Education Week. Today's guest blog is written by Shira Leibowitz, Ph.D, co-author of The Coach Approach To School Leadership: Leading Teachers to Higher Levels of Effectiveness and Founding Lower School Director of Portfolio School. Feedback, among the most impactful, and yet also among the most variable influences on student achievement, matters. It matters profoundly.
Educational researcher and thought leader John Hattie (2009), whose investigation of more than 800 meta-analyses represents the largest collection of evidence-based research into what actually works in schools, has found feedback to be among the top 10 influences on student achievement. While Hattie's research primarily describes the effect of feedback from teachers to students, he asserts that his findings pertain to professional learning as well. Simply stated, for schools to improve, feedback to both educators and students is essential. Yet, Hattie offers a cautionary note. I noticed . . . Receiving feedback is challenging. References. Testing Can Be Useful for Students and Teachers, Promoting Long-Term Learning – Association for Psychological Science. Pop quiz! Tests are good for: (a) Assessing what you’ve learned; (b) Learning new information; (c) a & b; (d) None of the above. The correct answer? According to research from psychological science, it’s both (a) and (b) – while testing can be useful as an assessment tool, the actual process of taking a test can also help us to learn and retain new information over the long term and apply it across different contexts.
New research published in journals of the Association for Psychological Science explores the nuanced interactions between testing, memory, and learning and suggests possible applications for testing in educational settings. Appropriate Multiple-Choice Tests Can Foster Test-Induced Learning One of the criticisms of multiple-choice tests is that they expose test takers to the correct answer among the available options.
Corresponding author: Jeri L. Testing Enhances the Transfer of Learning Corresponding author: Shana K. Active Retrieval Promotes Meaningful Learning. The Best Rubric Sites (And A Beginning Discussion About Their Use) This is sort of a strange “The Best…” list. I really haven’t voluntarily used rubrics (except in one classroom situation where I find them incredibly valuable, and which I’ll talk about in a minute). I generally just don’t like them, but I can’t really articulate why. And, though I’ve read a fair number of pieces out there critiquing them, I can’t say I’ve found any arguments that really resonate with me (of course, I also have to use the International Baccalaureate’s Theory of Knowledge rubrics for assessing that class’ final essay and oral presentation).
I’d love to hear people’s comments about them — both pro and con. As I mentioned, there is one case where I do use them, and I’ve written extensively about it at My Revised Final Exams (And An Important Lesson). In this case, I use an “Improvement Rubric” where students can compare their writing at the beginning of the year with what they can do at the end of the year, and measure their improvement in several specific areas. Rubistar. Do No Harm: Flexible and Smart Grading Practices.
My Edutopia post When Grading Harms Student Learning generated a lot of buzz. Grading is an emotional subject, with strong-held opinions and ideas. I was really excited to see discussion on all sides of the issue. The best feedback for me was that, while many readers agreed with parts of the premise, I hadn't been specific on support strategies. Thank you for that feedback -- it was specific, actionable, and created the need and excitement for a follow-up post.
Address Behavioral Issues Affecting Academic Achievement Points off for late work may not motivate students. Request to Retest This is a great way to put the student in the driver’s seat of what they'll redo and how they'll redo it. Redo Parts of an Assessment Some assessments that we give students have very clear categories. Reflect on Assessments One strategy that I've seen many educators use is ongoing reflection throughout the assessment process, whether we're talking about a small quiz or a major exam. Pick Your Battles. Digital Formative Assessments in Literacy. The Big List of Class Discussion Strategies | Cult of Pedagogy. 5 Fun Alternatives to Think-Pair-Share - WeAreTeachers. All learners need time to process new ideas and information. They especially need time to verbally make sense of and articulate their learning with a community of learners who are also engaged in the same experience and journey.
In other words, kids need to talk!! Problem is, sometimes it’s hard to stay on subject without a little guidance. That’s why structured discussions really work best with children, regardless of their maturity level. These five discussion techniques (and a little purposeful planning) go beyond the traditional Turn and Talk/Think-Pair-Share to give students an opportunity to deepen their understanding while practicing their verbal skills. 1. This technique is great for collaborating and generating many ideas on a topic. Arrange students into pairs (teacher or student choice).Pose a question that has many possible answers. 2. A great activity to get kids up and moving and encourage them to interact with all of their classmates . 3. 4.
Students work in pairs. 5. 6. 7. Google Classroom - Using RubricTab to Assess Students - Teacher Tech. Previously I created a rubric template that allows you to create a rubric, paste your class roster, and then create a copy of the rubric for each student to make evaluation for your class easy. I have upgraded the script (Add-On) so that it now creates a spreadsheet for each student to share with them their rubric evaluation.
The script also automatically creates a roster of each student’s score, percentage, comments and individual category assessment for the teacher. Click Here to make a copy of the template. After creating a copy of the template paste your class roster and email addresses into columns A and B. Hint, do make a copy of this spreadsheet to use as YOUR template so you do not have to copy and paste student rosters next time. Tip Save the template into a folder. For every assignment you create in Google Classroom, a folder of the same name is created in Google Drive. Save your copy of RubricTab for that particular assignment into the assignment folder. Parts to the Rubric. The Difference Between Formative and Summative Assessment Explained (Video) - On Air: A Video Blog.