Using Student Feedback to Improve Your Instruction

I know it has been quite some time since my last post, but I am currently in graduate school to attain a degree in Teacher Leadership, in hopes of getting my dream job:  I want to teach part-time high school science and then be a part-time instructional coach or work as an instructor in the Dept. of Education at Emporia State University to prepare young teachers for this incredible career.  I feel like if I just keep saying it out loud, it is bound to happen!

I recently read an article, “The View from the Seats” by Tracy Crow in Journal of Staff Development, December 2011 (Vol. 32, #6, p. 24-30), http://www.learningforward.org, and I'll briefly summarize it here.  In the Gates Foundation’s Measures of Effective Teaching Project, Ronald Ferguson and Rob Ramsdell reviewed student perceptions of their teachers based on the “Seven C’s”:  care, control, clarify, challenge, captivate, confer, and consolidate.  They found that when a teacher was doing these seven things well, students were generally doing better academically and were a happier, more engaged classroom.  The article went on to debate if the student ratings should be shared with their teachers or be apart of teachers’ evaluations.  Ferguson found that it was actually one of the most valuable kinds of reflection and professional development a teacher can have.  He did clarify though that what students say about their teachers should be a driving force of input for professional development instead of being apart of a teacher’s evaluation.  The project also focused on teacher teams looking together at student work, analyzing it with questions related to the feasibility of the task and the focus of the students.  

An instructional coach might use the “Seven C’s” information when working with an individual teacher or a group of teachers who are open to using student input as a point of reflection upon their own practice.  Teachers must be open to the foundational belief that they too are life-long learners.  None of us are teaching at our full potential – it is a work in progress and an instructional coach is a partner in helping them to reach that potential.  If they are afraid to ask what their students think, they are afraid of learning and improving their practice, and are missing out on another very valuable partnership in developing their craft.             

Several years ago, I began to use this in my own classroom with a reflection and customer evaluation at the end of each of my units.  Students are able to reflect upon their own work, as well as their peers, and then finally are able to let me know how things are going in my classroom: what worked for them during the last unit?, what didn’t work?, how I can help them further?, etc.  I am able to adjust and use their input to improve our time together every 2-3 weeks.  I tell them to be honest and that “I am a big girl, I can take it,” and they are honest....sometimes brutally. ;)  I asked for it though.  Sometimes the hardest things to hear are the truths about yourself, but I am certain that it is in facing those realities that I have had my greatest moments of growth as an educator.

 

 

The word "test" & getting students over the "freak out" ;)

It is mid-July and now the bug is really itching to get back in my classroom!

Just some food for thought...In my research on formative and summative assessments, I began reflecting on how I use both during the school year.  The word “test” has such a negative connotation that I rarely use it.  At the beginning of last year, my students would tend to "freak out" and then I would get into a conversation discussing with them the ways that I "test" them everyday.  It occurred to me that they just didn't see things like exit slips, bell work, projects, learning games, etc. as ways of testing.  I invariably need to clarify this with my students from the get-go.  By the end of the first quarter, they usually understand this, but I was kicking myself for 9 weeks because I didn't have the conversation first.   
In my opinion, students should see assessment as a part of what they do in the everyday routine of the classroom.  They should not walk into a classroom being surprised by having to take a test or feeling like it did not measure what they were learning. 
I was so sick of the effect of the word "test" (because it does mean different things in different classrooms), that I started calling my formative assessments “learning checks”, and surprisingly, I did not meet the "freak out" reaction when using it.  By the time we got to an unit exam, assessing was such a part of our every day that those with “test” anxiety are much more at ease with the whole process. 
I feel that when assessment is done effectively and in a variety of forms, students will most likely not truly notice that an assessment of their learning is taking place unless a multiple choice test is placed in front of them.  Formative assessment can be done in such simple, quick, and effective ways, and when done often, students can be corrected quickly and can be more confident in moving to the summative assessment to culminate the unit.


Resource for your enjoyment - check out this article about "25 Quick Formative Assessments for a Differentiated Classroom" at http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3751398.

Seek out your positive peers

I have empathy for those who have shared with me their negative teacher's lounge experiences as I have been there too.  In my experience though, the teacher's lounge is not the only place that negativity rears its ugly head.  It is like a disease and it mobilizes through many different areas of a school.  Like my dad once said, "If you look for the negative, you are going to find it.  If look for the positive though, you'll find that too."  It is a matter of perspective, focus, and attitude.

I spend too many lunches alone and working.  However, I do at the same time specifically seek out my positive colleagues - also eating with them and working in their classrooms over lunch, and I find those conversations to be full of vitality and passion for educating.  

I also will go so far to say that there are categories of griping.  Those that lead to a conversation about problem-solving and those that do not.  Not all gripes are worthless conversation for those with too much time on their hands.  Sometimes you need to bounce a frustration off of someone who can help you find a solution.  That is healthy discussion and you can leave those conversations with a plan of action!  When we are discussing our frustrations, it is usually because we are really trying to get to a kid and we haven't been able to do it yet.  Most often, I get my best tools to try from those problem-solving colleagues because it ends up like a brainstorming session so we can try to "unlock" a kid.  

