Do you evaluate yourself?

In a Results Only Learning Environment, students are taught that reflection and self-evaluation are far more important than the judgment of a teacher. I want my students to be as hard as themselves and I am on myself.

I remind students constantly that I spend time daily reflecting on what took place in my classroom. "I evaluate myself, just as I evaluate you," I tell them. I often discover things that didn't go as I had planned. Sometimes this means presenting them again another day in a different way. Other times it means discarding a lesson or activity completely.

I firmly believe that this reflection and self-evaluation are the most important parts of making teachers better.

So, do you evaluate yourself? What does your reflection help you discover about teaching? Please share your thoughts.

How numbers and letters punish students

During our nine-week grading periods, I never put a  number, percentage or letter grade on any activity or project that my students complete. I supply detailed narrative feedback, asking students to return to activities and demonstrate mastery, if necessary.

When our quarters end, my school requires a letter grade for a report card. Instead of arbitrarily supplying a grade, I invite my students to participate in this evaluation process and tell me what their grade should be. Most students are remarkably accurate with this process. Some, however, are so stuck in the world of numbers and letters, that they can't comprehend how to come up with a grade, without the aid of points and percentages.

A powerful lesson
In an attempt to demonstrate the problem with grades, I tried a new approach, and we revisited the the points world at the end of the third marking period. I gave my students a list of all activities and projects and arbitrarily applied a point value (years ago, I never understood how strange this practice is). I then asked my students to put a point value on their production for each activity.

As the process ensued, there were plenty of sighs and groans around the room. Some students looked for ways to circumvent the system, because the math didn't provide any wiggle room. Fifty percent on a major project, crushed their overall grade. It didn't matter that they may have gone above and beyond in other areas. Many hated the process and literally begged to be "let off the hook."

Of course, in the end, seeing how clearly the numbers and letters punish students, we left the points world, returning to the comforts of the Results Only Learning Environment, where punishment is abandoned in favor of real  learning.

Feedback about feedback

As our second grading period draws to a close, I felt it was a prudent idea to remind students how we end the quarter. Even though we discuss reflection, evaluation and feedback often, it's never too much, I think.

A week prior to sitting down for our one-on-one discussions, when we'll reflect on the quarter and decide on a report card grade, I reminded students that they needed to begin the self-evaluation process.

"Remember, the major work we've done for the past nine weeks," I reminded them, heading into a three-day, holiday weekend. Review the feedback you've received and ask yourself how you will answer the question, "What grade should go on the report card?"

This quick reminder of how we do things in a results-only classroom will, I believe, go a long way toward making the evaluation conferences run more smoothly than if I had said nothing at all.

I meet with each student next week. Stay tuned for a report on how it turns out.

Which pictures apply to you?

Found these pictures while browsing Google Images. Got me to thinking how they define some teachers and classrooms.

So, which of these apply to you?

Betraying my students with standards

I just read Nancie Atwell's, The Reading Zone, a brilliant treatise on leading all students to the joys of voluminous reading.

Atwell, arguably education's top expert on teaching reading, smacked me in the face, figuratively speaking, when she explained the dangers of removing students from "the zone," by creating activities that, at best, serve only to interrupt reading. Most of these interruptions -- summaries, book reports and, yes, even projects -- are often included because teachers feel compelled to meet standards and to prepare students for high stakes testing.

Atwell's sobering words on the subject sent me scurrying off to my classroom web site, where I quickly eliminated the posted learning outcomes (standards). As a results-only learning teacher, who vilifies standards and high stakes tests as often as possible, I am ashamed that I included these in my teaching in the first quarter.

I was shocked at myself for being seduced by the inclusion of standards into project-based learning.

Next came the reading project. As a ROLE teacher, I advocate the use of year-long projects to capture objectives, in order to engage students in learning and to create autonomy. I'm still a big believer in this. Atwell, however, reminded me that reading is best taught without this sort of interruption. So, I had more work to do, the kind that would take more damage control than simply removing a project.

At the end of the grading period, my students completed self-evaluations and assigned themselves a report card grade. Much of their decisions were based on a project I assigned that involved integrating learned book structure into various web tools. (Sounds cool, I know, but after reading Atwell's book and revisiting my own goals as a ROLE teacher, I realized the project was a huge mistake.)

