Rubric Grading: Uses and Benefits

Grading can be a time-consuming enterprise. Yesterday and today I stayed at school until 5:30pm grading papers and essays. Especially for the English teacher, grading writing assignments can be a daunting task. For elementary and secondary teachers, the temptation is to spend plenty of time nit-picking on each grammar and spelling error, commenting on all of the transitions and rewording sentence structures for students. Unfortunately, doing the editing work for students we all know is something that we should avoid as teachers. How do we address these problem areas in a way that is conducive to the student’s learning and yet efficient with our time as teachers?

Rubric grading can provide a number of benefits to the writing instructor. Not only can rubrics help the teacher approach the “6 Traits of Good Writing,” a current trend in writing instruction, it can also help teachers provide specific feedback to students without editing their work for them. Using an online rubric generator, such as that offered by Rubistar (http://www.rubistar.4teachers.org/), teachers can choose the criteria that best fits their writing assignment. For example, if students are writing a personal narrative, the teacher can choose the criteria of 6 Traits that best applies, such as “Word Choice” and “Voice.” Or if the assignment is a persuasive essay, you can choose areas of “Organization” and “Content.” If the pre-written criteria doesn’t suit, you can certainly go in and type in your own personalized criteria for the assignment.

Best yet, rubric grading is less time-consuming. Students can easily use it for peer reviewing, and teachers discover that determining that writing project grade to be less subjective and easier to define into letter format.  

However, rubrics are helpful for assignments other than writing projects. Projects of any kind can be given a rubric grade. Digital media projects, for example, are perfect for rubric grading. If students create a blog portfolio or create a Powerpoint presentation, you can grade it using a rubric. If you need criteria for a participation grade, a rubric can help you define your criteria between an A, B or C grade. I use a rubric for grading online bulletin board assignments, which requires students to post responses or comment on another student’s project. (http://www.nicenet.org) Perhaps your students are constructing a model of something; a rubric is an excellent way to give specific feedback on accuracy and appearance of the model. Certainly a rubric keeps you from looking at a student’s work and giving an offhand, cursory, “Um…I think it’s about a…B+… or maybe a B.” It isn’t fair to the students and it isn’t really helping them achieve results.

Finally, a rubric grade assists you with modifying your grading systems to accomodate all learners. Students receive feedback on the areas that need work, but you don’t have to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Let’s say that you have a student who happens to have a processing disorder or a form of dyslexia. The essay may be strong in ideas and organization, but be weak in spelling and grammar. The student can feel good about their strengths without being considered failures because of their weaknesses. With a rubric grade, a student earns an F by not doing anything to work toward their grade, either by not turning in the assignment or turning it in incomplete. Effort is always rewarded. Since rubrics are given to students before they begin the project, gifted students are able to work more strategically toward earning a higher grade. It motivates them to see exactly what they have to do to earn an A.

Because of rubrics, teachers can widen their methods of assessment and actually save more time grading them! If you, as a teacher, have never used a rubric before, I suggest you try it at various points during the year. Think of the projects, journal entries, written papers, etc. that you demand of your students and imagine the improvement that you will see in their achievement. To save even more time, google search for rubric generator websites and take advantage of the work that others have already created. Some sites, such as Rubistar, actually allow you to save your rubrics in an account where you can access them at any time. Once you print them out, you can make copies and save them for use next year.  Teachers who used rubrics will be pleasantly surprised at how easy they are to make and use.

Classroom Management

As a first-year teacher just out of college, I didn’t have a clue. My students appeared to be well-behaved, interested individuals. I thought that if I had enough interesting lesson plans and assignments that all would be well and they wouldn’t want to interrupt, impede their own education and basically disrupt the class. Yeah, right. THAT turned out well.

Regardless of all of the theories that you have heard about classroom management and the philosophical base for each one, the theories pale in the face of actual practice. So let me tell you what REALLY works. First of all, consider your own prevention methods–things that you can do yourself to have better control over the attention span of the kids. When they enter the room, do they have something to do? Is there something on their desk or a routine activity that puts them in their seats? Do you usually have your lesson plans clearly defined? How much of your lesson plan requires “busy work,” “worksheets,” or “seat work” to fill up time? Are you using every minute of your class time, or do you have periods of time that are left for students to “talk amongst themselves”? Have you found yourself breaking frequently one of the “rules” for appropriate behavior that you expect your students to obey?

