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Iowa ASCD

Volume 15, Number 13                            The Source

August 7, 2015
Teachers/Leaders of K-6 Literacy:  Register Now for September 22 Fall Institute with Lester Laminack: 
Writers ARE Readers! 

Struggling to meet all the literacy demands of the Iowa Core K-6?  Not sure if your students are always applying their new skills in their independent reading?  Asking yourself,  "What about writing?"  Join us to learn with Lester Laminack how we can use what we know about reading to develop powerful writers.


About this Workshop:  To be a good writer you must first be able to read deeply and understand author's intent.  In this workshop, Lester Laminack will show you that the key to successful writing is harnessing the power of close reading. You will learn how your students can transfer what they know about reading structures and strategies into practices that will hone their writing skills and help them become more focused writers. A more focused writer is also a successful reader.  Reading and writing are natural reciprocal relationships that you can use tomorrow in your classroom.

 

About This Author: Lester Laminack consults with schools all around the country. He is Professor Emeritus at Western Carolina University, where he has won both the Chancellor's Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Botner Superior Teaching Award. Lester is an active member of the National Council of Teachers of English. He's the author of several notable books, including The Writing Teacher's Troubleshooting Guide, Bullying Hurts (both with Reba Wadsworth) and Kid-Tested Writing Lessons for Grades 3-6, with Leslie Bauman and Harvey "Smokey" Daniels.

  

Overview and Learning Objectives:  
Writers approach a text with an eye for more than "what's the story here?" Writers look for structure and craft, intention and execution, voice, tone and mood. Writers notice bias and hyperbole, and honesty in content. Writers ARE readers.

Reading and writing are mutually supportive processes, though much of our instruction misses the bonus of that relationship. Efficient readers can be shown how to flip their insights about structure and strategies into more powerful writing. Learning to write using your reader knowledge has important implications for growing more informed and efficient writers and allowing students to grow as both readers and writers.
    
Across this day we will:
  • Explore our accepted reader knowledge and dig in to the flip side of those insights in the work of a writer.
  • Tap into a set of selected texts and examine the role of close reading in the development of a focused writer.
  • Write a bit ourselves and play with structures and craft.
  • Develop a list of text resources and practice using them DURING the workshop.
  • Examine some of the typical plateaus/developmental pauses faced by a developing writer and think through the source of those plateaus and ways to nudge them forward. 
Participants will receive a copy of:
Writers ARE Readers: Use Reading Structures and Strategies to Nurture More Powerful Writers
   
Participants are asked to bring a favorite Read Aloud they use in their classroom:  narrative, poetry, informational, opinion or persuasive for use during the workshop.

 

Who Should Attend: Classroom teachers of Grades K-6, administrators, curriculum coordinators, literacy specialists/coaches

 

Fee: Early bird special - Before September 10 the fee is $150 for Iowa ASCD members and $195 for nonmembers. After September 10, the fee is $195 for Iowa ASCD members and $240 for nonmembers. Participants may register on line at  http://iowaascd.org/index.php/events/event-registration/ or contact Bridget Arrasmith with purchase order with list of participants and their e-mail addresses: 123 Drake University School of Education, 3206 University, Des Moines, IA 503011; [email protected]; or FAX 515.271.2233.


