Abstract and Synthesis FIAE Chapter 10

Abstract 

This chapter explained several ideas behind allowing students to redo work for credit. It explains some of the criteria teachers should taken into consideration when determining whether to allows students to redo work or not. One such criteria is to require parents to sign off on allowing the student to redo work, that way the parent is involved and can help to hold the student accountable. Another suggestion or criterion is to have students create a calendar or plan of completion. Don't allow students to have as much time as they want, but instead hold them responsible for creating a deadline to turn the revised work in by. Having students attach the original assignment to the revised assignment allows the teacher to see the progress made or changes made and helps the teacher to determine whether the student revised it themselves or had assistance. Something that goes along with this is to have students fill out the self-assessment again or to include a detailed list of what they changed/fixed/revised. This not only saves time on the teacher's end, but also requires that the student be able to determine for themselves what they changed. If they can't figure it out, then they didn't make a significant enough change. If a student's revised grade is lower than the original grade then the higher grade should be the one put into the gradebook. As Wormeli argues, "In most of life, we're given credit for the highest score we've earned," (134). Possibly one of the most important suggestions from this chapter is to stop accepting revised work during the last week of the grading period. This is done for the teacher's benefit. Having even more work to grade is not worth the loss of sanity that one would suffer if he were to accept additional revised work.

Synthesis

The general consensus is that allowing students to redo work is okay, as long as students have a valid reason to do so. If a student were to waste time and turn in an incomplete draft just because he or she knew that the option to redo it would be given, then we generally would not be likely to accept the redo. Students who always try and work hard in class would be given more opportunities to revise work, while students who never show up to class would not be. Creating a clear policy and sticking to it was also favored; no one wants to be the teacher who is walked all over because of their redo policy. Having students create a calendar/plan of completion seemed like a good idea because it keeps the student and teacher on the same page during the revision process. It also holds the students accountable, just as having parents sign the original task or assignment before the student is able to redo it.. Attaching the original task will be helpful because we all want to see the first attempt or any successive attempts.

Abstract and Synthesis FIAE Chapter 10

Abstract 

This chapter explained several ideas behind allowing students to redo work for credit. It explains some of the criteria teachers should taken into consideration when determining whether to allows students to redo work or not. One such criteria is to require parents to sign off on allowing the student to redo work, that way the parent is involved and can help to hold the student accountable. Another suggestion or criterion is to have students create a calendar or plan of completion. Don't allow students to have as much time as they want, but instead hold them responsible for creating a deadline to turn the revised work in by. Having students attach the original assignment to the revised assignment allows the teacher to see the progress made or changes made and helps the teacher to determine whether the student revised it themselves or had assistance. Something that goes along with this is to have students fill out the self-assessment again or to include a detailed list of what they changed/fixed/revised. This not only saves time on the teacher's end, but also requires that the student be able to determine for themselves what they changed. If they can't figure it out, then they didn't make a significant enough change. If a student's revised grade is lower than the original grade then the higher grade should be the one put into the gradebook. As Wormeli argues, "In most of life, we're given credit for the highest score we've earned," (134). Possibly one of the most important suggestions from this chapter is to stop accepting revised work during the last week of the grading period. This is done for the teacher's benefit. Having even more work to grade is not worth the loss of sanity that one would suffer if he were to accept additional revised work.

Synthesis
The general consensus is that allowing students to redo work is okay, as long as students have a valid reason to do so. If a student were to waste time and turn in an incomplete draft just because he or she knew that the option to redo it would be given, then we generally would not be likely to accept the redo. Students who always try and work hard in class would be given more opportunities to revise work, while students who never show up to class would not be. Creating a clear policy and sticking to it was also favored; no one wants to be the teacher who is walked all over because of their redo policy. Having students create a calendar/plan of completion seemed like a good idea because it keeps the student and teacher on the same page during the revision process. It also holds the students accountable, just as having parents sign the original task or assignment before the student is able to redo it.. Attaching the original task will be helpful because we all want to see the first attempt or any successive attempts.

Synthesis and Abstract for FIAE Chapter 4

Abstract
Chapter four of Fair Isn’t Always Equal focuses on using thee different types of assessments in the classroom: portfolios, rubrics, and self-assessments. Portfolios are useful for taking a comprehensive look at a student’s progress because they allow multiple pieces of evidences to be collected in one location. Rubrics are good for showing students what you expect from them before their product is turned in, as well as showing them how you evaluated their work. Self-assessments help students to make sure that they included everything they need in their product. Each type of assessment not only allows the teacher to evaluate the student, but also the student can evaluate his or her learning as well. Assessing students is important to understand what concepts, skills, and ideas students are acquiring through the lessons you are teaching, and these three methods are excellent ways to assess students. Having students assess their own works gives the teacher an idea of how the students feel they are doing. Teachers can then use these assessments to modify and adapt their teaching strategies to assist any students who are not meeting the understandings that the teacher created.

