Secondary Standards-Based Grading and Reporting Handbook

 Secondary Standards-Based Grading and Reporting Handbook

 The handbook: Secondary Standards-Based Grading is helpful at understanding standard based grading. I found the section talking about the negative impact of zeros to be the most intriguing, in my humble opinion. I have always felt that giving a student a zero was somewhat not fair. After all, what does a zero score even mean? I wholeheartedly agree that a zero is a depressing grade. What student would want to continue to learn if they say got more than one zero score? I know that I wouldn’t want to learn, and I consider myself an optimistic person. I know that giving students such a score is not effective at all. Teachers need to understand this, and that is why I agree with the handbook: Zeros have such a powerfully negative impact on the average that they can have a debilitating effect on student motivation (effort optimism).

 I believe our students need to be assessed in a way where they can understand their grade and what it means. This seems like what this handbook is trying to say. Teachers need to be assessing students in a way where the student understands what her or she knows or doesn’t know. Because, all too often, our students have no idea why they received an F or a C. Some students think F stands for FANTASTIC! Another section which stood out to me was section 5. The section about homework was spot on: Homework – although a useful tool for learning – should not have an impact on a student’s academic grade within a Standards-Based Grading and Reporting system because it is practice aimed at increasing the student’s capacity to meet standard. I strongly believe this. I think that we need to stop making homework such a big deal when it comes to grades. Because homework, after all, is practice. Thus, I agree with the Standards-Based Grading and Reporting system: Homework should not be graded. Overall, this handbook helped me to understand what Secondary Standards-Based Grading is all about.

Assessing and Evaluating Students’ Learning

The article Assessing and Evaluating Students’ Learning:  How Do You Know What They Have Learned?  is basically about how a teacher of  literature can assess and know—know for sure—students are understanding what they are reading. I found it interesting how the article mentioned it all depends on what a teacher believes it means to “learn literature.” After all, every teacher has a slightly or even drastically different idea of what it means to learn literature. The article provided an example of what somebody could view as learning literature: acquiring facts, knowing the difference between a simile and a metaphor, etc. Thus, people who are teachers of literature can teach by what they think it means to learn literature. I found this to be an eye-opener because I always felt like there were teachers that I had who seemed to teach literature in different ways. Know I understand why this is the case. Teachers have different notions of learning literature.

In addition, the article did a great job of describing why focusing on “knowing that” aspect of learning literature has its downside. As teachers of literature, the article argued that what was more important than just “knowing that”, students need to know the “knowing how.” Knowing the how aspect of literature is critical for students because, as the article mentioned, “While a student can demonstrate that she has can define the difference between a metaphor and a simile doesn’t necessarily mean that she knows how to apply that knowledge to the texts.”  Therefore, as future teachers of literature, the article wanted the reader to understand this.

Something else that stood out to me in this article: teaching peers to give feedback. I found this interesting because I always thought teaching peers to give feedback to one another was a good idea. Now, this article reaffirmed my idea. I also liked how the article gave examples of what this approach to feedback should look like: provide descriptive comments, praise the writer, make positive comments, etc. All in all, I enjoyed reading this article because of its great insights and tips for teachers of literature.  

Readicide

Readicide by Kelly Gallagher is an eye-opener. I already knew that the US (and the world) had a problem with younger people not being interested in reading. However, some of the statistics Gallagher sprinkled throughout this book were incredible. For example: 3,000 students who are poor readers drop out of school daily in the US (Readicide, Gallagher, 3). I was completely floored by this statistic. I love statistics and this one just seemed to nail it. For me, as a bookworm, I always found it odd that some people don’t enjoy reading. I grew up devouring books like there is no tomorrow. Gallagher’s book Readicide helped me understand that maybe it’s because teachers of reading are killing the love for reading. I especially enjoyed how he brought this to light: students in kindergarten loved reading, but with each passing grade interest in reading waned significantly. By the time students reached high school, students would hate reading and some would hate it with a passion.

Thankfully, Gallagher didn’t just point out the problem: students are no longer reading and many teachers fail to teach the love of reading. He gave suggestions for teachers of readings on how to instill the love and passion for reading into students. One suggestion that I found to be of great advice: teach students to recognize the value that comes from reading academic texts. I couldn’t agree with him more. Many students today fail to see the great importance of reading academic texts. Thus, these students miss out on information that is priceless. Gallagher mentioned how important it is for teachers of reading to get this point across to students of reading. Reading academic texts helps students glean wise and practical information from the text that they can apply to their everyday lives. Overall, I found Readicide to be an incredible book; I will defiantly be using its practical and sound advice in my future classroom.  

"edTPA Support Guide: A Support Guide for edTPA Candidates"

I greatly enjoyed reading the edTPA Support Guide: A Support Guide for edTPA Candidates. This packet had a wealth of information about what the edTPA is all about. Prior to reading this packet, I kept on hearing the word: edTPA. However, I had very little clear understanding of what the edTPA was about. I kept hearing side comments from people who completed it, and they were negative, for the most part. People complained how it was difficult, painful, time consuming, etc. I actually was quite afraid of the edTPA. But this article helped me see the edTPA for what it really was all about. I really enjoyed the section where the article talked about video tips. I found it hopeful that the article mentioned specific things we could not do with the video, i.e., share it on Facebook, YouTube, Google, etc. I heard of stories where teachers would share their videos and they would face the penalties. I was glad that the article warned us—future teachers—not to share our edTPA video with anyone, but only for those whom it has been designated for.

