DI+UbD+Chapter+8+Block+1

Synthesis UbD/DI C8 B1


 * **Names** || **Abstract** || **Reflection** ||
 * Archambault Michael || For a lot of teachers, grading in a differentiated classroom seems conflicting. At the end of the day, it seems that students must conform to a standardized way of assessment. Grading can be viewed as a symbolic letter to summarize an entire time period, and a report that offers feedback to the student and their guardians. Students should know ahead of time what constitutes an A, B, and so on. Grades should be based on what a student knows or is able to do, and not reduced or increased for non-topic related reasons like behavior or attendance. Grades should reflect what a student knows at the end of a period, not their learning process where they may have bumbled through. Giving a single grade that averages a students effort, knowledge, and overall achievement is not fair or productive. The point of grading is to offer feedback, so more information is needed. || I have always thought that grading was hokey. It was annoying to fail a class for not doing homework when I was the strongest student knowledge wise. I think that doing homework should be a tool for people who need extra practice, and not just busy work so the teacher can pat themselves on the back. If a student is getting A's on the test, their unturned in homework should be waived, because they obviously didn't need the practice that you thought the other student's needed. I think that it is important to teach your classes in a way that challenges every student, even the brightest, so that there is motivation to do the extra practice. One of my personal struggles is going to be evaluating ability and knowledge, and not just growth. I always feel like rooting for the underdog who is giving it all they have, so I would be more apt to grade easier. ||
 * Audy Melissa || Chapter 8 of Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design is titled “Grading and Reporting Achievement.” This chapter explains several principals which will make grading easier within the classroom. It explains that teachers often feel torn apart between being judgmental and encouraging. The authors remedy this issue by stating that with the use of backwards planning, teachers are able to clearly define the objectives and easily determine how well each objective has been met. Another thing that will make grading more valid is to only grade on what counts—teachers should not take off points for trivial things such as neglecting to write a name at the top of the page. This makes the grading less of a reflection of whether or not the student has met the objectives intended. The next principle states that “grading should be based on established criteria” (130), meaning that the best student should not necessarily get an A if they have not met the objectives. The next suggestion is not to grade everything—using some assignments as practice and giving just feedback is OK. The last two principals encourage teachers to stay away from calculating grades based on means, and from grading based on factors other than the acquired knowledge. || I can relate to what is said at the start of the chapter. When providing feedback to student work in my ENG 230 class, I was notorious for writing brutally honest comments, which would actually help improve the paper I was commenting upon. However, in practicum, when I corrected the work I had assigned my students, I felt torn apart—I wanted to give them honest feedback which would help them improve their work, yet at the same time, I didn’t want to be discouraging, especially since I knew these kids so well. Perhaps if I had outlined my objectives slightly better, I would have saved myself some trouble. I did, however, follow some of the other principles, for example, my assignment focused on the punctuation of dialogue, therefore, I did not mark points off for spelling. I commented upon spelling errors, yet I only took points off for not following the directions or improperly punctuating. This chapter really broke down some helpful strategies for me. ||
 * Boulter Elizabeth || This chapter was mainly about grading and its place in the classroom. Grading can be difficult for teachers because students need to know their progress but they also need to be lifted up. They need to be evaluated but they need to be encouraged. The chapter gives 6 keys to grading in your classroom. One is that the evaluation follows a set of clearly aligned goals, two is that the evaluation is valid and accurate, three is that all students must be given the possibility to earn high grades, four is that some things should just be assessed and not //graded//, five is to not grade on an average, and six is to encourage them and be positive. The end of the chapter shows how differentiation, grading, and backward design go well together. || I found this chapter particularly interesting mainly because I haven’t really thought about grading before. This is the first time I thought in depth about grading and its implications. The part I found most helpful was the part the students receiving quality feedback. Because I remember how frustrating that was as a student, now that I am thinking like a teacher, I know that feedback is key to a students success and confidence the in the classroom. ||