Focus on the positive; you cannot afford to focus your time and energy on the negative people - you need that energy for your family, your students, and yourself.

Awakening Genius in the Classroom

I just finished a class using this text.  Very interesting and a short read.  I agree with most of what was said because I am an advocate for utilizing multiple intelligences in the classroom.  Thomas Armstrong discusses twelve such geniuses in people, and uses the word genius as: "giving birth to the joy of learning."  He says that it is this genius that gives the student "intrinsic motivation to learn."  I love it!

In most extraordinary people, I would add a genius and that would be the genius of persistence (or ‘stick-to-itive-ness’).  Einstein, Helen Keller, and Picasso had great focus and persistence in their passions.  That is something that our “instant gratification” generation is missing out on sadly.  I’d like to think that my own personal will, determination, and persistence maintained the presence of creativity at least (though not as much imagination for me) into adulthood, despite my formal education. :)  Just food for thought.

On a side note, I think that the organization of educational system allows for genius shutdown.  My mother went to high school in Salina.  At that time it was the 70's, (I'm not sure of current practices there), and she successfully completed all graduation requirements by Dec. of her senior year, and was able to graduate at that time.  In my own high school, I have literally had seniors tell me that they were only showing up for American Government and English 4 because that was all they needed to graduate.  They are waiting on hold in our classrooms to go out and work, join the military, or start college.  I'm all for offering those courses as semester-long ones, and letting them go!  That would provide for more time with the students who need the extra time in school. 

It would be great if students could accelerate through school based on skill and mastery and not on age...I know, I'm dreaming. :) 

This is a letter from a teacher...

Click on this article!  Fantastic!
 
On March 11, 2011, in Education Issues, Teachers, by Cyndi Danner-Kuhn

This is a letter from a teacher...

My first letter to KS Politicians about our Education Funding: Do the cuts really matter?

Fellow educators,

I sent the following letter to our Governor, Lt. Governor, and all representatives in the House and Senate for Anderson County, KS on 3/14/11.  

Their emails are as follows: 

Bill Feuerborn <bill.feuerborn@house.ks.gov>,
Bill Otto <bill.otto@house.ks.gov>,

Jana Schaver <jshaver@cableone.net>,

Jeff King <Jeff.King@senate.ks.gov>,

"John W. Bacon" <jwmsbacon@aol.com>,

Pat Apple <Pat.Apple@senate.ks.gov>, 

governor@ks.gov,

lt.governor@ks.gov 

I am a 9-12 grade science teacher from Anderson County Junior/Senior High School.  I am writing to you in response to the current debates over education funding in our fine state.

We are hearing from Gov. Brownback that fifty million dollars is the fiscally responsible thing to do.  Cut Kansas education by $50 million dollars?  Well, after all, it is a majority of our state's budget.  And those communities will just have to raise their taxes and fund their own schools, okay.  Do the cuts really matter? 

Well, if a QUALITY education mattered for YOU and matters now for YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN, then YES, the cuts matter.  Especially, in my district, where 52.75% of my school's students are on free/reduced lunch and my wages are $36,000 per year after eleven years of teaching science for grades 9-12.  I am in Anderson County, Kansas.

Assumption #1:  Money can be raised locally.  Well, it would ultimately force local communities into raising taxes to support there own districts.  You are assuming though that rural areas HAVE industry to help, which in Anderson County, KS, (like many rural counties) we do not.  The small amount of business that is present would not generate enough to fill in the deficit left by the lack of state funding.

Assumption #2:  People will support paying taxes for their own schools.  They will want to support the schools, any good parent does.  However, in the midst of all of this unemployment?  Our school has seen a dramatic increase in free and reduced lunches due to their caregivers losing their jobs in the last two years.  You can't get blood from a turnip!

Assumption #3:  Even with the cuts we made in the last two years, the school districts have made it.  Yes - thanks to the stimulus money that came through last year!  My school district has already cut custodial staff, kitchen staff, paraprofessionals, and secretaries.  Now, like many districts, we are looking for how to cut the budget by another $500,000.  It may mean cutting teachers.  With the current and disturbing changes being discussed for KPERS, our most qualified, experienced, and excellent teachers (our veterans and mentors of the field), will most likely cut their losses to get their KPERS. 

Assumption #4:  So, you cut some teachers and increase the student to teacher ratio.  Big deal?  Have you ever been in a classroom with 25 or more teenagers?  Or 25 or more 1st graders?  What would you like that ratio to be for your own child or grandchild?  Classroom management aside, the one-on-one personalized education initiative of the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) will fail.  And even though, politicians will want a continuous increase in test scores, they are cutting us at the knees to reach that goal!   
 
Assumption #5:  Our test scores have continued to rise in the state despite changes or lack of funding to schools.  You cannot have great test scores with overcrowded classrooms, lower quality teachers (bye, bye vets going to get their KPERS), and by taking away collaborative time for those who choose to remain a K-12 educator after all of this.  My school district is looking at moving from a block schedule to a seven-period day...even though our Science and English scores have continuously increased throughout the years.  During state testing, we are mandated to provide accommodations for students who need them.  However, we are short of staff to actually make those accommodations available, so many teachers (like me) have chipped in by making my classroom and planning period time available as a proctor for our state assessments so that accommodations can be made. 

