Mrs. Vandekamp - What are you thinking???
"The literature indicates that norm-referenced grading makes learning highly competitive." I think a little competition in learning is healthy, but the bell curve should never be used (specifically in K-12) as a means of motivation for students. I also don't think there is anything wrong with comparing students to each other for informational purposes, but it should be done after the marks have been determined.
The bell curve, in my eyes, is the resulting distribution after a whole big pile of marks have been determined. The marks just naturally fall into that curve pattern. What I am not understanding is how this has shifted to an expectation of what mark distribution ought to be within one classroom. Can't Mrs. Vandekamp be content to know, if she marks each paper objectively, that the grades will nestle beautifully into the bell curve of the grades of students across the entire school, district, province or country?
The vignette does not provide a lot of context but I don't believe that any student before college or university is subject to a marking scheme like this. Mrs. V should have set her criteria from the beginning and mark in accordance with her clearly communicated expectations - other class members' work should not be a factor in Dakota's grade.
In the event that the school or district is in fact asking teachers to grade on a bell curve, a set of criteria along with the student work which meets and exceeds said criteria should be enough for any teacher to justify her 'unevenly distributed' grades.
Brent's frequent updates to us about his struggles with the higher-uppers at U of A has clearly and immensely factored into my thinking on this matter. PRE-DETERMINED bell curves are so stupid...
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Week 2
Mr. Fisher will be okay; he just needs to make some very important adjustments for next year.
This year, Fisher designed his year plan, complete with assessments and weightings. He succumbed to the traditional thinking that the unit tests should have a relatively heavy weighting in students' overall grades, but he didn't know anything about the tests! His projects were well-received by students and I gather they were quite educational as well and were in line with curricular expectations. There is nothing wrong with testing at the end of each unit, but in this case the test was unfamiliar material (or familiar material presented in unfamiliar fashion) to the students and teacher. It is difficult to justify a heavy weighting on a test of that quality.
Fisher needs to begin his year plan by familiarizing himself with the actual Program of Studies. He will still be able to do his projects, but he will learn from his experiences this year, such as preparation and presentation taking longer than expected, and adjust it accordingly. He may also be wise to increase the weightings of these projects in light of the fact that the students seem to do some of their best learning while they are in process.
As for the tests, they sound like they are inconsistent with the way that he teaches the material to students. He can either do away with them entirely, drastically change their weighting, re-create the test into a more understandable context, or any combination of these options.
This year, Fisher designed his year plan, complete with assessments and weightings. He succumbed to the traditional thinking that the unit tests should have a relatively heavy weighting in students' overall grades, but he didn't know anything about the tests! His projects were well-received by students and I gather they were quite educational as well and were in line with curricular expectations. There is nothing wrong with testing at the end of each unit, but in this case the test was unfamiliar material (or familiar material presented in unfamiliar fashion) to the students and teacher. It is difficult to justify a heavy weighting on a test of that quality.
Fisher needs to begin his year plan by familiarizing himself with the actual Program of Studies. He will still be able to do his projects, but he will learn from his experiences this year, such as preparation and presentation taking longer than expected, and adjust it accordingly. He may also be wise to increase the weightings of these projects in light of the fact that the students seem to do some of their best learning while they are in process.
As for the tests, they sound like they are inconsistent with the way that he teaches the material to students. He can either do away with them entirely, drastically change their weighting, re-create the test into a more understandable context, or any combination of these options.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Week 1
"Students can his any target they can see and holds still for them."
This is an interesting quote to explore because it is both sensible and inane at the same time. It's sensible because it is true that students require very specific guidance and directions when they are doing work that will be assessed. Having a rubric that communicates expectations clearly means that students will know what is expected of them and what they will need to do to meet those expectations. The reason I would go so far as to call that statement inane is that by painting a clear picture of expected procedures and outcomes for students' assignments we are greatly at risk of stifling their creativity. That's what all of my EDES 361 (Art) readings are telling me, anyway.
The compromise I propose is that we continue to provide students with well-defined rubrics which clearly display expectations for students but at the same time are attached to assignments that are flexible enough that there is a great allowance for creativity and individuality for each student. This sounds a bit generalized as I read it back to myself, but I will look forward to learning about how to specifically implement this practice.
This is an interesting quote to explore because it is both sensible and inane at the same time. It's sensible because it is true that students require very specific guidance and directions when they are doing work that will be assessed. Having a rubric that communicates expectations clearly means that students will know what is expected of them and what they will need to do to meet those expectations. The reason I would go so far as to call that statement inane is that by painting a clear picture of expected procedures and outcomes for students' assignments we are greatly at risk of stifling their creativity. That's what all of my EDES 361 (Art) readings are telling me, anyway.
The compromise I propose is that we continue to provide students with well-defined rubrics which clearly display expectations for students but at the same time are attached to assignments that are flexible enough that there is a great allowance for creativity and individuality for each student. This sounds a bit generalized as I read it back to myself, but I will look forward to learning about how to specifically implement this practice.
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