March 6th, 2012.
The French Language Arts teacher in this scenario, Mme. Wagner, has a high acheiving student in her class. He has always performed well, but has become distracted and tired by his job. He received a low grade on his final exam and his final grade was 70%. His teacher is now struggling with whether to adjust his mark or not, feeling that a 70% doesn't accurately reflect his work.
My initial thought was to leave the student's mark at a 70%. I then read further, and was struck by this question: What difference would it have made if Pierre had been sick or participated on a school team? Indeed, that would have made a huge difference. After all, it's not as if this young fellow has a choice. He works for his father, and fathers tend to be demanding. Perhaps Pierre's father places little value in academic achievement or the subject of french and wouldn't allow his son to study. The child should not be punished for the actions of his father.
I think that it would be okay for the teacher to adjust the marks of her student. A final grade should take into account the work over the course of the entire semester, and the teacher should have the right to adjust it where they see fit. As I was responding to this situation, I was reminded of the previous vignettes where I wished the teacher was able to adjust the mark for the student who was continually achieving low marks. I realized this about myself: I think it's alright if a low-achieving students mark is bumped, but not if a high-achieving students mark is bumped. Consistency is key when teaching, and I am thankful that I was able to see this error in myself.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Vignette 9: Ryan's Impending Doom!
February 28th, 2012.
Ryan has found himself in an unfortunate situation. He has struggled all semester with his Language Arts mark, and he has finally made some progress. His mark has risen from the 30-40% range to the 50-60% range. However, his teacher is forced to take all the marks equally into account, putting his final grade at 45%. This young man improved his mark, and was not rewarded for it. I think that final grades should be more heavily weighted than earlier ones. It is foolish to expect that every student to cross the threshold of a classroom has a solid understanding of the course material. Students will struggle, but great progress can be made. For the students who struggle, their early marks will likely be poor. It has taken more practice and more work for them to understand concepts, and their self-perception as learners is very fragile. Their earlier marks should be weighted far less than their final work. For students in situations like this, their progress should be weighted very heavily.
In grade 12, I was required to take Gym. I wasn't thrilled about this, since I had never been an athlete or enjoyed gym. By the end of the semester, I had worked myself up to 7 pushups, which was amazing progress! I had made progress in almost every area of my mark, and as far as I can remember, that was weighted heavily in my final grade. I hope to be able to mark my struggling future pupils in this way.
Ryan has found himself in an unfortunate situation. He has struggled all semester with his Language Arts mark, and he has finally made some progress. His mark has risen from the 30-40% range to the 50-60% range. However, his teacher is forced to take all the marks equally into account, putting his final grade at 45%. This young man improved his mark, and was not rewarded for it. I think that final grades should be more heavily weighted than earlier ones. It is foolish to expect that every student to cross the threshold of a classroom has a solid understanding of the course material. Students will struggle, but great progress can be made. For the students who struggle, their early marks will likely be poor. It has taken more practice and more work for them to understand concepts, and their self-perception as learners is very fragile. Their earlier marks should be weighted far less than their final work. For students in situations like this, their progress should be weighted very heavily.
In grade 12, I was required to take Gym. I wasn't thrilled about this, since I had never been an athlete or enjoyed gym. By the end of the semester, I had worked myself up to 7 pushups, which was amazing progress! I had made progress in almost every area of my mark, and as far as I can remember, that was weighted heavily in my final grade. I hope to be able to mark my struggling future pupils in this way.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Vignette 5: Getting What They Deserve?
February 15th, 2012.
Well, our friend Joan has found herself in an uncomfortable situation for sure. She is the newest staff member and they are in the midst of a department meeting. Two seasoned teachers are brainstorming ideas to get children to their classes and have them hand in their homework on time. They are coming up with atrocious ideas. One teacher suggested that the students write a quiz at the beginning of each class, thinking that would get them there on time. If they miss the quiz, the receive a zero. The other rules they had in place were needlessly vicious. I am certain that the tactics they are thinking of implementing would decrease student happiness. The brave young Joan stated that non-academic factors should not be included in the children's marks. The other two teachers are trying to think of ways to correct and grade the behavior of students, which Joan argues decreases the validity of their grading system. In their minds, a grade doesn't just tell a person about a students achievement levels, but also about how this student behaved in class. It's a bad idea because there is no objective way to mark a child on their behavior. The line becomes too blurred for a teacher, and Joan thinks that it shouldn't happen at all.
I agree with Joan whole-heartedly. There are a few similarities between this vignette and vignette 4. The difference being that these two teachers want to implement these methods of grading student behavior for all of their students. Personally, I think this would add far too much to their workload, and as Joan mentioned, strip the marks of meaning.
