Assignment #8: Complete the 4 part assignment format as you read, reflect, and respond to Chapter 8: Setting Objectives & Providing Feedback.
ALL PARTICIPANTS PLEASE READ THE NOTE BELOW!!!
Although your course packet asks you to post to blog for parts A, B, C, and D…we are asking that you only post part Dto the blog. We’re trying to make the blog more user-friendly and easier to read. Thanks!
A. Self Assessment of Current Beliefs and Practices: This component asks you to reflect on how and why you currently use the instructional strategy of Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback in your classroom. The intent of this is to activate your prior knowledge of your strategy use so that you can make comparisons as you read the chapter. Below are the questions to help you complete your self-assessment.
• What is your purpose when you set objectives and/or feedback in your classroom?
• How do you set objectives in your current classroom instruction?
• When and how do you communicate classroom objectives to your students?
• What kind of feedback do you provide for your students?
B. Read & Reflect “Research & Theory”: This portion of the assignment asks you to read Chapter 8 and reflect briefly on your thinking after reading the “Research and Theory” section for Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback.
C. Practice: Choose one of the specific “classroom practice” strategies or techniques shared in this chapter to try out with your students (If you are not currently teaching, you may share how you would use this strategy in your classroom).
D. Final Strategy Reflection: Use the following sequence of questions/prompts to reflect on what you’ve learned about both the strategies presented in the chapter and what you’ve learned about yourself as both a teacher and a learner. Please post your brief reflection to the posting labeled Week Eight: Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback by clicking on the “comment” link below.
How has the information you read in this chapter on Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback effected your thinking about teaching and learning? What have you learned about yourself as a teacher and learner? Use the following questions to assist you in writing a brief strategy reflection:
• The generalizations related to setting objectives explain that goals should be clear and specific, but also flexible enough for students to personalize the goals. Consider the objectives you are expected to use, that is, those provided by your school, district, or state. To what extent do you feel they meet the criteria of clarity, specificity, and flexibility?
• How does the information in Figure 8.3 about "Corrective Feedback" shed light on your own experiences with giving and receiving feedback? For example, does it surprise you that research indicates that simply telling students whether an answer is right or wrong can have a negative effect on their achievement?
• How might you change how you communicate objectives to students and parents?
• How will you monitor how well students are meeting their learning objectives?
• How will you engage students in the feedback process (consider use of rubrics?)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
8 comments:
I think the objectives that my district has are flexible, but I have always struggled with how much emphasis to put on our learning goals because first graders don’t have the longest attention spans, so I don’t want to devote too much of the lesson to reviewing the goal, because I don’t want to lose my student’s interest. I always try to set a purpose to what we are doing so students can see the real world application. I also write out in my lesson plans my objectives for students in reading, writing, and math so that I am continually reminded of what is really important in the lesson.
The Corrective Feedback chart doesn’t surprise me because I think the most effective feedback I give is when I have a conversation with a student about what they are doing well and where they need to improve. Simply marking whether they got the correct answer or not doesn’t give a student enough of an idea of how they can improve. It also doesn’t give the student a chance to take ownership of their learning, whereas meeting with them and having a conversation allows them time for reflection and to take ownership.
This year I provided each parent with the first grade writing rubric at conferences. I wanted to show parents exactly what I am looking for in their child’s writing. I realized this tool can really help parents so they have a better understanding of what the expectations are for their child. I think it was really powerful for parents to have access to this information and I know they appreciated it. I think I need to continue to give parents access to the objectives in each subject so they have a clear understanding of what is expected. I think I should try having students set some learning goals for themselves this spring before we do student-led conferences. I like the idea of having general targets and giving the students sentence starters for their personalized goals.
I can monitor how well students are meeting their learning objectives by meeting with students individually and asking them about what they are doing to meet their goal. If students are meeting their goal, then we can have a discussion about whether they want to set another goal, or increase the criterion. If a student is not meeting their goal we can discuss ways they can improve their learning so they can be successful. I can use assessments and rubrics to measure if students are making progress towards their goal.
While reading this chapter the thought that kept creeping into my head was I think I am doing these things, but maybe I am not. I think the best way to address my concerns is to explain to all of you how I handle goal setting for my students and then see what feedback comes my way.
Every year I give every student a lanyard that has four plastic sleeves. These sleeves hold their photo in the front and goals for behavior, reading and writing in the others. I meet with the students individually (which is when the daily 5 structure comes in handy so I can have that individual time) to write two strengths in each of those areas and then two goals for those areas as well. I write two because I pick one and then I let the students pick one. Every term, I use the assessment data to see how students are working at completing their goals. I then decide if we should keep the same goal, modify the goal or write new goals. These goals are shared with parents during conferences and students are asked to look at their goals at the start of each day to help guide them in their daily practice.
