A1: I am here tonight to get more insight on tests in the classroom. It's been a subject I have struggled with, and can't wait to see more ideas! #saskedchat
You haven’t been at #saskedchat for a while! @tgrantt hasn’t been here for weeks - we had to let someone else do the trolling and @TheStephenKeys is jumping in tonight!
In reply to
@nikulak, @TheStephenKeys, @tgrantt, @tgrantt, @TheStephenKeys
A1. Well @kellywchris has been tagging me for a while, so I think he secretly misses me. But I'm here to ask the question "are we asking the right questions?"
Ideas for tests? Either differentiate or if using MCs make every answer “A” - or as my evil son suggests....all but one the same letter response #saskedchat
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That's pretty much the concept I have struggled with in regards to tests. And grade in general. We tell students year round that they need to keep a #growthmindset, but at the end of the term, they get a grade that can follow them forever. #saskedchat
A2 currently “tests” rarely exist for my learners as A) the anxiety I’ve seen around provincial tests lead me to not replicate the trigger and
B) my use of PBL demonstrates their learning enough for me to provide descriptive feedback #saskedchat
Depends on the task you are talking about. There are some areas where it helps to save time, but I don't think we have genuine teaching occurring at those times. #saskedchat
A2. Common Pre-tests to help inform teaching ... although I’d like to spend more time with item analysis for them... quizzes for formative... common post-tests to guide student grades. Leaning more and more to other formats!! #saskedchat
We're planning for #saskedchat and need your input for ideas for topics. Please take a moment to add to our growing list of topics! Thanks! https://t.co/llmmD3ZgNI
It's hard to have a growth mindset when you can burn your notes at the end of the semester and never look back. Is this where portfolios should come back into play in a significant new way? #saskedchat
Intensification as we focus on personalized learning journeys, but de-stressing of “marking practice”; like many good strategies (like reading circles) busier at the start but awesome when it gets rolling #saskedchat
In reply to
@nikulak, @kellywchris, @DannyStJacques
A2: Tests sometimes come at the start and end of a math unit. They are summative, however, the formative assessment that comes before it can overwrite the grade if I feel the student might have had a bad test. I prefer project-based assessment in other classes. #saskedchat
I love PBL, but my students have recently asked me to put less emphasis on it and give them more guided assignments. I do believe in listening to their voices as well. #saskedchat
A2. Currently I don't give a ton of tests, although that may change with the new classes I'm teaching. Currently I do comprehensive projects and portfolios of learning. Most assessment is collaborative #saskedchat
If we truly developed a Growth Mindset in Ss and allowed this Mindset to exist in our schools, academic improvement would be bound to follow to some extent by the very fact that kids are putting forth more effort. #saskedchat
In reply to
@DannyStJacques, @kellywchris, @nikulak
A3. I've told every single student in my class that it is possible to get a 100%. Everything can be redone, if they want to put in the time and effort. My contribution is timely feedback. #saskedchat
A3 re-do'S are an integral part of my assessment practice. They are the first part of a reflection process to reach a given performance standard #saskedchat
I wish I could triple like this! More feedback, less grades. Students need feedback to improve, like all of us do. And not just in an arbitrary number way! #saskedchat
In reply to
@FbellomoB, @kellywchris, @technolandy, @DannyStJacques
Efolios linked with authentic tasks connected to standards such as Performance Standards show what students can do much more clearly than letter grades ever did...and can be built on each year rather than “starting again” #saskedchat
In reply to
@nikulak, @DannyStJacques, @kellywchris
As a teacher/instructor I haven’t given a test in years - there are much better ways to have Ss demonstrate understanding/insight/ knowledge/growth. #saskedchat
In reply to
@technolandy, @nikulak, @DannyStJacques
A:. Ss can redo and make corrections until they can state with confidence that they have achieved the learning target... then continue practice with ideas like L to J... they work toward mastery as best they can! #saskedchat
Yep - I stopped using ✔️s Xs %s LGs 1-4s a decade + ago.... kids still engaged in their learning and doing (with descriptive feedback and eportfolio archiving) #saskedchat
In reply to
@kellywchris, @nikulak, @DannyStJacques
