Art education is supposed to cultivate and spur the seeds of creativity, not water them down with subjective evaluations of your worth.
LEARNING SCALES, AMUSEMENT PARKS, AND FOLLOWING YOUR GUT: THE PROS AND CONS TO GOING GRADELESS
Sometimes I feel like a revolutionary, leading my savvy, open minded teacher troops into battle against the vicious traditional, fixed mindset creating letter grades. But more often, I feel more like I'm on an intense episode of Food Network's Chopped, except I'm not one of the talented chefs. I'm one of the ingredients. Will I … Continue reading LEARNING SCALES, AMUSEMENT PARKS, AND FOLLOWING YOUR GUT: THE PROS AND CONS TO GOING GRADELESS
The Impact of Grades w/Jeff Frieden – TG²Cast Episode 13
Jeff is an English Language Arts teacher at Hillcrest High School in Riverside, California. Over his 14 years in teaching, he has taught at 3 high schools, chaired two departments, and served on several different committees. Recently, Jeff decided to use summative conferencing in his class and learned a lot about his students. In this … Continue reading The Impact of Grades w/Jeff Frieden – TG²Cast Episode 13
Redefining Quality: Working towards new measures of school achievement
An article published by Realtor.com claims 73% of home buyers consider the quality of a school when purchasing a home. Of that number, 78% are willing to sacrifice luxuries such as garages and backyards in order to purchase in an area with better schools. Q: How is the quality of a school determined? Taken from … Continue reading Redefining Quality: Working towards new measures of school achievement
The Unintended Consequences of Grades
This post originally appeared on the Pennsylvania Teachers Advisory Committee (PTAC) Blog. PTAC endeavors to connect the voices of highly-recognized teachers in Pennsylvania with educational decision makers. About eight years ago an administrator started a faculty meeting by asking the question, “Why are so many of our students unable to pass the state Keystone exams … Continue reading The Unintended Consequences of Grades
Learning Maps: Empowering Students to Chart Their Course
My school recently implemented a feedback-based assessment model (a version of gradeless) for all its incoming grade-nine students. Prior to that, some of us teachers volunteered to “pilot” it across departments to work out the kinks of implementation before we tried it school-wide. From my experience, implementing this version of gradeless requires a plan for … Continue reading Learning Maps: Empowering Students to Chart Their Course
Education, Grades, and Liberation w/Julia E. Torres – TG²Cast Episode 12
As a teacher/activist, Julia Torres's work is grounded in empowering students to use the Language Arts to fuel resistance and positive social transformation. Ms. Torres facilitates workshops and professional conversations about anti-racist education, social justice, and culturally sustaining pedagogies.
Feedback on Writing: Providing Strategies for Revision
“Miss ...Is this right?” After all of my time teaching high school English, you would think I’d be accustomed to this question. But it still catches me off-guard. High school students who write a sentence, or paragraph and then come running to me for approval: enabled learning at its worst. I have tried many … Continue reading Feedback on Writing: Providing Strategies for Revision
Grades Are Not the Whole Equation
In my years as a math anxiety specialist, I have found two main things to be helpful: written feedback and parents and teachers who are supportive and work as a team.
Providing Feedback to Promote Student Growth
For me, the purpose of feedback is about growth. Just as a coach provides feedback on improving a baseball swing or long jump form, I provide feedback on the use of historical evidence, thesis construction, and other discipline related skills.
Teachers Going Gradeless 