I would also like to comment that I pity every one of the children that are learning under Mary and Helene, the two who would like to heavily consider student behavior. It sounds like they are running a prison rather than a school. In fact, it sounds like there may be more freedom in a prison than in their classrooms. They want to implement daily quizzes, they have unreasonably harsh late work policies, and they said that, "[students] don't deserve a high grade if they don't work for it all year long." These women are forgetting that their students are children! They can't be worked like dogs, they need breaks! They need to be treated fairly.
Through out this program, I have been constantly reminded of Rick LaVoie's FAT City movies. I learned so much from them, and I think that teachers everywhere could learn from Rick. He mentioned that children should be treated no differently than adults. I have a feeling that if the policies that Helene and Mary are proposing were inflicted upon them, they would be very unhappy.
Well, our friend Joan has found herself in an uncomfortable situation for sure. She is the newest staff member and they are in the midst of a department meeting. Two seasoned teachers are brainstorming ideas to get children to their classes and have them hand in their homework on time. They are coming up with atrocious ideas. One teacher suggested that the students write a quiz at the beginning of each class, thinking that would get them there on time. If they miss the quiz, the receive a zero. The other rules they had in place were needlessly vicious. I am certain that the tactics they are thinking of implementing would decrease student happiness. The brave young Joan stated that non-academic factors should not be included in the children's marks. The other two teachers are trying to think of ways to correct and grade the behavior of students, which Joan argues decreases the validity of their grading system. In their minds, a grade doesn't just tell a person about a students achievement levels, but also about how this student behaved in class. It's a bad idea because there is no objective way to mark a child on their behavior. The line becomes too blurred for a teacher, and Joan thinks that it shouldn't happen at all.
I agree with Joan whole-heartedly. There are a few similarities between this vignette and vignette 4. The difference being that these two teachers want to implement these methods of grading student behavior for all of their students. Personally, I think this would add far too much to their workload, and as Joan mentioned, strip the marks of meaning.
I would also like to comment that I pity every one of the children that are learning under Mary and Helene, the two who would like to heavily consider student behavior. It sounds like they are running a prison rather than a school. In fact, it sounds like there may be more freedom in a prison than in their classrooms. They want to implement daily quizzes, they have unreasonably harsh late work policies, and they said that, "[students] don't deserve a high grade if they don't work for it all year long." These women are forgetting that their students are children! They can't be worked like dogs, they need breaks! They need to be treated fairly.
Through out this program, I have been constantly reminded of Rick LaVoie's FAT City movies. I learned so much from them, and I think that teachers everywhere could learn from Rick. He mentioned that children should be treated no differently than adults. I have a feeling that if the policies that Helene and Mary are proposing were inflicted upon them, they would be very unhappy.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Vignette 8: Decisions, Decisions.
February 8th, 2012.
This situation is about a teacher who is marking his students at the end of the year. He is trying to decide what student work should be taken into account when calculating grades. This is a tough situation, because it could be different depending on the age of the students and the subject being taught.
I think that the students homework should be taken into account, but only on a small scale. If a student isn't doing their homework regularly, their mark will be reflective of that. If they don't complete it, they are in a way lowering their grade on tests. To be dinged twice for not completing your homework seems unfair to me.
I think that the process of students work should be taken into account, but again on only a small scale. These processes, for example writing drafts, are a type of formative assessment. They are mostly for the student to be guided towards their final goal. They are important, but should not be weighted heavily.
I don't think that self assessment should be taken into consideration at all when determining a final grade. They are more for the students to reflect on their own work, and to point out aspects of their work they were particularly proud of.
This situation is about a teacher who is marking his students at the end of the year. He is trying to decide what student work should be taken into account when calculating grades. This is a tough situation, because it could be different depending on the age of the students and the subject being taught.
I think that the students homework should be taken into account, but only on a small scale. If a student isn't doing their homework regularly, their mark will be reflective of that. If they don't complete it, they are in a way lowering their grade on tests. To be dinged twice for not completing your homework seems unfair to me.
I think that the process of students work should be taken into account, but again on only a small scale. These processes, for example writing drafts, are a type of formative assessment. They are mostly for the student to be guided towards their final goal. They are important, but should not be weighted heavily.
I don't think that self assessment should be taken into consideration at all when determining a final grade. They are more for the students to reflect on their own work, and to point out aspects of their work they were particularly proud of.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Vignette 4: What Counts?
January 31st, 2012.
