Why So Difficult?

I asked my students today why the quiz was difficult for many of them. They responded by saying that when the questions are on the screen they find it difficult to look and transfer the correct answer to their page, especially when there is a multiple choice format on the screen. Many need to have the choices in front of them on a printed sheet so they can cross off, eliminate, see what's right in front of them. I agreed with them but explained that the reason the screen was used was to save on photocopying costs. So economics militates against success?

Into My Head

Why does evaluation often seem like a crap shoot? The other day a student came in during lunch to write a quiz she had missed. I was getting her quiz questions out when she said "Wait! I have to get this back into my head!" as she quickly flipped through her notes. The information needed for the quiz had been reviewed in class. She had all of this. But now it seemed she knew almost nothing, as if it was a matter of cramming some information at the last minute so she could remember bits of information enough to pass the quiz. Is most of what we do in quizzes and tests "getting it into my head" long enough to pass and then it's gone again?

Unexpected Response

Maggie stayed at lunch in my room to finish a reading assignment. I noticed she was looking perplexed. Her face was slightly contorted. I said in a light-hearted way "Maggie, you look like you're in pain! ( meaning because of the reading ). She quickly replied " Yeah, it sucks always being alone". My heart sank. I was not expecting that response. She took my words in the deeper emotional sense. I immediately understood. Maggie's the girl with the purple hair who sits by herself and neve joins a group. My words were a trigger for her, bringing to the surface her feelings about being socially isolated. Other students worked in reading groups. She worked by herself. I stayed close to her desk just long enough to say "I understand" and to make sure she had my support in understanding the reading. My next step will be to look for an opportunity to pair her up with a willing student, and to connect with her daily to help her with her work so she doesn't fall behind....other thoughts?

It Pays to Overcommunicate

I have two classes at the same level following the same course curriculum. During the morning class, I assigned a task and later realized that students had a lot of questions about the expectations I had not anticipated. I spent a lot of time repeating the same answers to many inquiring about details of the task. For the afternoon class, I decided to approach things differently. I spent a few moments explaing each page and number of the assignment, thus quelling the barrage of questions I was faced with in the morning class. The moral of the story for me this day was that you can't assume students understand a handout or written instructions such that they will produce optimally as a result. It pays to overcommunicate and assume that what I've prepared and is eminently clear to me may not be clear at all to the students. It pays both from the standpoint of use of my time and of student success to go over each parameter and answer any outstanding questions. I wonder how often students don't understand and don't bother asking and just do what they interpret, rightly or wrongly, to be what is expected. This is more guesswork than it is learning.  

Student Presentation Boredom

When is it more educational to have students listen to each other's presentations without any requirement other than to listen and clap? This may lead to boredom in the audience. I have a group of 24, each of whom present for between 5 and 10 minutes. 3 or 4 class periods go by without anything else going on except presentations. Is this a valid use of the listener's time? An alternative I have used is to have students ask topical questions and get credit for it. Or students are asked to keep a log of the main ideas for a quiz later. Or student listeners also take turns asking standard questions that each presenter must answer. This becomes the interactive structure of the presentation where different students take turns asking the lead questions. Or another silent seatwork task is given that students must complete before the last set of presentations finishes. Other ideas?

Missing Student

I have a student who is new to the school. She has been late already a few times to my class. Yesterday she asked to get a drink of water twenty minutes before the end of class and never returned. I will have to deal with this situation today.
My plan is to speak with her privately before class begins ( assuming she arrives on time ). I will ask her what happened and listen to her story. If her story does not justify the behaviour, I will say to her that she needs to
A. earn some trust back because she lied about going for water
B. buy back class time by coming in at lunch to complete the work not done.  The consequence for not doing this will be to sit in the hall and do independent work during class time in order to regain the privilege of resuming normal classroom participation.
C. If this does not remedy the issue, I will call home and try to get parental support to help this student follow normal procedures.

Your thoughts?

To Record Marks or not?

A teacher may have too many grades or too few. I try to have just enough by assessing first, which means certain marks don't count, and then recording only the grades that are true reflections of the students' abilities.
The other day I had my class do a drawing to illustrate their understanding of key vocabulary in an article they had read. Most did a wonderful job with the drawing, but few included vocabulary from the article. They simply put in their own vocabulary! Since my goal was to reinforce new vocabulary from the article, I had to make a decision. Should I deduct marks and record the results or simply use this as another assessment tool? Then it occurred to me that if most students did not follow the instructions, then perhaps I did not make them clear. (Part of the challenge is giving instructions in French in and FSL class with varied comprehension levels).
I have decided not to record these grades. I will explain that they did not follow the instructions and that my instructions may not have been clear.
When do you assess only ( not for grades ) and when do you evaluate and record grades for reporting?