Define Away...

Teachers have a language all their own.  We sit around and discuss scores from tests made up of various letters of the alphabet, spout percentages and numbers that hold great store to the listener, and use a lexicon all our own.  If you are not on the inside, it may sound like Greek.  However, if you are on the inside, sometimes it is still Greek. Thus, we need definitions.

I am working on creating definitions for my dissertation topic.  I think they are all self-explanatory, but today I was reminded that was not the case.  I am presenting tomorrow at the state social studies conference on the importance of accountability in assisting students reach higher levels of academic achievement on the standardized end-of-course tests.  I'm basically explaining my hopeful dissertation topic to a much larger, more diverse audience than when I presented it to the department heads of my school. At the pre-conference mixer, a fellow presenter asked me what my workshop was on and I responded accountability.  What do you mean, he asked.  It's a modified version of Gagne's Instructional design model where I have created a grid to allow teachers to track their assessments.  Like tests, he said.  No... more like formative assessments as well as summative assessments.  Blank look...  Embedded assessments, I modified.  Nothing...  Ummm...  Okay, maybe these terms really do need defining.

Modify and Adjust..

This summer, I created assessment grids for each standard.  I was excited.  If students know what is expected of them (not simply the expectations you have for them but the facts and concepts they must know) and are held accountable, they will succeed.  People place value on the things they are held accountable for. Simple premise, guaranteed results.

I combined the grids with Gagne's Instructional Design Model, pitched the program to my administration, and rolled it out.  Then, I gave the first test of the year.... The students failed miserably...

Okay.. this is still an implementation year and this is not my dissertation yet...  HOWEVER, my idea made so much sense to me..  How could it not work?

I, of course, cannot re-teach the same material this year.  There's an end-of-course exam and I must keep moving. Do I go back to the old way?  Do I keep going?  It matters because grades and GPAs and scholarships are effected... I have decided to look closer at how the program is being rolled out to see what we missed.  This is the answer.. Accountability is the answer... but maybe not..

What Do Police Cars and Education Have in Common?

This is my opening blog for my dissertation in an EdD Program.  I plan to focus on the importance of assessments in education. Really original, you scoff? Well, bear with me... I have a slightly different take on it.

To fully grasp why I think assessments are so important, I want you to imagine that you are driving down the road in your favorite car.  The weather is nice.  Your favorite song is on the radio.  You are cruising... How fast are you going?  Does it matter?  Yes (legally) but you are not concerned. Then, you see a police car in your rear view mirror. What do you do? Duh.. You check your speed to see if you are speeding.  Until then, you weren't worried about it.  The policeman is going to hold you accountable, so now you are concerned.  In education, that policeman is an assessment. Students cruise along, taking notes, listening to lecture, going through the day-to-day activities without concern until a TEST is announced.  Then, they hit the brakes and slow down.  They worry about getting hit with a bad grade like you worry about the cop giving you a ticket.

I can stretch the analogy...  Study Guides are the speed limit signs...  Think how panicked you would be if you saw blue lights approaching and you had no idea what the speed limit actually was. Drivers' Education class is the equivalent of lesson plans. You need to teach students how to safely drive...  This is, of course, done through small assessments along the way.  Formative embedded assessments.  I also plan to address speed traps.... otherwise known as standardized testing. Even when you do everything right, you can get tripped up.

Come back and join me on the journey.  Toot your horn at me to let me know what you like and blast your horn at me if you see me going off track.  It's a long process, but I believe that by implementing a program utilizing Gagne's Instructional Design Model and Standard-based Assessment Grids, I can help students along the way to graduation...