Focus Exclusively on Learning

I am a Carol Dweck: Mindset groupie, and have been for years. Much of my literature review last year referenced Carol Dweck's theory of mindset. If we want students to learn we have to stop referencing the numbers: IQ, grades, GPA, class rank, etc. These are external labels and motivators, which have proven ineffective in deeper, long lasting learning. External motivators like rewards for reading for example, are good at getting compliance, but not at producing readers. My goal as an educator is to not just teach content and skills, but teach students how to learn. I believe grades are arbitrary, and are based on compliance, not on learning, so I have stopped talking about "the numbers," and exclusively talk about proficiency in learning. 

 

Image source: https://www.xyleme.com/want-to-know-what-personalized-learning-looks-like-its-right-in-front-of-you/

I took the unit that I co-teach with the 9th grade social studies teachers, the research process & paper, and created a spreadsheet with the standards that I assess during this unit: internal citations, paraphrasing, and the works cited page. When I pitched it to the social studies teachers they added writing skills, thesis statement, and historic support to the standards based rubric. After adding the students names, I began recording not grades but level of proficiency for each student in each lesson beginning with a pre-assessment. The proficiency codes were

P = Proficient

PP = Partially Proficient

NP = Not Proficient

Then I asked the English teachers for the student grammar tests (a pre-assessment) and recorded that data. Next I recorded student’s first Lexile test scores. Even after only a few entries a picture of the which students needed extra support started to emerge. This standards based spreadsheet data becomes the basis for scheduling student conferences.

Image Source: Rachael Costello

I feel more effective this year, because I am proactive. Recognizing student weaknesses, and intervening early to get them back on the path to success.

I will continue to explore my professional journey in future blog posts.