A Visit with Dr. Fischler: The Student is the Class and Time is a Variable (Science is a verb)

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Take your time, go deep, and turn over that pacing guide.

Pacing guides (which tell you which page and which chapter you should cover this week) are too restricting when you have ESE students. As a teacher, you need to deliver specialized instruction for the functional level of the student that includes exposure to grade level content. (This does not mean that you flood the ESE student with an acre of material that is one inch deep). Because ESE has modifications and accommodations to the curriculum, the question isn't "are you following the pacing guide?"; rather the questionis, "am I getting closer to the pacing guide/narrowing the gap between functional level of the student and grade level material?"

Matthew Blazek
Teacher
Mentor to hundreds of teachers

This was Matt's answer to my question: "How should I use a pacing guide with ESE students?"

Monday, February 18, 2019

"Life rewards effort, even if the results don't always show up." Matthew J. Blazek. The Use of Grades as Punishment vs. the Use of Grades as a record of Resubmitting and Deeper Learning

Matthew Blazek, a teacher in Maryland, has the following comments about the use of grades as punishment:

1. There is a debate in my district about making an F at least 50% for one quarter. The 0-59 is the most ridiculous system possible. It means there is more variation in a single grade (F) than all other grades combined. In addition to not accounting for bad weeks or months, that we all have, and punishing people for that- potentially doubly as it was already a hard time. Plus, learning to correct mistakes should be a core value of education.

2, "Life rewards effort, even if the results don't always show up." -- Matthew J. Blazek. mjblazek@gmail.com

These comments come as a reply to my question: "Is there value in allowing students to resubmit work to show deeper learning -- and therefore allow the teacher to raise the grade given earlier?"

HERE ARE SOME REFERENCES

1. The Value of Mistakes: Should It Matter How Long A Student Takes To Learn? | InformED
https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/the-value-of-mistakes-should-it-matter-how-long-a-student-take-to-learn/

QUOTE

Taking time to engage in mistakes actually allows students to move to a deeper level of understanding. We can argue that this type of in depth learning influences their entire life, rather than knowing “just enough” to pass a course. One may question why more teachers don’t incorporate this approach? Well, it is counterintuitive. Mistakes are costly in terms of time. And time is limited in classrooms.

Every person will learn differently and perhaps focus on different parts of a topic. If we see learning this way, allowing mistakes seems more logical. For example, I just talked to my daughter’s first grade teacher about her reading skills. She is currently reading on the middle of the continuum-she may very well progress to level 2 or stay at her current level. Whatever her reading level is at the end of the year it is okay as long as she is challenged, because she has already mastered the basic skills of reading. There is no “set” level she must achieve each month. Learning is based on her individual progress. A continuum allows room for errors.

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2. How come schools assign grades of A, B, C, D, and F—but not E?

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2010/08/how-come-schools-assign-grades-of-a-b-c-d-and-f-but-not-e.html

QUOTE FROM ARTICLE with emphasis in red

Grading of any sort is a relatively modern innovation. Yale may have been the first university in the United States to issue grades, with students in 1785 receiving the Latin equivalents of best, worse, and worst. Prior to that time, U.S. colleges employed the Oxford and Cambridge model, in which students attended regular lectures and engaged in a weekly colloquy with their proctor, in writing and in person. The students were determined to have completed the course when the proctor, and sometimes a panel of other professors, decided they had demonstrated an adequate mastery of the subject. There was no grade. The only way for a potential employer to compare students’ credentials was on the basis of letters of recommendation.

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3. Grading Systems - SCHOOL, HIGHER EDUCATION - Students, Grades, Teachers, and Learning - StateUniversity.com

http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2017/Grading-Systems.html

QUOTE

Grading and reporting are not essential to the instructional process. Teachers do not need grades or reporting forms to teach well, and students can and do learn many things well without them. It must be recognized, therefore, that the primary purpose of grading and reporting is other than facilitation of teaching or learning.

At the same time, significant evidence shows that regularly checking on students' learning progress is an essential aspect of successful teaching–but checking is different from grading. Checking implies finding out how students are doing, what they have learned well, what problems or difficulties they might be experiencing, and what corrective measures may be necessary. The process is primarily a diagnostic and prescriptive interaction between teachers and students. Grading and reporting, however, typically involve judgment of the adequacy of students' performance at a particular point in time. As such, it is primarily evaluative and descriptive.

