While this isn't directly connected to our class, I feel that this is a good forum to get some opinions.
I have recently come up against a lot of resistance from another teacher on the way that I am running my classroom. I said at the end of last year that I was done giving quizzes. It was too much hassle for me, too much hassle for the students, took away valuable class time, and really didn't do much. If students passed or if students brutally failed, we would continue on. Too much curriculum and too little time to go back and, by the end of the term, I had to have covered the exact same amount of material as the other Freshmen Biology teachers.
Personally, I hate quizzes. I hated taking them when I was in school, I hated giving them as a teacher, I hated grading them, and I hated the fact that they fed so heavily into a student's grade. I decided that this year was going to be project based. At the end of each subunit we would complete a new project with a new product that students needed to create. It would focus on strengthening their writing and the only tests they would take would be the mandatory end of term common assessments. Aside from this, I wanted to introduce more labs. Biology is, afterall, a lab course. Were it not for the labs, I would have hated Biology. Not only that, but as vocational students, they are all about hands on learning.
This was working just fine for me until this other teacher caught wind of the fact that I haven't given a single quiz. She is very by the books. Present the information, take notes, do some worksheets, take a quiz, pass the MCAS. I explained what I am doing and also pointed out that (in my second year of teaching) my midterm scores were comparable to hers and better than some of the other teachers.
Since then it has been a constant push to do quizzes. I borrowed a system of TurningPoint clickers and found that the students LOVE them and it allows me to see what each individual student knows, but even that isn't enough. "They should be writing... They need to take the MCAS in June". I believe that I have them writing enough and that, maybe, the real issue is that if my way of doing things works better, everyone else might have to follow.
I will provide some examples of the projects that I have had students do. Some need a little refinement before next year, but overall I have been thrilled with what I have been getting from them.
Towards the beginning of the year, after learning about enzymes, I assigned students this Enzyme Invention Project where they had to invent and market their own enzymes with the option of making a pamphlet, an infomercial, or a small poster. The results were awesome and students REALLY understood enzymes afterwards.
Later, while learning about bacteria, students paired up and collected bacteria samples from two different locations in the school. They then grew it, tested it to determine whether it was disease causing and then wrote a Letter to the Principal. While students were initially doubtful of her involvement she came by once the letters had all been revised and graded and talked with students about their ideas and what the school would do to follow through. Personally, this was my favorite project of the year. It was writing with a purpose and some students really loved this.
Most recently, students conducted a lab in which they tested cellular transport in eggs. They then had to give an Egg Lab Presentation in front of the class after having prepared their scripts. This was a little rough, but in the end students "shelled out" some great projects. Everyone was able to explain just what they believe had happened in their labs.
Overall, I have been thrilled with the writing that they have been doing, but I guess only time will tell if their success on common assessments as well as on my projects will translate into MCAS success. Quick formative assessments with MCAS questions have, overall, been very good.
To conclude this very long blog entry, what do you guys think? I know that a lot of you aren't in classrooms yourselves, but how do you feel about the quiz vs project debate?
I love what you are doing, and am sorry to hear another teacher is taking issue even after you have explained that your projects are thorough and assess for deep understanding, including the writing piece. It also sounds like you are able to monitor progress in your students, which is important, and your formative assessments tell you the students are on track learning the material- including questions for the MCAS test. In my eyes, you have justified not using quizzes and have replaced them with something that is an improvement for both you and the students. Does the principal support your work? If possible, try not to be bothered by the other teacher, and let her know (nicely and respectfully, of course) you have found alternates to quizzes which are working very well and still assessing the same material as the quizzes. It sounds like she is being critical, but has she involved other teachers or personnel in her 'quiz or die' campaign? Also, do you think it would be at all beneficial to share one of your upcoming projects and ask her if she'd like to try it and offer to help her? You are doing what helps the students learn, and ultimately that is what is important.
ReplyDeleteEric,
DeleteI really like what you’re doing! I’m not even in the classroom yet so I guess I can’t have too much of an opinion but I think what you are doing is fantastic. You’re a good teacher because you are doing what you have to do to get your students to learn and to have them show you that they learned something. Shame on the other teacher for butting in; she’s probably just annoyed that you’re doing a better job than her. It seems like your kids are reacting much better to the way you are doing it now so why does that bother her? She should be excited that you found a way to reach them and she should be talking to you about doing the same thing in her class. If you’re doing what you have to do to get all of the material covered and covering MCAS then it sounds like you’re doing a great job and that they are actually learning. To me, teachers should be doing whatever they possibly can to get students to learn. Obviously some testing is inevitable but it sounds like you do a great job balancing that out.
It’s awful that teachers have to worry about other teachers acting like that. After all, isn’t it supposed to be about our students? In a different class I am in there is a man who is currently teaching but in jeopardy of losing his job because another teacher does not like his style and constantly tattles on him when any little thing goes wrong. It is really too bad that people can be like this.
Personally, I agree with you Eric.I plan on giving as few paper pencil tests as possible. I think debates, projects, DBQ's and other assessments are much better for the students and for the teachers. That being said, there are many administrations out there that want things done by the book and will not have it any other way.
ReplyDeleteFull disclosure first: Admittedly, I am a teacher who sits "in the middle" regarding testing. While some advocate only projects, grades, portfolios, etc., others advocate testing, testing, and more testing.
ReplyDeleteMy "middle ground" comes from experience, and of course, a growing awareness of the latent idiocy of testing "for testing sake." And, of course, this doesn't even begin to even "touch" the pervasive and seemingly lucrative business opportunities swirling around, of all areas, education.
My reasoning for supporting testing "of some kind" simply is that, like it or not, beyond the SAT, many professions do have tests for licensure, etc.: Police Officer, Fire Department, Nurse, EMT, all the military services, etc. And on . . .
But, while important to have students understand a "test," it, should not be an "end all," by any means.
The bottom line here simply is that your approach is working. Like the electrician who learns his trade "hands on" yet still must pass a test, you have found the "closer to real world" model of REAL teaching. As far as the "test," I love the fact that your approach is working on that front. Hopefully, it signals to this other teacher that one can indeed teach (beyond the test).
In my experience with science classes, I do find it regrettable that dissection has become limited (due to many factors, and in Massachusetts—law). There is a HUGE difference between viewing diagrams or computer models and actually "opening up" what was once a living, breathing, sentient, organism. And, I do think the young students of today lose quite a bit by missing this experience (despite the age-old recoil at even the thought of having those bone cutters in the hands—amidst that overwhelming smell of formaldehyde).
And so, in short, it seems to me that you have found the better way—one much closer to "real" learning.
Kudos.
I think project-based learning is much more effective than learning from the book and doing quizzes. We had a lot of quizzes in my biology class, and what did I learn from it? Well, I couldn't tell you because I don't remember. What I do remember are my Chemistry labs from the following year. It wasn't that I didn't like biology, because I love science, but I'm miserable with the mathematics end of science and quizzes left me with short-term knowledge and that was it.
ReplyDeleteThis is my biggest problem with teaching to MCAS. MCAS is only important because Massachusetts has made it so. It's an old school way of assessing students, and project-based learning yields such better results overall. Is it only this one teacher giving you a hard time about the quizzes? Or is it the school in general? If it's the school, why not give a short quiz AFTER the project is complete? That way you could tie in the best of both worlds. Students still got what they needed out of the project and you have their silly little quiz to make them happy.
I assess all the time as a music teacher, but I can't assess in traditional ways all the time either. I have my students do small projects as well that I assess. I applaud your guts in defying the system and sticking to your guns. Hopefully your efforts translate over to the MCAS testing!