Category: School based

School Based Activities

MEAP Matters?

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

Today I had the pleasure of administering the 7th grade math MEAP (Michigan Educational Assessment Program) to my 2nd hour science class. It is the second week of testing, 4th day of testing. We give up about 2.5 hours of instructional time each day that our students are required to take the test. I find it odd that we are testing 6th grade growth in writing, reading and math a month into the 7th grade year. shouldn’t the test be at the end of the 6th grade year? Before our students have 10 weeks off and then comeback and get into a routine of instruction just to be interrupted by testing over 2 weeks. Enough about testing times, I want to focus on today.

Today I walked around the room observing students working on the test. I noticed students answering questions without writing down any calculations in the test booklet. I took a moment to look back at the instructions: “You may underline, circle or write in the booklet but only the answers on the answer document will be corrected.” First off, I don’t like the word MAY in the instructions. I feel it needs to be changed to “You SHOULD”. Why do we give the students permission to choose not to show work, which as an educator I know is a best practice. It will help students see what they are calculating and they may notice a mistake. The other problem is the directions are telling the students that their work doesn’t matter, just the answer. Sure, the government does not want to pay someone to grade written work, but they devalue it before it is even attempted.

As I continued to monitor the class take the assessment, I felt more and more useless as a teacher in the classroom. I saw students making mistakes. I wanted to ask them how they came to their answer. I wanted to help them see their errors and make corrections. I felt helpless, watching students make mistake after mistake. Trained to help students learn from mistakes, I was forced to sit on the sidelines so the educational autopsy could be performed. Result coming in 6 months with very few problems released to aid student instruction.

After the students had finished: some rapidly and some worked diligently to achieve their best. I talked with a few students individually. My first conversation was with a student who finished the suggest 40 minute second part in 15 minute. I asked “How did you do?” His response was “Doesn’t matter, my parents don’t care about the MEAP, glad I am done.” I wanted to say it matters to your school and teachers. I felt the urge to explain that the scores rank schools and can affect funding. But he was right! To him the test has no relevance. It does not affect his grade or standing in school. Why try your best on a test if there is no true benefit. What is the point of the test for him?

The other student I talked to was a girl. She appeared tired and was laying her head down on the desk after the test were collected. I asked her why she was tired. “Well, I did not go to bed until 11 pm last night and had to get up at 4 am to get to school.” Okay 5 hours of sleep would make me tired too. I sure would not be performing my best on a test getting that little sleep. After further inquiry I found out she was with her mom at her mother’s boyfriends house, an hour away from school. Well, that explains the sleep issue. Is it fair for this 12-year-old girl to have to take the test? I don’t know.

I do know we need to create a testing system that is relevant to our students. It need to not be an autopsy but be a tool to mold instructional needs for the students. It also needs to have the flexibility to allow for students to show work and retake if needed. We need a testing system that helps students grow and become better learners. Not one that is used to rank students and bully teachers and schools.

Collaboration Adds Time

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

As a teacher and parent, time always seems to be at a premium. Choosing what gets done is all about priorities. Finding ways to accomplish tasks in less time is a huge plus. I have found that by fostering a collaborative relationship with other teachers helps us all with the time crunch.

 

Last year, I found myself teaching a new grade level for science. In fact both of the eight grade science teachers were new to the grade level. At first we found ourselves overwhelmed with work. During the school year we developed ways to cut down our load. First, we started sharing everything we were doing in our classrooms online. A Blackboard classroom was created to be a “file” cabinet for us. Sitting down to talk things over was kept to a minimum do to time. Trust Was the key. Each of us trusts the other to create the best lessons for our students. Since our doors are across from each other in the hallway, we can have 3-minute mini-discussions about what needs to be accomplished. We quickly decide what each of us will do based upon our strengths. This collaboration effort has created more time for both of us.

 

Are work loads ever equal? No, it is not a concern that they are equal. In the end there is a balance. No collaboration will be 100% equal. All parties involved just need to focus on the benefits of working together nor the division of the work load. If I did not collaborate with another, I would have more work. This is the idea people need to focus on when building a collaborate relationship.

 

Will it cut your work in half? Probably not at first since both parties will have to make efforts to make the relationship work. Eventually the efforts will pay great dividends.

Make it relevant!

Posted on by Sweat to Inspire

A child asks “Why do I need to know this?” As a teacher the pressing reason is because it will be on a standardized test. Of course ALL knowledge is valuable, but to learn it really needs to be relevant to our curiosities, needs and desires.

Some of the benchmarks teachers are required to teach are not that relevant when looking at the surface value. Does the average American need to know how to graph the slope of a line, know who why the war of 1812 was fought or know how a subduction zone affects the Earth? Probably not.

Does technology sometimes hurt us in making it relevant? “Why do I need to learn to multiply if the calculator can do it?”  or better still “There is an app for that!” Technology has taken some of the relevance away from teaching. When teaching measurement and how to read a ruler I was told by a contractors son that “My dad has a laser he points to the wall to make the measurement.” After he brought the tool in to show me, I found it to be more accurate and saves time. Should we all know how to measure, certainly because we need to make sure the technology is working correctly and some of us will go on to create technology that makes our lives easier.

If standards can not be made relevant to a students, they will not learn them. We need to realize that all standards will not be relevant to all students. Luckily most students will find most standards relevant if connected to their lives in the proper manner. Parents, teachers and communities need to make this learning relevant by sparking curiosities and asking questions.

Too often connections aren’t made and learning is hindered. I hear: “My parents don’t know the answer” or “I am not good at _____”.

 

It is not about others knowing or being good it is about figuring our something new. This needs to be encouraged.

 

In reality school is NOT about the standards that we are required to teach but about learning HOW to learn new things.

 

WHY? Because everybody has to learn new things everyday to survive in our society.