If you are not appropriately planning your time or directing your students through your expectations and classroom routines on a daily basis, you cannot expect your kids to fit into your idea of appropriate behavior. Also, if students are not allowed to have cell phones, but you pick yours up during class to ask your husband to pick up the dry cleaning, you are not earning their respect. Students learn from modeling, and you are their biggest role model.

Once your own end of the deal is upheld, students can then be presented with the discipline plan and procedures. The discipline plan presents easy, positively-worded rules in a short, simple-to-memorize list. Why? Because students forget! Narrow it down! The discipline plan sometimes allows students to take responsibility by creating their own rules, based on what they feel is appropriate classroom behavior. The discipline plan requires the teacher to set up contracts for classroom behavior with the student and with the parent by requiring signatures. The rules of the class must then be posted and frequently referred to during the year. Finally, all of that work does nothing if the rules are not consistently enforced. Follow your discipline plan all year long, without making little exceptions here and there.

“But what do I do?” you may ask. “Do I just give them a detention?” Students fight detentions that are given to them without warning. For upper level students in middle school and high school, give them a step-by-step process. 1 time = verbal warning.  2nd time = the student fills out a form explaining their infraction and what they will do to correct the problem. 3rd time = detention. Staple the form to the detention slip after making a copy. If the student “accidentally” misplaces the detention slip and doesn’t return it signed, take the student to the office and have them call their parents in your presence. When the parent hears about the infraction from the student’s mouth and sees the written documentation that you have talked with the student about it prior to giving the detention, neither the parent nor the student can complain about a lack of warnings.

Elementary teachers will many times use the “color system.” Small envelopes with the students names are hung on the wall and contain slips of construction paper. Students may start on “Green” with a verbal warning. The card is switched to “Yellow” for second warning. “Red” is the final warning and may warrant a “Time-out” or a missed recess. The cards can be sent home to parents at the end of the week or at the end of every day when the student takes home a folder of their homework/classwork. Set very specific routines set to key words from the first day of class. I knew a teacher who could make students sit in one place very easily just by saying “Criss-Cross Applesauce!” The kindergarten students would gather around and sit down while crossing their legs. They would stop talking and look up expectantly at the teacher.

Want to avoid chaos? The best solution is to have a plan. Now that you have read this article, contribute some classroom management tips of your own! What routines do you have? What is your “plan”? Share your personal classroom management disaster or first-year horror story (To be sure, we all have them!).

Why Teach in a Christian School?

For some of us, teaching in a Christian school inspired a variety of reactions from friends and family. Some accepted it and supported us in our decisions. Others thought we were crazy and trying to brainwash children. For those of us who traveled overseas, the responses were even more varied. Believe it or not, an African-American man in a bi-racial relationship actually told me that he didn’t believe in American teachers going overseas because “we had plenty of kids that needed teachers in the U.S.” It definitely made me think of the values of a multicultural and international education. I will clarify that this site is for supporting ALL Christian teachers, including those who do teach in the public school arenas. There is, indeed, a need for Christian teachers in our public schools, and it is a calling in an of itself that deserves respect. However, it wasn’t necessarily the answer for all of us.

So why did you make the choice to become a Christian school teacher? And why do you continue teaching in a Christian school? What is the draw? What are the pros and cons? Feel free to share your thoughts here to inspire others who may be thinking about a career in Christian school education.

School Department Communication Online

Our school is in the process of writing curriculum, and I have been chosen “Department Head” by default. I have been at the school the longest, and am the one with the English degree who has taught the most amount of “English” classes, so somehow I am supposed to lead the rest of the English crew into curriculum alignment.

This year our school will undergo accreditation, and one of the recommendations of the accreditation team that came two years ago was to communicate within the department. So far no time has really been allocated for department meetings, and I’m not even sure what I would say within the department that would make people willing to stay after school. So here is my solution: Create a WordPress blog specifically for accessing standards, asking questions, interacting as a whole school unit. We can make it a fun place and include pictures of people I “caught” doing something cool in the English department. I could talk with teachers about how they use the new textbooks that we bought for this year, and give ideas for the other teachers to use.

