Wednesday, July 23, 2008

When the Internet gets a virus, does it see a GoogleDoc?


And we still work on. . .The most important thing you learned last class was the value of the work around. I'd like to say that I meant to to that, but then I might lose the remaining thread of credibility that I still have ;-)

Tonight we are going to grade each other's PowerPoint presentations in groups of 3. I would like you to stay in like grade levels, but not in the same groups that made the rubrics. . .Each person will need to have at least 2 peers evaluate his/her presentation. You will then submit to me the two rubrics from the peers who graded you (you will not submit your own rubric). If there were any mistakes on your PowerPoint, please fix and show your peers so that you can turn in a rubric that gives you full credit. . .
What else. . .TaskStream, Inspiration, Web 2.0, and Spreadsheets. . .

Journal 4 or 5(depending on your participation in the Summer Institute): Yes, there are more journals. . . I would like you to pick a technology from the Classroom 2.0 website (see link in the links area), choose a link from the tools list on the right hand column for a technology that interests you, and follow a discussion or two (or three. . .) that relates to your technology. If there are no discussions for your technology, choose another topic.
In the title bar, put journal number follwed by the technology you have chosen. (For example: Journal 5: Microblogging). In the journal, I would like you to define the technology and then report out on what you learned from the tool discussion and read and comment on at least three peers who have chosen a different tool. You reporting out should contain the 200-250 word minumum, but you do not need to ask and answer questions. In the assignments section, you will submit your peers names.

Tonight's Question: Do you think a competency model of education, one where students are allowed to fix errors and resubmit, punishes the "A" students? Would it be okay for everyone in your class to earn an "A"? Explain.

24 comments:

Ms. Wood said...

I believe in "mastery learning" where students are given a chance to correct their errors and ensure they understand the content. In a way, this denies the "A" students the attention or extrinsic motivation they may be used to. However, competency based instruction fosters cooperative rather than competitive learning and boosts intrinsic motivation. Some students have trouble with directions, need extra instruction, or experience any number of individual difficulties. I feel that every student should be given the opportunity to earn an A.

Jessica said...

I do not agree with students being able to resubmit the correct answer for a re-grade. I believe that it is the responsibilities of young adults to comprehend the material to the best of their abilities. In my classroom they will be given opportunities to meet with me and discuss class/home work with their fellow students. They need to learn how to utilize these types of resources for their survival. Because I am going to be teaching biology everything that my students will learn is built upon the prior and sometimes learning a more abstract thought enables a better comprehension of fundamental material. Every student learns differently and have different weaknesses and strengths and working together fosters a cooperative environment which is my passion to instill.

aatwood said...

I do not agree that "compitancy based instruction" produces as an "A" student as it will not provide the student with a real life outcome. If a student is allowed to resubmit the assignments they have, then how are we prepairing them for the real world. My students future bosses arent going to say "oh you messed up that presentation to the board...but its ok, resubmit it and we will meet again later on...when your ready, ok?" my students future bosses would say "your fired!" As the person in charge of their social training that is reckless.

Sarah S said...

Ideally you want all your students to understand what you are teaching them. If by letting them fix their mistakes it is helping them learn, then why not allow them to get the A as well? It is not ok to hand out A's that are not deserved.

Elizabeth Froeberg said...

My initial reaction was that a competency model would punish the "A" students and would be too easy of a grading system. It seems like it would eliminate any motivation to really try hard. However, the more I thought about it, the more fair it seems. I feel it would truly give every child a chance to suceed and experience what it feels like to be an "A" student.

Sharon 422 said...

The policy if followed by the children with integrity is reasonable. As long the teacher can see the honest effort, instead of letting the child fall short. Give them the opportunity to learn it right. This allows the child to really learn verses going through not understanding even when they are trying!

Sisters Sheeba said...

I don't believe it punished the A student but I do believe there should be a limit as to how many times a project is resubmitted. It may get a little too frustrating for both the teacher and the student if one same assignment is continuously resubmitted. I don't necessarily believe that this will work for any subject...

Also, my understanding of this setup doesn't guarantee an A, just an increased chance of receiving an A.

sydneycamden said...

I believe in the mastery learning technique in a way that expresses to the students what you expect as a teacher in your classroom for assignments and projects. However, I feel that should only be done once to make that understanding clear. After that one time I feel students should have a comprehension and should follow directions for projects/assignments that follow.

Katy said...

I think that this would depend on the assignment. If I worked really hard on a 10 page research paper and received an A on my first submission, I don't think it would be fair for other students to have multiple chances to do the same. However, In regards to rough drafts at the Elementary level, I think that this is acceptable.

Michelle Rivera said...

