Data's a lot like money. Good to have, but if you don't do anything with it, having it really isn't doing anybody any good. (Okay, maybe not the best analogy to use with a bunch of teachers, but you get the idea...)
Sure, I collect data. Twice a year, every year, the kids do DRAs. They complete cold writing samples. They get assessed on this and that. Then the data is (eventually, as in the day after school gets out) tucked into a big ol' literacy portfolio and refiled for next year per district expectations. Not that next year's teacher's going to look at it. Oh, and they'll all be pitched at the end of fifth grade.
So, it's fairly safe to say that this process isn't effective.
What would make a portfolio worth keeping? I think I'd need to answer that with another question. What's the point of a portfolio?
To be real participants in PDSA cycles and to be an active member of a teacher-student partnership, kids need to have their data where they can get at it. They need to know their strengths and weaknesses, they need to set goals. Useful portfolios would allow that and document their progress in a way that makes sense to them. They would make that documentation available to the people who care about a child's growth.
So, when I went looking at sites to put together ePortfolios for my kids, I had to hash out a couple of things in my head. As a teacher, when I think data, I think quiz grades, pre-EOG scores, early in the year assessments, and writing samples. An ePortfolio would also let me pop in pictures of projects that turned out well. And, hey, if I really got good, we could take pictures of kids solving math problems on their whiteboards or scan in papers that turned out great. Teacher-y stuff.
What about this, though? Do these belong in an ePortfolio?
I'll argue that they do.
Meet AJ, my eighth grader. Here, you see him engaging in his two great loves, Tae Kwon Do and choral singing. He's successful at each, having earned his black belt as a sixth grader (His belt's red and black in this pic because one can't wear all black until age 13.) and making our city's children's choir as a rising seventh grader. These pictures represent AJ's two wins and a fail.
On top, AJ won the weapons division at a big tournament in Raleigh in 2011. It's not the win itself that's important here. What really matters is that in several previous tournaments he placed second. He just couldn't get over that hump and win. Why? He wouldn't (choose your own expletive) practice! He figured that he did OK just relying on a flashy style, so why bother? Finally, though, he got frustrated by almost-winning and changed his approach. He worked to put together a traditional-style, cohesive routine and practiced it. You see the result, even if the picture is poor.
The next two were taken at a choral festival this past March. The middle picture is of AJ working on stage with the conductor of the Boston Children's Choir. It was the first time he'd ever worked with a male choirmaster. During his time at the festival, he refined some techniques and gained some new ideas. Working with a diverse group of teachers is a good thing, he found out.
The bottom picture shows the performance at the end of the choir festival mentioned above. AJ's on the far left, on the top row, among a bunch of girls. He's not a soprano; he doesn't belong there. He lined up wrong. This picture is evidence that he still has some work to do with his onstage self. Paying attention - a wonderful thing!
Why put them in a school portfolio?
Here's why - if we are teaching, through PDSA and Teacher-Student Partnerships that kids can - and should - have some control over setting goals and creating proactive plans to meet those goals, wouldn't we want them to apply that away from the classroom, too?
Being proactive is a mindset. I want my kids to learn that and apply it everywhere.
So, I'm going to set up ePortfolios on Evernote because you can upload items to it easily from all kinds of devices. That will make it easier to use at school, but it will also allow kids to add items that show the 'aha' moments in their lives away from school. They also have unlimited space for free.
Yes, that means putting together some guidelines for them and their parents about what belongs in it. Expecting some reflection on items added will cut down on random stuff being posted. I'll call it an experiment and just roll with it.
My goals for today:
Sure, I collect data. Twice a year, every year, the kids do DRAs. They complete cold writing samples. They get assessed on this and that. Then the data is (eventually, as in the day after school gets out) tucked into a big ol' literacy portfolio and refiled for next year per district expectations. Not that next year's teacher's going to look at it. Oh, and they'll all be pitched at the end of fifth grade.
So, it's fairly safe to say that this process isn't effective.
What would make a portfolio worth keeping? I think I'd need to answer that with another question. What's the point of a portfolio?
To be real participants in PDSA cycles and to be an active member of a teacher-student partnership, kids need to have their data where they can get at it. They need to know their strengths and weaknesses, they need to set goals. Useful portfolios would allow that and document their progress in a way that makes sense to them. They would make that documentation available to the people who care about a child's growth.
So, when I went looking at sites to put together ePortfolios for my kids, I had to hash out a couple of things in my head. As a teacher, when I think data, I think quiz grades, pre-EOG scores, early in the year assessments, and writing samples. An ePortfolio would also let me pop in pictures of projects that turned out well. And, hey, if I really got good, we could take pictures of kids solving math problems on their whiteboards or scan in papers that turned out great. Teacher-y stuff.
What about this, though? Do these belong in an ePortfolio?
I'll argue that they do.
Meet AJ, my eighth grader. Here, you see him engaging in his two great loves, Tae Kwon Do and choral singing. He's successful at each, having earned his black belt as a sixth grader (His belt's red and black in this pic because one can't wear all black until age 13.) and making our city's children's choir as a rising seventh grader. These pictures represent AJ's two wins and a fail.
On top, AJ won the weapons division at a big tournament in Raleigh in 2011. It's not the win itself that's important here. What really matters is that in several previous tournaments he placed second. He just couldn't get over that hump and win. Why? He wouldn't (choose your own expletive) practice! He figured that he did OK just relying on a flashy style, so why bother? Finally, though, he got frustrated by almost-winning and changed his approach. He worked to put together a traditional-style, cohesive routine and practiced it. You see the result, even if the picture is poor.
The next two were taken at a choral festival this past March. The middle picture is of AJ working on stage with the conductor of the Boston Children's Choir. It was the first time he'd ever worked with a male choirmaster. During his time at the festival, he refined some techniques and gained some new ideas. Working with a diverse group of teachers is a good thing, he found out.
The bottom picture shows the performance at the end of the choir festival mentioned above. AJ's on the far left, on the top row, among a bunch of girls. He's not a soprano; he doesn't belong there. He lined up wrong. This picture is evidence that he still has some work to do with his onstage self. Paying attention - a wonderful thing!
Why put them in a school portfolio?
Here's why - if we are teaching, through PDSA and Teacher-Student Partnerships that kids can - and should - have some control over setting goals and creating proactive plans to meet those goals, wouldn't we want them to apply that away from the classroom, too?
Being proactive is a mindset. I want my kids to learn that and apply it everywhere.
So, I'm going to set up ePortfolios on Evernote because you can upload items to it easily from all kinds of devices. That will make it easier to use at school, but it will also allow kids to add items that show the 'aha' moments in their lives away from school. They also have unlimited space for free.
Yes, that means putting together some guidelines for them and their parents about what belongs in it. Expecting some reflection on items added will cut down on random stuff being posted. I'll call it an experiment and just roll with it.
My goals for today:
- Decide how to set up data folders, which are different from portfolios.
- Create whatever forms I want to use in those folders.
- Begin reading The Leader in Me, by the guy that wrote The 7 Habits books.
I'm thinking that what he's saying will go nicely with the direction we're heading. :)
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