Gail is a 5th grader who gets her math test back with “60 percent” marked at the top. She knows this means another F. So her losing streak continues, she thinks. She's ready to give up on ever connecting with math.
But then her teacher distributes another paper—a worksheet the students will use to learn from their performance on the math test. What's up with this? The worksheet has several columns. Column one lists the 20 test items by number. Column two lists what math proficiency each item tested. The teacher calls the class's attention to the next two columns: Right and Wrong. She asks the students to fill in those columns with checks for each item to indicate their performance on the test. Gail checks 12 right and 8 wrong.
The teacher then asks the students to evaluate as honestly as they can why they got each incorrect item wrong and to check column five if they made a simple mistake and column six if they really don't understand what went wrong. Gail discovers that four of her eight incorrect answers were caused by careless mistakes that she knows how to fix. But four were math problems she really doesn't understand how to solve.
Next, the teacher goes through the list of math concepts covered item by item, enabling Gail and her classmates to determine exactly what concepts they don't understand. Gail discovers that all four of her wrong answers that reflect a true lack of understanding arise from the same gap in her problem-solving ability: subtracting 3-digit numbers with regrouping. If she had just avoided those careless mistakes and had also overcome this one gap in understanding, she might have received 100 percent. Imagine that! If she could just do the test over . . .
What do you notice about the meaning of "success" in this classroom?
How did this teacher empower the students in her classroom to take responsibility for their success?
What similar things are you planning to do in your classroom this year?
7 comments:
WOW! I know we've talked about doing item analysis with students but this is the first time I've read an example of what it can look like. The idea of success that this teacher is supporting is much more in-line with the concept of learning rather than "doing well in school". I'm working through Doug Reeves and Larry Ainsworth's pubications and this anecdote contains a similar theme to their approach to standards.
Can't wait to hear what others thing about it!
1. “Success” in this classroom was not based merely upon the test score that the student received. Focusing on the “grade” alone would only indicate a student’s general proficiency in math, and tends to promote a sense of “failure” for this particular student. This teacher viewed “success” in terms of this student being able to analyze and understand her own strengths and weaknesses in math. It enabled her to see the areas that she has mastered or understands (positive), and the areas that she should focus on to improve her math proficiency.
2. This teacher empowered students to take responsibility for their own success, by letting them analyze their own performance on the test. The worksheet was designed in a manner so that students could see what concepts they were proficient in, and what concepts that they needed to focus on for improvement. I like the fact that students could look at mistakes that were made through carelessness as opposed to mistakes that were made due to lack of understanding. By using this self-assessment worksheet, students can develop their own strategies to improve their math proficiency.
3. I am a social worker and do not have a regular classroom. I do try to have students focus on the “positives” when they are sent to me for behavioral issues. I think that self-analysis of behavior (accepting responsibility, determining areas for improvement, developing problem-solving strategies) is an important aspect of what I do. We need to focus not on deficits, but on self-awareness and problem solving skills in order to empower our students.
Success in this classroom is not just based on percentages in the class. Success is based on your ability to see challenges in your learning and improve upon them.
2. This teacher used assessment for her knowledge and to increase the knowledge of her students. SHe gave them time to really see that "failure" can be fixed. The students could successfully break apart the assessment to motivate them to improve on their weaknesses. This students saw that she really could be successful on the teast and really only had one area of weakness. She could make a very attainable goal for herself when at first she saw no hope.
3. I teach first grade and we do I have already changed some of my assessment practices based on the class. I have posted goals for the day and have students do an informal self evaluation of the goals. Our assessments tend to be very basic and focus on only one area at a time. Therefore I have go over test and answers more carefully and have given students a chance to retake tests. (Like a test on locating parts of our aquarium) One student, who is a retention student, comment that it was the coolest thing that he could study with a partner and retake for a better score! He was so motivated!
I agree with anonymous with regard to "success" being your ability to see challenges and improve on them. So many times students will see their "grade" and just give up trying and/or seeing what they are struggling with. I think that is half the battle, and if we can get the students to stop take a step back and see what exactly they are having difficulty with as well as figure out how they can correct those mistakess, they will feel more successful.
Although I do not have a traditional classroom, one of the biggest obstacles I encounter with my students is that they do not understand why they come to see me. How can you see success and/or achieve a goal if you do not know what you are striving for. That is why I always review the students goals with them at the beginning of the year as well as state the objectve of the lesson at the beginning of each session.
I, too, do not have a classroom, per se. However, as a social worker I often work with children to attempt to facilitate problem-solving strategies, as many teachers do. I agree with one of the comments that states that we adults often assume that children understand and are aware of our teaching goals. We need to clearly state our objectives and encourage our students to participate in establishing goals as much as possible. I am fortunate in that I am able to work in less-structured and more individualized settings.
In general, I think this excerpt is stating that successful learning results when students are empowered to take an active role in their own learning, which increases their personal investment and motivation in working toward individualized goals.
What do you notice about the meaning of "success" in this classroom?
Success is looked as a learning process for students to use positive descriptive feedback that is beneficial to their learning and applying it to improve on their skills they already have learned.
How did this teacher empower the students in her classroom to take responsibility for their success? The students have the opportunity to look over their math test and break it apart highlighting the areas they did well in along with reexamining why they answered questions a certain way. Many times with math students know the content but silly rushed mistakes bring a score down that really should have been higher when the student takes time to read the question. Here students take ownership for the test and see where their strengths and weaknesses are. In the long run the student continues to learn how to do things just in a different manner and more productive instead of feeling defeated.
What similar things are you planning to do in your classroom this year? After report cards come out I will use the document as a reflection tool for the students and have them tell me what the grades mean to them and develop goals based on what the process they have made thus far.
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