Redos and Retakes at YMS

At York Middle School, we believe it's important for students to make mistakes, to reflect on their failures, and to persevere to meet their goals (learning targets!).  Perseverance, in fact, is one of our school's core values.  We are striving to create a student culture that values hard-work and recognizes when students learn the most: When they make mistakes and when they persevere to do better.
Teachers have historically placed a high value on work-ethic and with good reason.  Intuitively, we have always known that learning improves when students persevere when faced with a challenge.

Now, we actually have the science to back up our intuitions.  The neuroscience that supports the research is fascinating.  We now know, irrefutably, that students actually get "smarter" by being allowed to fail and having the opportunity to make corrections.  The research couldn't be any more powerful.  Here is what we know to be true:

When students are given descriptive feedback on their failures, time to reflect in meaningful ways, and the opportunity to make corrections, learning WILL improve.  Period.  Having kids formally reflect on their academic setbacks is the single most powerful thing teachers can do to improve learning in their classrooms.

In order to encourage this new mindset, teachers have been working to create redo/retake policies within their teaching teams and classrooms.  Creating a formalized redo/retake policy is something new for most teachers.   A formalized policy helps students to prepare a plan of action if they do poorly on an assessment.  A good policy also helps teachers manage time and the workload that comes along with new and improved classroom practices.

Please follow the link below to read an outstanding article by Rick Wormeli called Redos and Retakes Done Right.  In this Educational Leadership article, Wormeli provides the philosophical argument for allowing redos in schools then goes on to offer practical strategies for implementation.  I'm proud to report that many of the practices he describes are now becoming increasingly common at YMS!

Redos and Retakes Done Right

Managing Standards in a Proficiency-Based Math Classroom

This week, I'm sharing an article that Assistant Principal Soucy wrote in 2011.  The article was originally published in Middlelink, the Maine Association for Middle Level Education's periodical.

In the article, Mrs. Soucy reflects about her experience as a seventh grade math teacher in a proficiency-based classroom.  At the time, Mrs. Soucy was working with a team of teachers that were pioneering proficiency-based instruction at Massabesic Middle School.  She writes about the profound change that she experienced in her classroom during the transition.  Mrs. Soucy provides us with some great insights into what proficiency-based classrooms can look like.  I hope you enjoy the article.

Managing Standards in a Proficiency-Based Math Classroom

Marie Soucy

As students begin working, I take a step back for a minute to monitor the activity of the class. One student is at the board teaching a peer how to solve two-step equations. In another area a few students sit together and work on solving probability problems. Several others are using a website (ixl.com) on their laptops to practice finding the measures of unknown angles. A few others have chosen to utilize their math books to work on the same skill. Although they are not all working on the same standard, there are still some commonalities among the students; they all know what they are expected to learn, how they’re going to learn it, and what comes next.  

This year, a performance-based system of education has been implemented at Massabesic Middle School. In this system, the focus is on the learning; what we want students to know and be able to do is what drives instruction. Grades are no longer averaged together and represented by a 100-point scale. Rather, students earn a 1 to 4, which represents their progress towards meeting the standard.  

In my 7^th grade Math class, students are able to progress through the standards at a pace that matches their needs and abilities.  In order for this process to happen successfully, the learning needs to become transparent for students.  The standards are made very understandable and accessible to students.  Each of the Math standards is listed on a learning matrix with the simpler skills below it.  By looking at the matrix, students can identify what they need to know and be able to do in order to show proficiency in each of the standards.  

Many different tools and procedures are used to help students navigate their way through the standards.  One such tool is a flowchart outlining the different pathways students should take when they get stuck, where they can find resources, or what they need to do next.  Students also use a wall chart to find classmates who can assist them in learning a skill.  Students are offered multiple avenues to demonstrate their learning. The textbook is not the only reference material used.  Laptops and the Internet are valuable resources in class.  If students don’t quite understand a skill the first time through, they can keep trying until they've mastered it. When they have demonstrated proficiency in a learning target they move on to another one.

