By: Mylene

Mylene — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:56:42 +0000

*laugh* I know what you mean about conversation-sprawl. Strangely, we seem to be spending less class-time talking about learning than we did last semester. Maybe it’s because last semester I was more frustrated, or the students had more questions because targets were less clear? This semester, we’re also spending a lot less time on conversations like “is this on the test” and “why do I need to learn this” and “are you going to give a formula sheet.” Now that I think of it, I don’t remember the last time those came up. I’m mostly noticing the things I’m not hearing (people freaking out with test anxiety, or being angry that I expect them to grapple with confusion).

I am having lots of informal conversations with students, especially during shop (when most of the assessment are verbal) and the impressions seem positive, but that tends to be with one or two students at a time. I’m on the lookout for a good evaluation process, as a matter of fact, if anyone has any suggestions…

By: Andy Rundquist

Andy Rundquist — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:47:32 +0000

This is great, thanks for so much detail. Do you have a chance to have meta-discussions with your students to find if they think they’re learning more? If not, be careful, because I’ve found that once I opened that door it’s hard to get anything else done! I’m implementing SBG for the first time this semester in a junior-level Theoretical Mechanics class and we spend parts of almost every class period talking about how their learning can improve within the system. Of course I’m getting great feedback, and the students clearly feel as though they’re really a part of the process, but I think I need to find some balance.

Comments on: How I Grade

By: Mylene

By: Andy Rundquist