So will it work? Stay tuned.

If you’ve ever attempted something like this in your small school for teacher-teacher interaction, let me know, and let me know if it was a success or a complete failure.

The Trend of Online School Management Software

Our school bought into the trend two years ago and began the software to use both “Edline” and “Gradequick” in combination with each other. Edline allowed our school to build a linking website to our home page that included a class schedule and forms for parents and staff. It also allowed teachers to build their own class websites and place updated quiz, test and project dates on a calendar for parent access. It provided students and parents with a code and password so that they could receive updated information and view current grades. Gradequick was a separate software program that connected to Edline and was used to upload grades into a web-based service that sent the grades to Edline for viewing. Edline also allowed for a combined test, quiz and project calendar for the entire secondary staff. In this way, we could control the number of major tests or projects students would be taking on a given day.

However, Edline was not without its flaws. It was not a comprehensive system. It required a separate grading program. It didn’t have interesting features like lesson plan uploading or behavior reporting for online archive files. It didn’t give administration access to individual student schedules.

So, after some consideration, our school switched to “Renweb,” which is a more complete school management software. They are currently attempting to make their program web-based this year instead of software-based, but it includes a variety of functions including lesson plans for archive, uploading of PDF files for parents to download, academic and behavior documentation and medical histories. It allows the schedules of students to be posted and for teachers to post grades using the same software system. Attendance can also be taken on the system.

So here is my question: It seems to me that school management software is now the ongoing trend. However, which system is the best to use? Which system is comprehensive, yet affordable? Which system has excellent customer service and less “kinks”? 

I would like to invite my readers to comment on the systems their public or private schools use and rate the following areas on a scale of 1-10: affordability, user friendly, functions, customer service, and time-saving. Basically, give me the name of your software, the main website from the software company and then rate the following areas. Provide a brief comment with your rating.

The Teaching Mom

Now that I am currently around 9 weeks pregnant, the topic of motherhood and working in the field of education has crossed my mind more than once. This manifests itself in two different ways: 1. I find myself wondering how women find the time to be teachers, mothers and wives all at the same time. 2. I find myself growing excited about the prospect of being able to be the first and (in my opinion) most important educator in my child’s life.

Firstly, my belly is growing, and the nausea is definitely up and running. Not only am I concerned about getting through my hectic full-time teaching schedule without throwing up during the day, but I worry about how much I will be able to keep up with these special projects that I have given myself to do this year. (AKA take on a new English Honors class for the first time.) But I think that the fear goes beyond that. I know that as a single woman I found it difficult to balance my time between work and my husband. Household chores piled up, paperwork piled up, and some days I was just very tired from the stress of juggling it all. Keeping up with grading and lesson planning takes work, and even after 5 years of teaching and finding different shortcuts, it is still a daunting task. Will I be able to be a full-time teacher and a mother at the same time? On this level, I admire women who not only have the choice to stay at home with their kids, but also homeschool and therefore more efficiently combine both motherhood and education into their lives. As for those of you who are full-time teachers and new moms at the same time, feel free to give me tips on how to survive this!

2. My husband laughed at me and said, “Our kid already has a library, and he/she hasn’t even been born yet!” It’s totally true. I was 2 months pregnant when we went to the bookstore and started searching for the best kid’s books of all time. I bought magnetic letters and numbers, and a friend gave me some Baby Einstein CDs… I recently read and commented on a website that discussed the necessity of preschool, and I guess it just depends on how much energy I can give to my baby to make sure that he/she reads as soon as possible. (I’m an English teacher, so the reading thing is important–can’t you tell?)  Again, readers, feel free to give me tips on the best books/tools of all time to help your baby get the best headstart possible!

Introducing Motivos Magazine!

I would like to use this opportunity to present to you Motivos magazine, a publication designed to inspire hispanic and Latin American students to achieve their dreams using the tools of education. The founder/publisher happens to be a personal friend of mine, Jenee Chizick, and I know for a fact that she has made many personal sacrifices in order to create this particular magazine. Motivos is based in Philadelphia, PA and offers personal stories, tips, letters, features and “speak outs” that allow hispanic students to share their thoughts about stereotypes and allow successful hispanics to reach out to others.

