Existential Questions in Education

  CHAPTER 9:   Practices that value knowledge, not environment or behavior 1. In the professional world, what are some different consequences when something misses a deadline? Do those consequences exempt the person from ultimately performing the task? 2. Some consider cheating on an assignment not an act of disobedience, but as a signal that though she is strugg;ing, she is still engaged and cares about her success. Why is cheating arguably a reflection of greater engagement than if the student simply skipped the assessment? Post your answer to the questions above in the comment section here by clicking "Enter you comment" >  choose "name/URL"  in the drop down menu  and add your name before typing your comment and clicking publish .  Comment on two peers' posts by clicking "reply" > choose "name/URL" in the drop down menu underneath their posts  and add your name . Participants are required to comment on one " I notice...." ...

  CHAPTER 8: Practices that are mathematically accurate (Cont.) 1. Many of us give students a grade bump when they have shown improvement or growth over the term. By allowing students to demonstrate growth over time through improved performance, and recording that most recent performance, do we still need to include a separate bump for growth, or does the improved score itself recognize and reward growth? 2. How easy should it be for a student to be able to calculate hwe own grade? How could we use a student’s own grade as an opportunity to teach mathematical principles of median, mean, mode, scale, and percentages, and thereby empower students to be more critical consumers of statistics? 3.Think of an example in the professional workplace in which group work is expected. What is the rationale, and how is the effectiveness of that collaboration determined? Post your answer to the questions above in the comment section here by clicking "Enter you comment" >  choose "...

  CHAPTER 7: Practices that are mathematically accurate   1. If you’ve assigned a zero, was it intended primarily to affect students mathematically or psychologically? Knowing that it is mathematically unsound as well as inaccurate, does that change your opinion of it? Would it change your opinion if you discovered that there is no evidence that receiving a zeo motivates students, but in fact it often demotivates them? 2. Because the zero is never an accurate description of a student’s knowledge, some teachers use a 1-5 scale instead of a 0-4 scale. What makes the grade more accurate? More equitable? More motivational? Post your answer to the questions above in the comment section here by clicking "Enter you comment" >  choose "name/URL"  in the drop down menu  and add your name before typing your comment and clicking publish .  Comment on two peers' posts by clicking "reply" > choose "name/URL" in the drop down menu underneath their p...

   CHAPTER 6: A new vision of grading 1.  Review your classroom’s current grading policies through the pillars of our vision: How accurate are they? How bias-resistant? How motivating? 2. How much does this book’s vision for equitable grading align with your own, personal vision for grading? What concerns do you have about this vision? What are your hopes? How much does this vision match against your school’s overall vision? How likely is it that your school community could agree on this vision? Post your answer to the questions above in the comment section here by clicking "Enter you comment" >  choose "name/URL"  in the drop down menu  and add your name before typing your comment and clicking publish .  Comment on two peers' posts by clicking "reply" > choose "name/URL" in the drop down menu underneath their posts  and add your name . Participants are required to comment on one " I notice...." and one " I wonder......

 CHAPTER 5: Traditional grading demotivates and disempowers Interview students. Are they motivated to achieve success or to avoid failure? What specific actions, policies, or words by teachers cause students to experience one type of motivation  instead of the other? Do you think of your  tasks at work as performance or mastery goals? What affects how you define the goal? How does this affect how you pursue the task? In what ways do schools and classrooms end a message of competition for achievement? How does your school’s treatment of awards and honors promote or undermine a growth or fixed mindset? Post your answer to the questions above in the comment section here by clicking "Enter you comment" >  choose "name/URL"  in the drop down menu  and add your name before typing your comment and clicking publish .  Comment on two peers' posts by clicking "reply" > choose "name/URL" in the drop down menu underneath their posts  and add your n...

 CHAPTER 4: Traditional grading hides information, invites biases, and provides misleading information What confidence or uncertainty do you have that two teachers in your school would assign the same grade to a student? Are there teachers with reputations as “hard” or “easy” graders? What, specifically, defines them as that? How does this categorization make you feel? How does it make that teacher feel? How do students react? Post your answer to the questions above in the comment section here by clicking "Enter you comment" >  choose "name/URL"  in the drop down menu  and add your name before typing your comment and clicking publish .  Comment on two peers' posts by clicking "reply" > choose "name/URL" in the drop down menu underneath their posts  and add your name . Participants are required to comment on one " I notice...." and one " I wonder..." on two peers' reflections in each chapter. Due. February 18, 202...