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Hi, Mary Beth-
I always include process science skills on my grade sheet. Processes
are as important as parts of products. The best way I've seen to do
this quickly is to use a check list of the skills you're looking for.
It's faster to include a check than a number. You can even check the
same box more than once or add a plus for additional emphasis. At
whatever grading interval you choose (daily, weekly, quarterly), you
can count all the checks as points for a grade.
I hope this helps a little.
Meri Cummings
Center for Educational Technologies
>Hello, folks.
>
>Thanks to all of you who wrote me with suggestions for group grading
>of projects in a grade-obsessive district. It's nice to see that
>most of us seem to be in the same boat with regards to this issue,
>and that a lot of my fellow teachers have backed me up in my
>considerations.
>
>I have another question for y'all now. I just watched the video on
>'embedded assessment,' and think this is a great idea. One of my
>big concerns is that some of the kids I teach who really "get"
>science aren't good producers, in that they don't necessarily write
>well and thus don't get great grades on written projects and tests.
>Conversely, some of my kids are real "producers," who will produce a
>beautiful product when asked to write or produce a report, but who
>don't really show much true understanding of deeper science theory.
>I worry that I'm rewarding effort (which definitely has its place!)
>but not always rewarding deeper, higher-level understanding of
>concepts.
>
>I'd love to try to use more informal embedded assessment
>(conversations, classroom observations) to somehow give credit to
>all the kids - producers or not - who show strong science thinking
>and problem-solving skills. My concern is how, in such a
>grade-sensitive district, to go about rating students on such
>informal observations. At some point, my observing that "Johnny
>really thinks outside the box and comes up with clever solutions for
>his group" has to be translated into a part of his calculated grade.
>
>Does anyone have any suggestions? I'd love to hear them!
>
>Forewarning: I've got 100 students in 5 classes; I'm never going to
>make videos or audio tapes of all of them. It would take me all
>year just to get to one class! :D
>
>Thanks
>
>MB Clark
--
***************************************************************
Meri V. Cummings, Ph.D. E-mail: meri@cet.edu
Laboratory Manager and Phone: 304-243-2499
Science Resource Teacher Fax: 304-243-2497
NASA Classroom of the Future
Center for Educational Technologies
Wheeling Jesuit University @..@
316 Washington Avenue {----}
Wheeling, WV 26003-6243 ( >~~< )
http://www2.cet.edu ^^ ~~ ^^
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