Summer Reflections

I've been meaning to write this for some time, and I finally got the chance during a trip I took recently. I wanted to reflect a bit about the year and start thinking about next year.

Regents: The course went pretty well. I've been giving a lot of thought to how I teach- part of me wants to abandon my lab program (which I love) to spend more time on whiteboard debriefing. However, our 38 minute periods don't lend themselves to this mode. I was pushing for adjacent labs with the same roster as the class, but it doesn't look like it's going to be possible. I love the idea of physics soulmates that Kelly uses!

AP: I erred on my timing. I was pushing to be able to assess each target 3 times on in-class assessments  With ~40 standards and two on each weekly assessment, this simply wasn't possible. I backed off this after the first semester in an effort to make up for lost time, but the damage was done. We also ditched the independent lab program, which I wasn't happy with anyway- it seemed like the students weren't interested and didn't have the time or motivation to finish things that needed a little bit more oomph outside of class. We spent a lot of time on an awesome projectile motion project with tennis balls, but we probably didn't have that much time to spare. I realized it once we were partway through, but didn't want to do it half-assed.

Toward the end of the year the pace was too fast- we were able to cover the material, but it didn't truly sink in. In addition, there was a lot of backlash against SBG. About half the class was dissatisfied with it, others wanted to see it modified in one way or another. They also blamed it for the slow pace of the course, which wasn't the root problem- it was how I implemented it. Some of the students lost faith and were very upset with their experience, saying on their final reflection of the year that they would not recommend the course to future students.

I was disappointed by this, but I understand where they were coming from. As a school/system we're so fixated on the HW/quiz/test system of getting a good grade that something different seems to throw students for a loop. For the majority of them, despite their best intentions, when push came to shove they didn't do the recommended conditioning since it wasn't required. They left it all until the end of the marking period and tried to cram it in, but since they weren't practicing as they went their skills in these areas suffered, and then the new topics that built on these skills were shaky.

My advisor in graduate school always told me that you are what you grade. I have always tried to follow this mantra in determining how I want to assess my students. The last time I taught AP Physics using a traditional grading system I used the following breakdown::

30% Homework
30% Tests
15% Labs
5% Quizzes
20% Class Participation

This year I gave 70% to core standards, 20% to advanced standards, and 10% to experiments and class participation.

Here is what I'm thinking about for next year: go back to a traditional grading system, but with a SBG twist and modified percentages to encourage the behavior I want to see.

15% Homework
40% Tests/Quizzes (in class work)
25% Experiments
30% Class participation

I want to make sure they do homework/practice, but not doing it perfectly shouldn't kill their overall average. So I want to base the bulk of their grade on what they do in class. I really liked the weekly assessments and frequent feedback, so I might try to keep that trend going with bi-weekly test/quizzes and then bigger assessments for each marking period- sort of like the prelim system used at Cornell.

Frank posted a short SBG reflection. I'm not sure how I'll assess by concept- if I use the standards I utilized this year I'll have to pare them down and redesign them- some weren't great. What really caught my attention was the first link in his #2. What I love about this method is how you have tests, but the scores aren't set in stone. You can try that section again on the final exam, and if you do better it erases your previous grade. But if you did well on the original test, you don't have to complete that section on the final exam. I'm trying to figure out how to do this- it's complicated by the need to submit marking period grades that are set in stone every 10 weeks. Hence the leaning toward a quarterly exam with more frequent quizzes on individual topics/concepts. The trick is going to be organizing it from the outset.

Doing this should also help me with my pacing. This has always been something that I struggle with- I am loath to move on until the majority of students have mastered a concept because I know that shaky foundations make for a weak overall structure. Always something to improve, that's for certain!