I am actually enjoying
Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works! I really like the 'Effort Rubric' in the chapter on "Reinforcing Effort". This rubric allows students to gauge their own behaviour and I really like that. I think that giving students the opportunity to reflect on their own learning and effort can be very helpful in reminding students about how their own effort can help them achieve success. I have never thought to use spreadsheet software in order to allow students to gauge their own progress. It is an interesting notion, but our time in the computer lab is so limited as it is that I don't think that I will use this in my classroom. I have used survey monkey to poll my other university peers, but have not used it in my own classroom yet. I have done informal 'effort' surveys in my classroom before (without technology).
While I try not to assign much homework in my class, I did find the web suggestions in the "Homework and Practice" chapter very interesting and it almost makes me want to assign more homework just to try them!
I do think that showing students their progress and how that relates to the effort that they put in can be helpful in getting students to realize how they can have a role in the marks that they get.
Hi-
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that having the students gauge and reflect upon their own learning/behavior is very beneficial to them. Even at the 1st grade level, I have my children chart their daily behavior and tell them to set a personal goal for how many days that month they would like to stay on "green." Homework in the 1st grade is one thing that I try to avoid as much as possible. I have the children read nightly and every now and then I will send home a Math Homelink to reinforce a skill, but I feel that they will soon get enough homework in the future and I believe that the curriculum we work in the room is enough for the students.
Very nice blog post!
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteSurvey Monkey? What is that… I’m not familiar with it? I agree with you that the web suggestions in the “Homework and Practice” chapter looked like great ideas. Unfortunately, most of my students don’t have computers at home. I also agree with Bill. At first grade level, I try to keep homework to a minimal amount.
The amount of time, I am able to spend in the computer lab, is also frustrating. I understand. We only have one computer lab and about fifty classrooms. We each get one 30 minute spot a week.
Student’s marking their progress is very beneficial to them. What grade do you teach? I print off my spread sheets and fill them in with pencil. This might be a suggestion that would work for you (with limited time in the computer lab).
Megan
I also liked the effort rubric for the reading. I am planning on trying this in my class soon. I feel that it may help my students realize that the amount of effort that they put into the assignment wll determine the outcome of their achievement. I was also wondering about the Survey Monkey?
ReplyDeleteJennifer
Survey Monkey is a website (http://www.surveymonkey.com/) where you can create 10 question polls. Once students answer the questions, you can log in a look at the breakdown of how students answered the questions. It's really cool!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of using survey monkey to ask students questions about their efforts academically and how they feel it relates to their grades. Many times, my second grade students will see their report cards and come back to school the next day very surprised and excited about their good grades. I find it amusing that many of my students tell me about their grades as if I had never seen them before. Of course, they may not completely understand how the grading process works. Therefore, having conversations with them about how their efforts relate to their grades will really help build some understanding about how much control they truly have over their grades.
ReplyDelete