This is a repost of Eric Patnoudes’ blogpost on the Otus blog on January 22, 2019.
Let’s face it, change is hard. Especially when you’ve been doing something for so long that it has become part of your identity. Even when the desire to change exists, knowing what steps to take in order to do things in new ways is not always clear. We recently had the pleasure to work with Lisa Westman, a frequent speaker on standards-based grading, differentiated instruction, and instructional coaching. During her webinar, she provides three keys for how school leaders can bring teachers along on the journey to standards-based grading (SBG).
Empathize with teachers
Many, if not all educators, are familiar with letter grades and understand how grading works. They have become part of our identity. The shift to SBG is not only a systematic change, but it also can affect the ego because it alters that identity.
Before standards-based grading, we asked teachers to differentiate instruction but expected them to grade students according to where they were in relation to their peers.
Look at report cards as bank statements. The minute that statement is put in your mailbox, it already has become obsolete. There are changes that have already been made since it was mailed. That’s why we have online systems to check things as they stand in real time. The same capability exists when looking at grades.
Ensure a solid understanding of the foundational pieces of SBG
Start with ensuring that your teachers have a clear understanding of the universal tenants of standards-based grading and what exactly is non-negotiable in your district. It’s crucial to have a unified vision for the following questions: What are we doing, why are we doing it, what does that look like?
Next, invest in differentiated professional development that helps teachers feel confident in moving away from the instructional routines they used to rely on in the past i.e. a student receiving a lower grade from turning in an assignment late). Not including homework as part of the overall grade. Many resistant teachers understand the value of such changes but don’t know how to actually do these things in their daily practice.
The final piece to a successful and sustainable standards-based rollout is to make certain the instructional strategies have been determined and are understood by your staff before looking at reporting out
Grade-level teams and/or department have clearly defined learning intentions and success criteria according to the standards.
Formative assessment is utilized consistently and correctly.
Instruction is differentiated for students
Equip teachers with appropriate tools
One thing that can lead to teacher resistance happens when teachers are in a have a solid understanding of the universal tenants and a shared loyalty to foundational principles of standards-based grading and then there’s a missing system or tool needed to share important information about student learning. This results in teachers spending a lot of time creating spreadsheets or manipulating systems not intended for standards-based grading. Teacher’s experience misplaced frustration because they’re spending a lot of time and cognitive space trying to learn a tool when they haven’t yet figured the instructional piece.
If you would like to hear additional details about Lisa’s approach or how to contact her about working with your district, you can email her here or check out the downloadable audio and a video recording of the webinar.
Continue the Learning
We are on a mission to simplify educational technology by helping educators assemble a holistic display of student interest, engagement, performance, and growth. However, if you talk to any one of the several former educators who work at Otus, you’ll often hear them say that Otus, plus ineffective teaching is still ineffective teaching.
As proud as we may be of our platform, we recognize the importance of sound instructional strategies and want to empower educators to reach their greatest potential. Therefore we’ve created two places where you can engage with a community of like-minded educators.
Join our Facebook group! The purpose of this group is to connect educators who share a focus on the ongoing paradigm shift in instructional, assessment, and grading practices. Join us to collaborate with prominent educators and walk away with strategies to support your teaching and learning initiatives. bit.ly/ModernMeasuresCommunity
Follow us on Twitter! We share resources and spark conversations about healthy instructional, assessment, and grading practices. Ask your questions using the hashtag #ModernMeasures or follow @Modern_Measures.
Check out these related resources:
Our Teachers Don’t Like Standards-Based Grading, Now What?
Webinar recording (audio/video)
Podcast version (audio only)