Besides offering great tips for the edTPA, I also discovered that I enjoyed the section: “What should include in my lesson plans?”  I discovered that in my lessons I should address all lesson plan components described in my edTPA handbook: standards, lesson objectives, assessments, instructional strategies and learning tasks, and instructional resources and material. In addition, I also learned that I should take into consideration my class demographics. I need to design lesson plans that meet the needs of my classroom demographics. I knew this to an extent already. However, this article did a great job of making me understand just how vital this part of the edTPA is. All in all, I found this packet about the edTPA Support Guide: A Support Guide for edTPA Candidates useful and extremely insightful. 

I Read It, but I Don't Get It: Comprehension Strategies for Adolescent Readers

Cris Tovani's book is an eye-opener! I was more than impressed with the ideas Tovani presented for helping reading teachers help their students. I have suspected for a long time that there are students who can read and do read, but they fail to understand the concept of what they have read. Tovani herself admits that she struggled with reading. Many people can read; however, the things they have gleaned from their reading is hard for them to dissect and analyze. Also, many high school students in the US are graduating, yet they have only read several books (many of them not even finishing the entire book they read). With so many students faking their way through reading, this should be a concern. Reading and being able to read critically are two different things. (It’s like someone being able to speak a language fluently, but not understanding what they say.) I think that is a problem. Tovani wants teachers of reading to understand that they need to help their students. After all, reading is used not only in an English class, but in math, science, history, and etc. 21st century students need to not only be able to read, but they also should be able to analyze what they have read. Now having read this book, I want to incorporate her strategies for helping students become readers who read it, and they get it. I found it insightful how she would make a connection with her students by being humble. She made sure her students would understand, she also struggled with being an analytical reader. I think that is key for a reading teacher. Many students may feel like they are “stupid” and not “born” to be good readers. I found that to be sad. I know that I have had encounters with students like that. Students who say they are not born to be good readers. They fail to understand that it requires practice. Nobody is born a “good” reader. Therefore, as a future teacher of reading, I want my students to know that any person can become a “good” reader.

What is Social Justice?

           Response to "Social Justice":

            Many people wonder what Social Justice is and for good reason. While researching and browsing the web I couldn’t find the exact definition for Social Justice. Everywhere I looked the definition of what Social Justice is was somewhat different. However, the website for National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) offered a great definition, in my opinion. “Social justice is definitionally complex; it ignites controversy, is not neutral, and varies by person, culture, social class, gender, context, space and time.” In addition, the NCTE website stated: “A grounded theory for social justice presupposes that all students should be treated with human dignity, that all are worthy of the same educational opportunities, and that the contract they enter into with schools must honor their sociocultural advantages and disadvantages.” I found this to be a great grounded theory of what Social Justice is. As humans, we all crave love. If students feel like their teacher doesn’t respect or show them love, they may distance themselves and completely shut down (not do any work). I have noticed that when I show respect to all of my students, they are more engaging in classroom discussions, and the class as a whole has an exuberant atmosphere.

Thus, as teachers we need to constantly be incorporating Social Justice in our classrooms. All of our students need to be treated equally, this is sometimes easier said than done. I remember being treated differently by some of my teachers in high school. The teachers who treated me with respect were the teachers I enjoyed learning from the most. As a result, I want to be an educator that uses social justice, in my class, to the fullest. Because I want students who are engaged and learning to their utmost potential. Therefore, I believe Social Justice is a key ingredient to making students succeed academically. 

Critical Pedagogy in an Urban High School English Classroom

Jeff Duncan-Andrae's and Ernest Morrell's essay, "Critical Pedagogy in an Urban High School English Classroom," helps the reader understand how to use make students who are in an urban high school English class succeed. Our schools are becoming more diverse with each passing decade. Thus it is important for teachers, especially English teachers, to find a way to connect with the students. I liked how the authors pointed out that by trying to make minority students connected, we actually disconnect them. Students of color can feel disempowered by so-called multicultural texts. I liked the quote: “An oppressive rendering of culturally diverse text is still oppressive.” I agree that as teachers we need to make sure our students are getting the multicultural experience. However, we need to make sure that the multicultural texts we are using don’t alienate our students even more. I know that I had classes where the teacher tried to make the class cultrally relevant. However, just the opposite was achieved.

 

While the authors did acknowledge teaching diverse texts, they did mention not “shying” away from traditional tests. After all, some of the traditional texts are of extreme benefit to students. I know that as a future English teacher. I want my students to be exposed to an array of different literature. But, I also want to make sure—like the article mentioned—not to forget to use texts that connect to everyday life of my students. Students need to see the relevance of what we are teaching them. I know that when I was in high school I always appreciated the teachers who tried to connect with our everyday reality. Helping students see this is I believe vital for them to succeed as English students. All in all, I found this article to be informative and a great help on how to teach urban high school English students.