Curriculum Leads:  Important Upcoming Dates

When Iowa ASCD Board of Directors met with several new and veteran curriculum leads this summer, they expressed a need for a calendar of events and a monthly "nudge" before things get away from them.  Here are a few upcoming events.  Please feel free to contact any Iowa ASCD board member, including Executive Director Lou Howell, for any needed assistance. (See list of directors with their email addresses in the right-hand column.)  Double check with your superintendent to determine those items for which you are responsible.
  • August - Before School Starts:
    • Mentoring: 
      Work with building principals to match first-/second-year teachers with mentors.  
      • See mentoring plan for requirements for mentors. Contact mentors to assure agreement to mentor.
    • Curriculum Review Cycle:  Review your district's curriculum review cycle to prepare for various phases (e.g., research/study, pilot, develop, monitor, evaluate)
    • District-wide Assessments:  Order or schedule any district-wide assessments that need to be given at the beginning of the school year. (e.g., elementary reading assessments; any screening assessments, MAP, etc.)
    • Purchases:  Complete requisitions for purchasing as needed curricular materials (e.g., textbooks, novels, etc.)
    • New Teachers:  Be sure all new teachers and teachers switching classrooms have adequate supplies, including textbooks, primary resources, and supplementary materials
    • Update Teacher/Employee Lists:  If your district uses any online programs, such as Curriculum Manager, HEART, an online system for teacher evaluations, etc., remove all former employees and add all new employees as appropriate. 
    • Evaluation of Educators:  Review and update information in your district's system as needed. Prepare copies for each teacher/ administrator new to the district.
    • August Professional Learning:   
      • Finalize plans for welcoming teachers new to the district 
      • Finalize plans for Back-to-School professional learning for all staff
    • Iowa Core:Review Iowa Core self-study results and implementation plan to incorporate into C-Plan, which is due Sept. 15
    • Mandatory Training:  All employees are required to have current Blood-borne Pathogens and Hazardous Chemicals (Right to Know). These need to be renewed prior to the beginning of each school year.
      • Chapter 103, Child Restraint, is currently a one-time training that each educator must complete.
      • Certificates are most likely filed with your Business or Human Resources offices.
      • All licensed employees are required to have current Mandatory Child and Dependent Adult Abuse certificate on file. Certificates are good for five years and the BOEE requires a copy of the certificate when licenses are renewed. Licensed employees include teachers, coaching (including volunteer coaches), nurses, and substitute teachers. Many districts require it of associates & paraprofessionals as well. Certificates are usually kept on file in either the business or human resources offices. All staff new to the district must either provide evidence of the training or complete it before school starts. Veteran staff members need to renew "Mandatory Reporter" when they renew their teaching/administrative license.
      • Lock Out/Tag Out and Asbestos training modules are offered though the AEA. The building and grounds supervisor completes this training and determines who else on staff needs to complete the training.
  • September 1: Career and Technical Education (CTE) - Vocational Education
    • Update program of student - September 1 (Check with HS Principal as this may be his/her responsibility)
       
  • September 15:  Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (C-Plan)
    • Complete online
  • September 15:  Annual Progress Report (APR): 
    • Take draft, including district annual improvement goals, to board in August as the Board must approve them.
    • Due September 15 to DE through the C-Plan and submitted to public by same date.

Please see Iowa ASCD website for an updated calendar through November. 

 

 

Curriculum Leads:  Building Relationship - A Major Function of Our Work

School's Starting!  Reports Are Do!  So Much to Do! Overwhelmed?  and yet the most important work you can do is schedule time to to build relationships with all the educators in the district.

One of the eight functions identified for the success of curriculum leads is to be a "leader of relationship building."

"Location, location, location" may be the mantra of realtors, but "relationships, relationships, relationships" is the foundation of any successful organization.

 

Susan Scott, author of Fierce Conversations, advocates that the conversation is the relationship. As leaders of relationship building we must ensure meaningful, two-way communication among all  stakeholders for increased student learning. We are the ones who set the expectations and provide the examples of positive internal and external communication.

 

As we seek to build our own competency in relationship building as well as others' skills, we must remember to . . .

 

  • Live by the vision, always focusing those conversations on student learning.
  • Listen! Listen! Listen! Seek first to understand and then to be understood.
  • Build skills in coaching (e.g., Fierce, Cognitive, Crucial, Peer) and master the ORID questioning skills shared in evaluator training.
  • Build cultural competence.
We must reduce isolationism and open up practice in our buildings to direct observation, analysis, and criticism. Richard Elmore encourages us to center group discussions on the instructional work of the organization. To do this, direct observation of practice, analysis, and feedback must become a routine feature of our work - at every level. Our job is to help building leaders and teachers to work more collaboratively on instructional practices, to set up conditions to facilitate collaborative teamwork among adults, and foster personalized learning communities for students.  As educators work together to improve their respective competencies, trust develops and simultaneously develops consistent and increasingly effective standards of practice.