Synthesis

The common consensus is that these methods of assessment are necessary for an effective classroom. Portfolios were popular because they can be used to show how students are making progress throughout a unit, a year, or even their entire high school career. The ability to organize them was also a popular feature and reason for using portfolios. Rubrics also had a popular response because they show the teacher's expectations and it allows teachers to give feedback to the students. The important part of rubrics is making sure that they explain the requirements clearly, so that students will not have any problems interpreting the requirements. Personal experience with rubrics makes it easier for us to understand the importance of using them in our own classrooms. The same can be said for self-assessments, which most of us have experienced using in at least one class. It seems that these three types of assessments will find their way into each of our classrooms in some format.

FIAE Chapter 14

The main point this chapter is trying to get across is that most report cards, as they are used currently, are ineffective.  Report cards should be more than just a printout of the final grades for a term.  Parents and students need to see what is really going on in the classroom and since most parents are unable to or choose not to be involved in their child’s academic life, they only see the report card two to four times a year.  The information presented on the standard report card are not accurate indicators of the rest of the year.  I hope that the school(s) I teach at does not use the basic report card and/or allows me to include an additional sheet that gives more information on the student’s progress through the standards or whatever method is being used. What I need to keep in mind is that parents do not fully understand the way the classroom is run, so they need as much information as frequently as possible that will help them to see their student’s progress. I think finding a way to incorporate as many different methods for presenting the information is probably the best way to construct a report card, but it is also the most time consuming, and teachers and other administration just do not have the time to put into a report such as that. Starting a process that would present all of the information is daunting, but if you are able to keep up with it, especially using an online gradebook would be incredibly beneficial for all parties.

FIAE Chapter 13

Color coding the gradebook is a fantastic way to organize student assessment scores. Selecting different colors for different topics or standards or whatever is being assessed is really helpful in making sure that there is a balance in the way you are assessing students. Making sure that you provide students with plenty of opportunities to demonstrate mastery in one area is good, but you want to make sure that you allow enough time for other areas as well.  I also like the idea of setting up the gradebook by content or topic. This doesn’t affect the way grades are weighted or anything, although it could easily be set up to, but it allows the teacher a comprehensive look at how a student is performing in each of the assessment areas. I don’t think it matters how a gradebook is set up, but how the teacher uses the gradebook. If it is only used to store or hold grades until the end of the marking period, then it is not useful. If it is a tool that allows a teacher to see how a student is doing and what the teacher needs to do to help students make progress, then it is an effective use of the gradebook.  Because online gradebooks are so much easier to work with, they tend to be favored, and I know that I would prefer an online gradebook. You can make changes and then make more changes and then revert to the previous setup without having to worry about rewriting every single grade.

FIAE Chapter 12

It seems unfortunate that grades have the reputation and significance that they do. Not only does it make it difficult to fairly and adequately assess students, it also makes it difficult to change the method for assessing students. As the chapter suggests, students and parents are often opposed to teachers switching to rubrics because they don’t see how a teacher could give a student an A or a B using a rubric, when that isn’t the point. I personally experienced a transition in grading while in high school. My school went from using a 100-point scale to using what they called standards-based grading, which was for the most part a rubric 4-point scale. At first it was a confusing transition, but once teachers posted what the new grades meant somewhere so we could see that a 3/4 was a 90 in the book, we were able to better see how it worked. I think this transition has been successful in the long term picture. It requires teachers to take a close look at the concepts and skills a student needs to be successful and show mastery in a content area. I think that no matter what the grading system is, it is important that the teacher take a close look at how the student performed in reference to the concepts and skills, not the aesthetics of the assessment. I also think that an entire school should use the same grading system, to make it easier not only on the teachers, but the students as well. Uniformity and consistency is key to students understanding their assessments and feedback, and it makes it less difficult for teachers to team teach, co-teach, and to compile data on student progress.

FIAE Chapter 10

The conditions for allowing students to redo work for full credit were addressed in this chapter. I think the most useful piece of advice in this chapter is to create a policy that allows you to withhold the right for students to redo work depending on certain circumstances. If a student purposefully blows off a test, then he or she really shouldn’t be given a second opportunity when they did not take advantage of the first opportunity. With this policy, however, will come parents who disagree, so I also think it is important to inform parents at the beginning of the year that that is how you will be handling make up work throughout the year. I also don’t think that the redo assignment needs to be the exact same as the original assignment, especially if it was something that the student put a lot of time and effort into creating. In that case, I would find alternate assessments that will still show that the student has mastered the concept. I had a teacher who allowed us to revise essays after we turned them in, which was fairly easy to do, but when we revised projects, sometimes all we had to do was write an explanation of what we would change and why. Writing the explanations caused us to consider the content and material again and gave us another opportunity to show that we do understand what we learned. I think these conditions will certainly be a part of my classroom policy on redoing work.

