No Grades and Answer Keys (Ch. 7)

Remember back in the day, the answers in the back of the text book?

Only the odds, but it felt like such a gift to be given the answers to half of the problems!

Now, I post the answer keys most of the time.

Especially for individual practice.

Students have the answer sheet right in front of them.

At first, many just copied or said they were going to copy.

I gave them permission to do so

After reminding them that our goal was for them to learn the material.

If copying was how they were going to do it,

They could show me how much they learned on the upcoming quiz.

Now, two months into the school year,

Students are busy working out problems,

And THEN checking their work.

No more copying.  

If they are stuck, I see them consult the answer key.

I literally see them thinking through what they are reading.

And then they get back to work.

I'm telling you, 

This "no grades" thing has been the best thing I've ever implemented.

Students are working problems FOR THE RIGHT REASONS.

To learn the material.

Not to just get the assignment done!

Scratch Paper Lotto

Our curriculum, MidSchool Math,

Has a Test Trainer component that students complete daily.

This little jewel measures their growth,

So students can see how their effort in class is paying off.

The only drawback.

It's online.

And it's multiple choice.

So there is a lot of just clicking of answers.

To help combat this issue,

We started Scratch Paper Lotto.

At every table, napkin holders hold pieces of scratch paper.

Students can grab a sheet,

Work a problem out

And then place it in their respective class bucket.  

At the end of the week, 

We draw for candy.

I have been seeing so much more effort with solving problems,

And the amount of "just clicking" has decreased.  

Can't wait to see how it has affected their growth!

Vertical White Boards for the Win!

I thought the fascination would die down.

Over time, I thought I would start to hear growns instead of cheers.

But here we are, 44 days into the school year,

And students seem just as excited to go to the vertical white boards

As they did that first day...

When we weren't even working with content.

Those 3-5 days of setting up the scene

With non-curricular tasks has totally paid off.

Today my students spent 40+ minutes working on solving inequalities.

They were given a handout of 32 problems,

Including one-step, two-step, multi-step and writing algebraic representations,

And ranging in complexity from basic to advanced to choose from.

I told them I didn't care how many they solved in each section.

I just wanted them to give their brain a workout.

Just like in strength and conditioning,

If only the easy problems are completed,

Their brain muscle won't grow and get stronger.

Many tried the fraction problems.

One class started with the grand-daddy of them all,

Anxious to prove to themselves they could solve it.

Most made a mistake.

They accepted this gracefully and persevered through it to eventually solve it correctly.

40 minutes.

Standing.

Collaborating.

Showing work.

Solving.

Perseverance.

Work ethic.

Mistakes.

Grit.

I cannot think of a better way to teach,

Then to just be there for my students who are asking the questions,

Who are inquiring how to do something.

Not because they just want to get it done.

Out of the way.

But because they really want to know.

Versatile Vertical White Boards

The vertical white boards have become part of our routine.

Students look forward to their time thinking and doing math.

Not only are they vertical, but how we use them is also versatile.

One Problem at a Time

During some lessons, it's best that students only focus on one problem at a time.

I hand out a new problem, after visiting a group that has finished.

This way, I can assure that each group is solving different problems.

The downside is that they cannot use the other boards for specific help.

As the problems vary in complexity,

Using the other boards as support works only for the structure of the problem.

Handout of Problems - Go In Specific Order

At times, a handout of all the problems is the best way to go.

Students can work at their own speed.

Groups can use other groups' board for feedback.

And I can increase the complexity of the problems as they work through them.

Handout of Problems - Go in Any Order

If the lesson contains problems all around the same complexity level,

Students can solve these in any order.  

This gives the student choice.

Data/Computation Problem

Within our math curriculum, the first problem after the intro video is always a discovery problem.

This is where students can make mistakes.

Misconceptions are made apparent.

Whole group discussion is always needed after this one problem 

To move thinking in the right direction.  

Clicker Quiz review

At the end of the unit, the clicker quiz questions make a great review.

Students work at the boards to solve the questions before placing their vote. 

The only downfall is that we are back to "group think" at the end of the learning.

Retrieval Lists

For students to learn new material, it takes six inputs...Or six exposures.

It also takes six retrievals...

Or six times the students goes back into their brain to get the material and work with it.

Individually, students write down everything they remembered about our current content.

Then in random groups, students pass the pen, and write down something from their notes,

Until everyone's notes are all up on the vertical white board. 

A gallery walk can then be used as an "input" activity 

for groups to see other boards and gain more information.

This activity works great if students have been absent or are struggling with the material.

Four BTC Strategies Earn their Respectful Place in the Top Six Learning Modes for RVMS Students

In our longer than anticipated solving equations unit,

We used the following learning activities.

⚝ Vertical white boards with random groups (BTC)      ⚝ EdPuzzle Video

⚝ Check Your Understanding Worksheet with answer keys for feedback (BTC)

⚝ Visualizing the problems with Algebra Blocks         ⚝ Whole Class Discussions (BTC)

⚝ Anchor Chart (poster) for solving equations                 ⚝ Notes for My Forgetful Self (BTC)

⚝ Clicker Quiz Review at the Vertical White Boards (MSM) ⚝ Finding the Mistake lesson

⚝ Analyzing the first quiz         ⚝ Escape Room practice problems

⚝ Fraction lessons with solving equations                                    ⚝ Simulation Trainer (MSM)

MSM - MidSchool Math Curriculum        BTC - Building Thinking Classroom Strategy

Students were to pick their top three learning activities

that best helped them understand how to solve equations.

OVERWHELMINGLY, the #1 learning activity

was VERTICAL WHITE BOARDS (Ch. 3) with 44 out of my 65 students choosing this learning activity.

Tieing for second was Whole Class Discussions/Consolidate Thinking (Ch. 10)

and the Escape Room.