Assumption #6:  Those teachers are lazy and making easy money with their summers off.  I haven't had a summer off from becoming a better educator, taking courses, getting training, and creating new and improved lesson plans since I started this career in 1999.  If you have actually been in education (and you stayed in the regular classroom for more than five years), then you know that educators must go to continuous professional development and/or back to school due to the present re-certification/ licensing requirements, and they are usually doing so on an already low salary (...sorry, my district is NOT in Johnson County!).

Assumption #7:  You were in K-12 education once, so you know what it is like now.  I do not pretend to know the job of politicians just because I watch the news and have been a voting citizen since 1995.  Please do not pretend to know what the world of education is today.  It has changed dramatically since you were in K-12.  The world of education keeps changing and so has the craft of a teacher!  As a science teacher, I hear from society and politicians that you want your kids to be 21st Century ready!  Skilled master teachers, like myself, are smart and we do a damned good job of caring for and teaching kids, despite the ludicrous description of educators from Gov. Brownback.  We are, however, not here to be your slaves. 

Assumption #8:  Common sense tells us Brownback's plan is the one we should follow.  Voters will understand that we are trying to keep the state from going bankrupt.  I am a voter and I do not understand how taking money from an already underfunded education budget makes things better for my three daughters.  All professions come from the profession of teaching.  To me, it seems that without EDUCATORS to produce skilled, collaborative, 21st century learners ready to tackle whatever challenges exist, then you won't be getting those intelligent, self-reliant workers that you desire for the state at any level.  A well-educated society is the "road map" for our future!

Assumption #9:  We'll just recruit new, young teachers to fill the spots.  Common sense tells you that they are the cheaper, less costly bunch of the budget.  Common sense should also tell you that they are the least experienced and most likely to leave.  I am my district's junior/senior high mentoring coordinator.  Any new teacher to our building or new career teacher comes through my mentoring program.  It was already hard to keep a teacher from leaving the profession within 3-5 years, but throw in low salaries, lack of supportive staff, increased student to teacher ratios, lack of supplies and equipment, and what reason do they have to stay?  In my content area, teachers are picked up by the private sector for positions such as chemists, biologists, etc.  Take a look at how many SCIENCE education majors we have graduating our colleges in this state!  The pickings are slim!  You can love kids all you want, but in the end, you've got to make a living.  I cannot beat the dangling carrot of the business world when people with the same degrees in teaching are making so much less.

Assumption #10:  I must be an underpaid, grudge-filled, lazy teacher, and my comments should just be dismissed.  I have attached my resume for your enlightenment.  I am an award-winning teacher, a member of the Kansas Educators Exemplary Network, which you cannot be unless you have been honored as an excellent teacher through the National Board Certification or Teacher Awards program (KS Teacher of the Year, Presidential Award nominee, etc.).  I am in the trenches, loving my students, and so thankful that I get to teach for a living...but I am working in a state under a governor that does not seem to care about my students or the three girls I have at home making their way through the education system of Kansas. 

Please consider your children and mine before you break the backs of those carrying on the most important job in any economy. 

Thank you for your time and consideration,
 
--
Jeanna M. Scheve
Anderson County Jr/Sr High School
Science Teacher, 9-12 grades
USD #365 Mentoring Jr/Sr High Coordinator
785-448-3115, ext. 126

Will our focus on math and reading leave everything else in the dust?

Here in Kansas, reading and math assessments have taken precedence with state assessments (counting towards a school's adequate yearly progress or AYP) and are the focus of the newly implemented Multi-Tiered System of Supports.

As a science teacher, my students take state assessments, and my classroom units and objectives are all aligned with the standards.  We have a target score for the percentage of students who should be proficient or above, but our scores, no matter how good (we had a 92% proficiency last year) or bad, do not make one bit of difference on the school's AYP, and therefore, do not matter to anyone else.  Forget about Social Studies, they haven't had an assessment at the high school level in years.  I think that this trend in only focusing on reading and math will have disastrous consequences on a well-rounded education.

I can understand why though.  If you cannot read well or compute well, it is hard to reap the benefits of studying other disciplines.  In that light, it makes sense that if a student can master these things, then the rest should be fine.  However, science and social studies offer something real and tangible to read about and to compute.  Without a focus on practicing the application of these skills, students will not be able to sit at the round table of future problem-solvers and policy makers.

I am mostly worried about my own three daughters.  I want them to have an appreciation for history, the critical thinking of a scientist, and a truly well-rounded, "suitable" education.  Kansas is currently debating the definition of "suitable" in terms of our educational opportunities here.  According to the US Dept. of Labor, the top ten fastest growing occupations from 2008-2018 are one accounting/finance and nine science based jobs.  Well, Kansas educators, I think that a "suitable" education is one that leads to being prepared for competition and contribution in both the workplace and society at large.  By focusing on just reading and math, our kids just will not be there...in my opinion.