My districts big push with goal setting comes in two forms. First, is writing a plan and profile for every student and the second is using the SIOP technique of writing content and language objectives for lessons. The plan and profile is supposed to be unique to each student and written with the intention that whatever goals we are writing are to help make each student college-ready. The goals are written with parents in the fall and then a progress check-in is done with parents in the spring. I don’t mind writing the plan and profile, because I am already doing this with the goal writing system I use in my classroom, but many teachers in my district are upset with this additional work. I think that is allows lots of flexibility for students to get the learning that they need.
The content and language goals are geared more toward instructional goals for each lesson. They help to give teacher an opportunity to share the goal for each lesson so students know what they are expected to learn at that day and time. I like writing these goals because they are quick to produce and they help me to be sure that I am focused on the outcome for each of my lessons.
I am not at all surprised that feedback needs to be shared in a timely manner. If time goes by we all forget things, so it is best to get things done as quickly as possible. This is the part of my own goal-setting practice that is the hardest to follow. With the large class size and lack of time, it is hard to catch things right after they happen. I need to work on getting better at offering more timely feedback.
I do not use rubrics in my teaching. I have often thought about it and I do agree that it is a very important practice, but I have never been able to find the right opportunity to put these into my own practice. I should take a look at my practices and see where I could easily and quickly start writing and adding these in. I feel that I do currently involve students in feedback because when we meet we discuss how they feel they are doing with their goals. I am always surprised at how often students know exactly what they are doing and what they need to do better. It is surprising what you hear when you just listen.
I think that goal setting and feedback is some of the most important work I do with my students each year. I love to see the joy they experience when they reach a goal and get to start on a new one. It makes me feel like I may have made a difference.
Molly, it's a great strategy to write out in your plans your objectives for the students! As you said, it helps you to focus on what's really the most important instructional point. My sons' school also gave us their curriculum map and objectives for each subject. As you said, I found it very powerful and helpful as a parent. (It was in a family friendly format so that non teachers could make sense of it. :D) I would really appreciate seeing the (or a) rubric for the writing expectations.
OK, Hope... I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE what you are doing with goal setting for your students. I would say a big fat yes, you are doing it! :D I think, in fact, that you should share with the district how you do it so they (or you) can share it with those grumpy teachers. It just makes so much sense! I'm sure it takes a lot of time and effort on your part, but what a pay off! Plus students just love having individual time with their teacher to discuss their performance. You should be proud of what you are doing for your students!!!
And I love what you said,
"I am always surprised at how often students know exactly what they are doing and what they need to do better. It is surprising what you hear when you just listen."
The last line really resonated with me...if only we'd just listen. Excellent.
Thanks ladies for your thoughtful responses. :D
As I read this portion of the text, I was thinking of the new Common Core State Standards and how some of them have become more specific and flexible, yet others are still very broad in scope. I think, as teachers, we need to be able to dissect those broad objectives into smaller more manageable pieces before presenting them to students. But I do believe in the power of informing students and parents of the objectives so that all stakeholders have a clear picture of the desired end. Recently, our oldest son has been working to challenge a high school science course. He’s a very motivated student and has been earning high school credit throughout his middle school years. When we requested that he be able to challenge the freshman Physical Science course, the administration agreed and put us in touch with the science department to make arrangements to take a test. As he worked to study the content in preparation for the test, he constantly had questions about what his performance goal was. Because he was a “guinea pig”, this was an answer that we hadn’t received prior to the start of the whole process and it was incredibly frustrating for Connor. He was working toward an unclear and changing goal and, many times, he felt the situation just wasn’t worth it. Finally, the standard was communicated to him and the frustrating process ended with him demonstrating proficiency and earning the credit. As he prepares to tackle the second half of that course, he is much more at ease with the process, he knows what to expect, and his motivation has returned…all because he now knows the objective.
A main focus of the work I do with struggling readers is centered on a fluency goal that varies by grade level. I realize that I may not be informing my students of the end goal, despite the fact that I assess and report their progress all the time. Moving forth, I think I need to do a better job of communicating with my students and allowing them the opportunity to make incremental goals. Additionally, I’d like to make the sharing of progress graphs a part of the feedback process with all of my students. I find that my older students are very motivated by their individual progress records, but I hadn’t really considered sharing this type of information with my younger students…I think they can handle it though!
I feel very fortunate that the work I do with kids involves almost no homework, written tests, etc. The format and structure of my time with kids allows me the opportunity to give very immediate and corrective feedback on the spot. My students don’t have to wait for me to get around to grading papers before they learn if they’re on the right track or making mistakes. I’m there to inform them, correct them, and/or provide affirmation for them instantly. I think this is really powerful.
• To what extent do you feel they (objectives provided by the state) meet the criteria of clarity, specificity, and flexibility?