The website for her magazine is www.motivosmag.com. I highly recommend a subscription to this magazine for any school, church, library, college or youth-serving organization. As you know, the highest-growing population in the U.S. right now is the hispanic population, and many of them are finding it difficult to achieve their dreams and goals due to lack of inspiration, an urban background and failing school systems. Motivos Magazine is a step in the right direction. The magazine comes with a student advisory board, and they are also looking for new student writers. For those teaching English, it provides a safe, multicultural read to open the eyes of your students. Check it out sometime!

Decorating Your Classroom for the New School Year

After a one month hiatus, I am finally back! Thank you for your patience as I was in the U.S. visiting my family.

Now that the new school year is approaching–for me, it begins at the very end of July–I wanted to write a few words on decorating classrooms. For me, this is a very important step to the new year. Why? Because kids literally judge you by the way your classroom looks when they walk in the door. New students look around and ask themselves: What will this teacher be like? Will he/she be mean? Will he/she be fun? Will he/she give me something new to learn?

First year teachers at my school are usually so busy getting themselves organized with their lesson planning that they end up neglecting classroom decorations. Finally, at the tail end, they throw up a poster with the class rules and perhaps a small bulletin board with some construction paper quotes. Leaving your classroom bare or under-decorated tells the students either that you are too busy for them, that you are lazy or that you are boring. Sounds harsh? Well, remember how you felt as a young child, looking back. Whether you acknowledged the decorations explicitly or implicitly, chances are you gained an impression of the teacher from the layout of the classroom.

Other teachers, usually the bitter ones, seem to pick out their posters based upon the already-anticipated flaws that they imagine their students will have. They have fun, colorful posters that blare loud messages such as “No Homework, No Life!” or “You are Responsible for You!” Granted, it is important to have at least one or two reminders concerning appropriate behavior in the classroom. Since I go over the rules on the first day, I leave the rules up on my white board in decorative fashion for the first month, along with a poster encouraging students to make right choices. However, don’t be afraid to have a few posters that are simply there for fun, beauty and enjoyment! When students walk into your classroom and every poster is behavior-related, the students then also get a negative impression of you. They think to themselves, “This teacher is really uptight about the rules. He/she doesn’t really care about me as a person unless I can keep up with all of their procedures.” (And, I’m sorry to say that they’re usually right, aren’t they?)

The best types of decorations combine inspirational (not dictatorial) messages alongside fun, interesting content posters. Also keep in mind that students enjoy interacting with decorations. Try making a bulletin board where students have to respond by writing on it. Students enjoy keeping track of time and events, so make one bulletin board a special announcement bulletin board, where you place a fun calendar, post flyers, and hang cool news articles that will be of interest to them. The key is also color. In a high school classroom, decorations do not need to be wall-to-wall the way you see in an elementary classroom. However, the space should be well-used, with some strategic placements in order to keep the classroom from looking like it contains blank walls. Use the decorations to reinforce rules, introduce lesson plans, give further information about lesson plan topics or to inspire kids to achieve more. Once your classes get started, allow kids to contribute to your decorating process, displaying their work and their posters that they create.

When you decorate your classroom well, students should get the impression that you care about them as people, that you have interesting things to teach them, that you will be fun, yet organized and disciplined. I have heard so many teachers along the years say, “I’m not their friend, I’m their teacher.” I agree that you are their teacher and agree that you are not their peer. However, that should not stop you from building positive relationships with your students and getting to know them as people. Show this attitude in your decorating process, and try to reflect it in your teaching style.

Teachers Use Summer Vacations for Work, Too!

You know you’re a Christian Teacher Forum candidate if you use your summer vacation to…

1. Review textbooks for the upcoming year.

2. Take your kid on vacation…I mean, a FIELD TRIP!

3. Use the first week just to catch up on sleep–you feel as though you haven’t slept in weeks!

4. Take a continuing education course online or at a local college.

5. Study for the GRE’s.

6. Write an Advanced Placement or IB syllabus.

7. Go on a missions trip.

8. Go back to the States for some much-needed family connection after living overseas.

9. Take over a Sunday School class since now your schedule is “free.”

10. Teach summer courses–Driver’s Ed, anyone?

11. Work at a summer camp for kids with disabilities or disadvantaged youth.

12. Catch up on your reading; You haven’t been able to read for pleasure on a daily basis the entire year!

13. Finish that novel you started last summer…and the summer before…and the summer before…

14. Exercise–it has been sadly neglected lately.

15. Rearrange your portfolio.

Did I miss anything? I’m sure that my readers at Christian Teacher Forum have plenty of things to add. Go ahead and tell me about your summer plans!