Whole class discussions did not surprise me,

As these are year after year one of my students' favorite learning modes.

The Escape Room was ranked this high,

According to my students,

Because it was just plain fun.

They literally were doing about 20 problems,

But the challenge of moving levels made it fun and engaging.

Rounding out the top six was

Clicker Quiz Reviews,

Notes for my Future Forgetful Self (Ch. 11)

And Analyzing the quiz (Ch. 13).

In summary, out of the top six learning activities,

Four were from BTC strategies!

Students were also to pick the least helpful learning activity. And this came as no surprise either.

The online EdPuzzle Lesson ran away with the least helpful title.

Students don't want passive learning experiences.

They want to talk about the math.

They want to see the math.

They was guidance and feedback.

While an EdPuzzle does contain 3 of the 4,

It's the interactive conversation piece that's missing.

And that's an important piece in learning...

Being able to share and talk about it.

Overall observations from Quiz 1 to Quiz 2.

--> Confidence rose. Students were completing the quiz in a shorter amount of time.

--> Work shown was more organized, more complete, more accurate.

--> Students handed in the second quiz with a sense of pride.

--> Growth occurred. Some increased their grades by 50-60 points.

--> Quiz 2 was easier to grade. More correct answers. Algebraic rules were followed making it easier to find their mistakes.

Questions resulting from these very positive observations.

--> Did these changes happen from the activities used in reteaching?

--> Was quiz 1 a wake-up call and students paid more attention to reteaching?

Concern

We won't have time to always allow a week of additional teaching. I chose to do so with this concept of solving equations as this is a skill that will follow them their entire mathematical education.

What happened today...the day after the quiz.

A student asked, "Are we at the boards today?"

With a total begging look in his eyes.

When I answered yes,

The entire class cheered.

They cheered.

Let that sink in.

They were excited about doing math together.

Using Self Reflection on Assessments (Ch. 13)

After several weeks of solving equations,

We took a quiz to show off what was learned.

In some cases, the results were dramatic.

Students walked away proud of how their hard work paid off.

For others, my hope is that it was a wake up call.

A call to pay attention,

To take our learning activities seriously,

And to stay engaged.

To help with the self reflection,

We used a navigation tool mentioned in Chapter 13

To chart where our work needed to be for future reteaching lessons,

Students analyzed and reworked the problems on the quiz,

And made notes using the notations outlined in the picture.

By charting their progress on paper,

My hope was that they would gain a better picture of their learning.

To be able to see where their strengths were,

And the struggles that still needing ironing out.

I provided answer keys so they could check their work.

I also had them rework the problems on a piece of typing paper folded into 1/8s.

Definitely something we will continue to do.

I collected their charts, quizzes, and work (stapled together),

So we could do a comparison after our second quiz next week. 

My hope is that if they can start to see some progress,

It will continue to encourage a stronger work ethic in the classroom.

Observations:

Unlike some learning activities that I implement,

This was went better than I had even expected.

By "priming the pump" with my favorite mistakes,

Students were ready to analyze their own quizzes to figure out where they went wrong.

The conversations I heard in their groups,

Made my heart bubble over.

They truly wanted to know their mistakes.

They were taking ownership in their learning!

No Grades When Learning = More Thinking

I've never taken grades on practice problems. 

It didn't seem right to take a grade when one is learning something new.

BUT...

I did take a completion grade.

And now I see where that wasn't working.

When learning new material now in class,

There is no grade.

Not even a completion grade.

Students are working on problems for the way they were intended...

To practice.

Not to just get done with them.

When students complete problems just to get them done,

They hurry,

Thinking is decreased,

More mistakes are made,

And there seems to be less care in the final product...or overall understanding.

When students complete problems for learning,

Where grades aren't even factored in,

They slow down to talk about the process,

Thinking improves,

Mistakes are still made,

But are now corrected to help them make sense of the problem.

And above all,

There is pride in learning something new.

Now, is this happening for all students?

The research from BTC showed that 15%-25% of students 

still weren't doing the problems even with no grade attached.

But that means that 75%-85% were.

I haven't crunched numbers in my classes,

But if I had to estimate, I would say that is about right...

25% of my students are not engaged in learning the problems 

for the "right reason and the right person." 

"When completion is the goal, it encourages behaviors such as cheating, mimicking, and getting unhelpful help." (BTC, pg. 125)

My principal asked me a question.

A valid question.

If a struggling student is paired up at a vertical white board with a student that seems to be catching on,

How do I handle that?

Here's what I have observed.

I have seen students sharing the marker to allow the other student to give it a try.

I have heard explanations to questions on how or why the math works.

I have seen students request the marker so they could see how they do.

These are all examples of students completing the problems for the "right reason and the right person".

They are realizing the importance of understanding it themselves.

No longer can they scoot by with not doing and allowing others to do it for them.

Accountability has been added to the equation once again.

Becoming Habit

Today was the first day that I introduced what we were doing...

...catching up on unfinished business...

and when I set everyone free to get working,

it moved like a well oiled machine.

I didn't have to say anything. 

Students regrouped in their groups from yesterday.

They went to the vertical white boards.

As I took attendance and deleted assignment emails,

I sat and listened to the wonderful sounds coming from the students in my classroom.

I heard conversations about the steps of solving an algebraic equation.

I heard explanations.

I heard questions.

Yesterday when I announced when I announced we would be working at the boards,

One class actually cheered.

And then they got to work.

While both of these stories make it sound like its all sunshine and roses in here,

I will assure you that we have our exceptions.

Some students still have a hard time staying focused.

Some students still try to have other students do all the work.

But on the flip side,

I see students trading the marker so other students can give it a try.

I see encouragement.

I. See. Thinking.