Making use of essential learnings

The World Civ PLC team recently formulated three essential learnings for the course, which boil down to chronology, compare/contrast, and cause-and-effect. As I prepare for next semester, when I teach Honors, I am rewriting my tests to conform to these three skills. Currently, I am reworking my online study guide on Wikispaces so that students need to study in terms of compare-and-contrast and cause-and-effect, rather than merely trying to memorize isolated facts. I am curious to see how it goes over next semester.

Retakes

This is the third semester that I have offered students the opportunity to retake any test or quiz. Some students take advantage of this as a chance to learn what they missed the first time, and demonstrate this with a good grade on the retake. However, I am amazed how many students retake a test while gaining an extremely small number of points (1-3), or even doing worse than before. The low grade they originally received is supposed to send a message that they need to things differently, yet I suspect they are preparing the exact same way. I keep telling my students that it is not enough to retake a test - they need to prepare for it sufficiently in order for it to be worth their time - but I don't feel like the message is getting through.

Grades as Motivator

Two years ago it was suggested to us by Tony Winger that grades should not be used to punish or to motivate - rather they should be used for constructive feedback. In many ways I agree. However, a recent experience is making me question part of this premise.
Every so often in my World Civilizations classes I have the students work in groups, answering thought-provoking questions based on the information in a PowerPoint. Recently I became frustrated at how little thought and effort they were putting into these activities. I frequently reminded them of my expectations, and reminded them that the process would benefit them in various ways - no difference. Today I simply informed them that I would be collecting the answers from each individual person. The transformation was astonishing - it was clear from the beginning that all the groups were focused on the task at hand and - most importantly - were putting a lot of thought into their answers. Of course, what do they get in return - 10 measly responsibility points!
I might try the same thing a few more times, but eventually I would like to wean them from motivation by grades so that they can be motivated by higher, more meaningful concerns.

Followup on Test Reflection

In my last post I mentioned the test reflection sheet that I would give to my World Civ students. Yesterday I actually did so, and today I looked at all of their responses. Here is what I learned:
1. Most of them did not complete all of the study guide questions, while there were some who either merely looked at them or did not use them at all. They seem to be more aware of the value of answering the questions than they were before.
2. Most of them used the study guide the last few days before the test, rather than filling it out throughout the unit. This is not a surprise, but again, I think they are more aware of the value of the latter approach.
3. Many of them admitted that their answers to the study guide questions did not have enough detail.
4. Most admitted they did not prepare adequately for the essay, whether or not they actually used the essay preparation worksheet.
5. Of the students who did well (A's or B's), most of them studied the way I suggested, though there were a few who apparently did not need to study this way (to me, this means they learned as they went along without the study guide - certainly a good thing!).
There were some students who either gave conflicting answers or skipped some sections; I plan on giving these back for them to fix.
The students did a great job of focusing on what THEY needed to do, rather than blaming me. There was one student, however, who said she would do nothing different in preparing for the essay, since I graded hers unfairly (hers was longer than some others that got slightly higher grades). I hope she decides that she would be better off changing things than blaming me.
Again, while much of what I learned from this was predictable, I think the process was very valuable for my students. I am confident that many of them will change their study habits because of this.

Test Reflection for Students

Yesterday I gave my first test of the year in World Civilizations. While some students performed well, many did not. In the past, I would have lectured them about actually following the study suggestions I have been giving them all along, but this semester I am going to try something different. I will give each student a sheet they need to fill out that looks like the following:

My grade on the multiple choice for this test was _____/50.
I am (check one):
_____pleased with how I did.
_____disappointed with how I did.
How did I prepare for this test? (check all that apply)
_____I wrote down every answer to the study guide questions.
_____I wrote down some of the answers to the study guide questions.
_____I looked at the study guide questions.
_____I did not use the study guide questions.
_____I asked for help when I could not find answers to questions.
_____I reviewed my answers frequently.
_____I attempted to answer the study guide questions throughout the unit, rather than all at the end.
_____I attempted to answer the study guide questions the last few days before the test.
_____My answers to the study guide questions contained lots of details.
_____My answers to the study guide questions usually contained one detail at most.
What will I do differently next time? (be specific, using ideas from above)

My grade on the essay for this test was _____/30.
I am (check one):
_____pleased with how I did.
_____disappointed with how I did.
How did I prepare for this essay? (check all that apply)
_____I filled out the essay preparation worksheet.
_____I wrote a rough draft of my essay.
_____I discussed my essay with Mr. Hess.
_____I did not use the essay preparation worksheet.
What will I do differently next time? (be specific, using ideas from above)

I tried to avoid giving students the opportunity to place the blame on me ("the test was too hard," etc.). I will collect this, but I am mostly concerned with the process of filling it out, which I hope will make students re-examine what they did (if anything) to prepare.

Getting it right - eventually

Yesterday, when my group met to discuss the issue of a mission statement for our school, we agreed that the school should enable students "to adapt successfully in an ever-changing global society." I realized that this is something I have already chosen to emphasize in my classes this semester.
Students come to my class with certain study habits, and they usually choose to stick with these when they prepare (or not) for my first test. Unfortunately, many then choose to use the same habits in the future, despite the feedback they receive which indicates that they are not the best habits for this course. I urge students to use their grades as feedback: a good grade indicates that their approach is working, while a lower grade indicates that they should do some things differently. If students can accept feedback in my classroom and successfully adapt to my expectations, perhaps they will be able to do the same "in an ever-changing global society."

What is teaching, after all?

I recently got an e-mail where a parent informed me that her daughter (in World Civ Honors) feels like she has to teach herself history. Part of me thought, "Are you saying that I haven't been teaching for the past four weeks?!?" Another part of me thought, "That is what I am trying to accomplish." My job is not so much to teach students history as it is to teach students how to learn history. If a student feels that my job is to feed her information, she might occasionally be disappointed, but if a student reacts positively to my approach, she will learn much more this way.

Effects of Imperialism

Today in World Civ (both honors and regular) I taught a lesson on the effects of imperialism. Prior to last semester, I used to go through a PowerPoint, while asking a few questions along the way. I still use the PowerPoint, but along the way I now intersperse four group activities, where they have to answer questions that access their current knowledge while anticipating what will be on the next section of the PowerPoint. Questions include: What does "income gap" mean? How might imperialism cause an income gap? What makes a boundary between countries a logical one? What problems might be caused by illogical boundaries? There are others along these lines. What I like is that this lesson is one that causes students to think and interact with information. This certainly does not mean that they will automatically remember it, but ultimately it is this process that is most important - not simply how they do on next week's test.