Chapter 10 FIA Abstract

Abstract

This chapter helps to give advice on when it is appropriate to allow students to redo their work. Doing so allows the students to assess themselves and their understandings in order to improve their work. Redo work should be done at the teacher's discretion, says Wormeli. Wormeli also says that averaging the two grades or giving partial credit is something to avoid. The students should be treated like adults and it is even suggested that a contract is created.

Synthesis Cara

Giving students failing grades for assignments gives the impression that it is okay to fail. It is important to have realistic and straight forward late work policies from day one if the classroom so that the students and the teacher both understand what is to be expected. A lot of us seemed to both love and hate the idea of giving full credit to work that has been redone. It's true that it seemed a little unfair to the students that earn an 'A' the first time, but remember that the title of the book is "Fair Isn't Always Equal". Just because a greyhound can run a mile in two minutes or less does not mean that a basset hound is any less of a dog because it takes him a little longer to get there. As teachers, it is important that we adhere to the needs of our students and have reasonable expectations when it comes to allow them to redo their work or turn in work late.

Chapter 14

Although Wormeli has some good insight on report card formats, I feel that this may be asking too much of some teachers. My elementary school had report cards that had a lot of comments and broke down each of my grades for my parents...but, elementary schools are much smaller than high schools or some middle schools. I think it would be great to create a progress report/report card in the ways that Wormeli suggests, but I feel that it may not be practical for a high school teacher. I will look at students' grades because I will learn a lot about the students and how I can help them, but I really am not sure if I will be capable of creating report cards in the ways that Wormeli describes.

Chapter 14

Since we are to teach in a differentiated way, then out grade book should be geared towards this idea as well. "Filler grades" remind me of empty calories; it's adding more to the whole and it is unnecessary. Every grade that is given should be important and have a purpose. I like the idea of organizing the grade book by objectives because this will help me realize whether or not an assignment or project is simply a "filler grade" before I actually have the students complete it. I really like the pictures used for examples in this chapter.

Chapter 12

I like how Wormeli discusses both the 100 point grading scale and the 4-point (rubric) scale. Being an English major, I feel like the 4-point scale would benefit my students greatly. I can see using the 100 point scale for vocabulary or grammar quizzes (if any were given), though. Students really do focus more on the quality of their assignment when they are given a 4-point rubric. Although I hate creating rubrics, I feel that they help the students reach mastery quicker and with more ease than if I used a 100 point scale for everything.

Chapter 10

Students should be allowed to make up their work for full credit. By only giving partial credit, some students may feel that there is no point in making up the work. I want my students to realize that I give work for a reason and that it is important. If I give zeros or partial credit, it tells the student that the work is not important. If a student does an assignment incorrectly or poorly, they should be given a chance to redo their work, too. This way, I and the student will feel more confident about their understanding of the material. As a teacher, I also need to try to figure out why a student is having or asking to redo or make up their work often. There may be a problem outside of the classroom.

Chapter 9

I agree that homework should not be graded. Homework is a way for students (and the teacher!) to check for understanding. Grading homework does not seem fair to me at all because it is practice. I think that there are good ways to give extra credit in a classroom, though. For students who are struggling with material, extra credit work may really help out their grade. Students should be allowed to make up their work as well. As a teacher, I need to talk to students who have work to make up and allow them to make a plan to get that work to me.

Chapter 8

Even though Wormeli thinks that things like participation and behavior should not be included in a student's grade, I feel that effort should be graded. A student may be struggling with the material, but that student is trying so hard to master the stuff. They do all of their assignments, participates in class, asks questions, and they still are not doing well with the material. I feel that their effort should be recognized. I do agree that attendance should not be included in a grade. My first year of college, I suffered from migraines frequently. Almost all of my professors graded on attendance. So, even though I did all of my homework and did well on tests, my grade was lowered because of my health.

Chapter 7

When I was in high school, I focused on the letter grade for my work a lot. The letter itself does not tell how much understanding a student has for the material. Of course, grades are needed in our high schools, but teachers need to think of different ways to assess their students learning instead of simply putting a letter or number beside their name. It is important to give feedback frequently to students to help ensure them of their understanding and to help me as the teacher know where the student is struggling. I will also learn how to help the student sooner if I am constantly giving them feedback. Grading should also be consistent. I should not use percentages for one assignment, a 1-4 scale for another, and then a simple letter grade for another.

