Resources
Text: "Art of Changing the Brain":
My biggest take away from the book is either a realization or a long overdue reminder, that when a student has truly learned something, they have, in fact, been changed. I’m not talking about how they have emotionally changed (though that does happen); I’m talking about the fact that their brains have actually biologically been changed. In order to create these changes in the brain a student needs to know the relevance of what they are learning. So that kid that asks in math class: “when are we ever going to use this?” is asking a good question…a question that you, the teacher should have already answered. IN the book it states "…if people believe it is important to their lives, they will learn. It just happens…if we want people to learn, we must help them see how it matters in their lives."
I was also struck by the rewards and motivation information. I had never thought about the fact that as student that is motivated by a reward after success can also be deterred by a penalty after failure, even if the teacher didn’t designate a “penalty”.
Text: "Fair Isn’t Always Equal":
I think the biggest take-away from "Fair Isn't Always Equal" was that I think I’ve been using grades the wrong way. Wormeli states that “grades by their very nature are post-learning”. I’ve been handing back assignments with grades and that signified the opportunity for students to re-due the work. For many students, they have gone into task list mentality, where once they have handing in the assignment they are done with it. Helping students understand that “changing the brain” requires cyclical work, where assignments and skills are revisited and that taking academic risk is okay and healthy, because you’ll have another shot. Wormeli writes “I saw kids who had failed until seventh grade being willing to take a risk and try on some assignments. Instead of a grade, I wrote feedback to let kids know what improvements were needed and what they were doing right.”
I found the most thought-provoking information were the "Big Questions" that Wormeli posed. The question that stuck with me the most was "how does my grading approach get in the way of my instruction". That resonated with me, in that, there used to be times where the end of a grading quarter (quarter 2 for example) meant the end of a unit and the end of learning for that specific material. CVU is in a place now where that constraint no longer exists (or it has at least me limited)
Twitter Resources:
Standards On-Line Resources:
This link will take you to each of the National Health Education Standards that I use in 9th Grade Personal Health. National Health Education Standards
This link will take you to each of the National Physical Education Standards that I use in 9th Grade Project Adventure. National Physical Education Standards
This link will take you to the CVU ESL's. The site has each of the ESL's as well as targets and levels for each. CVU Expectations for Student Learning
My biggest take away from the book is either a realization or a long overdue reminder, that when a student has truly learned something, they have, in fact, been changed. I’m not talking about how they have emotionally changed (though that does happen); I’m talking about the fact that their brains have actually biologically been changed. In order to create these changes in the brain a student needs to know the relevance of what they are learning. So that kid that asks in math class: “when are we ever going to use this?” is asking a good question…a question that you, the teacher should have already answered. IN the book it states "…if people believe it is important to their lives, they will learn. It just happens…if we want people to learn, we must help them see how it matters in their lives."
I was also struck by the rewards and motivation information. I had never thought about the fact that as student that is motivated by a reward after success can also be deterred by a penalty after failure, even if the teacher didn’t designate a “penalty”.
Text: "Fair Isn’t Always Equal":
I think the biggest take-away from "Fair Isn't Always Equal" was that I think I’ve been using grades the wrong way. Wormeli states that “grades by their very nature are post-learning”. I’ve been handing back assignments with grades and that signified the opportunity for students to re-due the work. For many students, they have gone into task list mentality, where once they have handing in the assignment they are done with it. Helping students understand that “changing the brain” requires cyclical work, where assignments and skills are revisited and that taking academic risk is okay and healthy, because you’ll have another shot. Wormeli writes “I saw kids who had failed until seventh grade being willing to take a risk and try on some assignments. Instead of a grade, I wrote feedback to let kids know what improvements were needed and what they were doing right.”
I found the most thought-provoking information were the "Big Questions" that Wormeli posed. The question that stuck with me the most was "how does my grading approach get in the way of my instruction". That resonated with me, in that, there used to be times where the end of a grading quarter (quarter 2 for example) meant the end of a unit and the end of learning for that specific material. CVU is in a place now where that constraint no longer exists (or it has at least me limited)
Twitter Resources:
- Dr. Justin Tarte (@justintarte): "Director of Curriculum & Support Services; tech lover, consultant/presenter & always ask 'why not?'"
- Tom Whitby (@tomwhitby): "Edutopia Blogger, HS/MS Tchr 34 yrs, HigherEd 6 yrs. Founder of: #Edchat,The EDU PLN,Edchat Radio Linkedin 6 Edu Grps."
- Garnet Hillman (@garnet_hillman): "Mother, wife, instructional coach, learner, consultant, and writer - passionate about healthy grading, DI, and tech! Co-moderator of #sblchat"
- edutopia (@edutopia): "Inspiration and information for what works in education."
- JumpRope (@jumpropers): "If A is for awesome and F for fail, is C for clearly outdated? Making grades irrelevant."
- Lee Ann Jung (@leeannjung): "prof & director of international school partnerships @ UKY"
- Larry Ferlazzo (@Larryferlazzo): "inner-city High School teacher -- ESL & Mainstream; Author; Ed Week teacher advice columnist; Writes about ELLs for NY Times"
- Grant Wiggins (@grantwiggins): "professional educational troublemaker of longstanding. Pres. Authentic Education"
- Ken O'Connor (@kenoc7): "Independent consultant specializing in issues related grading and reporting. Father, grandfather, golfer and sports fan."
- Rick Wormeli (@RickWormeli): "I'm a teacher, writer, and education consultant, but more importantly, I'm the father of Ryan and Lynn and husband of Kelly."
Standards On-Line Resources:
This link will take you to each of the National Health Education Standards that I use in 9th Grade Personal Health. National Health Education Standards
This link will take you to each of the National Physical Education Standards that I use in 9th Grade Project Adventure. National Physical Education Standards
This link will take you to the CVU ESL's. The site has each of the ESL's as well as targets and levels for each. CVU Expectations for Student Learning