The Year that Changed Everything

So much has happened since the school buildings were closed down during the spring of 2020. 

The way we conduct classes, the explosion of #edtech tools and the way we teach or assess our students has been permanently altered since Covid-19 forced us all to take inventory of what really matters.  We discovered that a worksheet is not very tech friendly and access to technology is not always equitable.

Here are a few fundamental changes that happened in my classes this school year.

1. Portfolios and Projects 

For the first time in my career, I scaled back dramatically on large, summative assessments (multiple choice, standardized assessments) and replaced half my assessments with projects and portfolios.  Students were able to express themselves with art, videos (Flipgrid and Screencastify), sidewalk chalk, Google tools (slides, sites, Jamboard) and the results were amazing.  Their conversations revealed deeper understanding and help to illuminate misconceptions.  Students were allowed to submit projects early for additional feedback and questioning so they could modify and improve their work.  Reflections proved to be hard work for many students (none had done work of this nature in math classes before), but students rose to the challenge and learned how to explain their thinking and pay attention to their own learning and progress.  I intend to add student interviews to the portfolio process in the future to give even more opportunity for reflection and feedback. 

2. Test corrections

Since I administered fewer standardized tests this year, I decided to use some of the time I saved by having students correct every test as routine part of the process.  Corrections came in many forms: sidewalk chalk, whiteboards, videos, Google Docs and posters.  The extra time to rework and explain gave students plenty of opportunity to analyze their thinking and improve performance on subsequent tests.  Corrections also opened up more opportunities for creative expression (art, videos).  Sometimes test corrections took an entire class period, other times corrections were one part of an assignment.  In every case, the corrections gave me a chance to give additional feedback on student work to help students develop deeper understanding.  The grade on the test was not directly affected by the corrections (Corrections are a separate assignment), but since I allowed students to replace lower test scores with higher subsequent test scores learning the concepts became the focus (all tests are cumulative, so objectives are repeated on subsequent tests).  

3. New Collaboration Tools

I have been seating my students in pairs or groups for years.  When Covid-19 forced us apart, it meant giving up much of the collaborative group work until I found alternative virtual spaces.  Virtual tools I used for group work this year included Jamboard and Google slides.  We were blessed with new large whiteboards in the classroom, so using the Thinking Classroom model students can now collaborate again in small teams of 2 or 3 (with masks and with care!).

-------------------

There are many more changes (large and small) that happened during this school year, but it will take a summer to unpack it all and to tweak what worked as we begin to plan for 2021-2022.   Please join the conversation by sharing your stories about this school year!

Follow me on Twitter!

• @techknowmath

Find and grow your #PLN (personal learning network) and tell us how your teaching has changed this past year!

Susan Carriker