 * Brown Ryanne || In chapter 8 of Integrating Differentiated Instruction and Understanding by Design the author explores the element of assessment in the classroom. The chapter lists 6 key principles as the recommendations for grade reporting practices. The first principle suggests that we balance our grades based on the goals for the particular project or unit and show proficiency rather than any random number grade. The second principle connects evidence to the grade, implying that a grade should be based on actual work and not other factors that get in the way of seeing the students’ performance. The third principle establishes criteria so that students and teachers both alike know what is being evaluated. The fourth principle recognizes the differences between grades and assessment and how one can be used to compliment the other, but only in certain ways; using summative assessments is a good use for actual grades whereas formative assessments are aiming more towards analyzing understanding rather than receiving a grade. The fifth principle suggests to avoid using averages when grading, addressing that it is more important what the students learn, rather than when; therefore basing grades on the bad grades in beginning, averaged with the good ones after learning seems unrealistic. The last principle suggests teachers focus on achievement in a separate manner than other factors. After discussing the principles the chapter goes into other details of how grading can influence and support the ideas of differentiation and backwards design. || The advice on grading given in this chapter was really helpful. Designing my unit I have discovered that for the tasks I’m choosing, it will be difficult to support them with any type of grade, when it is student understanding that I am working towards. After reading this chapter, I could not make any decisions on grading, other than gaining a little confidence in my rubrics; however, it did help me to understand the reasons why grading shouldn’t be straight forward, A or B. Each of the principles had good advice to guide teachers into a better decision for grading. The information on reporting systems and other grading systems also helped with understanding for why and how of grading. I think these ways of grading are much more effective because of their deep thought into how it will affect student work and what the outcome will be if we simply grade without thought. ||
 * DePue Margaux || Chapter 8 discusses several principles for teachers to follow when grading or documenting learning in the classroom. The first is that grades should be based on clear and concise standards that are relevant to student learning. Second, the evidence that students’ grades are based on should be valid and relevant to the topic in which they are attempting to master. Next, students’ grades should never be evaluated or analyzed by being compared to one another, but being based on specific criteria. Grades should be based on results from summative assessments, not criteria that is not related to the topic. Teachers should do their best to avoid using averages when they are grading since it is more important to focus on the mastery of the content that the student has achieved. Achievement should be something that is focused on separately from other factors in student learning and assessment of this achievement should not be skewed by these factors. || This chapter was very helpful in terms of getting me thinking about assessment in my classroom. I do not want my students to be required to do any trivial or busy work, which is something I have had a lot of experience with when I was in high school. My students will know exactly what to expect and will know how to earn a score that shows that they have mastered what I will teach them. ||
 * Dunne Kaisha ||  ||   ||
 * Hudson Kimberly || This chapter deals with grading and reporting achievement. Grading is a two part process; one is assigning symbolic letters or numbers to serve as a summary statement, and reporting the evaluation. There are several guiding principles that affect grading and reporting. The first is that grades and reports should be based on clearly specified learning goals and standards. Next, the evidence used for grading should be valid and grading should be based on established criteria. Also, not everything should be included in the grade, and grading should not be based on means. Grades should also focus on achievement and report other factors separately. || I find this chapter interesting because you really do have to be careful about how you grade. Many teachers give students a grade and they have no idea how they got it. I think it is important to have a grading system that the students understand exactly where they got their grade. I really like the idea that a teacher can only grade on criteria that is valuable. ||
 * Korn Shauna || This chapter covered the main points of how and what grading and reporting should be used for. Teachers have to be careful about how they use grading and reporting, because it needs to have a point and be beneficial to the students. It then breaks these two things down into six different principles. The first is that grades and reports have to be based on specific and clear goals and standards. This way students can see what they have done or need to do. The second was that what the teacher uses on a rubric or another grading device should match up with what the students are doing and relate to the student in some way. The third is that grading should stick to the criteria that the teacher assigned or established in the first place and cover only that. The fourth is that not everything has to be graded, there are some assignments that can be done just to further learning or to pretest the learners knowledge. The fifth is that teachers should not look at the over all score of the tests and find a common trait, but stick to evaluating each one to see what you as a teacher need to improve on and how that will help the student. The sixth and final one was to stick to one level of achievement instead of ten. This allows the student to give their best in that section and allows the teacher to assess the other grades to determine what needs work. || I think that these principles are very accurate and I really wished that teachers that I had known had used some of these. I like that these principles enforce that one on one between the student and teacher, because it shows that they and their work are not just another number or name, but that they actually matter for something and are being looked at as an individual. I also like how this chapter stresses doing work and other “teacher activities” that will actually go somewhere and relate to something. If there is one thing that students really hate its busy work, that I know. ||
