Course Reflection

As I reflect on this course focused on assessment, one of the articles that sticks with me is this piece that shares 14 rules for writing multiple-choice questions. As I read through the rules listed, I realized that some questions on our district common assessments could stand to be revamped. The questions are easy to understand, make sense, and examples are given for each, which is really helpful. 

I think that we all have great discussions during our courses and feel comfortable enough with each other by now to voice our opinions truthfully. The one discussion that stands out to me during this course is when we discussed if gamification was a passing trend. I was surprised to see so many people voicing opinions for both sides. I didn't know about gamification at all before reading the resources that week, so I thought that it was a really interesting discussion. 

I continue to grow as a connected educator after this course by branching out and learning about new digital tools that I can use in the classroom. When we made the infographics that compared two different assessment tools I appreciated the opportunity to research new assessment tools and learn about how to utilize them effectively. I always learn so many new things from these courses and I'm excited to share these new digital tools with my team next year!

I'm going to continue my learning through these courses and by engaging in discussions with the other members of the cohort. They always have such great ideas and find interesting ways to utilize what we learn in the classroom. 

Course Artifacts

Our second course of the summer is coming to an end, and now we can all breathe a little easier! But in all honesty, I get a lot out of these classes and it's been time well-spent. 

One of my favorite assignments that we completed for this course was creating a digital badge pathway and badge. The tool that I use the most with my first-graders is Seesaw, so I created a pathway focused on making an introductory post that I plan on using with them at the beginning of the year. I really appreciate when we have the opportunity to create something in class that we can actually use in our own classrooms. As teachers we have so little time, so to "feed two birds with one seed" is always helpful! 

Although I do really like the idea of digital badges, I'm struggling a bit to figure out how I can use them with my students. I'm not sure where they can display their badges since we have a shared iPad environment and don't utilize Google Classroom or anything similar. I was considering maybe printing out the badges for the students to hang in their lockers? Although that wouldn't quite make them "digital" anymore. I'm still thinking through the logistics. Any suggestions are welcome! 




One of my personal goals as a teacher has been to find a way to help my students set goals for themselves and be more reflective. So when the "Student Self-Assessment Plan - Goal Setting Sheet - Reflection Activity" came up in one of our modules, I was pretty excited! Again, I could "feed two birds with one seed" and do the same work for both the course and my classroom. I decided to focus this activity on math constructed responses because that's been a building-wide focus for us since last year. For the goal planning sheet I created a form to require as little writing as possible (because first-graders), while still being personal for each student. I know that It's going to take a lot of modeling and brainstorming before the students can complete a goal planning sheet independently, but if we start at the beginning of the year I think they'll get there! I designed the reflection activity to be completed on Seesaw because the students will be familiar with the tool (we use Seesaw daily) and the reflection can be shared with both me and their parents. I wrote out the directions and also recorded voice instructions so that all of the students, regardless of reading level, will be able to complete the activity. 





So even though summer is flying by, it helps to have these new ideas ready to go for this coming school year!

Course Reflection

Here we are at the end of another technology course! These classes seem to be flying by and I learn so much during each one. 

I really enjoyed learning about Essential Questions (EQs). They’re so valuable to use in teaching for both teachers and students. Although the process of writing a really good EQ and connecting it to all subject areas may make you want to rip year hair out (oh, is that just me?) it’s SO worth it when you create a great one that you’re excited about and you know you’ll use. I want to start using EQs more in my teaching next year, so I’m glad Kim had us create a PBL unit using EQs during this course. 

One of the things that I love so much about these classes with Kim is our discussions. Although I’ll admit that there isn’t one specific conversation that took place during this course that’s sticking out to me, every time we meet everyone has really interesting and impactful things to say. Kim is an amazing facilitator and really brings out the best in all of us. 

As I mentioned before, I plan on using EQs more consistently next year. I also got a lot out of the flipped video we created. I see a lot of value in using them with my first-graders, especially as they’re learning how to use different apps and digital tools. Plus, Julie H. created a fabulous screencast of how she uses Kahoot and piqued my interest in using that next year, too. So my to-do list for next year is growing longer and longer, but I’m super excited about it!

Standards-Based Grading

Let’s talk about Standards-Based Grading! SBG (how Standards-Based Grading will be referenced for the rest of this post) is when grades given to students are based on their understanding of specific concepts and skills. Traditional letter grades are not used. For example, instead of getting a “B” in ELA, a student’s report card may look like this:

Reads grade-level texts with fluency and accuracy: Y

Comprehends grade-level texts: Y

Makes connections between texts: N

In SBG, there is very little confusion for students and parents and it helps students get a clear understanding of what they still need to work on and where they should focus their efforts. Likewise, this information is beneficial for teachers as well, because it provides a clear path for future instruction and reteaching. Josh Work from Edutopia agrees. He states that “under standards-based grading, our teachers have created an opportunity for students to persevere in the face of challenges. Students are measured on their proficiency of content standards. Some demonstrate early mastery and are able to move on to more difficult concepts, while others may require reteaching. Teachers are able to easily identify those students who may need some support in order to demonstrate proficiency. Students are beginning to understand and value the process of learning, rather than just earning a grade (2014).”

So the big question is, could this work in your classroom? Well, every classroom, school, and district is different, so I can’t speak to whether or not this will work for you, but I can reflect on whether or not this would work for me in my own classroom. I actually used to work in a district that implemented SBG shortly before I left. To be honest, there was some push-back from parents and students who were comfortable with letter grades and didn’t know how to measure achievement without that coveted “A”. But after the first SBG report card was sent home, most of those parents and students breathed a sigh of relief when they realized how easy it was to understand. There were other added benefits, too, which Naomi Shak from Edulastic shares. She says, that “students become more self-motivated – With the goal of SBG being student mastery and understanding rather than getting the most points, students become more motivated to truly understand the material. The “Will this be graded?” question is slowly replaced with earnest questions to better understand the material (2018).”

So my answer to the big question is “yes” SBG could definitely work in my first-grade classroom. Most of our current report card is already Standards-Based, so it wouldn't be much of a change. But even if it was, I love everything about SBG and the benefits it provides for students, parents, and teachers. 

One question that still remains for me after researching SBG is, “Can SBG be effectively used from K-12?” High school especially seems like a tough nut to crack. High school grades are used for class placement, college admission, and scholarships. It seems to me that if high schools moved to SBG, it would present far more complications that if elementary school and even middle school were to switch over. What are your thoughts?