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today
Friday, December 21, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
Connecticut Shootings
We are all very saddened by the
terrible events of the school shootings in Connecticut on December 14th. I want you to know that in the past five
years the Sioux Center Community School District has taken steps to ensure the
safety of our children.
· Security systems have been installed
· Security cameras have been installed
· Through construction, moving the offices in Kinsey
Elementary School and the high school from the interior of each building to the
exterior so that visitor must physically go through the office to enter the
building.
The problem is that Sandy Hook
Elementary School did everything right. The shooter shot his way into the
building. The doors were locked, they
had practiced lock down drills, and the staff followed the procedures. The shooter was determined to get in the
building.
In my opinion, the way to prevent
these tragedies is for each child to have a meaningful relationship with school
personnel. This validates their dignity and worth, not because of academics,
athletics, or fine arts, but because they are a child of God. If these children
have mental health issues then we need to get them assistance.
In the Sioux Center Community School
District we treat the safety of our children as our number one priority. I
believe that we are naive if we think that we are immune to tragedy and evil
but we do not want to have to ask the question, "Could we have done
more?" should we have a terrible situation.
As we move forward through the
Christmas season please pray for the people that are dealing with this tragedy.
There is so much damage may never be repaired. The children that survived and
now bear the mental scars, the Emergency Responders and police that witnessed
and dealt with the horrible scene, and the parents and victim's siblings whose
lives without their beautiful little child must go on without them. This time
of the season, which should be joyous celebration of our Savior's birth, will
now be a painful reminder of this day.
There is staff of the school that
must live with the loss of young lives under their watch and the loss of
colleagues who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their students. Their acts of
bravery and unselfishness demonstrate the love that teachers have for their
students. They did what we all hope we would have the courage to do when faced
with a life or death situation.
The news shows have had many
interviews with church personnel and the question arises, "Why would a
loving God allow this to happen?" I do not know the answer as I do not
know God's master plan but I do know this, I trust in God and his grand design
for his people. We live in a broken world where evil exits for evil's sake and I believe that the goodness of
God will triumph.
Here is an article I shared with the Sioux Center Community Schools staff this morning.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
Standards-based grading brings sweet success to Sioux City West teachers
Welcome
to standards-based grading and instruction. While this may not seem like your
classroom experiences of the past, take note because the results Jamie Bratvold
(pictured left) and Arynn Rasmussen (pictured right) found teaching this way
are worth sharing.
Bratvold and Rasmussen, who recently relocated to Texas, explained the difference between their past practice of norm-based grading versus standards-based grading this way: The standards-based method equalizes the grading process in that only a student's summative assessments are used for his or her grade. Homework assignments, participation, attendance and attitude have a weight of zero in grading. However, those formative assessments provide guidance for day-to-day differentiated instruction.
Bratvold and Rasmussen like to use this analogy to further clarify, "With any sport, an athlete has to practice their skill. There are scrimmages and there are games. Homework is their practice, quizzes are the scrimmages and summative tests are the games—the only things that really 'count.' If you don't practice and do well in the scrimmages, you won't make it in the real games."
Because the areas of student progress can be easily identified, conversations become richer among peers and teachers, and engaged learning happens through differentiated instruction. These are added benefits to standards-based teaching, according to Bratvold.
The West High teachers established their teaching methods on the work of Rick Wormeli and Robert J. Marzano. These education gurus believe in testing and re-testing. However, a student will only have an opportunity to re-test if he or she has put in the practice, or, in other words, the students have submitted all of their homework assignments.
When asked why they switched from norm- to standards-based grading, Bratvold said they noticed that students weren't remembering what they learned in the first quarter later in the fourth quarter.
"In our norm-based grading, students typically received higher grades on their report cards than the results from state standard testing," Bratvold explained. "We knew something needed to change."
In the summer of 2011, a professional development cadre at West High got together to "unwrap the standards." By defining what it meant to "employ the properties of equality," for example, the cadre listed a comprehensive list of properties they felt needed to be mastered for that standard. The standards also had to fit within the Iowa Core expectations. Once they knew how to define each standard, grading for each one became more balanced and explicit.
"As opposed to looking at norm-based grades that can factor in attendance, attitudes, participation and other intangibles, standards-based grading identifies what a student does or does not struggle with," said Bratvold.
Knowing which concepts a student hasn't yet mastered is half the battle. The flip-side for teachers is how to change, or differentiate, their teaching so that kids can engage with concepts in a way that makes learning easier.
Enter M&Ms, Skittles and Tootsie Rolls. Students were able to create and solve their own math problems by using these yummy manipulatives.
Critics may say, "That's great to incorporate chocolate into classrooms, but are they learning anything?"