 * LaRose Rebecca || This chapter was about grading in the differentiated classroom. The grading used in classrooms has to have a purpose and has to hold meaning for the student. The chapter outlines the six key principles of grading. Students need to see exactly what they are going to be graded on.They need to be given specific benchmarks and standards to clearly see what they need to complete. Grading should never be changed after the start of the class. Some activities should just be used to check up on learning, and don't need to be included in the grade. All things should be graded separately and never compared; it won't be helpful to either party. Use only one level of achievement because students can better see a goal and be able to achieve it with ease. || This was very helpful because I often worry about grading. I think that it has a lot of importance to students, but I think it is often detrimental.For grading to be helpful, it needs to be affective, and needs to have a point. I think that often teachers only focus on the letter grade because that is what needs to be sent off to the administration and off to parents come the end of the marking period. I feel that if teachers focused more on what students need to see and hear, there would be more successful high school success stories. ||
 * Murphy Amber || This chapter went into great detail about classroom assessment or grading. This chapter discussed the six different key principles which help with grading. This chapter talks about how giving students one final grade is hard and it basically sums all of their work up into one final letter grade which is just a symbol. Grading consists of two separate parts the first part is giving a number or letter to the project or semester and the other part is the evaluation. It is important when grading students to make sure one grades on clealy set standards which were set prior to the assignment or semester. Grading is important and it is essential to be done in the classroom, however when grading students it is important to remember students are here to learn and gather knowledge from the lesson, assignment or the semester. || I believe that there is too much emphasis placed on grades here in the united states. I believe that many students just do the required work to get the A and make it through school. I believe it is essential to evaluate students and know how well they are absorbing the material which is being presented, however I believe that grades aren’t as important as we make them seem. I think that overall students would be much more successful if they were concerned with actually learning the material to learn it for themselves rather then learning it for the grade. ||
 * Nieuwkerk Hannah || As a teacher, grading is very difficult: you want to praise and encourage your students to do better, and yet the grading has to be fair for the report card. To grade differentially, a teacher has to evaluate the piece and then give high quality feed back to the students to praise and encourage them into more learning. The chapter then goes on to give six important grading and reporting practices that support backwards design system and a standards-based education system. Even with these six principles, teachers worry that grades will discourage the motivation of some students; especially the struggling students with learning disabilities and language issues. The high achieving students also have problems with grades because their focus is getting the ‘A’ and not actually comprehending the information. A new idea for reporting grades would be to have several grades that separate the factors: grades for achievement of goals, progress towards goals, and work habits. In this way, students will be motivated for not only getting the grade, but the process toward the grade. Together, differentiation, working backwards, and grading support the communication of standards-based achievement and honors each and every student. || I really like the idea of having a few different grades on the report card because it would make the more advanced students have to understand the ideas behind the grades and the gives recognition to the students that don’t get all A’s. I also liked the six principles because it gives advice on how to grade and how to do it fairly. I can how difficult it is for teachers; they want to give the students encouragement for doing better, but they have to give a true grade. The best way to go about this is to grade and then give encouragement and tips after. I know that when I am a teacher, it is going to be difficult for me to want to give the students all good grades for trying and encouraging comments, even when I know that the student is trying to do the least possible. ||
 * Scheffler Erich || This chapter discussed ways to grade in a differentiated classroom. The chapter started off giving six principles of grading a differentiated class. These were: grades should be clearly based on goals and standards; grading should be based on valid evidence; grading should be based on established terms; teachers shouldn’t include everything in grades; don’t grade based on averages; and focus on achievement. The chapter also said teachers should use standards and differentiation. || I thought this chapter was pretty interesting. I thought it was very similar to the other things we’ve read about assessment, but at the same time, it brought something new to the table. I liked reading about the six principle if grading, because I found that there was a lot of stuff I was agreeing with. ||
 * Simoneau Andrea ||  ||   ||
 * Stevens Newcomb || This chapter dealt with grading and the differentiated classroom. Grading and reporting are items that are up for change when DI is implemented. Clarity, goals and understanding are the cornerstones of how this technique works. The reporting component also needs to be specific and clear. Goals must be graded rather than norms: stereotypes are thrown out the window here. By using the Ubd/DI structure, students are graded and assessed fairly. || I think that grades should be done away with altogether: I really subscribe to the Ubd/DI method of using a goals checklist. Grades have crippled assessment in my opinion because students will shoot for the grade rather than learn the material for future use. I have seen good kids turn into liars and cheaters because of grades. I think that more precise assessment and goal checklists will truly help students. ||