In other words, their self-assessments were nearly useless, as far as they were concerned.
I was still large and in charge of what score they received for each standard, just like I was when I used traditional grading methods. My role hadn't changed one bit. I was still dispensing scores into the gradebook just like I had in the past like a very loud and animated Pez dispenser. Instead of points 0-100, however, a 1,2,3, or 4 was deposited in the gradebook. I think it was my I’m-still-giving-scores-only-now-I’m-giving-small-numbers-instead-of-big-ones ways that got me some of the pushback I did with SBG; the students had absolutely no ownership in their scores. They still felt like I was "giving them grades" instead of a representation of their knowledge--and I was.
Therefore, I have decided to implement something new to solve this problem, because trying SBG, 1:1, and inquiry- and problem-based learning in one school year was still letting me get a few hours of sleep every night. What is this new idea? Portfolios. (I mentioned wanting to implement portfolios in a previous post). I know, they're not a new idea by any stretch of the imagination, but they are new to me. I tried using them to a limited extent this year in a paper-based format, but their use was drowned out by my 1:1 initiative. But, now that I have a handle (or at least a tenuous grip) on using my classroom set of netbooks, I really want to integrate portfolios into my SBG classroom because of their powerful potential to allow students to participate in their own learning. As Charlotte Danielson and Leslye Abrutyn put it in their book An Introduction to Using Portfolios in the Classroom:
It should be noted that the benefits of portfolios result principally from the process of building and using them. While the portfolios themselves have value, particularly in the area of assessment (permitting the evaluation of a wide range of outcomes and documenting growth over time), it is the process of creation that offers great power to educators. Students become highly engaged in their own learning through the steps of selection and reflection, assume considerable responsibility for that learning, and enter into a different relationship with their teachers, one characterized as more collegial than hierarchical.
To me, portfolios are a natural extension of SBG and what SBG is trying to do. Indeed, some teachers using SBG have already come to that conclusion (see @chrisludwig's blog here, and @21stcenturychem's blog here). I think portfolios are a perfect fit for determining student understanding and allowing students not only to see what they’ve learned, but also allow them to see their learning growth over time (it’s been my experience that sometimes students sometimes aren’t aware that they’ve learned anything; seeing their growth gives them that academic confidence that is often lacking, especially in at-risk students).
Most importantly, using portfolios will allow students to really assess their own learning. And I mean really assess. As in giving themselves the score they put in the gradebook. This score will then be reviewed by me after I have viewed the portfolio itself and have looked at the student’s reflection on their crazy journey of learning.
The whole point of SBG is to refocus students on their learning. THEIR learning. So, what better way to do that than by having them collect evidence of said learning and then assessing how well they have mastered the standards? I guess what I’m saying is that teachers shouldn’t be the Supreme Court of Learning (even if I do look rather fetching in a black shapeless robe), handing down final decisions with no room for appeal; the learner and the teacher should decide mastery together.
Having beaten my rationale for using portfolios into the ground, let me share with you how I would like to use portfolios in my classroom next year. Be forewarned that these ideas are works in progress:
1) Have students set up e-Portfolios, showing growth, evidence of mastery, and reflections. I haven’t decided on the format yet, but I’m thinking about having them use Weebly or a wiki to do that; I will let them “test drive” some formats during our first unit before making them decide. I will also let them change during the year, if they find a format that suits them better.
2) Divide the portfolio into three main sections:
a. Content Objectives
b. Workplace Skills (our school has a list of 12 skills)
c. Thinking Skills (based on the Rigor/Relevance framework)
The workplace skills and thinking skills would change very little throughout the course of the year. The content objectives would vary from unit to unit, but assessments would always include a mix of new and old content objectives. Students will keep track of how well they're doing using a template I will provide, and I will schedule regular meetings with students to discuss their progress.
3) Students will reflect on their learning using their portfolios. In these reflections, I would like them to present their reasoning behind scoring themselves the way they did. Right now, I am envisioning either a blog post, a screencast (using Jing or Screenr) or by using VoiceThread. This will be great for developing students’ metacognitive skills.
4) Students can reassess at any time during the semester by providing new evidence or redoing evidence in their portfolios. This is an idea that @chrisludwig suggested in the comments to this post by @ThinkThankThunk concerning reassessments (a post that has a lot of great advice). I love this idea, and it doesn’t require students to come in before or after school (which was an option that I gave students this year, and not one student-not a single one-took advantage of). I agree that there needs to be deadlines, and perhaps deadlines during the unit for reassessment on certain standards would be a good idea.
The one challenge I think I will face with reassessments (as well as reflections) is "reprogramming" my students to accept the fact that learning is a journey, that learning is not an "all-or-nothing" game. An even greater challenge will be teaching them how to reflect, and how to evaluate their own learning. Too often, my students have an "out of sight, out of mind" mentality towards their own work--meaning that if the assignment or assessment is over with, then they no longer think about it; as if once they hand it in, it is magically transported somewhere into teacherland where it dies a quiet death.
5) These portfolios would be used to determine all scores, all the time. Progress reports, quarter grades, semester grades—the whole enchilada. Students can keep track of their own learning scores via a Google spreadsheet, which could be shared with me. I’m still dreaming of a day when an LMS allows students some sort of access to their own scores; why not have a spot for a student’s personal gradebook in these programs?
I’m sure that these ideas will change and reshape themselves as I try these things this year. One other thing I will be sure to do is inform, inform, and then inform parents again about this type of assessment method, because it will be new to them, just like my scoring system will be new to all of my students. And, one thing I’ve learned from last school year is to overinform rather than underinform all parties involved.
Any other thoughts, comments, or reasons why what I’ve outlined will never work in a million years? I’d love to hear them!