At the same time, we must increase opportunities to engage stakeholders, reflecting the demographics of our community. As we seek out ways to develop working partnerships in the community, we need to leverage their contributions (e.g., time, dollars, expertise, experience) to expand and deepen learning opportunities in order to achieve increased learning of our students. Questions we might answer include these:

  • Do we have broad representative stakeholder groups involved in making decisions that are significant?
  • Do we participate in public conversations to understand our stakeholders' perspectives and concerns?
  • Do we as a community address anticipated changes within our community?
  • Do we value student voices through authentic opportunities for their involvement in the organization?
  • Do we work to build trust in our schools?

Helping parents become engaged requires us to assure the development of our teachers' competency in meaningful two-way communication, first honoring the fact that all parents want their child to succeed. We must provide opportunities for the educators to learn about the different cultures in their buildings. We need to structure home visits with a focus on getting to know the child - and developing meaningful relationships with parents around the child's learning.

 

It is our obligation to build the skills in ourselves and in all stakeholders to assure meaningful two-way communication that impacts student learning. It is a tremendous obligation that results in tremendous rewards - where all stakeholders are working together to increase learning.

 

Bottom Line: Relationships! Relationships! Relationships! The conversations we have are the relationships that we build!

 

Regie Routman Shares Questions to Ask before Any Program Adoption

A red flag should go up whenever you hear "research-based."  Watch out for language and exaggerated claims like "innovative research-based program," "accelerates learning," "failure free."  Make sure the claims and evidence are credible and valid. 

Respected researcher Richard Allington cautions us to be on the lookout for research that is unsupported by the claims being made for it.  In other words, virtually every proponent of any method, material, or program can find some sort of evidence that what they have to offer works somewhere, some of the time.  By selectively reviewing the evidence, by creating magazines to publish their own supportive data (because no peer-reviewed journal would accept is as unbiased), and by controlling the design of the evaluation and the implementation of their favorite method, material, or program, almost anyone can create the impression that "research shows" positive effects for their product or pedagogy.

There are some big questions about research to ask before you change your practices or support a new program.


Check out the Iowa ASCD website for key essentials to the answer for each of these questions!
Tom Guskey Shares 5 Obstacles to Grading Reform

Education leaders must recognize obstacles to grading reform that are rooted in tradition - and then meet them head on.

 

Education improvement efforts over the past two decades have focused primarily on articulating standards for student learning, refining the way we assess students' proficiency on those standards, and tying results to accountability. The one element still unaligned with these reforms is grading and reporting. Student report cards today look much like they looked a century ago, listing a single grade for each subject area or course.

 

Educators seeking to reform grading must combat five long-held traditions that stand as formidable obstacles to change. Although these traditions stem largely from misunderstandings about the goals of education and the purposes of grading, they remain ingrained in the social fabric of our society.

Obstacle 1: Grades should provide the basis for differentiating students.

This is one of our oldest traditions in grading. It comes from the belief that grades should serve to differentiate students on the basis of demonstrated talent. Students who show superior talent receive high grades, whereas those who display lesser talent receive lower grades.

 

If, on the other hand, your purpose as an educator is to develop talent, then you go about your work differently. First, you clarify what you want students to learn and be able to do. Then you do everything possible to ensure that all students learn those things well. If you succeed, there should be little or no variation in measures of student learning. All students are likely to attain high scores on measures of achievement, and all might receive high grades. If your purpose is to develop talent, this is what you strive to accomplish.

Obstacle 2: Grade distributions should resemble a normal bell-shaped curve.

The reasoning behind this belief goes as follows: If scores on intelligence tests tend to resemble a normal bell-shaped curve-and intelligence is clearly related to achievement - then grade distributions should be similar.

 

A true understanding of normal curve distributions, however, shows the error in this kind of reasoning. The normal bell-shaped curve describes the distribution of randomly occurring events

when nothing intervenes.  

Obstacle 3: Grades should be based on students' standing among classmates.

Most parents grew up in classrooms where their performance was judged against that of their peers. A grade of C didn't mean you had reached Step 3 in a five-step process to mastery or proficiency. It meant "average" or "in the middle of the class." Similarly, a high grade did not necessarily represent excellent learning. It simply meant that you did better than most of your classmates. Because most parents experienced such norm-based grading procedures as children, they see little reason to change them.

