Thursday, April 29, 2010

When Students WON'T Work...

I am wondering today if there are any of you out there who have a few "choice" students that will just NOT work to their potential in the lab (on the Cognitive Tutor)?? You know, when I was first introduced to the software I fell in love with the fact that it was individually-paced and prescriptive so each of my completely different students could work at their very own pace and only move to new units when they had actually mastered the concepts from the previous unit. What more could a teacher ask for? This is the very definition of differentiated learning and I don't have to develop four different levels of assignments!!!

But......what about the student who is unmotivated to even work at their own pace? What about the student, who no matter what you give them, always complains, always requires an outpouring of prompting and cueing, never gets anything in on time and could care less about their grade in your class!!?! You know, the LAZY student!! I hate to be negative today, but we all have THAT student (and maybe even multiples of THAT student). So how do we motivate THEM to work to their potential on the tutor?

Let me tell you, I still do not have the answer to that question, but I'd like to share a couple of ideas in hopes that you have more to share with me.

The one thing that has worked best for me is staying on TOP of that student; in essence to annoy them with concern and encouragement. Every time I walk by their computer I ask them if they need my help. I print out their detailed report every day at the end of the period to show them what they completed that day (and what they didn't). After about two weeks of this suffocating admonition most of them start to perform, just to get me out of their face!!

I have actually called a few parents before as well. Letting a parent know that their child isn't working to their potential in your class is, in most cases, a huge advantage. Just letting them know that their child can work at home to catch up is ammunition enough to get the students to work IN class. I had one student come in the day after I had called his parent saying, "You called my mom and told her I could work on the Cognitive Tutor at home????!! Now I have to work every night for an hour until I get to unit 12!" My reply, "When you start working in class, I'll call her back and let her know you can stop." (It worked for that student!)

For the severe cases, requiring them to stay after school for an hour once per week until they catch up with their peers is another option. And in most cases a few doses of after-school Cognitive Tutor-ing is all it takes to put a fire under their rear to actually work IN class!

I used to think that I would always have the LAZY student; that some kids, no matter what you do are just not going to work. But I've learned over the years, that if I make "not working" NOT AN OPTION, those LAZY students slowly disappear. Ultimately, it's up to me to never give up and to keep on them until they decide not to fight me anymore. That's what we would do with our own children, wouldn't we? Why would we give any less to our students!?

Friday, April 23, 2010

Grading the Cognitive Tutor

I do believe several weeks ago I mentioned the fact that we needed to talk about grading the Cognitive Tutor, one of the most debated aspects of the entire Carnegie way!! I’ll never forget the first time I sat in on a Carnegie User Group meeting. There were thirty or so middle and high school teachers from all over central Kentucky literally arguing about how to give students a grade for their work (or lack of work) on the Tutor. By the time we took a break a few of the female teachers were more red-faced then my husband gets at a close ballgame!

I was floored by the number of opinions there were over this seemingly simple process! Some teachers were giving grades based solely on progress in the tutor (by looking at the number of problems or units completed). Others were awarding points based on time-logged in a semester. Others were simply doing a checklist each day students were in the lab based on their observations of student “effort.” Some were setting individual goals with students every so-many weeks and giving grades based on whether or not they met their goal. One teacher had even developed his own formula for calculating grades based on the students rate per problem and the number of units and sections they had completed!! And a few teachers were even arguing that you should never give students a grade for what they do in the lab because it is individually paced and you cannot penalize students who don’t move as quickly through the content as others.

At the end of that afternoon, I remember going home thinking “there has GOT to be a way I can combine the best of all of these grading practices and get some BALANCE in the way I give my students a grade for their work.” So that’s exactly what I did! I created a 40 point rubric that included the four most important things I wanted to see my students strive toward...

# of minutes logged on the tutor (I wanted them to BE at school and make up their work if they missed.)
# of problems completed (I wanted them to use their time efficiently and get as much done as possible.)
# of units/sections completed (I wanted them to be concious of their mistakes and to use the example problems so that they could move more quickly through sections and units.)
behavior/effort (I wanted them to be on task and to keep from distracting other students as well.)

I decided that I would use the rubric every four days that we were in the lab (that’s 2 weeks for me) which amounts to about 4 times every grading period. (You can find my rubric in the Resource Center on Carnegie’s website). I also give my students a test grade at the end of each grading period depending on the number of units they have gained during that grading period.

Last year I also had a “Lab Quiz” for the first 20 units. After they completed a unit, they would come and take the Lab Quiz for that unit. I really liked the fact that students had to connect what they were doing each unit with similar problems on paper, but overall, the quizzes were taking way too much time away from the work they needed to be doing in the lab. This year I went back to just the rubric and test grade.

Overall, I think my students are satisfied with the way they are graded. At this point in the year I can print their detailed student report and they can figure their rubric score for me, which saves time AND helps them to self-reflect!! I’m thinking about MAKING them fill it out all of the time next year. I have really seen a difference in their level of effort and motivation when they really examine those reports for themselves.

I’d really like to hear from you all as well. How do you grade YOUR students? I am always looking for ways to improve. Please feel free to share with us in the comment section. We would LOVE to hear from you!!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Will Carnegie REALLY Raise Test Scores?

