Are You Ready To Go Grade-less?

 

Every time I had to do report cards I felt frustration bordering on anger. How was I supposed to communicate learning with one grade without making every student‘s learning seem the same? Averaged scores say very little about actual learning: Any number of students can earn a B for many different combinations of reasons. A gifted student who does little work may receive the same grade as a struggling student who has improved steadily throughout the course or a student who started off strongly but performed poorly in the last quarter. Unfortunately, in high school a single number or letter grade on a report card is supposed to communicate a great deal of important information.

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Learners will:

• Explore their current beliefs around grading and assessment

• Consider alternatives to traditional methods to communicate learning

• Learn ways to rebrand their assignments

• Develop a means to increase student partnerships 

• Learn how reflection and self-assessment can improve instruction and
  deeper learning

• Develop a portfolio system that will aid in showing student progress

Three-Dimensional Learning In The Science Classroom

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Careers in sciences are among the fastest growing in the nation. Empower students to take ownership of learning and build science literacy while transforming the science classroom into a three-dimensional experience through the use of phenomena driven storylines. Cultivate communication, collaboration and problem solving so students can make sense of how science works in the real world.

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Learners will:

• Identify and assess the 3 Dimensions (DCIs, SEPs, & CCCs). 

• Discern what makes phenomena effective that leads to student learning

• Describe the key aspects of an effective storyline

Collaborating & Creating NGSS Storylines

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Building coherence around phenomena that exist in our world is critical to implementing a three-dimensional classroom. When students see how and why science ideas are relevant, they are more apt to be engaged and make sense of the world. Participants in this course will see how to plan their curricula by looking at the big picture and create lessons that build on one another. By developing storyline units, participants will help their students to connect traditionally isolated ideas, to make coherent connections.

 

• Module 1:  Introduction to Storylining/Pedagogical Shifts – Immersion as a Student

• Module 2:  Using Phenomena to Drive Learning in the Science Classroom

• Module 3:  Unpacking and Bundling the Standards

• Module 4:  Creating Coherent Student-Centered Materials

• Module 5:  Review and Reflection of Storyline