I was never really given that chance as a student. It diminishes the value of learning when you can't fix your mistakes. What a life lesson to teach students, if you don't do it right the first time then stop trying. #saskedchat
In reply to
@DannyStJacques, @FbellomoB, @kellywchris, @technolandy
A3. I buy into the concept of Redos for sure. Adults redo things all the time. Certifications, licenses, marriages (😜) ...etc. Who are we kidding thinking we are preparing students for the future when we assume our adolescent assessment is a one time shot. #saskedchat
That irks my kids at home so much. My oldest would often do rewrites to bump her already good scores to try to maintain a triple-digit percentage in the “game of school” (which she did end up winning) #saskedchat always wants to show all she knows
In reply to
@DannyStJacques, @nikulak, @FbellomoB, @kellywchris
Yep - and a holistic portfolio review is as valid as arriving at a Letter Grade as any sort of averaging some choose to use (I’m a fan of range over mean median and mode) #saskedchat
In reply to
@kellywchris, @nikulak, @DannyStJacques
Yeah, it’s like the the 0’s - I still haven’t heard a good reason for giving one. And forget the “need to learn a lesson”! That just doesn’t translate into reality! #saskedchat
A3 : Redos are definitely an acceptable thing in all areas. I want to encourage growth, and the idea that a grade is final defeats that ideology. #saskedchat
A3. A statement often to Ss is that they would never settle for 75% or even 95% of a product they purchase ... how can we settle for not doing corrections and working toward 100% on our work? Praise effort and keep working hard! Until you get it! #saskedchat
That's what I'm talking about, I was never given the chance to fix it. Or told to really. Although I do believe that it should impact the all powerful and mighty grade. #saskedchat
In reply to
@DannyStJacques, @FbellomoB, @kellywchris, @technolandy
A4. Redos allow us to fix what we already tried. Retakes give us something new along the same vein. Both are useful, but only redos allow us to fix prior mistakes. #saskedchat Retakes allow us to show we can do it in one shot.
Yeah - 2 of my girls were always willing to rewrite/redo in the game. Interesting that they went on to successfully complete the “next stage” where they needed to be able to memorize and recall! #saskedchat
In reply to
@technolandy, @DannyStJacques, @nikulak, @FbellomoB
It’s so hard for kids to recover from a zero. The work I am hopefully assigning you is so meaningful that you will do it and you will do it until you demonstrate that you understand it. #saskedchat
A3 my view of redos - learners can always improve what we archive in the efolio, but I’m also good with them declaring they are “done” and we can move on (and possibly loop back on) #saskedchat
I have a hard time when kids only get partial points or minor improvement from a redo or fixing it. If you got it today or tomorrow, you still got it. How many kids learned to walk in the same day? Should we give prizes to those who learned to walk first? #saskedchat
In reply to
@DannyStJacques, @nikulak, @kellywchris, @technolandy
A4: When I think of redo, I think back to when I was in grade 4. I rushed to get work done, and it was nowhere near my best work. So without even correcting it, my teacher gave it back and told me to redo it. Retakes are a different assessment on the same subject. #saskedchat
Absolutely, I think this was done in an attempt to be "fair" to those who got it the first time. But who cares if we got it right the first or twentieth time?! If I can swim after taking three months to learn, is it not the same skill as someone who took two weeks? #saskedchat
In reply to
@FbellomoB, @DannyStJacques, @kellywchris, @technolandy
Speed readers are the best readers right? I know I always liked being first to turn in my writing compositions (even if not fully finished) and mad minutes are what got Einstein inspired....right? #saskedchat
In reply to
@FbellomoB, @DannyStJacques, @nikulak, @kellywchris
You can never grow without making many mistakes along the way. By penalizing students permanently for getting it wrong the first time, we are sending the wrong message about mistakes. #saskedchat
In reply to
@kellywchris, @nikulak, @FbellomoB, @technolandy
I’m sure the intentions were good at one time but as humans do,we have learned a few things over the yrs about mindset and education. Hey, if I had to go back to the classroom again there would be a lot I would do differently because we all continue to grow and learn. #saskedchat
In reply to
@nikulak, @DannyStJacques, @kellywchris, @technolandy
A5 for a Redo I’d have a conversation about what needs to be done - for a Retake, the Ss would have to demonstrate they have done some work on the subject. #saskedchat
