Perhaps it’s the tryptophan talking, but it was nice getting away from Weebly for a week. We— the fam— went to Arizona for a bit and I was able to put together a good chunk of the research paper. I also discovered what javelenas are. Did you know that a pack of javelena is called a squadron? How cool is that?? My parents have a home right on the edge of the desert. During the day, the desert appears calm. Then the sun goes down... And like a stampede, coyote, javelena, and god-knows-what emerge from the desert and ravage the neighborhood. They feed and feast on one another. It’s absolute chaos. It’s frightening. I love it (except for the snakes. Thats a NO from me, dawg). Their beautiful home and location in AZ is like some Animal Planet version of I Am Legend or The Walking Dead. I’d wondered why nobody walks the neighborhood at night like they do around Napa. I am also guessing if you are a real estate agent you wouldn’t show property there when the sun goes down. Arizona is always a blast. Okay, I’m here for a reason. Let’s talk research: I wanted to know what feedback loops work best for kids. And boy, were they honest. Turns out they don’t like the feedback loop style where the rubric acts as info. Now, before you tell me that’s obvious, the AP rubric is different. It’s vast. It’s full of information and the grading of a paper on that rubric does in fact hold a ton of feedback. I am a member of several AP groups and many teachers use the rubric as a primary form of feedback (they also have writing conferences every so often. I used to as well, when we had normal school. Those were the days.). What students DO like is when they get a chance to help determine the criterion for what peer feedback loops look like, and they DO like when they are given free reign to find areas to provide helpful feedback for their peers. It turns out kids like a little bit of voice and agency in their feedback and in their learning. Who knew? Well, I think I knew. And I think it confirms that kids are more interested in improving for the sake of improvement than for the sake of a test. I respect that.
5 Comments
Susan Craig
12/2/2020 06:55:21 pm
Hi Jason,
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Minna Nummelin
12/2/2020 08:33:03 pm
Sounds like you had a great environment for making some headway with your paper. I spent some time basically in the wild over my break as well but I don't think I made as much progress. I almost wish my study revolved a little more around student voice. The desire to learn is really present in every human already. How great that your students get to participate in helping each other make improvements along that journey.
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Erica Gysbers
12/3/2020 05:17:12 pm
Love hearing your perspective on the wild sof Arizona.
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Lynda Bergner
12/6/2020 01:55:26 pm
Teenagers like to have have some leeway in how they learn and how they transmit that knowledge to each other, hmm, they're a little like their teachers.
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Sarah Magallano
12/14/2020 10:46:16 pm
You taught me about an animal I had never heard of! Thank you!
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