Taking The Pulse of Student Learning

How do we know if students are understanding or learning?  Does it always have to be a long, formal test or project?  This entry will focus on Informal Formative Assessment ... or more simply stated ... how do teachers quickly figure out if kids are getting it?  What does that look like in the Brawley Union High School District?  

In education, we often refer to this informal assessing as “taking the pulse” of the class.  If we are working with students on a particular topic, how do we know that the students are ready to show their learning? More importantly, if they aren’t getting it, what concepts do we need to re-teach?  Here are a few of the diagnostic ways teachers work with their students and help them along the way.

Teachers often check in with their students throughout the class.  They may have students raise hands to show understanding or even write their work on a small whiteboard to display.  In this manner, a teacher can see a clear picture in less than 30 seconds to take the pulse of learning at that moment.  Toward the end of the class, teachers often collect “Exit Tickets” or short responses that students leave as they exit class.  By taking a few minutes after class to review these tickets, the teacher knows what to address at the beginning of the next class.

With more collaboration comes more opportunities for students to work together on understanding.  Using Peer Evaluations is very effective in many classes to keep the pulse.  Physical Education teachers have students evaluate each other in their execution of sports and skills.  Drama students critique performances and the feedback allows students to adjust before the final assessment on particular topics.

More and more often, teachers are also turning to technology to take the pulse of learning.  Students can be found video-recording their responses in FlipGrid, which allows the teacher and students to give feedback in a very timely manner.  There are often Kahoot activities going on when teachers give the class short electronic quizzes for students to respond with a click.  Their answers are immediately tallied and feedback for both teacher and students is instant.

Although we are early in the year, it’s not uncommon to hear about assessments.  We always want to keep a steady hand on the pulse of each classroom to make sure that we can adjust instruction and assure that students have all opportunities to succeed in their work.  Most informal formative assessments don’t carry a grade with them for the student, which is important as well.  We need to give students time to make mistakes as they need without the consequence of a grade.  Helping students correct their thinking and learn from their mistakes helps keep our students healthy in their education.  

We can’t believe September is almost over . . . We wish everyone well as we finish out the month.

Personal Progress Report to BUHSD Staff:

Now at a 13.5-minute mile (I'm gearing up for the PE Baseline Run!)

Took the littles to see The Little Mermaid on stage in San Diego.
Spending a lot of time in classrooms observing lessons and giving feedback.

#ifnotusthenwho #hopesquad #brawleyproud #scorpionpride

Getting to Know You

(For added entertainment with this entry, play this song on YouTube in the background as you read . . . Getting to Know You.)

“Getting to know your students on a personal level, showing them they are just more than a grade, and giving them a safe, fun environment sets the stage for learning.”1  

In the introduction of his book, Teach Like a Pirate, Dave Burgess reminds us of the importance of getting to know your students and building a classroom community at the start of the school year.  Throughout the first few weeks, as teachers deliver lessons and students review and learn, there are various activities sprinkled throughout that allow students to express who they are and break the ice with their peers and teachers.  

Brawley Union High School District serves students who come from a minimum of six different Junior High Schools and even some students in the same grade don’t know each other well.  We must remember that getting to know each other is important from the beginning in order to establish a productive space to learn.  There are ways to infuse these introductory activities into our content learning and this is our focus with this post.

ELA 9 team chose Acrostic Poems as the vehicle for students to introduce themselves.  Some students embellished their poems with personal photos and decorations, while others were visually plain, but had very descriptive words about their personalities; which one may argue the visual presentation of these poems says as much as the words that are chosen.  

One very Tech-y teacher who has a very Tech-y class, appropriately asked her students to design a cellphone built with Apps that reflected who they are and what is important to them.  Another classroom was full of students who brought in personal items that they showcased to explain why that article represents who they are - soccer jerseys, jewelry, photos, colorful ponchos - a high school version of Show and Tell.  Drama students started the year creating monologues, allowing the class to catch a glimpse of who they are.

An expansion of our LinkCrew program has been the biggest factor in a school-wide effort of getting to know one another. The Junior and Senior mentors have spent many hours meeting with and supporting our freshmen this year, even organizing a student section at the Freshmen Football game to promote spirit and positive school culture. Building this connection will pay dividends as we support freshmen in their transition into our schools.

The staff at Desert Valley and Renaissance are visiting classrooms to talk with students and review their transcripts to make sure their goals of graduation and preparing for life after high school are being addressed.  

Content review games and activities also tell teachers a lot about students.  Many AP classrooms had students working together to review summer reading, easing them into a rigorous year of Advanced Placement content.  A Math teacher used Kahoot as an engaging review activity that allowed him to see where the students' strengths were in math and which material he may have to review as the learning continued.  Knowing where students are academically is important in our work as educators. We can then meet our kids where they are and then support their progress toward their goals.

BUHSD teachers are taking advice from Anna of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s musical, The King And I . . . that’s the first thing she did as a teacher.  Taking the time to understand who’s sitting in their classrooms is important to so many teachers and these few minutes at the beginning of the year help each class establish themselves as a community of learners.  

1Burgess, Dave.  Teach Like a Pirate:Increase Student Engagement, Boost Your Creativity, and Transform Your Life As An Educator., 2012. Page xiii.

Julie Andrews graced us with her voice in this rendition of Getting to Know You via YouTube.

Personal Progress Report to BUHSD Staff:

Now at a 14.5-minute mile (The heat needs to stop!)

Ended up with the kids at the beach (not my favorite thing, but they LOVED it!)
Trying to show Appreciation . . .

#ifnotusthenwho #hopesquad #brawleyproud #scorpionpride