Grades this Semester

I finalized grades today for the semester.

I only had one failing grade.

One.

This has never happened.

So, this has me wondering,

Is it the No Grades on classwork policy that I've adopted this year????

Is there actually more learning happening because I've removed the need just to get it done?

Or is this just a more accurate reflection of the learning and not so much of homework completion, responsibility, and work ethic???

Something to ponder?

Moving to the Floor

It's not a vertical white board,

But students actively participated in finding all the angle relationships on the floor.

Moving and thinking provides even greater learning!  

Plus, misconceptions and mistakes can be used to launch much needed discussion.

Marzano's strategy of similarities and differences was used

As we compared the various angles.

Student Reasons for Their Choice in Learning Activity

Vertical White Boards (Marzano's Practice, BTC Ch. 3)

• Helps me work with others

• It helps me

• We can visually show how we learn

• Talking with someone and adding me and the person’s brain to see what we understand 

• Helps me see it in front of me

• Get to talk to other people and see what they are doing

• It helps me like the notetaking that follows

• We have partners to work with and show us our mistakes

• I can use my partner’s knowledge to understand it better

Note-Taking (Marzano's Practice, BTC Ch. 11)

• Video note-taking helps me remember

• I can go back to it and study

• I can go back and look at it

• Helps me study whenever

• It keeps me focused and when I forget something I can look at them.

• Writing it down helps me learn it

• Helps me remember better

• Writing things down helps me remember better & easier to study

• If I forget something i can look back into my notes

• You can look at it at home and study for the quiz

• So I can go over it whenever!

Whole Group Discussions (BTC Ch. 10)

• I can see what others have to say, plus what they are questioning

• Everyone gets a chance to say what they think.

• Everyone gets to answer and you can hear other people’s thoughts

Check Your Understanding (Marzano's Practice)

• If I get it wrong and look at the answer key I can see where and how I messed up and retry to understand it and get better

• Helps me with studying

• So I can see how much I know

• You can do your work, check your answer and see your mistake

• When I check it on my own, I get a better understanding

No Grades (BTC Ch. 14)

• A lot less stress and if you get it you don’t have to do the rest

• If I don’t finish it, it won’t bring my grade down

• I don’t have to worry about making mistakes

• It keeps my grade up

• I don’t stress as much

• It lets us make mistakes without having a consequence

Making Mistakes

• Helps me learn and not to do it wrong again

• Helps me see what I did so I can learn from it

• So I can go back and learn better

• When I make mistakes I feel like I learn it and figure it out more easier because a teacher or someone else will explain it to me better and I will understand it. 

• You learn from your mistakes

From the Students' Perspective

I was curious.

What learning activity from BTC did the students find most beneficial?

At the end of their quiz today, 

I posted the following six strategies for them to choose one.

1) Working at the vertical white boards

2) Whole Group Discussions (Consolidating)

3) No Grades on Classwork

4) Note Taking for my Future Forgetful Self

5) Check Your Understanding

6) Making Mistakes

I had thought the boards would be in the majority.

Last time I asked, 67% of the students viewed working at the boards as the most beneficial. 

Discussions came in second when I asked the first time.

I was surprised to see that Note Taking had such high marks.

Are students really seeing the value of note taking?

Are they using these notes to study from?

What are their reasons for rating this one so high?

I guess I have more investigating to do!  :)

Taking Notes

We started our angle unit.

Sooooo much vocabulary.

We have interacted with the angles before the vocabulary was even introduced,

But "supplementary" and "complementary" are just hard to remember.

So....

Today we had to switch things up,

And go back to old school.

Students are watching an instructional video to review and learn angle vocabulary.

They are taking notes as they go through the video.

My hope is that taking notes this way is still better than just copying what the teacher writes.

My hope is that thinking is still present as they decipher what to include for their learning.

My hope is that they summarize things in their own words.

My hope is that they have seen the value of visualizing these concepts and draw pictures. 

To aid in this endeavor, I provided a template for column notes.

We will use these notes in our next class period

As we continue to learn and use the angle vocabulary.

Have a great weekend! 

When Students Realize That They Just Think Better At the Boards.

Today's task...creating a plan for security cameras in an art gallery.

Today's goal...to practice using protractors to draw angles.

So when these two asked to go to the board so they could talk out their plan,

I knew there was my evidence that thinking increases when standing and using a white board.