FIAE Chapter 9

This chapter had a good list of things to avoid when grading in a differentiated classroom, and one of the points that seemed to stick out to me was allowing students to make revisions or retake tests for full credit. We’ve all had classes where the teacher allowed us to redo work if we scored lower than a passing grade, but our two grades would be averaged. This chapter argues against that policy, saying that everyone learns at different rates and cannot be expected to master the material at the same time as everyone else in the classroom. Some students just need an additional day or two in order to fully understand the material, but we should not penalize them because they don’t learn through the same methods as everyone else. If a student needs a second or third opportunity to show mastery of a concept, then they should be able to take those opportunities and not have to worry about how it will affect their grade. We don’t want students to feel as though they are not capable of learning the material at all and refusing to let them receive full credit for something that they should have gotten right on their first try sends this message. As teachers, it is our job to educate the students and to create comfortable learning environments, but we often do just the opposite when we tell students that they can’t have a second chance at proving their mastery. Another point that this chapter made was to avoid grading homework that is simply students practicing a concept. Certainly, students should receive credit for doing the work, but teachers should not give it a letter or numerical grade. A lot of students think that this means that homework doesn’t count at all, but that is not the case. Homework does count, but it only counts for a very small percentage of the grade. These two points will help me as a teacher because I feel that students should have the option to redo and revise work as necessary to show mastery of the content, and I don’t think homework should be graded like an assessment would. Homework should be used mostly to give students feedback and help them to understand the concepts being taught.

FIAE Chapter 8

Participation is not an indicator of a student’s knowledge, and it should not be assessed as such. I understand how difficult it is to find a way to make participation, which included attendance, effort, behavior, preparedness, etc., a meaningful grade. Students, especially in high school, should be held accountable for these areas, but they shouldn’t be used against students, or used to motivate them. Effort can be evaluated in individual assignments and participation can be evaluated for other assignments such as debates, but effort and participation in regards to the class as a whole should not be included in the academic grading system. Every student is in a different stage developmentally and some just are not ready to contribute to discussions while others are. Some students even feel intimidated when trying to contribute and shut down because of it. Should these students be given poor grades because of that? I do not believe so. If I feel that those particular students need to contribute, more I will find other ways, such as online discussion forums that will allow them to contribute in a more comfortable environment for them. I think the important thing to take from this chapter is to be careful about grading students for participation, effort, and behavior because it mostly makes things worse for you and the students.

FIAE Chapter 7

This chapter focused on pros and cons of giving students number or letter grades. It made a lot of good points about why and how grades can be detrimental to students, especially if they earn low grades on their work. I find it interesting to think that in the 70s and 80s a grade of C meant that the student was an average student because it’s the “middle” grade, and it was a good thing to be a C student. Now though, a C is a bad grade and does not mean that the student is an average student. To be considered an average student, one must earn a grade of at least a B. One of the issues that this chapter mentioned is the inconsistency of grading among teachers, not only in the same school, but also in the same department. One teacher might be giving out As and Bs consistently for a particular assignment while a teacher down the hall grading the same assessment might be giving out Cs and Ds. I definitely feel as though there needs to be more unity among grading systems, especially with teachers in the same school. As educators we are supposed to believe that every student has an equal right to an education and the right to learn, yet we don’t offer those students the right to be graded and assessed equally. I certainly believe that every student is different and must therefore be assessed differently, but the same student should not receive two different grades from two different teachers for the same assignment. My high school English department clearly lacked continuity among their grading, and as students we were aware of this. Sometimes we took advantage of it, knowing that one teacher graded a lot easier than another, so we didn’t see the need to put that much effort into our work if we were going to get an A anyway. When students start slacking because they know you are not going to give them a grade that is truly reflective of the work they did then something needs to be done about it. What this makes me realize is that I need to be incredibly aware of how I am grading my students and seek out resources to assist me in making sure that I am grading each student fairly. I also need to remember to give good, constructive feedback to every student so that they know what they need to do to make improvements.