There is still teaching happening, just not the “one size fits all” that has been the norm. At times there are whole group lessons, but the majority of the lessons taught are small group and one-on-one. This type of instruction allows for more differentiation and enables me to tailor lessons to the specific needs of the students. The grouping of the students is fluid, as students move through the learning targets at their own pace.  Students also teach one another and learn from online tutorials when it’s appropriate.  

The environment in my math classroom has changed. Students are taking ownership of their education. They are collaborating, sharing ideas and strategies, and communicating effectively with one another.  The culture of the classroom is changing.  It is becoming one where students can make mistakes, which is part of the learning process.  Students are especially learning some significant skills that they can take beyond the math classroom.  

Homework in a Proficiency-Based Classroom

One of the most common misconceptions around proficiency-based learning is that teachers will no longer assign homework.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Although the way we think about homework may change, working at home will remain an integral part of our students educational experience.

Once teachers have identified learning targets, any work they assign should be intended to help students hit those targets.  In some classrooms, the notion of "homework" may change.  It's just work. Some of the work will be done at school and some will be done at home.  The reality is that if students are off task in school, they will likely have more work to do at home.

Likewise, if students are struggling to meet a learning target, they may have alternative or additional assignments that they need to complete to help them get there.  Again, some of this work will be done at school, and some will be done at home.

In the following short article, Rick Wormeli writes about various ways teachers can make homework more meaningful for students.  It's a great little article and he is spot on.  The practices he presents are universal, and they ring true in any classroom: proficiency-based or traditional.

It's interesting to note;  I've observed teachers use many of these strategies in their classrooms. In the classrooms in which teachers use them most frequently, we always see high rates of homework completion.  In classrooms where these types of practices are absent, we find relatively lower rates of homework completion.  It's no accident.

Click below to read the article:

13 Ways to Make Homework More Meaningful

The Value of Failure

This week I had the pleasure of observing our assistant principal, Marie Soucy teach our math/science enrichment class.  Marie and I are co-teaching the class to our 5th and 6th graders.

When students arrived to class they began a "do now" question that dealt with calculating average speed.  As Marie was reviewing the answer to the question, she asked the class, "who got the answer wrong?".   I was surprised by how many students eagerly raised their hands.

Marie went on to ask students to explain their thinking, the algorithm they used, and the process they followed to arrive at the wrong answer.  I often observe teachers going through a similar process when students answer questions correctly.  It's common for teachers to ask students to explain their reasoning for a correct answer.  This was a bit different.

The discussion that followed proved to be extremely valuable to all students in the classroom. Through dialogue, students who answered incorrectly were able to share their thought process, explore alternative ideas and arrive at a new understanding of the concept.  This is where true learning takes place.  In order to learn something effectively, students must make mistakes and learn something from those mistakes.  There is a huge body of research that supports this.

Students who answered the question correctly also benefited from this discussion.  Several students in the class could select the correct algorithm (speed = distance/time) and do the computation.  The discussion however, helped these students develop a deeper conceptual understanding of the concept of speed. The rate at which an object covers distance - a scalar quantity.

The real value in what I observed had very little to do with students developing a conceptual understanding of the concept of speed however.  The value was in students recognizing that it's okay to fail.  This is about fostering a classroom culture in which students feel empowered to share and learn from their mistakes.  This really is the only place where true learning takes place.  Students must have the opportunity to fail, to reflect on their mistakes, and to revise their thinking.  Failure should be seen as a necessity - a celebration of learning.

Check out this video by Derek Sivers to learn more about the value of failure:

Toxic Grading Practices

Here's a short video of Doug Reeves talking about what he calls "toxic grading practices".  We've already eliminated these practices from what we do at YMS but I think the video may be helpful to parents who are still developing an understanding of the rationale for this transition.  I love his take on student accountability and "getting the work done".