Now, I need to have a long heart-to-heart talk with my students and explain my error. I'll then ask them to re-evaluate their performance. You see, many students had a fine 9 weeks, filled with many completed books, excellent collaborative work and insightful in-class activities. Some of these, though, performed poorly on the reading project, for one reason or another. Based on that result, they assigned a low grade for the quarter.

I'm sure some teachers would say I should live with my error and just move on without bringing it up. Results-only learning depends on self-reflection and integrity, though, so this has to be dealt with.

I'll let you know how it goes.

The power of "Really?"

Knee-deep into the second day of self-evaluation and discussion about report card grades, I realized just how powerful a word can be.

As I wrote in Trust your students to evaluate themselves, most of my students choose the grade I would have, if I were assigning the grade, instead of asking them to do it. A very small percentage of students initially ask for a grade that seems too high, based on their production. When this happens, I respond with, "Really?" Then, I pause and silence fills the air.

This pause is important, because it sends the student back to reflection and self-evaluation. A moment later, most say, "Well, maybe the grade should be lower."

It's important to note here that I'm in no way trying to manipulate students into selecting a lower grade. In fact, I tell them that I will give them whatever grade they choose. "I want you to give an honest evaluation," I say. "When that report card arrives in the mail, you need to be satisfied that you were honest with yourself."

This honest self-evaluation is one of the most important elements of the Results Only Learning Environment.

Trust your students to evaluate themselves

With our first quarter officially ending this week, it is time for reflection, self-evaluation and final report card grades. Since my students have had no points or letter grades on any activities or projects throughout the grading period, they review their production, my narrative feedback and, together, we decide on an appropriate letter grade for the report card.

My first year using this method in a Results Only Learning Environment, I was a bit nervous about this process, wondering if the students would "get it right." Subsequent school years, including this one, have been no different; I enter with trepidation. As is usually the case, my students quickly allayed my fears.

One after another, they paraded up to my desk, and we discussed the quarter. At the end of each discussion, I say, "Okay, you play teacher, and based on our discussion, tell me the letter grade."

Seventy-five percent of the students land on the exact letter I would assign, if I were grading without their input. Roughly five percent assign a grade higher than what they deserve, based on their production and how they handled my feedback. Remarkably, about 15 percent of my students assign themselves a report card grade lower than I believe they deserve. Some do it with tears in their eyes, saying their parents will be disappointed.

And, yes, students do give themselves failing grades.

I am always amazed by the honesty of these 13- and 14-year-old students. One girl in an honors-level class, who had not completed a project but had done most of the other work, quickly announced that she should have an F. "Definitely," she said, when I questioned it. "I need to do better."

This is the power of the results-only learning.

Feedback and mastery learning

This is a guest post by Justin Vail. A junior high social studies teacher in Indiana, where fellow guest blogger, Joey Till, works, Vail, like his colleague, has committed to results-only learning this year.

How Self-evaluation Drives Students to Mastery Learning

All of my activities are either simple completion assignments or projects.  The completion assignments are essentially deconstructed parts of the project.  

When I grade a completion activity I sit down with the student and we scan the various parts of the document.  If the basic requirements are met, the student moves on to the next activity and I put a 10/10 in the grade book.  If the basic requirements are not met, we identify the problem areas and the student makes a second attempt---this is repeated until the student meets the basic requirements.  

When I grade the project (most recently a Regional Geography Video Podcast over the major physical features of 8 different regions), I sit down with each student individually for a more in-depth evaluation of their work.  We listen/watch the podcast together.  Afterwards, I ask the student some or all of the following questions:

• What do you think is the best part of your final product?
• What parts of the building process will you do again (reviewing how they worked)? What worked?
• What is the biggest weakness of the product?
• What parts of the building process do need to change next time? 
• What did you learn from this whole process?
• If you were to grade yourself from A+ to F, what grade did you earn?
• How can I change the project to make it better?

The self-evaluation process is difficult for some kids.  I sometime have to prod the students to express themselves, but eventually they are very honest about their work and their work ethic.  In fact, students are often harder on themselves, than I would be.   I have evaluated nearly 200 projects this year, and less than 5 times have student's suggested a "grade" higher than what I thought. 

