On the tail of letting my learners write the class policies, I gave them an even larger stake in their learning today. Today, my classes started unpacking the standards in preparation to write their own rubrics. That's not a typo. I am going to let them write the rubrics that I will be using to assess their work in class. To put this all in perspective, I am tired of arguing over interpretations of rubrics and the quality of their work. No matter how many times I stress that my feedback is to help them get better, I still have a number of students who don't see eye to eye with me. I say they still have a way to go and they will dig their heels in saying that they have met the standard and should be allowed to move on. I don't just take what they turn in and that is all there is to it. Learners must meet at least the minimum standards before moving on. I care more about learning than calendars and GPA. For the last several years, I have had a shift in the types of learners coming into my class. For years, if I assigned something for homework, almost every one of them did it and did it correctly. Working with 1 or 2 stragglers was easy and infrequent. That isn't the case now. The numbers in our program have grown to necessitate having two other teachers. The popularity and growth have come with an increase in the number of learners who are not sure why they signed up for the course (sometimes for the fourth year in a row). It has been my mission to reach these particular learners and get them engaged. If they are going to come in my room, they are darned well going to enjoy it, have fun, and learn. All means all. This year, instead of coming up with all of the project directions and rubrics, I am turning the tables. They learners are going to unpack the standards. They are going to determine what it means to "demonstrate responsibility for shared group and individual work tasks," or "complete tasks with the highest standards to ensure quality products and services." Let's not forget "demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of using and sharing intellectual property." Every learner will agree to all of the learning targets before moving on. There is no reason for all of us to see eye to eye. Today, I started with my 8th period class. I went over the Unpacking Document. Part of the discussion was looking up the Depth of Knowledge Chart and Blooms Taxonomy. That's right. My engineering students are learning about pedagogy. After explaining the chart, I gave each team a standard to use in relation to the project. Everyone had a different standard. The chart was shared in a Google Doc that they are all working on. Each team creates a new line. As the teams finish, I give them feedback on getting their standard better "unpacked". It is exciting to see them really working on it. Tomorrow, we will finish the standards with the other classes. Everyone will have to come to complete agreement on all of the learning targets before moving on. When we get done unpacking, we'll start diving into the rubrics. I'll keep you posted. Here is a copy of the Unpacking document we are using.
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About me & this blogThis blog is for things related to my class, PL, coaching, or just teaching in general. You can follow me on Twitter @myakSTEM Archives
June 2021
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