The situation that is described in this vignette is a troubling one. A student, named Juan, has received a lower-than-usual mark in Language arts. The teacher has been consulted by Juan's parent, and it is explained in this way: while Juan does complete excellent work, he doesn't like to sit still and learn in class. His mark is reflective of the way that he behaves in the classroom, as well as his work. The parent is dissatisfied wit this and turns to the principal.
There is no way that a child's grade should be influenced so much by his behavior inside the classroom. Little Juan had been receiving marks of 80 on his assignments, and he was docked 22 percent because of his behavior. I don't blame the parent in this situation for bringing this matter before the principal. A student should be marked and graded based only on their completion of curricular objectives. Past this it becomes too cloudy. His teacher would have to begin marking every student in the classroom based on their behavior, and that is no small feat.
I think that there are instances where behavior can effect a child's mark, but that isn't up to the teacher to decide. If a child is acting out in class and disrupting the lessons continually, they will do poorly on their work because of this. If a student appears to have trouble listening but does well with their work, then other steps need to be taken. Perhaps the child should sit by themselves for certain parts of the lesson to ensure his classmates aren't disrupted, but his mark should never be intentionally docked due to behavior.
I pity Juan for having such a teacher. This teacher explains that Juan, "just doesn't listen during instruction." I would beg to differ! If he is continually receiving a mark of 80, he obviously knows what he is doing. I think there is a possibility that this student listens in a different way than his teacher is familiar with.
This is a tough situation, but I believe the teacher is in the wrong here. A child's behavior should have little effect on their overall grades.
The situation that is described in this vignette is a troubling one. A student, named Juan, has received a lower-than-usual mark in Language arts. The teacher has been consulted by Juan's parent, and it is explained in this way: while Juan does complete excellent work, he doesn't like to sit still and learn in class. His mark is reflective of the way that he behaves in the classroom, as well as his work. The parent is dissatisfied wit this and turns to the principal.
There is no way that a child's grade should be influenced so much by his behavior inside the classroom. Little Juan had been receiving marks of 80 on his assignments, and he was docked 22 percent because of his behavior. I don't blame the parent in this situation for bringing this matter before the principal. A student should be marked and graded based only on their completion of curricular objectives. Past this it becomes too cloudy. His teacher would have to begin marking every student in the classroom based on their behavior, and that is no small feat.
I think that there are instances where behavior can effect a child's mark, but that isn't up to the teacher to decide. If a child is acting out in class and disrupting the lessons continually, they will do poorly on their work because of this. If a student appears to have trouble listening but does well with their work, then other steps need to be taken. Perhaps the child should sit by themselves for certain parts of the lesson to ensure his classmates aren't disrupted, but his mark should never be intentionally docked due to behavior.
I pity Juan for having such a teacher. This teacher explains that Juan, "just doesn't listen during instruction." I would beg to differ! If he is continually receiving a mark of 80, he obviously knows what he is doing. I think there is a possibility that this student listens in a different way than his teacher is familiar with.
This is a tough situation, but I believe the teacher is in the wrong here. A child's behavior should have little effect on their overall grades.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Vignette 7 - The Mighty Bell Curve!
January 24th, 2012
How did Mrs. Vandekamp's decision affect Dakota's grade and life?
Speaking from the perspective of a student who detests competition, I can say that Mrs. Vandekamp's decision seriously discouraged this young lady. Bell curves serve to increase the competition between students in a class. Essentially, it doesn't matter what mark you receive on any assignment, only where your mark sits in comparison to those of your classmates. Although Dakota rarely received a mark of less than 80%, she ended up with a final mark of 79%. Even though she put forth her best efforts, she was unable to out perform 6 of her classmates. This teacher taught Dakota that her efforts are irrelevant. Her marks aren't based on her work, but on her academic standing among the rest of her class.
As anxious as she was to receive the Rutherford Scholarship, I wonder if she was of a low socioeconomic standing. Perhaps she needed that scholarship to get into post-secondary school, which may no longer be possible for her, thanks to Mrs. Vandekamp.
What is the basis for Mrs. Vandekamp's grading practice?
I can't say exactly what her motivations may have been, because I've never had the displeasure of working with a norm-referenced approach. I sincerely hope I never have to. I want my students to be rewarded appropriately for their hard work.
How does Dakota's mark reflect her actual achievement?
Dakota's mark only mildly reflects her actual achievement. As I stated above, her final grade is decided only by how her grade compares to those of her classmates. It's possible that she had a mark of 89% and that 6 others had marks greater than that. Therefore, the six slots of 80% would have been filled. I think this is a terrible shame. Pitting students against one another makes the learning environment hostile, and therefore hinders the learning process. This is the opposite that teachers should be doing. Teachers should encourage children in their learning. They should ensure the learning environment is a safe and positive one, and they should reward students appropriately for their work.