UbD/DI Chapter 8

The beginning of this chapter brings to light a very good point about grading in a differentiated instruction classroom. How can we assess students using a differentiated method when report cards and other similar tools are mostly standardized? While teaching using differentiation might show that a student has remarkable strengths in one area, the evidence as reported at the end of a term might suggest otherwise and is therefore inaccurate. The authors go on to explain the two types of grading, the first using the letter or number system that many of us are familiar with, and the second being sharing evaluations with students and parents. I like that they believe the “primary goal of grading and reporting is to communicate to important audiences, such as students and parents, high-quality feedback to support the learning process and encourage learner success,” (129). I wish that more schools could follow similar beliefs and forget about the letter/number grade system. Certainly there might be instances where using number or letter grades might be necessary, but I think it is more important to give high-quality feedback to students. Giving a student feedback on how he or she could improve his or her work would realistically be more effective than telling him or her that the grade earned was a 47. Where in the real world will your final product earn you a 47? Where in the real world will you receive feedback on your performance or your final product? A number grade might come as a secondary form of evaluation, but the feedback is something that can be used to improve on. While I don’t know what my school’s policy will be on grading, I hope that I will be able to incorporate a lot of feedback into my grading system so that students have a better idea of where they stand in my classroom.

MI Chapter 12

This chapter takes the multiple intelligences to another level by showing how they can be used to help students think. As the chapter suggests, what students think about is not as important as how they are thinking. Using the multiple intelligences, we as teachers can push their thinking further using them to enhance their memory skills and other cognitive approaches. For example, if a student is struggling to remember a fact, concept, or skill, then they might just need another method to learn it. If reciting it multiple times doesn’t work, then maybe they need to draw a picture of it. This same idea can be applied to other areas that the student struggles with. Using the strategies of multiple intelligences can help students to increase their strengths. It can also help to push their thinking into new realms and levels that they had not previously encountered. I am in favor of using multiple ways to help students memorize information, and I think I will use it when I teach vocabulary and other similar topics. A former teacher of mine uses a graphic organizer for vocabulary words that asks students to define words, find synonyms, and draw pictures, all in one assignment, so I know that it is possible to incorporate multiple strategies into the classroom without dedicating hours of class time to one idea. I would also like to use the multiple intelligences to push students past the boundaries of their thinking so that they can really get into the depths of understanding.

FIAE Chapter 11

The first concern in this chapter is whether to give students a zero or a sixty for incomplete work. The argument for giving a sixty is strong, suggesting that a sixty provides a better understanding of the student’s mastery, while a zero does not. This makes a lot of sense and does not seem as though you are rewarding students for doing nothing, but I think it applies to specific cases only. A student who never does any of the work should not receive a sixty for every assignment just because he or she did not feel like doing it. If it were a once in a while, occasional occurrence, then I certainly see the benefit. But a student who receives only sixties for everything should not be. Students that do not do any of the work should instead receive “Incomplete” for each assignment, that way they are not being given a grade for something they did not do and also not showing any kind of mastery for something they did not do. Another issue that this chapter deals with is whether to grade gifted students differently and how to do so. I really like the idea of teachers providing supplemental information on a student’s progress that gives more detail than just a letter or number grade. It helps to show exactly how a student is making progress and what kind of progress he/she is making. Many parents/guardians do not know what goes on in a classroom, so they see a number or letter grade but do not know what that number or letter means. The idea of taking off a full letter grade for late work is one that I don’t agree with. I think late work should be dealt with on a case by case basis that has a general policy the teacher refers to, but I do not think that a complete letter grade should be dropped for every day that it is late. This causes some students to stress over turning an assignment in on time when it is incredibly difficult for them to do it due to some personal reason, but they do not want to lose a complete letter grade. 

UbD/DI Chapter 9

This chapter takes everything that we have learned about backward design, differentiated instruction, and multiple intelligences, and puts it all together. It was nice to see a fully fleshed out lesson plan and see how each of the components work with one another to really give each student the most opportunities for meaningful and engaged learning. Seeing how everything comes together not only makes it more realistic to me, but it also helps to see why we plan lessons and units this way. I really liked how it summed up each aspect that we have already learned, but it put them all together. While I will be utilizing the backward design in my classroom, I know there will be times where I cannot remember how or why we incorporated a section of the WHERETOs or other elements of the model, and this chapter will be a good resource for answering any questions I might have.

MI Chapter 14

This chapter poses the idea of an additional intelligence that Gardner is working on. This new intelligence is existential intelligence, which is “a concern with ultimate life issues” (182). Armstrong suggests that this can be used in the classroom by asking students to think more about certain topics and delve deeper into the meanings behind them. This intelligence is seen in classrooms that analyze literature a lot because students are always asked to think further about topics such as theme and meaning when reading a text.  I know I will be finding ways to use this intelligence in my classroom because it has such an influence in the way literature is analyzed and interpreted. I think it will be somewhat easy to incorporate this intelligence into my classroom in ways that might not be as obvious to students like some of the other intelligences (kinesthetic) might. It is important to work with this intelligence, whether it is considered one or not, because it teaches students to think deeper about every topic.