 

But there's a problem with this approach: Grades based on students' standing among classmates tell us nothing about how well students have learned. In such a system, all students might have performed miserably, but some simply performed less miserably than others.

Obstacle 4: Poor grades prompt students to try harder.

Although educators would prefer that motivation to learn be entirely intrinsic, evidence indicates that grades and other reporting methods affect student motivation and the effort students put forth (Cameron & Pierce, 1996). Studies show that most students view high grades as positive recognition of their success, and some work hard to avoid the consequences of low grades (Haladyna, 1999).

 

At the same time, no research supports the idea that low grades prompt students to try harder. More often, low grades prompt students to withdraw from learning. To protect their self-images, many students regard the low grade as irrelevant or meaningless. Others may blame themselves for the low grade but feel helpless to improve (Selby & Murphy, 1992).

Obstacle 5: Students should receive one grade for each subject or course.

If someone proposed combining measures of height, weight, diet, and exercise into a single number or mark to represent a person's physical condition, we would consider it laughable. How could the combination of such diverse measures yield anything meaningful? Yet every day, teachers combine aspects of students' achievement, attitude, responsibility, effort, and behavior into a single grade that's recorded on a report card-and no one questions it.

 

After establishing explicit indicators of product, process, and progress learning criteria, teachers in countries that differentiate among these indicators assign separate grades to each indicator. In this way, they keep grades for responsibility, learning skills, effort, work habits, or learning progress distinct from assessments of achievement and performance (Guskey, 2002b; Stiggins, 2008). The intent is to provide a more accurate and comprehensive picture of what students accomplish in school.

No More "We've Always Done It That Way"

Challenging these traditions will not be easy. They've been a part of our education experiences for so long that they usually go unquestioned, despite the fact that they are ineffective and potentially harmful to students.

 

Education leaders who challenge these traditions must be armed with thoughtful, research-based alternatives. You can't go forward with only passionately argued opinions. To succeed in tearing down old traditions, you must have new traditions to take their place.

 

This means that education leaders must be familiar with the research on grading and what works best for students so they can propose more meaningful policies and practices that support learning and enhance students' perceptions of themselves as learners. Leaders who have the courage to challenge the traditional approach and the conviction to press for thoughtful, positive reforms are likely to see remarkable results.

 

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Check out the entire article here:  http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov11/vol69/num03/Five-Obstacles-to-Grading-Reform.aspx   

 

Thomas R. Guskey is professor in the Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, College of Education, University of Kentucky, Lexington; 859-257-5748.  

Kudos to Four Iowa Schools Who Were Recognized in Vatterott's New Book, Rethinking Grading 

Congratulations to Clear Creek Amana, Des Moines, East Union, and Solon! They are recognized in Cathy Vatterott's new book, Rethinking Grading.
  • Clear Creek Amana Middle School: 

    "The faculty at Clear Creek Amana Middle School in Tiffin, Iowa, decided on their grading principles. The complete guidelines appear in the Appendix (p. 109). Clear Creek Amana Middle School Guidelines for Grading (Excerpt)

    Grading principles:

    • Grades will be based on what the students are able to show they have learned. Therefore, extra credit will not be given at any time.
    • Retakes and revisions of assessments are allowed.
    • Students are expected to complete all assigned work.
    • There will be times when students are expected to do practice work outside of the school day.

    Source: � 2015 Clear Creek Amana Middle School, Tiffin, IA. Adapted by permission.