Bratvold and Rasmussen can tell you that not only are students more engaged in the classroom, but that, yes, test scores in one class increased from 55 percent passing in 2010 with norm-based grading to 74 percent in 2011 with standards-based grading.
Millie Olsen, an instructional coach at Northwest Area Education Agency (AEA), provided resources for the West High pair two years ago, as they began their standards-based journey.
"I am excited for them and their trailblazing efforts," exclaimed Olsen. "I believe the power of this works in their formative assessment framework that, in turn, guides the instruction."
One of Bratvold's favorite testimonies came from a student who was asked if standards-based grading was working for her. The student admitted, "You never let me forget what I've learned!"
Standards-based grading isn't for the faint-of-heart. It takes extra effort to differentiate. It means a teacher has to be flexible and willing to change. And the teaching is very transparent because students know each day, week and semester what will be taught and what they will be responsible to learn—making them more accountable.
But are the results worth it? Absolutely say these two teachers, who recently earned their master's degrees from Southwest Minnesota State University.
As Bratvold summed up with one of her favorite quotes, "Growth happens outside of your comfort zone."
It sounds as though these teachers grew professionally just as much as their students did academically. In the "game" of teaching, that would be called a win-win.
Bratvold and Rasmussen, who recently relocated to Texas, explained the difference between their past practice of norm-based grading versus standards-based grading this way: The standards-based method equalizes the grading process in that only a student's summative assessments are used for his or her grade. Homework assignments, participation, attendance and attitude have a weight of zero in grading. However, those formative assessments provide guidance for day-to-day differentiated instruction.
Bratvold and Rasmussen like to use this analogy to further clarify, "With any sport, an athlete has to practice their skill. There are scrimmages and there are games. Homework is their practice, quizzes are the scrimmages and summative tests are the games—the only things that really 'count.' If you don't practice and do well in the scrimmages, you won't make it in the real games."
Because the areas of student progress can be easily identified, conversations become richer among peers and teachers, and engaged learning happens through differentiated instruction. These are added benefits to standards-based teaching, according to Bratvold.
The West High teachers established their teaching methods on the work of Rick Wormeli and Robert J. Marzano. These education gurus believe in testing and re-testing. However, a student will only have an opportunity to re-test if he or she has put in the practice, or, in other words, the students have submitted all of their homework assignments.
When asked why they switched from norm- to standards-based grading, Bratvold said they noticed that students weren't remembering what they learned in the first quarter later in the fourth quarter.
"In our norm-based grading, students typically received higher grades on their report cards than the results from state standard testing," Bratvold explained. "We knew something needed to change."
In the summer of 2011, a professional development cadre at West High got together to "unwrap the standards." By defining what it meant to "employ the properties of equality," for example, the cadre listed a comprehensive list of properties they felt needed to be mastered for that standard. The standards also had to fit within the Iowa Core expectations. Once they knew how to define each standard, grading for each one became more balanced and explicit.
"As opposed to looking at norm-based grades that can factor in attendance, attitudes, participation and other intangibles, standards-based grading identifies what a student does or does not struggle with," said Bratvold.
Knowing which concepts a student hasn't yet mastered is half the battle. The flip-side for teachers is how to change, or differentiate, their teaching so that kids can engage with concepts in a way that makes learning easier.
Enter M&Ms, Skittles and Tootsie Rolls. Students were able to create and solve their own math problems by using these yummy manipulatives.
Critics may say, "That's great to incorporate chocolate into classrooms, but are they learning anything?"
Bratvold and Rasmussen can tell you that not only are students more engaged in the classroom, but that, yes, test scores in one class increased from 55 percent passing in 2010 with norm-based grading to 74 percent in 2011 with standards-based grading.
Millie Olsen, an instructional coach at Northwest Area Education Agency (AEA), provided resources for the West High pair two years ago, as they began their standards-based journey.
"I am excited for them and their trailblazing efforts," exclaimed Olsen. "I believe the power of this works in their formative assessment framework that, in turn, guides the instruction."
One of Bratvold's favorite testimonies came from a student who was asked if standards-based grading was working for her. The student admitted, "You never let me forget what I've learned!"
Standards-based grading isn't for the faint-of-heart. It takes extra effort to differentiate. It means a teacher has to be flexible and willing to change. And the teaching is very transparent because students know each day, week and semester what will be taught and what they will be responsible to learn—making them more accountable.
But are the results worth it? Absolutely say these two teachers, who recently earned their master's degrees from Southwest Minnesota State University.
As Bratvold summed up with one of her favorite quotes, "Growth happens outside of your comfort zone."
It sounds as though these teachers grew professionally just as much as their students did academically. In the "game" of teaching, that would be called a win-win.
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