KARCHER STAFF BLOG

Karcher 2017-2018 School Calendar

Students of the week!!!!!!!
(Running slide show)

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Kudos

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Thank you to all of our certified staff for setting up needed parent/guardian conferences this past Monday. The night was a successful night!
Kudos to Dustan Eckmann and Liz Deger on a great winter orchestra concert. And congrats to Dustan Eckmann as well on a great winter band concert. Dustan always has something up his sleeve for his performances and it was a great night of music mixed with fun. After the concert multiple parents approached me and/or emailed me congratulating Dustan, Liz, and our students on a great night. Nice job Dustan and Liz!
Kudos to Rod Stoughton for all of your behind the scenes work with the sound to assist with the concerts as well!
Thank you to those who have assisted with period subbing and having their schedules changed due to shortages with special education aides and teacher subs, your help and flexibility is truly appreciated!

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Educational Piece: Article/Video

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*** Teachers: Please discuss during your team time. View all 7 practices and share out which one speaks to you the most and is an area you want to hone in on.

Seven Practices for Effective Learning

Jay McTighe and Ken O'Connor

Teachers in all content areas can use these seven assessment and grading practices to enhance learning and teaching.

Article continued...

Practice 6: Encourage self-assessment and goal setting.

Before turning in their science lab reports, students review their work against a list of explicit criteria. On the basis of their self-assessments, a number of students make revisions to improve their reports before handing them in. Their teacher observes that the overall quality of the lab reports has improved.

The most effective learners set personal learning goals, employ proven strategies, and self-assess their work. Teachers help cultivate such habits of mind by modeling self-assessment and goal setting and by expecting students to apply these habits regularly.

Rubrics can help students become more effective at honest self-appraisal and productive self-improvement. In the rubric in Figure 1 (p. 13), students verify that they have met a specific criterion—for a title, for example—by placing a check in the lower left-hand square of the applicable box. The teacher then uses the square on the right side for his or her evaluation. Ideally, the two judgments should match. If not, the discrepancy raises an opportunity to discuss the criteria, expectations, and performance standards. Over time, teacher and student judgments tend to align. In fact, it is not unusual for students to be harder on themselves than the teacher is.

Figure 1. Analytic Rubric for Graphic Display of Data

The rubric also includes space for feedback comments and student goals and action steps. Consequently, the rubric moves from being simply an evaluation tool for “pinning a number” on students to a practical and robust vehicle for feedback, self-assessment, and goal setting.

Initially, the teacher models how to self-assess, set goals, and plan improvements by asking such prompting questions as,

What aspect of your work was most effective?
What aspect of your work was least effective?
What specific action or actions will improve your performance?
What will you do differently next time?

Questions like these help focus student reflection and planning. Over time, students assume greater responsibility for enacting these processes independently.

Educators who provide regular opportunities for learners to self-assess and set goals often report a change in the classroom culture. As one teacher put it,

My students have shifted from asking, “What did I get?” or “What are you going to give me?” to becoming increasingly capable of knowing how they are doing and what they need to do to improve.

Practice 7: Allow new evidence of achievement to replace old evidence.

A driver education student fails his driving test the first time, but he immediately books an appointment to retake the test one week later. He passes on his second attempt because he successfully demonstrates the requisite knowledge and skills. The driving examiner does not average the first performance with the second, nor does the new license indicate that the driver “passed on the second attempt.”

This vignette reveals an important principle in classroom assessment, grading, and reporting: New evidence of achievement should replace old evidence. Classroom assessments and grading should focus on how well—not on when—the student mastered the designated knowledge and skill.

Consider the learning curves of four students in terms of a specified learning goal (see fig. 2, p. 14). Bob already possesses the targeted knowledge and skill and doesn't need instruction for this particular goal. Gwen arrives with substantial knowledge and skill but has room to improve. Roger and Pam are true novices who demonstrate a high level of achievement by the end of the instructional segment as a result of effective teaching and diligent learning. If their school's grading system truly documented learning, all these students would receive the same grade because they all achieved the desired results over time. Roger and Pam would receive lower grades than Bob and Gwen, however, if the teacher factored their earlier performances into the final evaluation. This practice, which is typical of the grading approach used in many classrooms, would misrepresent Roger and Pam's ultimate success because it does not give appropriate recognition to the real—or most current—level of achievement.

Figure 2. Student Learning Curves

Not available for electronic dissemination.

Two concerns may arise when teachers provide students with multiple opportunities to demonstrate their learning. Students may not take the first attempt seriously once they realize they'll have a second chance. In addition, teachers often become overwhelmed by the logistical challenges of providing multiple opportunities. To make this approach effective, teachers need to require their students to provide some evidence of the corrective action they will take—such as engaging in peer coaching, revising their report, or practicing the needed skill in a given way—before embarking on their “second chance.”

As students work to achieve clearly defined learning goals and produce evidence of their achievement, they need to know that teachers will not penalize them for either their lack of knowledge at the beginning of a course of study or their initial attempts at skill mastery. Allowing new evidence to replace old conveys an important message to students—that teachers care about their successful learning, not merely their grades.

Motivated to Learn

The assessment strategies that we have described address three factors that influence student motivation to learn (Marzano, 1992). Students are more likely to put forth the required effort when there is

Task clarity—when they clearly understand the learning goal and know how teachers will evaluate their learning (Practices 1 and 2).
Relevance—when they think the learning goals and assessments are meaningful and worth learning (Practice 1).
Potential for success—when they believe they can successfully learn and meet the evaluative expectations (Practices 3–7).

By using these seven assessment and grading practices, all teachers can enhance learning in their classrooms.

References

Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2004). Working inside the black box: Assessment for learning in the classroom. Phi Delta Kappan, 86(1), 8–21.

Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Research Council.

Gardner, H. (1991). The unschooled mind. New York: BasicBooks.

Marzano, R. (1992). A different kind of classroom: Teaching with dimensions of learning. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Wiggins, G. (1998). Educative assessment: Designing assessments to inform and improve student performance. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

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Information/Reminders...

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Just a reminder... staff who are absent are noted in the email from Jane Peterson along with the attendance.
Social Studies... it is your week to have students email their parents/guardians!
Monday, December 11 - Secondary Curriculum Committee from 3:30 - 5:00 in the Karcher library. The focus will be on the calibration of the ACT strands to standards.
Wednesday, December 13 - Essential Skills PLC.

I will be going to the high school for this PLC to work with the 9-12 elective area teachers.
Please remember to be explicit within the PLC planning document and utilize your reflection as to where you are as a team when it comes to the stages of implementation (The Google Form you took at the last PLC). You can work in your rooms on your Essential Skills and Ryan will be in the building to assist teams.
Applied Academics... you should stay in our building and continue our work on Essential Skills (attending the PLC at the high school is not necessary for this PLC). Then, for applied academic teachers you will have the first three January PLCs to work vertically and admin are working on a schedule so that we can maximize your time on January 3, 10, and 17. This only relates to the elective areas (but want to make sure everyone is in the loop!)

Thursday, December 14 - Choir Concert in the Karcher gym @ 7:00pm!

Pictures from this past week!
Students in Ms. Geyso's ELA class reflecting on their regrets and carrying those regrets around for the day as chains during their read aloud of The Christmas Carol.