Is it just me or do the last six weeks of school seem like only two weeks of actual instruction!!?! If your school is anything like mine, these last several weeks are extremely crazy. Getting ready for our end-of-year state test along with MAP testing and GMade testing; the kids have got to be feeling exhausted before they even begin to answer the first multiple choice question!! I know in years past when April rolls around, I have been overwhelmed with getting my students ready for the “open response” portion of their end of year mathematics assessment! [In Kentucky our students’ end of year testing is made up of two parts; multiple choice (50% of their score) and open response (50% of their score). The open response is a mathematical task where students have to write out their answers to a usually scaffolded mathematical question. My 8th grade students usually have about 6 of those type questions each year.]

If you look at the difference in proficiency on the multiple choice portions of the test and the open response portion of the test (in almost all subject areas) you will see huge discrepancies (at least in our school and I’d venture to say most schools in the state). It seems that students KNOW the content (they can answer the multiple choice questions), they just don’t know how to apply that knowledge to solve new problems and show and explain their work on the open response items.

But since I have been teaching with Carnegie I have started to notice a new trend!! Because students have HAD to show their work, write their answers in complete sentences, label their answers, prove their method, explain their reasoning, argue their point and present their results ON A DAILY BASIS in my classroom, open response items have become a piece of cake!! Things that I have had to coach them to do before the test year after year are now mathematical habits.
My 2008-2009 8th grade class showed a 20% increase in the number of students who were proficient in writing math open response after having had Carnegie for one year. And I cannot WAIT to see what this year’s class will do as they were already scoring as high as last year’s 8th grade in their 7th grade year!!

People ask me all the time, “If I have to choose between the software and the textbook because we don’t have the money to buy both, which should I choose?” My answer…."FIND THE MONEY!!” The software is such an amazing tool….the epitome of differentiation and most of my students get exposed to so much more than they would have if they were only relying on my teaching!! But the textbook is equally important. It forces us as teachers to let go of the control of our classroom and let our students begin to take control of their own learning. And it forces our students to begin to explain their thought process in ways they’ve never had the opportunity to before!!

If you want to see your test scores rise, you have to jump in ALL THE WAY!!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Research-Based

So I’m on Spring Break this week and I am finally finished cleaning my house, the kids are off to Memaw’s house and my husband is cooking me dinner. At last, I am getting a few moments alone with my laptop!!! And being the nerd that I am, the one thing that I want to do most is peruse Carnegie’s Resource Center since I haven’t gotten to in a while (you may laugh at me if you want to – my husband does all the time).

So I stumbled across an article called “Improving Student Achievement in Mathematics” and decided to give it a read. (If you get a chance – you should give it a read as well.) It is a research article by the ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education. And it was a refreshment of reaffirmation that what I do every day (when I teach the Carnegie way) is the RIGHT thing for my students!! It might not be the easiest way to teach, but it is undoubtedly the BEST way to teach.

If you will, I’d like to share the most crucial truths that I read with you and how they have changed MY teaching over the years…

“Giving students both an opportunity to discover and invent new knowledge and an opportunity to practice what they have learned improves student achievement.”

Somehow in my first few years of teaching, I had this sense that when I could ever make it possible for my students to “discover” a formula or algorithm on their own they were SO much more likely to remember it than if I just went to the board and showed it to them myself (along with 15 examples). But it seemed nearly impossible for me to create inquiry-based activities where my students were “discovering” every concept I wanted to teach them. Plus it was a lot easier to just slap 15 examples on the board, show them what to do and hand them a worksheet to practice.

In the article it also shares that according to the TIMSS video study, over 90% of 8th grade math classroom time is spent on practicing routine procedures (a worksheet with 30 problems) and the other 10% is spent applying those procedures to new situations (the 3 word problems at the end). If this is the way we run our classrooms, what time is left for inquiry, discovery, and invention of new procedures?? Why, as math teachers, do we sometimes think that they way we LEARNED mathematics is the end-all-be-all? What would life be like if no one was ever given a chance to think for themselves, to solve problems their own way, and to share those solutions with other people? Why do we think that our students are incapable of figuring things out without us?

Here are a few other “excerpts” from the article…

“Teaching that incorporates students’ intuitive solution methods can increase student learning, especially when combined with opportunities for student interaction and discussion.”

“Using small groups of students to work…can increase student mathematics achievement.”

“Whole-class discussion following individual and group work improves student achievement.”

Again, even in my first few years of teaching, I had a sense that all of this was true, but I was overwhelmed with the question of how I could pull it off in my classroom with the materials I had been given?

And then I met Carnegie - I’ll never forget it. I was a part of a summer Math Academy along with 100s of other Kentucky teachers and they were having us work problems (from Carnegie’s text) not to sell us the product, but just to help us better understand deeper mathematical concepts ourselves (as teachers). I fell in love at first sight. Seriously – I immediately wanted to know where I could get this stuff to use with my students. It was exactly what I had been looking for. And after a few years of fighting for some money, I finally got my wish!! (Thank goodness.)

Now-a-days we throw the term “research-based” around like it’s an “Energy Star” sticker for curriculums and educational products. Rarely do we question the “research” that products claim to be based upon!! There is a plethora of research backing Carnegie’s curriculum and attitudes on mathematics education. But after reading this one article, I am encouraged again that as a Carnegie teacher, I am doing the BEST for my students!!

By the way, be sure to check out Carnegie’s new website design and their new logo at www.carnegielearning.com!!