QUOTE

Grades have some value as rewards, but no value as punishments. Although educators would undoubtedly prefer that motivation to learn be entirely intrinsic, the existence of grades and other reporting methods are important factors in determining how much effort students put forth. Most students view high grades as positive recognition of their success, and some work hard to avoid the consequences of low grades.

At the same time, no studies support the use of low grades or marks as punishments. Instead of prompting greater effort, low grades usually cause students to withdraw from learning. To protect their self-image, many regard the low grade as irrelevant and meaningless. Other students may blame themselves for the low mark, but feel helpless to improve. Grading and reporting should always be done in reference to learning criteria, never "on the curve."

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COMMENT

These three references point to the value of allowing students to make mistakes and do something to learn from the mistakes. The grading system can reward students for re-doing and re-submitting work.

"Let's give students a chance to resubmit their work and show mastery." A speech by Alfred De La Rosa, principal at Miami Arts Charter School AUGUST 2013

time is a variable -- a model for schools that want to follow the philosophy of the Mastery Transcript

TINYURL.com/abdelarosa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnhVNJCLZas

AN EXAMPLE

Start at 10:45 in the video

The Transcript is in BLUE

What if we allow the students to work slower (if they want to work more carefully)?

Students will be told that they can decide how they want to learn, when they will be tested, and at what pace they want to learn, and we will emphasize time management skills. If a student gets halfway through the first grading period, they will have an A or B in the class at that point...on those assignments that they have mastered.

They will have kept up with the first 5 assignments, Even if there are 10 assignments for that class, the student has done only half of the class and done those 5 assignments well, so they have an A for those 5 assignments.

Let's imagine that some students were supposed to complete 15 assignments and the students completed only 7 of the 15 assignments in the first quarter.

When the end of the grading period arrives, the grades of the 8 missing assignments will be entered as a zero because the students ran out of time.

But don't let that alarm you. The first half that they learned, the first 7 assignments were solidly learned.

When they enter the next grading period, they will work on the assignments from the first grading period that they did not complete.

In the middle school, this could be achieved with a second period of mathematics. In the high school level, students are older and we expect that they will catch up if we give you the opportunity.

The goal is not to move someone onto new material until they have mastered what they started.

Let's say that we are two or three weeks into the second grading period. You have mastered the missing assignments from the first grading period in perhaps three weeks.

You will test on your own schedule. You are working one on one with your teachers. There will be many ways that you can demonstrate to the teacher that you have mastered those 8 missing assignments (written test, project, oral presentations).

Then we are going back to change the grade for the first grading period.

This procedure tells the student: “You know what? You can do it. You can get A's and B's, it just takes you a little longer sometimes to do the material.”

For students who are gifted, we say, “You can do more. Go ahead.”

We are trying to maximize each student's potential.

We are going back to change the grades in the first grading period.

As long as they are being responsible and as long as they are demonstrating to their teachers that the students really are giving their all. If the students master what they didn’t finish in the first grading period, we will change the grade for the first grading period.

Of course they will be a little farther behind in the second grading period. Let’s cycle this through to the last grading period. Students get C and D as a final grade everyday. Put yourself as a high school student. You went through the entire school year and you are still not able to do everything, but you solidly mastered everything in the first, second and third quarters. You almost got everything in the fourth period. Your first three grades will probably be A or B, which helps your GPA, and your fourth grading period will be lower because you are out of time at the end of the school year. You can do more make up and we can’t change the grade from zero or incomplete to a higher grade. However, you will have four grading period when you have learned to slow down and learn deeply and you will have improved your time management skills. As each grading period goes on, you will realize what level you need to work on. How fast and when you are ready to be tested for mastery. When you average the three A, and the lower grade in the fourth quarter, your overall grade will be much higher. There is just some material in the fourth quarter that the student does not understand and we can address that with an intervention over the summer or with independent work at home, tutoring after school or a summer class. Rather than have someone who has C or D through the whole year, with gaps throughout the year, we just focus on the gaps from the fourth quarter.

