I'm not going to re-type the entire chart here, but after reading it, all I kept thinking was "lesson plan words! lesson plan words!" because the box offers ways to create "overt response[s]" (ways which show) covert responses. For example, to show whether or not a child is perceiving something (covert response), the child "could identify, discuss, shape, draw, diagram, notate, point to, circle, order, sing, play conduct, or move to what they perceive." Super helpful!!
p. 335 "Rubrics provide a set of scoring criteria that can help to determine the value of a student's performance on a task... [and] can be limited to a specific task, or it can be stated in terms of benchmarks that measure student progress toward a standard... A well-designed rubric will not only help establish performance standards for students; it can also help provide feedback as to what must be done in the future to improve their performance."
No wonder it's so hard to write a good one. Not entirely true - but, as we were also talking about in Intro to Education, oftentimes teachers end up creating things that vaguely resemble rubrics, but are decidedly less helpful and effective. From what I can tell, what makes a rubric special is that it includes a progression of skills and knowledge indicated in specific categories.
p. 340 "Systems for gathering and recording data may vary from simple to elaborate, depending on the teachers preference, how many students are in each class, student contact time per week, what reporting system(s) are used, and how much technical and physical support the teacher gets in accomplishing this important task."
I bet someone could teach an entire class on just "tracking student growth"... it seems like such a tremendously important part of teaching, but we spend so much time learning how to impart knowledge to students that we are left with very little time for the "behind-the-scenes" stuff (or so it seems sometimes). I know we do incorporate a lot of that into each class we take, but I know for me it can easily get lost in everything else that we do, because it's not a skill that we practice quite as much (seeing as we don't actually have regular students of our own).
On a slightly unrelated note, I came across a blog of a friend of mine who is teaching for Teach for America this year. He's still in his first couple of days of teaching and clearly feeling WAY over his head. Classroom management is a big issue for him - as is to be expected for a first year teacher with minimal training in teaching in a high-need, urban environment. I can't help but feel tremendous empathy. And be scared for him, and myself. Sometimes I get so caught up in being excited about education that I forget about how scary it's actually going to be that first day. I try to be sobered by it, but not discouraged, but sometimes it's just too easy to think "sure, I'll have been in school for a couple of years, but what on EARTH makes me qualified to do this!?" Thinking about all the fantastically amazing teachers I've had in my own education, I know that they all had to have had their time to "figure it out," make mistakes, maybe even fail miserably sometimes. But it's so much more intimidating imagining myself in that situation...
Yay for Box 13.1! For 'tracking student growth', I learn a lot about assessment on the job and in professional development sessions and coursework in my county. This might be an area that you will want to seek out opportunities for further instruction. We want you to enter the profession well-equipped, but also with knowledge that you aren't done learning! No one expects you to be perfect on the first day (or ever). If you continue to learn and grow in your job, it will come together for you.
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