MI Chapter 13

This chapter describes several different professions and explains what multiple intelligences are connected to each. One point that this chapter brought up is that exposing students to just one or two careers at an early age is detrimental to their future career choice.  By giving students a variety of careers to explore, they are not locked into focusing on one multiple intelligence area and can instead choose a career that encompasses multiple intelligences. I think the list of careers and multiple intelligences associated with them will be helpful in guiding students to select careers that they are not only interested in, but also allow them to use more than one of their intelligences.  I think it might be interesting to have students use the lists and create some kind of product that compares their intelligences to those that each career they are interested in requires.

MI Chapter 11

Chapter 11 talks about different ways that the multiple intelligences can be used to assist students in special education.  One really good point the chapter brought up is that most people classify students with disabilities by what they are not able to do instead of classifying them by what they are able to do.  Not only does this help by identifying what and how they learn best, it also increases their self-esteem, knowing that they are in fact capable of doing something like all of their classmates are. Using the multiple intelligences in conjunction with a student’s IEP really tailors the lesson for them, helping them to succeed as well as some of their classmates who might be struggling in a similar area but to a lesser degree.  I will keep this in mind as I am planning lessons, whether I have students with IEPs in my classroom or not.  Using the multiple intelligences is beneficial for all students, but can have an added benefit for students with various disabilities.

MI Chapter 7

Activity centers were the focus of this chapter, arguing in favor of using them to enhance the multiple intelligences in the classroom.  Four types of activity centers were presented—Permanent Open-Ended, Temporary Open-Ended, Temporary Topic-Specific, and Permanent Topic-Specific.  Each center serves a different function, but they all relate to the intelligences.  I feel like this type of activity center would be more beneficial in an elementary classroom, where you would have the students for the entire day and could therefore coordinate time spent in the activity centers more easily, but I do think there are applications for a secondary classroom. Instead of having multiple activity centers, one for each intelligence, it might be more possible to combine a few of the intelligences and make an activity center or two based on those intelligences.  I like the idea of devoting a corner of the classroom to a reading and/or writing center, where students would have a different atmosphere for working and could potentially be more productive. The size of the classroom can also have an impact on how possible it is to have activity centers. Elementary classrooms have more room because the desks for elementary students do not need to be as big as desks for high school students do, so there is more space left in an elementary classroom.  I think it will just take a lot of creativity to find ways to incorporate activity centers into the secondary classroom.

MI Chapter 8

This chapter contained many different strategies on classroom management using the multiple intelligences to more effectively interact with students. Some examples that were provided in the chapter were using different techniques to get the students’ attention, such as writing something on the board for linguistic students or using hand motions for physical/kinesthetic students.  It also gives suggestions on how to work with students who have behavior problems and how the multiple intelligences can be used to address the problems in a more personalized manner.  I think the suggestions will be helpful for my classroom, though some of them might need to be modified for an older group of students.  In my experience, several of these strategies have worked well for classrooms of all dynamics, so I feel comfortable incorporating them into my classroom.  I also think that using approaches based on the multiple intelligences will be beneficial to all of my students.

MI Chapter 6

This chapter expanded on the ideas presented in chapter 5 and provided many different examples of how to use the various intelligences in the classroom. The chapter was broken down into the 8 intelligences, and for each intelligence there were five different examples of concepts that could be used to address and incorporate the intelligences into the classroom.  For instance, one of the examples given for spatial intelligence is color-coding, which helps students to connect like things together and distinguish between different things.  This is an activity that I am particularly interested in because there are so many options for color-coding in an English class. Other subject areas can benefit from an activity like this as well, and it could even be an ongoing activity that students refer back to throughout the year, building a database of terms or opinions or whatever it might be that they color code. That’s only one of the options for special intelligence, and there are four more for that particular intelligence alone.  The other seven intelligences have five examples for each, which when compiled in the format that this chapter has them, creates an outstanding database of sorts of MI activities.

MI Chapter 5

This chapter makes the argument that standing in front of the classroom lecturing students isn’t the best way to teach for all students.  Because each student has different strengths in different intelligence areas, lectures are not the most effective teaching method for all students.  They can still be used and be purposeful for some students, but other students need other strategies to meet their intelligences.  This chapter lists various other teaching approaches that will meet their intelligences, such as kinesthetic or logical methods.  It also suggested a good way for brainstorming activities that meet each of the intelligences for a unit.  This brainstorming idea seems really simple but really powerful, and I definitely think that I will use it in my classroom to vary the intelligences that my lessons meet. The chapter provides a sort of database for different activities and it will be helpful to refer back to it when I am planning my lessons in the future.

UbD/DI Chapter 7

The WHERETO model organizes teachers’ lessons by posing various questions that ask the teacher to think more about the learner. Some of it deals with engaging and hooking students at the beginning of the lesson, and some of it deals with helping the learner with the material.  I have seen this model only briefly before, but I have a feeling that I will see it more very soon.  It will be a good model to help guide my planning and my instruction because the questions it poses ask me to focus on the students more than the material.

