I committed to learning more about feedback loops and peer feedback is simply that moment where you have worked ALL weekend for two consecutive weekends and you pass papers back to students. As students chit-chat, they glance at their paper, pause for 25 seconds? or so and then go back to chatting as they put their essay in their backpack.
Meanwhile I look on, realizing that each essay took 10-15 minutes to score and comment on. And I gave up two weekends. And I gave up time with my kids. And I am feeling burned out. And my students didn’t really use the feedback in any meaningful way. It was about the grade. And when students or parents email, it’s about the grade. It’s. About. The. Grade. And I realize that I want that to change. That I want it to be about learning. And that learning is a partnership. And that partnerships by definition require buy in from both sides, in this case the teacher and the student. And as I watch English teachers age at a disproportionate rate, and as I see kids needing to learning and connect in meaningful ways, I decided I needed to explore feedback and how that all works. My next steps are obviously to bring this info to my dept and to my AP teacher brothers and sisters. They/we need it yesterday. Then I think I want to write about it. I want students to know that feedback can look different and that peer feedback *when done correctly* can be incredibly beneficial. And teachers need to be open minded to change. And maybe that time is now, because change has been on the menu lately. If you know me, you have heard much of this before. I just want to save teachers and students from the game of grades that distract from learning and lead to loss of interest, creativity, and energy.
0 Comments
I haven’t really made my own website. This Weebly blog is pretty much it. Having said that, I like that this is all scaffolded for us. It makes the content remain the focus— not the building of the website (well, not quite as much). Looking at the samples, I thought they were pretty level-headed. Nothing too crazy. Basically, “hey, here is what I learned. Here are some links. Come in and explore with me.” Some had a little humor and personality. Others not so much. Kind of like our blogs. But they were effective because they were clear and uncluttered. I like that. Simplicity. It’s like how I like my personal closet in my bedroom: have things you really like and use. Toss the rest. Simple.
(Okay having said that I have about 20 pairs of shoes. There are exceptions) I think for me, the target audience is teachers that feel they have to grade it all, all day, even over the weekend. WHY OH WHY DEAR TEACHER DO YOU DO THIS TO YOU OR YOUR STUDENTS. It’s for the teacher that doesn’t reach out to students and ask, “hey, what feedback would you like to see here?” (I mean, c’mon, that should be obvious right? At least at a certain level? That is my focus here. Maybe we can evolve just a little bit and meet kids with what they need, and not what our teachers gave us. The whole, “well I turned out all right so I’ll teach the way I was taught as a student” is SO full of flaws and logical fallacy. Hopefully one teacher at least can at least examine their own practice though the lens I present through and maybe save their work/home balance a bit, and step forward with feedback techniques in the process. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2021
Categories |