When students return the next school year, the teacher and student will have much less work to get the student ready for the next class. (minute 15:46)

Parents, with this grading system, you might see a grade book and see a low grade for the first and second quarter. That’s okay. The student is working on the assignments that were zero … eventually, when the student completes those assignments, the points for the new assignments will be added and the grade will increase. Five or six weeks later, your child’s grade improves from D to a B. We are trying to tell you that on the five competencies that they have completed well, they get an A or a B because we won’t let them move on to more material until they have mastered it. This system is based on teaching for understanding and mastery. If you allow students to move on ONLY after they get an A or a B, then the grades will always be A or B. What will vary? The amount of time. Some students will do that with 5 masteries and other students will do it with 10 or 15 masteries.

(minute 16:50)

If after the first grading period the student has done only half of the material, the student has a D or F, ….don’t panic. That will tell the student “You have a D as of now, but the year is not over yet.” At the end of the school year they get an annual grade. They don't’ get a 9 week grade. If a student is behind 6 or 7 weeks, and they want to come back and work harder in the next grading period, we should not punish them for that. We should encourage to work on previous work and resubmit. What happens with certain kids is that they see that they got a D in the first grading period, and a D in the second grading period, then they give up. They just give up. They have a bad attitude for the rest of the year. “No matter how hard I try, even if I get two As, I won’t be able to make a B. I did so bad in the past that the best I can get is a C. So I won’t try any more.”

We want students to understand that it is about mastery. This is the way a musician learns. In music we all have different talent levels. There are prodigies who can do stuff at an early age and they should be encouraged to do more. Other kids might take a year to do what a gifted kid can do in five or six months. That’s okay. We are taking the strait jacket off of the teachers. The pacing guide is removed. There is no pressure to complete 15 assignments in one quarter. Over a year, you need to cover all of the material, but you have flexibility. If you need time to develop mastery, we will let you go slower. People have different achievement levels. Under this system, everybody's GPA goes up because you have the ability to show that you have mastered more.

(the talk continues… this transcript ends at minute 19)

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TINYURL.com/abdelarosa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=752&v=GnhVNJCLZas

(from minute 9:30)

Consider a student who masters only half of the subject and they are failing with an F in that class. When a student takes a course and through the course they are moved on a timeline, they are mostly getting Cs. We are cutting the 50% They went through all of the material but they never learned any of the material in depth. That’s a problem. There’s not enough foundational learning to allow for future learning.

When that student goes to the next level class because he got a C or a D, there is a significant part of mastery that the student lacks. That next teacher will have to go back and try to help that student get skills that the student didn’t get in previous years.

What if we allow the student to work slower?

Students will be told that they can decide how they want to learn and at what pace they want to learn, and we will emphasize time management skills. If a student gets halfway through the first grading period, they will have an A in the class at that point...

(this part then continues at the start of this sheet at 10:45)

Portions of this video were transcribed here

On 14 August

There are a lot of things happening
at this school...

2013 De La Rosa announced a new theme at MAC school: "The student is the class." You can learn more about his speech to parents by visiting the blog post that gives the entire speech, but here is an excerpt:

Now, here's what we're going to do.

if you are a school like us, we're going to implement a time-variable model. Students will be able to work at their own pace.

It doesn't mean that they are going to have an unlimited amount of time. They will be able to manipulate the time in cooperation with the teacher to serve their needs.

An Example

Picture yourself going from one city to another in a car. You are told that you have to go 50 mph to get there and you can never slow down and you can never speed up. When you reach a sharp curve, you have to take that curve at 50 mph. When you are on a straightaway, where you could make up some time, you can't go any faster.

When students are put in a strict timeline, those that can go faster tend not to be able to do so. The teacher has to wait for certain people in the class to catch up. A good teacher is going to try to keep as many kids on board as possible. We call that "the proximity" or the "herd."

If a student is a struggling student in that class, it doesn't help because the class is going to go too fast for that student no matter what. The only students who benefit from this approach are the ones in the middle.

Because time is constant and the learning is variable, we have mixed results as we move from year to year. As the material gets more difficult, the kids who do well usually continue doing well and the students who do

How can we fix this? What can we change? The class moves forward when there is overall success.

Now we have the student is the class and the only way we can make this work is if we work individually with each student.

If a student is capable in mathematics, they can move ahead.

If a student is struggling, they can slow down.

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