     

  • Des Moines Public Schools: 
    "Teachers need time to learn how to unpack standards, how to better check for understanding, and how to successfully target reteaching. Instructional coaches, department heads, or teacher leaders can lessen the workload for teachers and provide them with much needed tools and training. In the Des Moines School District, curriculum coordinators work with small groups of teacher leaders to develop exemplars of formative assessments."
  • Des Moines Public Schools: 
    "Des Moines School District in Des Moines, Iowa, uses an Employability Rubric to report nonacademic behaviors on the report card. Students are rated from 0 to 4 on qualities of participation, work completion, behavior, working with peers, and working with others. The complete rubric is found in the Appendix (p. 118-119)."
  • Des Moines Public Schools:
    "When the Des Moines Public School District in Des Moines, Iowa, implemented standards-based grading, it started with grades 6 to 8 one year and the following year implemented it with 9th graders. The next step is to use it in both 9th and 10th grades, thus following the first group of 9th graders through high school. With this method, upperclassmen are not suddenly pushed into the standards-based system, and students entering 9th grade will experience standards-based grading for all four years."
  • Des Moines Public Schools: 
    "One of the best ways to convince parents that your school needs to change the grading policy is to clearly articulate how the current system is broken. In the Des Moines School District, administrators did that by showing data correlating student grades with ACT scores. Many students with high grades had dismally low ACT and state assessment scores. Other districts show the lack of correlation between student grades and their state standardized test scores. (In one district, students who received Bs in their math classes ranked from "not proficient" to "exceeds proficiency" on the state math test.)"
     
  • East Union Elementary:
    "Schedules can also serve a proactive function by catching students before they need remediation. East Union Elementary School in Afton, Iowa, uses a schedule of 40-minute blocks to prioritize literacy and math. Since both 1st grade teachers have the same schedule, they can regroup students across the two classrooms. The schedule in Figure 5.1 (p. 87) has also been arranged so that for two blocks of time each day, the special education teacher can work with students with special needs and the Title I teacher can work with students who need Tier 3 interventions."
  •  East Union High School: 
    "East Union Secondary School in Afton, Iowa, has had success with a four-block schedule. Students take four full-year courses each semester, giving them fewer subjects to juggle. Language and math are taken both semesters at the middle school level only. In addition, they have a 45-minute intervention/enrichment period four days a week for reteaching and retesting."
     
  • East Union High School: 
    "At East Union High School, in Afton, Iowa, a success coordinator provides Response to Intervention (RTI) for academic and behavioral support. Teachers, parents, or administrators may refer students to the success coordinator. The success coordinator may pull students who aren't working well in class and design interventions specific to their needs. A full-time paraprofessional is also available in the library for students who need individual help during their intervention period. In many schools, RTI staff, paraprofessionals, or teacher aides provide reteaching for groups of students or help teachers to track nonacademic behaviors."
  • East Union High School:  "Other schools have open advanced placement and honors classes and allow students to self-select. At East Union Secondary School in Afton, Iowa, students who have shown competency may be accelerated to the next grade for specific subjects. For instance, a 6th grader may be taking 7th grade math or may remain in 6th grade math with differentiations. At the high school level, if students can demonstrate proficiency on the common summative assessments, they may earn credit for the course.   On the flip side, at East Union Secondary School, Fs are not given for course grades. The lowest grade for credit is a D (a 70 percent average). Students who do not receive a minimum score of 70 percent on all summative assignments will receive an Incomplete (I) for the course and must retake the assessments they did not pass. Students must either retake the course or retake the assessments to achieve a passing grade. In order to help students change their incomplete grade, students can arrange to meet with teachers or the success coordinator at the end of the semester. The administration also arranges for school to be open an additional week in the summer to assist students in completing assessments. Some students will work the following semester to change incomplete grades. Incomplete grades are becoming increasingly popular at the secondary level in schools that have implemented standards-based grading.   
  • Solon Community School District:
    "In Solon, Iowa, after early adopters piloted standards-based grading, they surveyed other teachers. "Where are you on the continuum?" they asked. "Are you ready to implement standards-based grading, do you need more training, or are you not ready?" Based on the survey results, standards-based grading was phased in over a two-year period, allowing additional time, in-service training, and piloting. The next step was that each teacher was required to use standards-based grading in one course." The timeline is shown in Figure 5.2 (p. 94).
  • Solon Community School District: 

    "Solon teachers and administrators spent a year reading about the topic from the experts (Guskey, 2006; O'Connor, 2009; Reeves, 2008). Their School Improvement Advisory Committee-community members, PTA representatives, other parents, and school board members-also read materials from the experts."

