Effort and recognition

Last time I ended by saying “All work is due the day of the test, and there is a positive, direct relationship between the amount of homework completed and achievement on the exam… but that starts into illustrations of chapter four, and I’m saving it for next time.” In chapter 4, Marzano reports that there are 2 generalizations resulting from research on effort as it relates to academic success: many students don’t realize the importance of believing in effort, and students can learn to believe that effort influences academic success. The first exam that I graded I used stickers to let students know that I recognized their success on the exam, which Marzano refers to as “concrete symbols of recognition.” At the same time that I graded the exams I graded all the bookwork, worksheets and lab sheets for both classes (there are 2 blocks of Chem I). My supervisor was not pleased with the grades in general, and there was obviously a direct relationship between the amount of work accomplished and exam grades. My supervisor took time at the beginning of each block to explain to the students that those who completed all of their work had better grades on the exams than those who did not complete the assigned work. The first test I graded was the end of the 6week grading period. Students can check their grades on Edline.net. Now that the students know that I am in charge of their grades, they can look on Edline or simply ask me to see what they still need to turn in. My supervisor allows students to retake exams and quizzes, in order to learn from their mistakes, which is important in chemistry, since most ideas build on previous ideas. I allow students to turn in work late and most students take advantage of this in order to improve their grade. Students are learning that when they do the assigned work, they do better on the tests, since most of the test questions are framed exactly like the assigned work. I also make sure to tell students when they are improving, even if that means going from a 19% to a 60%, which is a pretty impressive improvement for some students. Verbal praise comes naturally to me, since I use verbal directions and praise when I train dogs. I realize that students are supposedly more cognitively complex creatures than canines (although I’ve met some pretty smart dogs) but both animals respond well to praise. I recently started reviewing worksheets in class by getting students to work the problems on the board and giving participation points, which my supervisor applies towards exam scores. The first class has few volunteers so I have to call on students directly, but in the second class I have to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to get points because everyone wants to volunteer. In chapter 8 Marzano discusses the importance of feedback, and this review allows students to gauge their own progress rather than waiting until after an exam to find out they don’t know what they’re doing. We also have an understood agreement that we are mannerly when earning participation points – no one is berated if they work a problem wrong, instead we use mistakes as a learning experience, and I always say please and thank you to students (even when giving a direct order) so now they say please and thank you to me.