There’s a lot of discussion around grading and specifically how traditional grading falls short of informing how well students are doing in a class. Letter grades and percentages do not inform students and their parents as to how well they are learning the material. That one final letter or final percentage includes way too much …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/07/27/grading-to-inform/
Jul 26
Proficiency Scales vs Rubrics
In the Marzano Research Laboratory online course I’m taking on Formative Assessment and Standards-Based Grading a distinction was made between Rubrics and what are known as Proficiency Scales. I have to admit that I’m having a difficult time understanding the difference between the two. Honestly, they both seem like rubrics to me! This blog post …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/07/26/proficiency-scales-vs-rubrics/
Jul 21
The Inaccuracy of Tests
I’m taking an online course, Formative Assessment and Standards-Based Grading, from the Marzano Research Laboratory, and it’s reinforcing what I’ve believed about how subjective it is to grade and score kids on their learning. As teachers we strive to assess our students’learning as accurately as possible. The truth is that an A in my class …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/07/21/the-inaccuracy-of-tests/
Jul 20
Sharing Learning Expectations
After retweeting this Science Teacher’s blog post on Twitter about sharing standards with Science students I had this conversation with David Grossman: Letting Students in on the Secret | Science Teacher In Training #scichat #afl http://t.co/ALfC9NqScC — Alfonso Gonzalez (@educatoral) June 21, 2014 @educatoral Sometimes I want students to discover the concept like a …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/07/20/sharing-learning-expectations-2/
Jun 18
#GBL with WoW
I’ve been reflecting on my first attempt at using a commercial off the shelf (CoTS) game in class for student learning, in this case World of Warcraft (WoW). I took a risk and tried to use the power of WoW to leverage some Science learning, in this case classification of living things. There are many …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/06/18/gbl-with-wow/
Jun 05
Alone in the Middle
The week of May 19th six of the ten middle school teachers from my school went to Camp David Jr with our 8th grade students for an Olympic Odyssey outdoor learning experience. It was a fantastic week! Part of our outdoor experience is some hiking. There are some incredibly beautiful places to hike in WA …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/06/05/alone-in-the-middle/
May 17
The Need for Technology
Source: CheapestColleges.org Use of the above infographic does not constitute endorsement of the authors/creators of the infographic. I was merely giving credit to the owners/creators.
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/05/17/the-need-for-technology/
Apr 27
The C’s of the 21st Century
I’m finding that the hallmark of 21st Century learning is a move away from the traditional, 19th and 20th century focus on the three R’s (Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic) and a move to the C’s. I say the C’s because when I first read about the 21st Century C’s there were three, Connect, Collaborate, Create. The …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/04/27/the-cs-of-the-21st-century/
Apr 22
Craving Acknowledgement
Last year our middle school staff agreed to stop choosing Student’s of the Month and to stop giving out monthly awards for behaviors in which we want our students to engage. My advisory students conducted a survey and we found out that a majority of students reported feeling left out and not appreciated by our …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/04/22/craving-acknowledgement/
Apr 21
Teacher Evaluation? No.
What is the purpose of teacher evaluation? The corporate, privatization, voucher, pseudo-reform movement would have us believe teacher evaluation is to get rid of those horrible teachers who ruined our lives so that we can keep only the best teachers, jam their classes with 100’s of students, and give them monetary incentives to teach those …
Permanent link to this article: https://educatoral.com/wordpress/2014/04/21/teacher-evaluation-no/
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2016, 2017, 2019, 2022,
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