    Figure 5.2. Standards-Based Grading Implementation Plan

     
  • Solon High School:
    "Coordinating individual teacher schedules helps, too. At Solon High School in Solon, Iowa, teachers decide individually when they will offer retakes on assessments, but they work together on a buildingwide reassessment schedule. The schedule shows which days and times each teacher offers reassessment. It is shared with all parents and students and is also available on the school's website. Here's an excerpt from the school's reassessment schedule:" (See Chapter 5 of book)
Book Review: How to Create and Use Rubrics for Formative Assessment and Grading by Susan M. Brookhart   

Iowa ASCD thanks Sandy Merritt for sharing this review of one of the thirty books available to you on line 24/7 as a member of Iowa ASCD.

Brookhart tackles a popular subject in this book - rubrics. She gives two essential components of quality rubrics: 1) criteria related to the learning that students are being asked to demonstrate, and 2) clear descriptions of what that work looks like along a continuum.

 

There is an explanation of the different kinds of rubrics, discussion of when to use each kind, how to write them, and several examples of rubrics in the first part of the book. There are also self-reflection questions in each chapter for individual or group study. Part two discusses how to use rubrics effectively in teaching and has more examples and questions to consider.

 

Rubrics should focus on the learning, not the task that students are to perform. Effective rubrics have specific descriptions of performance and well-written criteria. They are descriptive of the learning and should not be used to judge the work or the student. Rubrics can be used to evaluate when used to match performance with the descriptor. There are included lists of student performances that can be assessed with rubrics. The author describes the different kinds of rubrics and the advantages and disadvantages of each one.

 

Analytic rubrics describe the work on each criterion separately while holistic rubrics describe the work as a whole. The author suggests that analytic rubrics fit most purposes. Focusing on one criterion at a time allows students and teachers to identify which aspects of the work need more attention and which are mastered. Holistic rubrics are best when the teacher is using information only in a summative manner, not providing feedback to students, and to assign a grade.

 

With general rubrics, students learn generalized qualities while task-specific rubrics are focused on task features specific to the performance task with which they are used.  

 

"Task-specific rubrics contain the answers to a problem, or explain the reasoning students are supposed to use, or list facts and concepts students are supposed to mention." Task-specific rubrics can be used for grading and summative assessments. Task specific rubrics are for teacher use only.

 

General rubrics have several advantages over task-specific rubrics. General rubrics:

  • Can be shared with students at the beginning of an assignment to help them plan and monitor their own work.
  • Can be used with many different tasks, focusing the students on the knowledge and skills they are developing over time.
  • Describe student performance in terms that allow for many different paths to success.
  • Focus the teacher on developing students' learning of skills instead of task completion.
  • Do not need to be rewritten for every assignment.

Rubrics help teachers teach, coordinate instruction and assessment, and help students learn. They help teachers teach by focusing attention on what is learned instead of what is taught. They help students "tackle the work, receive feedback, practice, revise or do another task, continue to practice, and ultimately receive a grade - all using the same rubric as their description of the criteria and the quality levels that will demonstrate learning." They help students learn and understand what the expected performance is and what it looks like, how they will know, and what they can do to improve the quality of their performance.

 

Common misconceptions are also discussed:
Rubrics should not confuse the learning outcome to be assessed with the task used to assess it. Teachers need to focus attention on the learning, not the task and the product. They should not be merely directions for the assignment put into a chart.  

 

Rubrics are not about the requirements for the assignment, nor are they about counting things. The author gives the example of an assignment to develop a product that shows information about a state/planet/animal. "Teachers usually assume that the students are 'learning' the facts as they look them up, but the poster assignment gives no evidence of this. It only gives evidence that students can look up a state in an encyclopedia or on the Internet and copy information about it. The assignment is really about decorating the classroom or hallway and having fun with facts. This is a good example of an 'empty' task that does not give students opportunities to demonstrate the intended learning outcomes.... The resulting 'grade' is an evaluation of compliance, not of learning. Students could 'score' top points on these rubrics and, in fact, understand nothing except how to make a neat poster. Students can also 'score' top points on these rubrics and understand a lot. You don't know, and your rubrics can't tell you."