I think recently, with the development of common core standards, the objectives handed down by the state have become clearer, specific, and more flexible than they have been in the past. I still don’t think they have gone far enough. For example, 5th grade math standard: “5.1.6 Use ordered pairs on coordinate graphs to specify locations and describe paths” to me is fairly clear, specific, and yet flexible. I think this is a well-written standard. On the other hand, 5th grade math standard: “5.3.9 Identify and measure necessary attributes of shapes to use area, surface area, and volume formulas to solve problems” is, to me, unclear, not specific, and possibly over flexible. This last objective in my opinion is way to “heavy” and needs to be stripped down into a few smaller, clear, specific, and flexible objectives. Unfortunately our district doesn’t have priority learning objectives developed from the state standards, so as classroom teachers, we need to strip standards like these down to more manageable learning objectives that we can communicate to the student and parents.
• How does the information in Figure 8.3 about "Corrective Feedback" ......
I also read this section of Marzano’s text concerning feedback a couple of years ago while I was finishing my master’s program because I was really struggling with the idea of homework and how to provide feedback on assignments I was receiving. So, over the past couple of years I have changed my classroom practice concerning how I give feedback. I feel the information in figure 8.3 “Correcgtive Feedback” is absoulutely correct and doesn’t surprise me at all. For example, just telling a student the right or wrong answer is rather pointless. A teacher should try to incorporate all these forms of feedback, but should focus on timely explanations as the strategy that’s going to get you the most effect for your efforts.
• How might you change how you communicate objectives to students and parents?
This is something I have been working on over the past few years. I have developed ways to communicate and ingrain learning objectives to the students, but my next step is to better communicate, present data, and educate parents more on learning objectives and how I am trying to help students reach each of them. One step our school is taking, and I have begun the transition over the past couple of years, is the development of a proficiency-based reporting system. We are moving away from reports cards that show A, B, C, D, and F (Primary uses E, S, U) as the main form of communication. What in the heck do all those letters mean anyway? We are developing ways to collect, report, and use assessment data to better inform instruction, communicate to students on performance, and to communicate to parents on progress students are making. I want to increase the depth of my reporting to parents that is more meaningful, easy to use, and clear. This is an important goal of mine.
• How will you monitor how well students are meeting their learning objectives?
In order to monitor how well students are meeting their learning objectives effectively takes a great deal of time and effort developing the systems of data collection that are manageable, clear, and meaningful.
• How will you engage students in the feedback process (consider use of rubrics?)
Effective feedback is a highly effective teaching strategy if done correctly. Student feedback needs to be done as immediately as possible. Feedback needs to be timely, or it is useless. I have really made a conscious effort to give my students as much timely, immediate feedback as I can. Also, I have developed a couple systems of peer and self-feedback. I’m very interested in exploring effective ways students can offer themselves feedback as well.
It does not surprise me one bit that Figure 8.3 points toward giving and receiving feedback. I remember repeatedly receiving answers marked as wrong on class assignments, quizzes, and tests, and never gaining clarity as to how I could have better answered the question. Seeing lots of red marks on my paper made me feel less intelligent and frustrated. It is one of the reasons I always disliked math. Maybe there is a correlation between my poor performance in math and the fact that few of my math teachers gave corrective feedback. They were more concerned with covering all the curriculum. This provides me with motivation to never be “one of those teachers.”
Since I create a lot of my own curriculum, it has taken me awhile to come up with a yearlong curriculum map. I am still trying to figure out how to balance Spanish with the State Standards. Hence, my learning objectives are still not clearly defined when it comes to Spanish. My first step toward improvement would be to design a curriculum map with the learning objectives across curriculum laid out in an easy to read format.
Right now I provide parents with continual feedback through emails, newsletters, unit progress reports, and conferences. However, it would be useful to share big picture objectives in a more organized and big-picture format. I think this would be a valuable thing to add to my Back to School Night folder. It is important that parents be informed about my learning goals for the students so that they are aware and can help support the child’s learning as necessary.
For students, I think that it is important to clearly communicate this information in my introductory sets and throughout the unit. It is my responsibility to check in with the children and show them how and why the material we cover is important and relevant to life. By creating a clear purpose, children are more likely to be motivated and learn!
I currently collect data based on classroom assignments, formative and summative assessments throughout each term. I collect work samples and put them in a file for each student. These portfolios are what I use to share specific examples of work and progress with parents at conferences.
I also use clearly defined rubrics for reading, writing, and math that show the phases of development. They help inform me what steps are ahead for the child and which areas I need to work on with the child. My assessment data informs me where I need to go with instruction.
I don’t share rubrics with my young students even though I use them for assessments. I hesitate to do this because I don’t want to create comparisons between children based on their level of development. I also have never done individual goal setting. My greatest challenge is that I only have students for 2.5 hours and a half an hour each day is devoted to reading. Finding time to meet individually with children is a challenge. I give immediate feedback to children during class time. I continually roam the classroom and stop to work with children or praise their efforts or progress. I would like to explore the two options in the future and see how I can bring them to a Kindergarten level. Using rubrics based on effort, self assessments using a smiley face scale, and setting goals as a classroom are things I would like to try in my Kindergarten classroom.
In my case we look at text and vidio then descuss what we have learned, with a final test of proforming the task we just learned. With doing the task I find if any of the info got through or if I need to work more in a group or indavigualy.
Post a Comment