“It was fun to watch the "ah-ha" moments because you could see the connection they made through the successful problems they'd solved and their explanations.” - former 8th grade student.
Even though my classes experience the same lesson, I often remind my students that they will each take something different away each day. Regardless of where their understanding is, I want students to understand how capable they all are in learning mathematics. To help students recognize their growth, I have them study their mistakes, analyze all their assessments at the end of each semester, and take reassessments to demonstrate their new understanding.
In my first blog post, I mentioned that my students complete their assessments in two non-consecutive days. On the second day, students analyze the problems more deeply, re-evaluate their understanding based on the questions and prompts provided, and reflect on their learning. I developed this approach (inspired by Leah Alcala’s Highlighting Mistakes: A Grading Strategy) to provide students a way to use their assessments as tools to improve their understanding. Rather than having teachers as the sole participants in the assessment process, students should actively be engaged in this process as well.
At the end of each semester, I pass back students’ assessments and a worksheet to track their progress. On the worksheet, students write down which problems they missed and the reason they did not receive full credit. The beauty of this process is students can observe their growth as mathematical thinkers. The folder allows them to have a holistic view of their progress from the beginning of the year up until the semester. For my eighth graders, this means progressing from solving proportional equations, linear equations with one variable, determining the number of solutions, writing equations representing linear relationships, to solving systems of equations.
As students are going through their past assessments, I often hear: “What was I thinking?” “Why did I do that?” and “Wow, I learned a lot.” Their comments and aha moments demonstrate a recognition of their own academic growth. I also hear: “I still don’t know how to do that” or “I never learned that.” These comments demonstrate an acknowledgement of areas for growth and a provide groundwork for a plan to improve their learning.
After going through the mistakes on their assessments, I group students into study teams to facilitate peer tutoring. The goal of these study teams is to prepare students for a reassessment near the end of the semester, where they have a second chance to show an understanding of the topic and to help them see how they progressed as learners. After spending a few days studying in peer groups, my students take the reassessment with more confidence and positive attitudes.
Learning is a complex process that requires patience, reflection, and communication. In breaking this process down into initial assessments, going through and evaluating these assessments, and executing a plan for relearning, the process of learning is made apparent for my students, By recognizing and acknowledging their growth through this process, students empower themselves as learners.
#MiddleSchool #blog #learn #reflection
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