Chapter 11

Grading is something that teachers will more than likely always disagree on. Honestly, I have always felt that zeros should not be put into the grade book. A student may miss one little assignment and their grade will suffer greatly due to one zero. A ninety-one percent can turn into sixty-eight percent because of ONE zero! I think as a teacher I will encourage students to hand in work late and I will not advertise to students that sixties will be given rather than zeros. If students think a zero will be given if they do not do an assignment at all, they are more likely to simply hand it in late. The book points out that grading scales do not really support the learning goals that teachers have. Wormeli says that students should only be penalized for late work if it is a re-occuring issue. I strongly agree with this. I feel that every one forgets something at one time or another and that it is silly to lower a student's grade a full letter because of a mistake. However, if a student is continually turning work in late, then it is time to have a talk with the student and to lower their grade if this behavior continues after the conversation.

FIAE Chapter 6

The author lets the reader know that it is effective to include both traditional and non-traditional questions in tests. A lot of my high school teachers actually did this. The tests I’d take would include multiple choice, true or false, short response, and essay questions. Sometimes all of these were in one test. The reason I liked multiple choice was because even if I did not know the material, I could still eliminate answers and pass the test with flying colors. This is not a good thing because there’s no way that I would retain that knowledge, because I simply guessed! Essay and short answer reponses are a good way to know what a student knows and what they do not know because the answer is not right in front of them. The little suggestions, like actually having Ts and Fs on true/false sections of a test, were helpful for me to read. I like the idea of including two special questions for students. My physics teacher would ask us on a test, “What did you study that was not on the test? Create your own question and then answer it.” This was great for me because I would study so hard using the study sheet the teacher gave us and a lot of what I had studied was not on the exam. This way, students won’t feel like they ‘wasted’ their study time.

FIAE Chapter 5

Before reading this chapter, I had never heard the term “tiering”. This is a chapter that I will continue to go back to because I’m still a little unsure of how to effectively make adjustments to a course or assignment. Some students might just need a time extension rather than an adjustment to the complexity of a lesson or unit. The list of things to take away in order to decrease the complexity of a lesson was really helpful for me to read and help me to understand the concept of tiering a little better. I’m sure once I go into the teaching field that I will tier lessons without even realizing it. My favorite part of this chapter was the section describing how to create a learning menu. The learning menu seems like such a cute and fun idea. It also seems very effective because students have a choice in the work they do. I’d like to use something similar to a learning menu in my classes.

FIAE Chapter 4

Chap FIAE
The three types of assessments mentioned are portfolio, rubric, and student assessment. A portfolio seems like an assessment of learning because it is a large amount of students work. If a teacher chooses to do a specific project as their assessment of the students’ learning then maybe they can use the portfolio idea as well and use both when “wrapping up” a unit. I’ve seen many rubrics while I was in high school and back then I didn’t care for them; I just never liked the one through four system because I had always been used to a percentage grade. Rubrics are effective to use, though, because they students are4 able to see exactly what the teacher expects. I think the suggestion of having the students design their own rubric is a good idea because they will feel like they have more of a say in what they learn and consequently may be more interested in the unit. When I was in high school, the only classes that we were required to give self-assessments were my English classes. Self-assessments are great because it allows students to realize what they really do know and what they are still a little unsure of in a lesson. I think as a teacher I will definitely use all three of these types of assessments because they are all effective.

FIAE Chapter 3

A teacher should base their instruction on the students in the classroom. I think it is a really good idea to give a pre-assessment before each unit because it will let a teacher know what all of the students understand. Formative assessments seem like they would be good as well. Honestly, I liked getting "pop quizzes" in classes that were not graded; the teacher just wanted to know where our understanding was with the material. Telling the students what you would like them to learn before beginning a unit is a good idea because then both the teacher and the students are on the same page. Also, a student is more likely to know whether they are struggling if they understand WHAT they are supposed to get out on the unit.

FIAE Chapter 2

It is sometimes difficult to know when a student has truly "master" the material from a lesson. At one point in the chapter, mastery is described as being able to apply the concept spontaneously. If the students can demonstrate each of the six facets (explanation, interpretation, application, perspective, empathy, and self-knowledge), then they truly do understand the concepts. I really liked that the book gave a real classroom example of the types of assessment questions a teacher may want to ask in order to see whether or not the student understands the concepts. I think this chapter goes well with Chapter 5 of the UDDI book because it is emphasizing the importance of using different approaches to assessing students.

FIAE Chapter 1

The first chapter of this book said what the UDDI in simpler and more real-life terms; teachers need to differentiate in the classroom in order for all of the students to get an equal education. The examples used to show what differentiated teaching looked like made the idea seem less scary and more do-able. I've had more teachers teach in this way than not. One teaching style does not work for every student, so a teacher should try different approaches in order to teach effectively to EVERY student. Even answering a question in a different way may help some students to understand concepts and perform well in the class.