Thursday, May 19, 2011
So we have less than 2 weeks of class left and, despite doing weekly grade checks, with all of my students, some of them still seem shocked that they are not passing certain classes. When we do grade checks we talk about the missing assignments and if they have them (for some reason some of my students have this problem where they do their homework but don't turn it in), if they started them, if they need to talk to their teachers about them, and what they need to do to turn future assignments in on time. Missing homework is not the only reason they are failing, though. Some students actually complete their homework, but they do not perform well on tests. We talk about study strategies all year, and despite the fact that their study strategies haven't worked they still refuse to try new suggestions. Or if they did try something that was suggested once and they didn't see dramatic results they aren't willing to try it again. How can I change their thinking? We go over homework, study and test taking strategies every year (several times a year). They reflect on what they did or do not do well and how to change the things they did not do well every semester. However, even though doing my homework and studying for tests is something they always say they are going to improve, most of them still end up with the same results. We've talked about SMART goals, but it's just frustrating when they don't understand when they didn't change anything but expected a different result.
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I am with you on your frustration! It seems this semester, more than others, I have students who are doing more poorly than in the past. Warm weather, summer excitement, more rigorous...I don't know what it is but this spring it's a whole different ballgame. I, too, have spoken with students over and over again, sent home grade reports and emails and only 2 students have turned in missing assignments to bring up their grade.
ReplyDeleteI've given students many opportunities to make up missed assignments or tests. I ask them what day or hour they would like to make up the test or if they would like to come in before 1st hour to do it. They tell me, I write it down. They don't show up. Even when I drop it off with the study hall teacher, students won't complete the test. I do not fault the study hall teacher as it is not their responsibility. I do know that this particular student has asked 5 times to make up the next and never follows through with doing it.
You are doing a lot to help your students grow academically and really being supportive of their need to develop better study habits! I once observed a teacher who had this super awesome reflection journal students had to fill out after they got their test backs - how do I think I did compared to what I earned? what contributed to the grade I earned? what would I do differently next time, etc..... there were several more but it helped students be reflective.
One thing I've tried is to help student understand Bloom's taxonomy and have them create their own test questions from which I pull some test questions from. The first time I taught about it, I thought to myself "well next time, I'll have to teach this better" and this time I thought to myself "it's getting better but what else can I do to help students understand that I'm looking for depth and insights, not just a recall of information".
We have to keep in mind that we can meet students 90% of the way but we can't take the test for them or control what they choose to do (or not do) outside of the classroom. To me, it's sad that students might not care about doing well on tests or set goals for themselves to continually improve. Not all people are goal-driven even though it shows goals help people stay on track.
Hmmm..... I really like the idea of reflective journals after a test. It reminds me of coaching- when an athlete is successful or not successful at something- you tell them to stop and tell you what they just did? They actually process how to improve. On tests, so many students just look at the score and turn it in- thinking that is the end of that unit.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in grade school, nothing was graded and everything we did was turned back to you with a lot of constructive feedback. At first I thought I would never do the work if it wasn't graded. But soon I found that I only wanted to do the work for those classes, because instead of a number at the top of my paper- there was feedback that really helped me improve. It was like reverse psychology- I cared more about those classes than I ever cared about any class before. I wasn't scared to try different things, because I knew I wasn't going to get penalized or docked points. I stopped trying to guess what the teacher wanted and instead made it what I wanted. In my own class I have tried to do a lot of this and not grade until the end project to give them ample time to practice if they choose, but the issue I am running into is of course TIME to provide that feedback.
I have noticed that Larissa pulls a lot of Blooms into her classroom too. I explain the levels of thinking with my standards based grading scale, but the majority of the students don't seem to understand it all. I bet it would help if I stole your idea and actually made them work with it and create questions from all levels they would know what I am expecting more.
Very Helpful Shawna!!