UbD/DI Chapter 6

This chapter focused on being a responsive teacher and responding to the various elements of the classroom that affect learning and how that is considered part of differentiated instruction. Responding to students in ways other than just answering questions can lead to lesson plans changing on the spot or in the future or it can result in clarifying something for a confused student.  It could also mean changing the lesson from class to class depending on the situation and the students in each group.  I liked the analogy between the classroom teacher and the jazz musician because both incorporate practiced/ rehearsed material into their “performance,” while large pieces of it are left for improvisation, depending on the situation.  I think this will mostly help me to begin thinking about various ways to respond to students.

MI Chapter 10

This chapter focused on how the MI theory relates to assessment in the classroom.  Armstrong posed the idea that there should be a variety of assessments given, one option for each intelligence, so that students can complete the assessment in the intelligence they are strongest in.  This idea of having multiple assessments creates options for students, which can connect to tiering the instruction.  I particularly like that Armstrong believes “assessment experiences and instructional experiences should begin to appear virtually indistinguishable,” (148), which I think a lot of teachers would have a problem with.  They want to teach their lessons and then they want to administer the test, but then they are only catering to one or two intelligences. When they are indistinguishable, it means that both are learning experiences for the students.  I will definitely try to create assessment options that fit each of the multiple intelligences so that each student can do their personal best.

FIAE Chapter 6

The scenario at the beginning of this chapter stuck out to me because I have faced similar questions many times in my schooling career.  It is nothing less than frustrating when a teacher uses a question like that and then expects you to be able to read his or her mind.  The part of the chapter that I found myself connecting my content area to is the section about root words and how it isn’t just a quiz asking students to spit out the definitions of the root words, but to use their knowledge of each root to define various words.  As someone who waited until five minutes before the roots quiz to quickly memorize each definition, I think I would have preferred something more along the line of what the book suggests because it would have required me to put more effort into it.  There were also some good points about making sure that the test questions and prompts are valid and that you aren’t inundating students with too many questions of one type.  These seem like obvious points for teachers to consider, but in my experience at least, they are often overlooked, which makes it difficult for students to take the test to the best of their ability when there are other factors at play. 

FIAE Chapter 5

This chapter was about tiering different assignments, which helps learners who might not be hitting the standard and are instead below or above it.  Tiering is a method of differentiation that either assists students by guiding them a little more or challenges their thinking by asking more thought-provoking questions.   Although I had been exposed to tiering before, I hadn’t really seen how easy it is to tier assignments or the benefit of it for more than just students below the standard.  After realizing how advantageous tiering can be, it will definitely be something that I incorporate into my classroom, and there are fun ways like the RAFT, which will make it easier for me to do so.

FIAE Chapter 4

Chapter 4 had a lot of examples of the three different types of assessments, portfolios, rubrics, and student self-assessments.  Portfolios are good because they show progress and improvement over a period of time, but they can be difficult to maintain sometimes.  Rubrics, if structured well, can serve as good tools not only to guide student work, but to assess it as well.  With rubrics, it is important to remember that parallelism is necessary for students to understand what the rubric is asking for.  If the rubric isn’t clear than it is hard for the students to know what it is they were supposed to be doing, especially if the rubric was passed out at the beginning of the assignment.  Student self-assessments are a tricky method of assessing students, but if they are crafted appropriately then they can be really beneficial to both teachers and students.  You just have to keep an eye out for the students who will say that they did everything just the way it was supposed to be done instead of accurately assessing their work.  I would really like to use portfolios in my classroom, and will probably attempt a variation on them at the very least, and I know I will be using rubrics and self-assessments, so the examples for both from this chapter will be helpful.

UbD/DI Chapter 5

This chapter reinforced what I already know about designing units backwards to ensure that the end results are the main focus and not the activities to arrive there.  It talked about the different methods of assessments, which I don’t think most students realize exist.  Most of us are used to the typical tests, quizzes, and projects, but there are so many more that aren’t necessarily assigned or given that help teachers to determine the next course of action. I think that a lot of students don’t realize that they are being assessed throughout the course of study and assume that the end test or project is their only chance to prove that they know what they’re doing, and while this is unfortunately the case with some teachers, there are other teachers who use formative assessments to assist the summative assessment.  Then, if a student does not do well on the summative assessment, the teacher is able to look back at formative assessments and see if there is something along the way that the student struggled with or if it is another matter altogether.  I really like the idea of pre-assessments, formative assessments, and summative assessments, and I think that if they can be used together correctly they can be really beneficial to the teacher and the students.  Certain aspects of my subject area will be difficult to find all three of the assessment types for, but I think that I can be creative and find ways to assess my students from beginning to finish.