I believe in giving every student the tools they need to succeed on an assignment, including giving plenty of examples, lots of guidance and help in the process of completing the project. I think a good compromise would be to have each student turn in a draft to me prior to the due date for feedback and suggestions for revision. The final draft of the work would need to be turned in by the due date, however and then all students would be given a final grade based on their own work. I think allowing revisions after the due date and final draft would be unfair to the "A" students that utilized the help available prior to the due date.

kelciejoiner said...

I believe that students should have a chance to resubmit an assignment. They may have not realized what they were doing was incorrect. By allowing them this chance, they are able to fix their mistakes. I do think that the number of chances to resubmit an assignment should be limited to one time. If you give too many chances to resubmit, they may take advantage of it and use it as something to fall back on too quickly. Limiting the number of chances to resubmit an assignment doesn't punish the A students but simply gives the other students a higher chance to receive a better grade.

Heather said...

I do not think it punishes any student. Allowing students to fix errors they may have made creates more opportunity for real learning to take place. Students are more likely to fix an error and learn what their mistake was, if they are allowed to receive credit for fixing their mistakes. If they do not get credit for fixing a mistake, it is likely that they will accept their grade for what it is and not try to understand what they did wrong.

Beth said...

I think the bottom line should be that the student has demonstrated an understanding of the assignment concept. Since there are different types of learners, some students will do better on one type of project than others. Personally, I will give my students opportunities (within a certain timeframe) to correct or improve work, based upon my feedback and comments. I want everyone to have the chance to do well, even if it takes them a bit more tweaking of their paper. What I will be looking for is that they are making a genuine effort to understand and to recognize when they need more guidance.

Carissa Anderson said...

I also agree that students should be allowed the chance to correct their work, especially when dealing with difficult and unfamiliar concepts. However, I would stipulate to my students that the entire assignment must be complete in order for them to be allowed to fix any errors. Incomplete work would not be given back for the chance to fix errors.

Eliane's 422 said...

I believe that allowing students to resubmit(one time)their assignments is a way to benefit the students' process of learning. Schools should promote a friendly environment not a punitive environment! Some children need more time to understand the content than others. I do not think it punishes the A students it just gives every child an opportunity to suceed and do a better job!

Anonymous said...

I think that students should be allowed to resubmit there work. But I'm not exactly sure on how many times they should be allowed to submit in order to get more points or full points. I know some students will learn better with trial and error but how does that work for students who get all the points on the first try. I don't really know which way I would really go.

Jenny said...

I don't believe that this type of model necessarily "punishes" the A students, just allows others second chances to improve. I consider other models like grading on a curve more of a punishment because those who do not do so well are automatically given a higher grade. At least with the first model, students need to fix errors in order to earn a better grade and not just receive one.

jamie reeder said...

I believe the best way we learn is through our mistakes. Sometimes it takes students longer than others to comprehend something. I whole reason to be in school is to learn so who really cares how you get there. If my route from a to b is different than my neighbors so be it. We are dealing with students who are in the middle of a learning process shouldn't we be flexible with what that process is.

Sarah said...

Having a competency model in education means valuing knowledge, ability and improving student performance. Allowing students to fix mistakes and resubmit work pushes individuals to do the best that they can do. As a teacher you need to push for excellence from all of your students and provide them with corrective feedback instead of letting them settle for mediocracy. Same goes for "A" students, they need to know where they can improve as well and should be challenged too.

Lorraine said...

No I don't think that a competency model punishes the "A" students. I believe that every student should be provided with the opportunity to 'master' the content if they wish as it is a great learning tool. However, I can see some students may not be able to reach that goal and I would allow for some discrepancy for their efforts toward the goal. In other words if the student repeated tried for an A but was unable to get it perfectly right I would give them an A for their efforts.

Andrea Welch said...

I would assume that the genuine interest and ultimate goal of most teachers would be that students actually learn what they are trying to teach. Therefore, I definitely believe in the competency model in which students are allowed to resubmit their work with corrections. This promotes the previously mentioned goal and also lets students know that success is for everyone. This model assures that all students are understanding the content. The "A" students' reward is that they only need to submit an assignment once! I would be ecstatic if all students get an "A" in my future class and I would have their hard work and evidence of progress to support their success.

Eric Flam said...

I like the idea of being able to correct mistakes, in order to obtain an A for a grade. As long as it is the case that the student is doing the work and not getting an A for doing nothing, it seems to be reasonable to me. Perhaps, the person who finishes everything perfectly the first time should receive an A+.

Jsnd08 said...

I think that this is not right and would really hurt the A students. I do though believe that it would help the students learning if they are allowed to re submit their work to get a better grade.

Justin said...

Eventually students get tired of getting things back and having to revisit something that they have already finished. They would either do better at doing it right in the first place (the A students) or wouldn't make the revisions, which would usually fall along the exceptional and poor student lines in the end.