 

Confusing Rubrics with Evaluative Rating Scale s- "Another common problem with rubrics happens when teachers identify the criteria to be evaluated but then add a rating scale for each and call it a 'rubric.' These kinds of documents abound in schools and on the Internet. Another version of this is to use a numerical scale for each criterion, with higher numbers usually intended to mean better work. Yet another way that rating scales masquerade as rubrics is in graphic scales that use such images as a frowny face, a straight face, and a smiley face."

 

"The first questions to ask when you are writing a rubric, selecting a rubric, or co-constructing a rubric with students are these: What are the criteria for good work on the task that the rubric is to assess? What should a student, peer, or teacher be looking for?" It is important to select criteria for assessment that are appropriate and represent the most important parts of the work. They should not be characteristics of the task itself but characteristics of the learning outcome. Criteria must be something that can be defined, observed, and be different from other criteria being considered on the rubric. They should also be characteristics that can be varied along a continuum. The number of levels used will vary depending on the task and how many levels are needed to describe differences in performance quality. The rubric needs to reflect what the work will look like at each level for each criterion and not simply state the directions and how well the student followed directions. Wording should describe what the student performance looks like at each level of performance. The 6 + 1 writing rubrics are used in the book as examples of quality rubrics. Writing a task-specific rubric is like writing a test question.

 

"The decision about the number of performance levels is usually more or less made for you. Solve the problem or write an answer that is complete and correct and, in your view, would deserve full points. Describe that answer and then write descriptions of answers that would qualify for fewer and fewer points, until you get to 'no answer' or 'totally incorrect answer' or something like that for the lowest point value."

 

Brookhart makes a clear case that checklists and rating scales are not rubrics because they don't have descriptors of performance quality. Checklists and rating scales have criteria but the criteria include a list of things that are checked off or rated. They are good to use when you need to know if something was done or how often/well it was done but should not be confused with rubrics.  

 

In the implementation section, there are examples from multiple content areas and grade levels. There is a discussion of multiple topics: how to use rubrics to share learning targets and criteria with students, having students pose questions about rubrics, asking students to state rubrics in their own words, asking students to match samples of work to rubrics, teaching the criterions one at a time, receiving feedback from teachers and peers, and using rubrics in grading and to chart progress.

This is a very informative book on the topic of rubrics and provides assistance in developing and using them in the classroom.   


This is a book you may want your learning teams/PLCs to consider as they develop consistency among themselves in assuring consistent learning across subject level and/or grade level.  A study guide is available at http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/112001/chapters/An-ASCD-2013-Study-Guide-for-How-to-Create-and-Use-Rubrics-for-Formative-Assessment-and-Grading.aspx.

She also has several video clips available at http://www.ascd.org/Publications/ascd-authors/susan-brookhart.aspx.

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And remember this book is available to all Iowa ASCD members via the 30 titles available 24/7 for 2015. In addition, these are the other books available 24/7 during 2015 to all Iowa ASCD members that will increase your effectiveness as a leader of learning. (If you have forgotten your password to these resources, please contact Lou Howell at [email protected].)

 

Personalize Learning:  Leadership, Change, and Personalized Learning

The August 1 blog by Personalize Learning emphasizes that "transforming teaching and learning does not happen overnight.  Moving to Personalized Learning Environments is a huge shift where schools create an active learning culture based on trust and respect."  The burden of proof lies in the leader to provide "evidence-based results that show the personalized approach leads to deeper learning.

Be sure to  participate in their #plearnchat to learn and share your own thoughts and questions around personalized learning.

You will find many resources as well.  There is a book study guide for Make Learning Personal!  Their "toolkit" offers multiple resources to help you and your school personalize learning for all kids. 

Their chart on personalization vs differentiation vs individualization is a great summary to test your own knowledge and help you navigate your own personalization of the learning.

We all like our own learning personalized - use this resource to make it happen for you and your students!
Webinars for Your Learning
 
Iowa ASCD seeks to keep you informed about webinars for your  learning and the learning of those with whom you work.  Check out the following; many of these support the work in your collaborative time and definitely help with implementation of The Core! 