FIAE Chapter 3

This chapter really showed me a lot about why it is important to plan units backwards.  A lot of evidence was provided in favor of starting at the end when designing a unit.  Knowing the ultimate goal endpoint helps to plan the rest of the unit because you know what you want your students to come away with afterwards.  Letting the students know what they are working toward throughout the unit will help them to become involved and engaged in what they are learning, which is important for their success.  I also learned how important it is to break down the skills students need to acquire to ensure that they grasp the concepts.  I really like the idea of beginning a unit by telling the students what we will be focusing on throughout it, and I think that it is entirely possible to do in English, while it might be a little more difficult in other subjects.  Not only will I design units backwards and inform my students of the end results, I will break down the skills they need in order to be successful in my classroom.

FIAE Chapter 2

In this chapter, I learned about the definition of mastery, examples evidencing mastery, and different ways students can show mastery of a skill or concept.  Many of the ways teachers test for that mastery are not indicative of the student’s mastery level but their ability to complete a task.  Teachers need to find methods of testing students that will show whether the students understand the skill or concept and not just find ways to test them over the material.  This will help me to find ways to assess my students and to make sure that they are showing mastery of the content.  Simply asking students to answer a problem or circle a literary device does not show that the student has mastered the skill.  Also, determining what is important for students to master plays a role in how the students provide evidence of their mastery.  The assessment method must be fitting and appropriate for the content, otherwise it is an unnecessary assessment.  I will keep this in mind when I plan units and assessments for my students and make sure that they are able to prove mastery of the content.

FIAE Chapter 1

This chapter taught me that there are many ways to differentiate instruction that aren't necessarily as complex as other ways.  This chapter instilled a differentiated mind-set that prepares one to think more about differentiating methods for students.  There are lots of subtle ways of differentiating instruction that may not seem as though they would help students, but allowing students to select their own seating, or moving closer to them to keep them focused on the lesson can be all the help they need. Knowing that there are much simpler ways to differentiate instruction will help me to implement various techniques into my teaching methods.  This will also help my classroom because it will be set up in a way so that students are able to select seats to accommodate their learning styles and needs. My teaching will focus on finding ways for all students to learn the material, whether it be through several different methods or one method.  I will use as many different ways to differentiate instruction as possible in my classroom.

MI Chapter 4

In this chapter I learned about different ways to introduce the MI theory to a wide variety of students in a variety of ways. There were ways to teach it to students in first grade and ways to teach it to students in high school without changing any of the concepts. I particularly liked the idea of the MI “Pizza” that the author suggested, but I would use it with students of all ages, while I think most people would tend to equate it with students in elementary school.  Sometimes the most basic explanations are needed  to help even the most advanced students, and this way of introducing it also includes using a visual to portray the eight intelligences. I also liked the activities that involved having each student spend a certain amount of time at a station or working on an activity related to one of the intelligences as a way to begin to understand the purpose of the eight intelligences. My favorite example was the Human Intelligence Hunt. I think this would be an excellent activity to do with students on the first day of class as a way to get to know each other, then again halfway during the year but with different questions or activities, and again at the end of the year, to see how students progressed through the intelligences during the course of the year.

MI Chapter 3

This chapter taught me about the importance of knowing how the intelligences factor into a student’s life.  Knowing that a student prefers reading something over acting it out helps the teacher to be able to adequately assess a student’s progress during instruction.  Instead of not learning, it’s possible that the student cannot express what he or she learned in the medium required and simply needs another option to demonstrate what he or she learned.  I also learned that it is beneficial to keep recorded observations of what intelligences students exhibit to use for multiple purposes within the classroom. I like this idea of keeping a collection of notes for each student and I do see how it is relevant for teachers.  With large high school classes, it is not as feasible, but still entirely possible, and I think I would like to try some variation of this, perhaps even during practicum.  I also would like to use the various methods of assessment in my classroom to help me design lessons that better accommodate students throughout the intelligence span.

UbD/DI Chapter 4

This chapter showed me that there are different needs and requirements a teacher should perform in order to maximize student learning in the classroom.  The way this chapter was structured makes it seem like teachers need to be really good at a lot of different things, sort of a “jack-of-all-trades,” but I think the key to this is understanding the concepts behind each idea.  I like that the scenarios actually give examples for how each teacher used one of the concepts in his or her own classroom.  Instead of giving a generalized explanation, there are concrete examples that someone can use as a basis for his or her instruction.  I like how one of the teachers spent time working with each student, regardless of the ability level of the student. I will definitely use this in my classroom, especially during writing workshops when many students could use the one on one instruction.