The impact of self-evaluation

This is a guest post by Joey Till, who teaches math to 7th graders in Indiana. With a large amount of students on free and reduced lunch, Till is dealing with reluctant learners on a daily basis. Till has made the conversion to a Results Only Learning Environment this year. 

Giving Grades. . . Without Really Giving Grades

Each student and I have a quick 2 - 4 minute conversation about what they learned from the project and how they contributed to their group (if it was a group project).  The student and I talk about their grade and what they deserve. We together come to an agreement on what they deserve, (and) with the exceptions of a few cases the kids are usually dead on.

It has been amazing to see the positive things from these conversations, as opposed to handing back a piece of paper with a grade on it.

When kids have to look you in the face and say they did poorly because they didn’t do their best, you can really see the disappointment in their face. Almost every kid has shown improvement. In some cases, major improvements.

On the other hand, it is so nice to see the grin when you tell a student how great they did, especially kids that have struggled with Math in the past. I have really seen the confidence growing in many of my students, which in a Math class is always an issue.

These short conversations have been invaluable with my students. I really feel like I have a better handle on what they know and don't know through these conversations. I also feel like I know the students much better than I ever have at this point in the year. 

Share your progressive methods and experiences

As research for my new book, ROLE Reversal, continues, I'm looking for educators who have experiences with the kind of progressive methods that are used in a Results Only Learning Environment.Consider the following questions:

• Do you teach in a workshop environment? If so, how does it differ from what your colleagues in  traditional classrooms are doing? 
• Have you eliminated rules and consequences to any degree at all? What is the result?
• Is your class project-based? What is the impact of this method of teaching on standardized tests? Do your students perform better than their peers in traditional (homework, worksheet, grades) classes?
• Have you eliminated traditional tools, such as homework, worksheets, bell work, multiple-choice quizzes, etc.? How has this affected your students' attitudes toward learning?
• Have you eliminated number and letter grades? How do you evaluate learning?
• Have you eliminated rubrics?
• Do you use narrative feedback? Do you allow students to make change after your feedback? What is the impact of this on learning?
• Are your students involved in evaluating themselves for report card grades? Can you explain the procedure and its value?

Please take time to comment, and subscribe to comments, so we can get a lively discussion started on these important topics.

Can students grade themselves?

While presenting at ISTE 2011, I was demonstrating the effectiveness of using technology to provide narrative feedback to students. I explained the power of such feedback, in terms of learning, and I told the audience that I never place a letter or number grade on anything.

When the time for Q&A arrived, a curious attendee asked, "When it comes time for a report card grade, how do you do it?" He appeared stunned by my response.

"I let the kids decide the grade," I said. I could tell that he and most others in the audience were perplexed, so I elaborated. "I meet with each student," I continued, "I ask them to review their production for the quarter, along with all feedback. I ask them to evaluate the work. Then I say, 'So, what's your grade?' It's amazing how honest they are. Some even give themselves F's."

Can this system work in your class? If so, what's keeping you from doing it?"

Feedback toolkit: the message board

The message board can be used in a variety of ways, including class discussions on many topics. I've even used a student forum -- a place students can use as a sort of safe Facebook.
The best use for the message board, though, is for feedback. I have a "Write-to-Mr.-Barnes-only" board, where students can post messages that only I can see. This is a powerful way for students to provide meaningful feedback for me. They can share problems, tell me they've updated an activity or project, after reading my feedback, or they can complete a self-evaluation and tell me what they believe their final report card grade should be.

Eliminate anxiety
Asking students to supply feedback on a private message board takes away the pressure some may feel in a face-to-face discussion with the teacher. While many students do very well in these interviews, others are often shy with authority figures and will not complete a fair evaluation due to the anxiety that the situation presents. The message board eliminates this.

Promote integrity
I have found my students to be remarkably honest in completing a self-evaluation on our private message board. Numerous students have "given" themselves "F's." Some have posted statements like, "I need to work harder," and "I let you and myself down."

There are many creative uses for a message board. It is a wonderful communication tool that provides valuable feedback between teacher and student.

What are the possibilities of using a message board in your class?