  • Title:  Using PD Online� for Individual and Group Study: Portfolios as Performance Assessments in Native American Literature Coursework
    • Presenter: Teachers from Native American Community Academy (NACA) in Albuquerque, New Mexico
    • Provider:  ASCD
    • Date:  Thursday, August 20, at 2:00 P.M. CDT
    • Register Here
Check It Out!

Check out the following:
  • Check out Personalize Learning:  They have some great blogs as well as resources as you delve into personalizing learning in your classroom, building, and district.  You can follow them on Twitter @plearnchat and chat with them at #plearnchat.
  • The Iowa Department of Education, through the Iowa Safe and Supportive Schools grant, is hosting the Family Engagement Symposium Sept. 9-10 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. The event is open to all Iowa schools. There is no registration fee, and lunch is served both days. View the complete agenda. Register by Aug. 15 here.
     
  • Remember to renew your membership for 2015 -  2016.  Beginning January 1, 2015, all Iowa ASCD members have access to 30 on-line books 24/7 for the entire year and next year, too!
  • Consider an institutional membership for your building, district, or AEA.  The fee is $25 per person when you enroll at least 20 people at one time.  Great benefits!  Contact Lou Howell for more information.
  • Are you a student in a graduate program?  If so, you may get a membership for three years for $45.  Contact Lou Howell for more information.
  • Are you a student in a pre-service program?  If so, you may get a one-year membership for $15.  Contact Lou Howell for more information.
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Iowa ASCD is the source for developing instructional leadership and translating research into daily practice. Serving more than 1500 educators - teachers, principals, superintendents, directors of curriculum, technology specialists, college professors, AEA staff - Iowa ASCD strives to develop the collaborative capacity to impact the learning of each and every student in Iowa.

Be Sure to Check Out . . .
K-6 Literacy: Lester Laminack
Curriculum Leads: Important Dates
Curriculum Leads: Building Relationships
Questions to Ask BEFORE Program Adoptio
Guskey: 5 Obstacles to Grading Reform
4 Iowa Schools - Rethinking Grading
Book: How to Create and Use Rubrics
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Webinars
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Iowa ASCD Twitter!
Iowa ASCD Contacts

Quick Links:

 

Iowa ASCD  

 

Iowa ASCD Twitter

 


Iowa ASCD Contacts

 

President-Elect

Becky Martin

 

Past-President

Kevin Vidergar 

    

President-Elect

Pam Zeigler   

    

Membership and Conference Information

Bridget Arrasmith

 

Secretary

Leslie Moore 

 

Treasurer  

Jeff Watson  

 

Members-at-Large

  

Diane Campbell 

Ottie Maxey 

Sara Oswald 

 Katy Evenson 

 

DE Liaison

 Rita Martens  

 

Higher Education

Jan Beatty-Westerman 

Randal Peters 

 

Advocacy and Influence 

Susan Pecinovsky 

Elaine Smith-Bright  

 

Curriculum Leadership Academy

Sue Wood  

Pam Zeigler  

 

Fall Academy

 Veta Thode  

 

Fall Institute

Amy Whittington

 

Summer Institutes  

 Kym Stein 

 Becky Martin    

 

Planning Chair 

Cindy Swanson  

 

Partnership Chair

Jason Ellingson 

 

Technology

Chris Welch  

 

Membership Relations and E-Learning

Amy Wichman 

 

Executive Director

 Lou Howell   

 

 

Here's What's Happening!
  • September 22, 2015
    • Fall Institute
    • Drake University
    • Lester Lamanack
    • "Writers Are Readers"
  • November 16-17, 2015
    • Fall Academy
    • Drake University
    • Tammy Heflebower
    • Standards-Based Grading for School Leaders
  • February 11, 2016
    • Advocacy Workshop
    • State Capitol
    • Advocating for Learning
  • April 21-22, 2016
    • Curriculum Leadership Academy
    • Iowa Events Center
    • Rick Wormeli
    • Differentiating for Learning
  • June 21-22, 2016
    • Summer Institute
  • Get The Source the first and third Friday of each month.
  • Join us on Twitter @IowaASCD