A5 I’m a fan of
A) when they realize they made a mistake and want to do a quick edit
Or
B) when they have better sleep et al
Or
C) when they’ve shown/told how they’ve re-learned
Or
D) other
#saskedchat
A5: If a student shows they completely missed the mark on an assignment, after feedback, they should be given an opportunity to redo. For a retake, they need to really show they are putting an effort in to do better the next time around #saskedchat
In thirty years we will once again realize that there is a better way. That’s a good thing I guess. It means we continue to progress with the times. #saskedchat
In reply to
@nikulak, @DannyStJacques, @kellywchris, @technolandy
We have learned SO much more about the brain, about learning (short and long term), about groups and grades and....darn near everything. Not that teachers weren’t doing well in the past, but many didn’t graduate and the ways to make those learners succeed benefit all
#saskedchat
In reply to
@FbellomoB, @nikulak, @DannyStJacques, @kellywchris
Any time within the quarter or semester. And if there is a better or another way for students to demonstrate growth or mastery, then I’ll do that. #saskedchat
So true - it’s learning from our mistakes now so we don’t make them in the future while also being sure we take time before rushing ahead blindly #saskedchat
In reply to
@DannyStJacques, @FbellomoB, @nikulak, @technolandy
Wait, can I get a redo on my heckle? @kellywchris can you give me some feedback. How devastated/distracted were you? Can you make it into a rubric for me? What's my grade? #saskedchat
Society will be very different (much as today is different than the 80s and they were from the 50s) shaped by our decisions and standing on our shoulders as we stand on the educators before us and work to reach the learners in the classroom #saskedchat
In reply to
@FbellomoB, @nikulak, @DannyStJacques, @kellywchris
A6. Only in participation, but that is a conversation with the student on how they can prove that. It's not a no, but not participating in Wellness is not easily made back up. #saskedchat
Exactly - We’ve added new technologies, the use of AI and the ability to connect globally which adds a whole new dimension to learning. We have to consider so much more now. #saskedchat
In reply to
@technolandy, @FbellomoB, @nikulak, @DannyStJacques
A6: As long as Ss show they deserve a retake or redo, they should be allowed. If they demand a retake because they hadn't studied or taken the lessons seriously, and don't show any evidence they improved their knowledge, I'd be reluctant to allow a redo/take. #saskedchat
A6 standardized tests don’t get much of a chance of a redo beyond “Mr Landy, I thought about X, can I go back and change it....” - once mailed, they’re done. Likewise for Student Service assessments #saskedchat
We're planning for #saskedchat and need your input for ideas for topics. Please take a moment to add to our growing list of topics! Thanks! https://t.co/llmmD3ZgNI
A7. Contemplating using @Flipgrid to give the Voice to all the “yet-s” we have for redos and or corrections... amazing tool for all things assessment. #saskedchat
A7: Corrections (I'm assuming on the S's part) should be a welcome part of assessment. If students know what they did wrong, then by all means, they have shown they understood the content. #saskedchat
So, best teaching practice is what you're talking about. (Although once again, behaviour modification seems to be very practical with this) #saskedchat
Well #saskedchat, it's been fun but this old man needs to get going. Don't have too much fun without me. @Stella_Pollard you're in charge of heckling @kellywchris. I know you'll take your duties seriously.
Not really - there are time when the first attempt is what gets a person where they need to be. Not everything requires reflection and feedback all the time. Sometimes it's done. Move on. #saskedchat
A8: I am a big fan of project-based assessment. Instead of directly asking students what they know on a test, have them apply their knowledge through a project. #saskedchat
A8: In science- I let projects take the place of some tests. If a student can model, explain, and reflect on the process then they know it! #saskedchat
A8. And now we talk chances for all “yet-s”! Loving @Flipgrid to assess so many things ... thx @paigefulkerth and starting to cruise with our ePortfolios to explain all of the amazing work and learning targets we’ve mastered.. thx @hayastusa loving Read Theory too #saskedchat
Either way - it is done and over. Over analysis can cause anxiety - sometimes we need to move on - if in the future we need to revisit then let's. #saskedchat
Thanks for joining #saskedchat tonight! We appreciate you taking time to be here and share with us! Thanks to @JustMeghan87 for suggesting tonight's topic!
