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Accountability : Required
by
Dr. Kathie F. Nunley
Hold students accountable for day-to-day learning
and watch end of the year test scores increase. Unfortunately
traditional teaching has not encouraged students to see the connection
between daily classwork and learning. That's because there is no
systematic accountability for that work. Students are accustomed to
"doing" an assignment and getting credit for the "doing" rather than
the learning.
We all know that having an assignment such as a
worksheet filled out does not necessarily indicate students have
learned anything. Sometimes it just means they sit with the right
people at lunch, or can fill out paperwork while watching television at
home.
If students can get enough daily work "done" to
offset low test scores, it is possible (sadly) to pass a course while
learning very little if anything about the subject matter.
Theoretically you could go through twelve years of this and come out
with a diploma and little else.
Hold students accountable. Give credit for actual
learning, rather than for doing. Daily quizzes, either oral or written,
are easily administered. Choose one question at random
from the assignment and give a grade based on that assessment. Choose
two of their ten vocabulary words and award points on the two words.
Write sample math problems on
index cards, have the students draw a card, complete the problem and
award homework points based on that sample of work.
In the beginning, students may be shocked, even
angry at the change in strategy. But stick to your policy, explain the
reason, and eventually your students will actually come to
appreciate the fact that you care enough about them to value the time
they've spent on learning.
Kathie F. Nunley is an educational
psychologist, author, researcher and speaker living in southern
New Hampshire. Developer of the Layered Curriculum® method
of instruction, Dr. Nunley has authored several books and
articles on teaching in mixed-ability classrooms and other
problems facing today's teachers. Full
references and additional teaching and parental tips are available
at: http://Brains.org
(originally written in 2004, this article may be used
in any non-profit print publication so long as it is used
in its entirety including the bottom author credit paragraph).
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