Ubd/DI (Chapter 8) and MI (Chapters 8, 11, 12): Student Success

    Chapter eight of UbD/DI focused on grading and reporting achievements. Interestingly, the books suggest that the majority of assessment should not be graded. Although I love this idea, and I do agree that pre-assessments and formative assessments should never be graded. I would imagine if this were to be effective than the teacher would have to keep it completely under-wraps. I mean, in my high school experience if the students knew that something was not going to be graded then you did not do it; the student thought, “Why do something if it will not hurt me to not do it?” I guess, I am not sure how to implement non-graded assignment; I could threaten with making them graded if they did not do them, but I am pretty opposed to threats and, as aforementioned, grading pre-assessments or formative assessments. Additionally, I want to note for myself that as a teacher it is critical to explain what the grading system means and how student work is evaluated, thus making it clear what they have accomplished with each score given.

     Chapter eight of MI talked about using students’ multiple intelligences as tools to capture their attention. For perspective consider the following: a student is starting to doze off halfway through your lesson. Using your knowledge of her interests and displayed abilities you assume she has a strong musical intelligence; try playing a relevant song, or incorporating music in some way to regain her attention.

     Chapter eleven of MI really opened my mind about something: how we assess people with disabilities. For example, when we take into consideration somebody who has a disability we do not ask what they excel at, rather with what they struggle. I have had very little experience with this topic, but even I can see what a travesty this truly is; we should be working towards helping everybody learn and improve their skills regardless of disabilities or not. 

     Chapter twelve focused on student cognition and how it plays a role in the class and MI theory. While teaching, determining what students are thinking and what they are mastering is essential. By categorizing each students’ knowledge and applying it to the class it will not only make the student more likely to succeed, but it will make evaluation much more accurate. 

     Overall, these chapters talked about how student achievement is not fairly reflected in exams as an infinite amount of factors could influence student performance. Additionally, even the best students have days where they are not functioning at their peak performance. As teachers, it is not our duty to reprimand students for having emotions, but helping students work around any number of factors and providing them opportunities for success is. My dream classroom is a place where students feel at home, where they feel they have the support needed to succeed, and where their interests will be fostered and allowed to blossom; this chapter aided my understanding of how this is achieved. 

FIAE (Chapters 11, 12, 13, 14): Grades and Grading

     Chapters eleven through fourteen of Fair Isn’t Always Equal, by Rick Wormeli, focused on grading and how it should be reported to the students, parents, school, and any other relevant person. One of the main ideas that I took from the text is that the larger and more various the sample of work, the more useful and fair the results will be. 

     Should a student receive a “0” or a “60”? This argument, in chapter eleven, is a hot-button issue among educators. An observation the author made has always been on my mind: the range for grades A, B, C, and D (on a 100 point scale) is, on average, a total of 40 points, while the range for an F is 60 points, how is that fair? Putting a zero in the grade book is ethically wrong for it creates a nearly insurmountable challenge for the student. Additionally, mentioned also in chapter twelve, a 1 to 4 scale was discussed which I think is much fairer to the students, as even the lowest score is not overwhelmingly devastating to their total grade. Also, it makes it easier to establish definite criteria for each grade regardless of subject. 

     Discussed in both chapters eleven and thirteen, I found that weighing grades is a smart way to let the students’ work speak for itself; for example, an essay is probably worth more than a questionnaire, so by scoring it as such it will provide a more accurate representation of skills learned and developed. 

     Lastly, chapter fourteen examined report cards and their helpfulness. Many schools are trying to design a more useful report card that provides more information. The text talked about the dual approach, which grades students on personal growth as well as against the standards, part of me truly likes this idea for it will give a better representation of the students' achievements. However, I can also see what the book was saying about it providing information that might make the school look bad; for example, if an advanced student receives a high mark, but their personal progress was minimal due to their prior knowledge, it could make the school year appear to be an overall waste of time. 

     As a teacher, understanding why and how you are grading is crucial. Personally, I would like to adopt the 1 to 4 scale as I do agree that it is fairer. But beyond that, an awareness of what you expect your students to learn from each lesson and assignment will create a more positive learning environment. With that, if you know what you expect your students to learn then it should be relatively easy to apply weights to assignments that are more significant. Although I have yet to grade any work, I have edited papers, so drawing on that experience I have mentioned above what I think makes for the most effective grading techniques: one that will provide ample opportunity to all students. 

MI (Chapters 7, 9, 13, and 14): Flexibility and Change

     The seventh chapter of Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom, by Thomas Armstrong, focused on inviting multiple intelligence theory into the classroom environment, or “classroom ecology”. By fostering a classroom that meets the needs of all the intelligences, student success should, in theory, be a given. Now, this is not solely about curriculum, rather the organization of the classroom itself. For example, a naturalistic student would prefer to have light coming into the classroom from outdoors; or, a spatial students may crave a aesthetically pleasing room with many posters.  

     Chapter nine explored further the idea that schools should shift from the traditional linguistic and logical methods to embracing MI Theory, doing so will reach a larger audience. Often times, when budget cuts occur in a school district the arts and sports are cut to save money, completely eliminating the opportunities for many students to develop essential skills. Additionally, In the ideal “MI School” their would be three additional employees: assessment specialist (in charge of recording each students’ progress and development in each intelligence), student-curriculum broker (pairs students with their ideal classes and materials based on intelligences), and school-community broker (places and connects students with out-of-school resources and opportunities that will benefit their personal strengths and interests).

     Moving on to chapter thirteen, the author explores three additional places where MI Theory could be applied: computer technology, cultural diversity, and career counseling. Personally, I think that incorporating technology into the classroom is critical because we live in a time where everything is driven by it. Also, students living today have all had computers and technology ingrained in their lives, it would be foolish to neglect to opportunity to use their pre-existing knowledge as a tool to hasten learning. 

     Chapter fourteen introduced a new intelligence, though it does not meet all of the criteria so it is not included yet, “existential intelligence”. This new intelligence refers to the more philosophical perspective of viewing the meaning of life and a higher power. Although there could be much controversy teaching and implementing this intelligence, I think it could be a great tool to use for further investigation of materials. Especially, in high school students are truly starting to develop their own views and this could allow for real-life application, which is a proven to be successful. 

     Overall, these chapters all had an underlying theme of change and flexibility within the classroom. A teacher whom intends to apply MI Theory effectively must be willing to admit mistakes and change their plans. Through understanding, flexibility, and self-evaluation, teachers should be able to successfully implement MI Theory into their classrooms; doing so will permit all students the opportunity to succeed and to develop each intelligence throughout the course of the class.