How did Mrs. Vandekamp's decision affect Dakota's grade and life?
Speaking from the perspective of a student who detests competition, I can say that Mrs. Vandekamp's decision seriously discouraged this young lady. Bell curves serve to increase the competition between students in a class. Essentially, it doesn't matter what mark you receive on any assignment, only where your mark sits in comparison to those of your classmates. Although Dakota rarely received a mark of less than 80%, she ended up with a final mark of 79%. Even though she put forth her best efforts, she was unable to out perform 6 of her classmates. This teacher taught Dakota that her efforts are irrelevant. Her marks aren't based on her work, but on her academic standing among the rest of her class.
As anxious as she was to receive the Rutherford Scholarship, I wonder if she was of a low socioeconomic standing. Perhaps she needed that scholarship to get into post-secondary school, which may no longer be possible for her, thanks to Mrs. Vandekamp.
What is the basis for Mrs. Vandekamp's grading practice?
I can't say exactly what her motivations may have been, because I've never had the displeasure of working with a norm-referenced approach. I sincerely hope I never have to. I want my students to be rewarded appropriately for their hard work.
How does Dakota's mark reflect her actual achievement?
Dakota's mark only mildly reflects her actual achievement. As I stated above, her final grade is decided only by how her grade compares to those of her classmates. It's possible that she had a mark of 89% and that 6 others had marks greater than that. Therefore, the six slots of 80% would have been filled. I think this is a terrible shame. Pitting students against one another makes the learning environment hostile, and therefore hinders the learning process. This is the opposite that teachers should be doing. Teachers should encourage children in their learning. They should ensure the learning environment is a safe and positive one, and they should reward students appropriately for their work.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Vignette 3: Get with the program!
January 17th, 2012
A grading issue that I see for Mr. Fisher was mark distribution in relation to time allocation. The amount of time spent on certain projects did not fairly reflect the marking weight assigned to them. Lots of time was spent on side projects like mapping and family tree business, which didn't have considerable weight in the final grades. It sounded like he also strayed away from the curriculum, which caused marks to plummet in his class. It isn't always terrible to stray from the curriculum, but when it doesn't more damage than good, the question must be asked: is it worth it? If this stray from curriculum doesn't aid students' understanding of required topics, then it should be removed.
During my practicum, I was told many a time that if the activity or topic isn't closely related to the learning outcome, then it must go. It only serves to confuse the students, which in turn makes the job of the teacher more challenging.
I have had very little experience in marking. I aided our mentor teacher with some marking, but I had very little to do. I marked a test, which was terribly challenging. The first part was true and false, and fill in the blank. This section was a breeze to mark, but the next few posed great difficulty. There were several short answer questions, and I couldn't believe the wide range of competence that was displayed. Some students grasped each concept well and passed with a perfect mark. Others seemed to be floundering terribly. I had to come to my teacher many times to make sure my marking aligned with his. Our teacher had been teaching for 7 years, and he told us that in the beginning he marked everything he could. He told us that this wasn't entirely necessary, and it only served to make more work for him. He needed our help with very little of the marking while we were there, which honestly made me quite sad. I was excited to help him out and learn some things. I was still able to do that, but not in the region of marking.
A grading issue that I see for Mr. Fisher was mark distribution in relation to time allocation. The amount of time spent on certain projects did not fairly reflect the marking weight assigned to them. Lots of time was spent on side projects like mapping and family tree business, which didn't have considerable weight in the final grades. It sounded like he also strayed away from the curriculum, which caused marks to plummet in his class. It isn't always terrible to stray from the curriculum, but when it doesn't more damage than good, the question must be asked: is it worth it? If this stray from curriculum doesn't aid students' understanding of required topics, then it should be removed.
During my practicum, I was told many a time that if the activity or topic isn't closely related to the learning outcome, then it must go. It only serves to confuse the students, which in turn makes the job of the teacher more challenging.
I have had very little experience in marking. I aided our mentor teacher with some marking, but I had very little to do. I marked a test, which was terribly challenging. The first part was true and false, and fill in the blank. This section was a breeze to mark, but the next few posed great difficulty. There were several short answer questions, and I couldn't believe the wide range of competence that was displayed. Some students grasped each concept well and passed with a perfect mark. Others seemed to be floundering terribly. I had to come to my teacher many times to make sure my marking aligned with his. Our teacher had been teaching for 7 years, and he told us that in the beginning he marked everything he could. He told us that this wasn't entirely necessary, and it only served to make more work for him. He needed our help with very little of the marking while we were there, which honestly made me quite sad. I was excited to help him out and learn some things. I was still able to do that, but not in the region of marking.
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