Be sure to catch all of this series here.

Do you have a feedback toolkit?

There are many formal and informal ways to provide narrative feedback to students, as well as to get feedback in return. Student feedback drives instruction and project creation, as it helps teachers distinguish gaps in learning.

All feedback, no matter what form, helps with evaluation of learning. This brief series provides examples of amazing tools for your "feedback toolkit."

 Don't miss any of these informative posts:

• Student web sites
• The message board
• Web-based grade book
• The sidebar
• Performance review
• SE2R

Would you read this book?

Below is the introduction to my forthcoming book, ROLE Reversal: How Results Only Learning Will Change Education As We Know It. I'm wondering if it makes you want to read more and what else you'd like to know. I would truly appreciate any comment you leave.

The girl I’ll call Sasha was off to a rough start in her seventh grade year. The first grading period saw very little from Sasha. She completed roughly one-third of one major language arts project and did nothing on a second. Asked to review material covered on a web-based diagnostic tool, so she could retake it and improve her poor score, once again Sasha did not produce. In-class activities were done haphazardly, with little attention to detail. Feedback from the teacher, for the most part, was ignored.

At the end of the marking period, it was time for reflection, self-evaluation and a final grade. I met with Sasha, as I did with every student, and we discussed her production. When I asked Sasha for her thoughts, she admitted that the results were not what she had hoped for. She gave no excuses. Because the administration at the middle school where I teach mandates that teachers assign quarterly grades, I told Sasha that a formal grade had to go on the report card. This was a new concept, because there were no points, percentages or grades on any activity for the entire first nine weeks of school in our class.

“So put a grade on your production for Quarter One,” I said. Tears rolled down Sasha’s face, a heart wrenching sight, as I hated to see her punished by a grade. In between sobs, her chin resting weakly on her chest, Sasha whispered, “I guess it has to be an F.” When I asked if she was certain, Sasha nodded affirmatively. At this moment I realized that a Results Only Learning Environment would forever change how I taught and how my students learned.

The roles were reversing. Students were assessing their own learning, and their self-evaluations were providing me with the information I needed to create better learning opportunities in my classroom. Education was changing into something truly revolutionary.

One grading period later, Sasha was up to a C, and she continued to progress throughout the year. She is one of dozens of examples of students who have thrived in a unique classroom that ignores the fundamental methods that teachers across America use daily – worksheets, homework, multiple-choice tests, rewards and punishments and a standard grading system. This book will share many examples of students like Sasha, who have taken charge of their own learning and assessment in what I call a Results Only Learning Environment.

This transformative approach to teaching is based on research, theory and practice of people like, Daniel Pink, Alfie Kohn, Steven Krashen and Donalyn Miller. Although these authors and educators are referenced in several places throughout the book, most evidence of the effectiveness of results-only learning is based on my own practical experience and the almost uncanny success of my students.

Update: Since writing this post, I have signed a contract with ASCD to have the book published next year. I have a summer of 2012 deadline for the final revision. The book will be released in late 2012 or early 2013. I'll keep you updated along the way. Thanks for the support.

Do your students ask to retake tests?

One of my favorite things about a Results Only Learning Environment is how it fans the intrinsic motivation that is inside of all students. Educators often smother intrinsic motivation by punishing students with grades and rules -- things that only make young people hate learning.

When students are given autonomy, they soon want mastery (this is human nature, after all). When we choose to do things because we're interested in them, it's only a matter of time before we want to be good at them.

Under the right conditions, students want to improve

One of my favorite examples is when my students ask me to retake tests. Recently we took a year-end reading diagnostic, which measures students' Lexile measures against a similar test they take at the beginning of the year. We read all year, so the students want to improve. I talk up the Lexile as a solid barometer of reading ability; plus, it helps students find books that they'll understand and enjoy.

When we take the final reading test, many students ask if they can take it over, if their Lexile measure decreases. I recently had a student send me a message on our classroom web site, asking to retake the test. She told me she just had a bad day. "I know I'm a better reader than that," she said of her low score. Of course, she could retake it, I responded. That's how we operate in a ROLE.

When my tests were only about final evaluation and scores for a report card, students almost never asked to take the test over again.