It is Saturday morning. It is my normal time to reflect on my week as a teacher, albeit a bit later than usual this morning - but for a good reason, as you can read here
This week I began to stretch my students, in a variety of ways. Interim reports get printed in the middle of next week, and distributed on Friday, so I had to get assessments in on all my students. For AP Govt it is 70% of their grade, and they had a multiple choice quiz. For my STEM kids it is 80% of their grade, and I presented them with somewhat challenging tasks that required them to really think.
The performance on AP Govt ranged from 6/25 to 24/25. The low grades are not necessarily killer, for one reason, I allow them to look up what they got wrong, find the correct answer and give me a proper explanation of why it is the correct answer for 1/2 credit. That does bring grades up.
I also told them something that apparently most are not used to hearing from a teacher - that unless they gave me a reason to think otherwise I would assume two things: (1) that they were telling me the truth, and (2) that I could trust them. I have no trouble stepping out of the room for a conversation while they are taking a test, and if a student tells me about a family crisis interfering with getting an assignment done, I will work with that.
But perhaps if I share the assessments my STEM students had to do, you can see what I mean by starting to stretch them.
take for example my Senior seminar in Research / Data Analysis. Some are well along on their projects, some have barely started, having followed several false paths. They are supposed to document everything and reflect upon it. Some are not keeping the appropriate records, as they learned when I checked their project log books.
Anyhow, here is what I presented them with yesterday:
This is in lieu of an ordinary test.
You will have approximately 30 minutes to do this.
then came some instructions about notes, paper, ink
Identify at least four difficulties in doing a project for this course.
For each difficulty, explain
a, How you encountered or recognized it:
- in your own work
- in the work of others
- thinking about it
Be specific in your explanation.
b. At least two possible ways of addressing the difficulty
- how did you come up with the possible ways?
- what possible additional problems might each way create?
The other two STEM classes had somewhat similar tasks, shaped to the work we do in those classes, and what their final deliverables will be, in Environmental Media about different kinds of media for their projects, and for STEM Policy about a policy brief.
I have been told that I was brought in to challenge students, to bring more "rigor" to the program, to open them up to possibilities they had not considered.
I have managed to see soccer games - a week ago Friday the boys' varsity, on Wednesday the boys JV.
I am going to try to get in as many of the teams on which my students compete as I can before I am unable to stay after school because of my wife's treatment
I can now identify most of my students by name in the hallway or in the cafeteria
it is nice that many greet me by name and with a smile
We have had four weeks in which we have had classes.
I think I am beginning to find my way in this school, with these students.
I am glad I am a teacher, with a chance to make a difference in the lives of young people.
Peace.