UbD/DI Chapter 3

In this chapter, I learned about the importance and the logic behind the backward design approach to creating units.  It makes a lot of sense to me and I feel like it would be an obvious way to plan units for instruction, but I’m sure that there are teachers who prefer to create activities first and then figure out what the goal of them is.  Personally, I think that planning backwards allows you to get to the core of what students should be learning and I think it will help students to see how what they are learning is relevant.  I also like how it helps cut away the content that is not necessary or relevant to students, though it might be just as important. I will use the backward design method a lot in my unit development, and this chapter helped me to realize why it is such a logical method for teachers to use.  Backward design will also help me to differentiate my instruction, which is another important method for ensuring that all students are able to learn, regardless of their abilities.  As the book suggests, backward design and differentiated instruction go hand in hand, which provides structure for designing units that allow all students to learn.

UbD/DI Chapter 2

This chapter taught me that the student is what really matters in teaching.  A lot of people would say that that’s something obvious and that everyone should know that, but I think that some teachers forget that they need to focus on the student and get caught up in just teaching what they’re supposed to without making sure that the students are benefitting from it.  I liked the ideas and suggestions this chapter provided on how to teach responsively, meaning that you teach to all learners and you adapt your teaching to suit each learner. The suggestions helped make it seem a little less daunting I think, but I’m still not sure quite how I would apply that to my classroom.  I think that might be something I will think about when I am in the classroom this semester, not only looking at how my mentor teacher teaches responsively, but also how she can alter her teaching methods so that she is including more responsive teaching. When I am working on my unit and lessons this is something that I will be keeping in mind because I think that it is an important way to teach students and you are better ensuring that each student is learning because you are constantly assessing each student’s performance so that you can better respond to them. 

UbD/DI Chapter 1

This chapter taught me that both curriculum and knowledge are important for effectively teaching students of all learning styles, abilities, and backgrounds.  In their explanations for the logic behind UbD and DI, authors Tomlinson and McTighe say that, “quality classrooms evolve around powerful knowledge that works for each student.  That is, they require quality curriculum and quality instruction.  In tandem, UbD and DI provide structures, tools, and guidance for developing curriculum and instruction based on our current best understandings of teaching and learning,” (3).  I feel like this statement is perhaps one of the most important statements in the chapter because it explains what the core of strong, effective teaching is.  I think that if you are cognizant of this aspect of teaching, then you will be able to create units and lessons that provide optimal learning for students.  I understand what DI is, but I am still quite confused about UbD.  I know that if you use the two together, then you are effectively teaching students, but I don’t understand what the purpose of UbD is at this point.  I know that once I understand what UbD is better, I will want to use it in my teaching, but I honestly do not know how I would use it right now.  The axioms and corollaries that the authors used to explain how the two practices worked together seemed incredibly general to me and did not really help to explain them for me.  I’m hoping to understand UbD and how it works with DI better as I read more of the book.

MI Chapter 2

In this chapter I learned that there are two ways experiences affect multiple intelligences, one in a positive manner and one in a negative manner.  Crystallizing experiences are experiences that occur throughout a person’s development in an intelligence.  Something that is crystallizing will affect a person by promoting their growth in that intelligence.  A paralyzing experience is the opposite; instead of promoting growth, it hinders or suppresses the development of that intelligence. I also learned about certain factors, such as familial, that affect the growth and development of intelligences. In the example of a familial factor, Armstrong says that a parent’s influence, whether good or bad, can contribute to how you develop in a particular intelligence.  In an ideal world, I would love to be able to use my knowledge of crystallizing experiences to help my students find ways to increase their development in the intelligences and to help students with paralyzing experiences suppressing their growth find ways around them, but unfortunately most students won’t be able to identify the cause for their hindrances.  I can still help them to work on improving their strengths; I just won’t be able to completely erase any paralyzing experiences for them.  I’ll also have to understand that there are certain factors in their life that affect them and that there are some things that no matter how hard I try, I won’t be able to change.

MI Chapter 1

This chapter gave me a good overview of each of the eight intelligences; I had heard of all of them before, but this was the first time that I had seen any descriptions of them.  I found the chart explaining different aspects of the multiple intelligences quite interesting, especially the developmental factors and how the intelligences are valued in today’s culture.  Knowing what the eight intelligences are and how they manifest in various people will help me to design lessons that will allow each student to use the intelligences that he or she is strong in as well as develop those that are not as strong. I think it helps to know that people are intelligent in different areas so that you can create units that allow students to take advantage of their intelligences and you know not to expect all students to perform the same way.  I’d also like to have different areas in my classroom filled with resources for each intelligence so that students can work to increase their strengths in all of the eight intelligences when they are not working on classwork. Understanding that each student’s mind works differently will help me to work with each of them in the most effective way for their learning; I’ll be able to provide adequate instruction for each of them and I will be able to assess them in a manner that takes their varying intelligences into account.