the go back to not doing the work. Maybe it would help if I gave students and opportunity to go back and redo earlier work. I’m not really sure. I see their point that averaging is not the best way to get an overall grade but I don’t think looking at end of the quarter grades is the best way to do it either. Another problem I have with standard 5 is its take on assigning zeros. It talks about how the purpose of grading is to communicate achievement and how I no grade is provided it distorts the student’s grade (in terms of averages). I think that zero is an appropriate grade to give regardless of where or not we use averages to get a grade. The point is to provide a “record of a student learning.” I am using the work that I give students to assess and prove whether or not they are learning. If I don’t get the work then I cannot do that. Now my students will have the opportunity to make up work and do it to the best of their abilities. So if you don’t do they work, I feel is completely fair to give the student a zero. I think that if we start bring like “Oh its ok I know you know the material” and giving students a grade for work they didn’t do, we are sending the wrong message. Students will get into this mindset that they can somehow “prove” they’ve learned something. That’s not the point of assessing work. I would consider giving an incomplete until the student finishes the work. But I honestly see nothing wrong with giving a student a zero.

Sara
According to backward design grading should be based upon clearly defined goals and standards. We should start with what we want students to achieve and work backwards from there. When we grade we should have a pre-established set of criteria and not arbitrarily choose aspects to grade. We should plan for our desired results and make it so grades are not the primary focus, but achievement is the focus. I really want to de-emphasize grades in my classroom. When I have them I want the students to know criteria to achieve a good grade. Grades should include feedback and an opportunity to improve.

This chapter was all about how a teacher should go about grading student work and reporting the achievement of each student. I really did learn a lot from this chapter. I learned that grading should be based on clearly defined goals and expectations. The evidence that is used for grading should be valid – that is it should be entirely based on the student’s actual achievement and potential. There are assessments that should not be included in the grading process; certain assessments should be just “assessing,” and no more – no given grade. This information will all be very important in my classroom because grading is an issue that I don’t entirely know how I would go about my grading process. This chapter gave me a lot to think about in that respect. I will try my best to incorporate this system into my grades.
 * Karin**

Jen P.
Visually, the figure on pages 138 and 139 are very helpful. Finally, there are connections made between differentiation, Understanding by Design and grading. Tomlinson and McTighe even broke the sections up by stage! I really like the idea of reporting systems discussed on pages 137 and 138 as well. It makes sense to provide more than one way of communication between teacher, parents, guardians, and student. It also makes way for not only how the student best understands how they are doing, but for the parents also. Parents that understand best by visual MI can look at a rubric, while parents who understand best verbally could have a parent-teacher conference or read over narratives or portfolios. The ideas in this chapter certainly help my organizational skills as a teacher and will help me when I go to organize and implement my own teaching.

Jordan
This chapter focused on the six principles of effective grading. The principle that I found to be most useful for me and that I agreed with the most was principle number six: Focus on Achievement and Report Other Factors Separately. This principle describes how other factors, such as class participation and attendance, should not be factored into grading itself, but should be reported in a separate way. I whole-heartedly agree with this. I do not think that factors like attendance and participation should be included in a final grade if the overall purpose of grades is to show mastery of the content. Outside factors don't necessarily affect a students mastery of content and, when factored into final grading, can lead to inaccurate grading of mastery.

Tracey Hollingsworth
Chapter 8 – Grading and Reporting Achievement

When it comes to teaching in a differentiated classroom, many educators feel conflicted. Having a standardized grading system that is uses one way to grade students who may be learning differently than their peers, poses a problem. This chapter reminds you that grading is a way of communicating a student's progress to the student and their parents. The authors discuss six principles for the grading process. First, educators need to have a clear definition of what quality of work will be attributed to which grade. Then teachers should grade work based on acceptable evidence. The second idea to consider is that a grade should only represent the quality of the evidence provided. The third principle says that grading should be based on criteria that has been established, not solely based on “norms”. They should be graded on predetermined criteria and each student should be held accountable for their own work without a comparison between students. Principle four states that grading and assessment should not be one in the same. Assessments are for teachers to track a students growth. The next principle suggests that teachers stray away from average grades. Lastly, principle six states that teachers should only consider grading material pertinent to the student's understanding. These six principles can be used effectively with the backward design and differentiation process. All current educators should be given a reminder that not everyone learns the same way, therefore, they should not be graded the same way.

John
The point that this chapter makes about not sticking with a Mean average is valid. If you decide to average a student's grades too early, it may contribute to a "grade fog" or a false sense of security, something I know that I've fallen into many times.The problem arises when the student focuses more on the grades as a gauge of when they should begin to step up their game. Ideally, the student should know that if they are suffering as far as the coverage of material is concerned, this is when they should begin to take initiative. As the passage points out, the second a zero is factored in, other misleading grade level consequences can befall the student's perception of their progress.