Online Education Degrees–How do you choose?

So you’re ready for the next step–the Master’s degree. However, you are either teaching overseas or are so busy working that an online course seems like the most efficient way of earning your degree. However, you could waste hours and hours looking for the perfect online Master’s degree in Education. This post is designed to save you some time and help you consider your best options. Before choosing a program, you should carefully consider your personal career goals and choose the degree that will best drive you to reach your ultimate “dream job” in education. Use the following questions as a guide to help you choose the right school.

1. Are you already certified in a particular content area? Perhaps you hold an active certificate in math, science, elementary, history or English. If this is not the case, you can gain your Master’s degree and gain certification at the same time. Most universities specify which programs are for initial certification and which are for professionals who already hold a certificate. Be aware–some Master’s degrees may give you more training in an area such as TESOL, but may not culminate in the awarding of certification to teach in that area. If you are hoping to gain certification through your program, make sure you read the full descriptions and course content of your Master’s degree course.

2. M.A.T., M.Ed., or M.S.Ed?  This was, for me, one of the most confusing areas of Master’s programs at universities; there is so much variation in the significance of each title. However, I will try to break it down for you. Most degrees that are for advanced practice in instructional methods such as classroom management, inclusion strategies, instructional technology and reading in the content areas are given the title of M.A.T. (Master of Arts in Teaching) The M.A.T. degree is very useful for those applying for initial certification, and for those who wish to brush up on theory and practices that they may have learned in their 4-year degree. The M.S.Ed. (Master of Science in Education), in contrast, is usually based on research and theory in a specific specialization area such as Educational Leadership, Teacher Leadership, Instructional Technology, and Special Education. Educational Leadership places you on an administrative track, should you be considering that future career. Those hoping for future leadership on the university level may want to pursue and M.S.Ed. An M.Ed. (Master of Education) degree may prepare you for a specific content area such as Secondary Education in English, History, Science or Math, Curriculum and Instruction, Teaching and Learning or Elementary Education. Again, some of these content areas cross over between an M.Ed. and an M.S.Ed., depending on the focus of the program, whether it is research-based or practice-based.

3. What should I look for in a University?

a. Accreditation. If you are looking for an online course, you should consider the accreditation of the university and the specific online degree. Is it accredited regionally and national for the advancement of teacher education? If you are hoping to simply teach in non-accredited schools, then this may not matter so much to you. However, the quality of the course will depend on how much you get out of your studies, and considering the cost of getting a degree, you will most likely want to look for the best education for your money.

b. Course descriptions. When you read the descriptions of the classes, do they seem as though they would align with your educational philosophy and values? For example, some English Education courses that I have seen may contain a class for the purpose of encouraging diversity, not just on racial and cultural boundaries, but also in areas of homosexuality in the classroom. Some schools are more liberal than others, and it really is up to you to research the types of classes you will be taking to make sure that they fit your values and goals. 

c. Age of program and age of university. While I was researching, I found an online Master’s degree at a great price. But, after researching, I discovered that the University was a fairly young one. I also noted that the 2008-2009 year was their first time offering the online degree. For some of you, you may be comfortable being the “guinea pig” for the lower cost. However, considering the vast differences between the quality of online courses, length of time offering the program and number of students taking the program does matter. It also helps if the online class follows the same format of an actual physical class that takes place on the campus at the same time.

d. University specialization. Most universities are known for specialization in a certain area. Since I am an English teacher, I most likely will want to choose a university that has fully developed courses in English and the humanities instead of a school whose offerings mostly cover the science, engineering, health and math-based fields. If I am a science teacher, it is better to choose a school that excels in the science professions. Check the other undergraduate and graduate degrees offered. Is there a variety of degrees or limited offerings? What other content areas are offered besides Education?

e. Cost. I don’t know about you, but I definitely end up scraping together funding for my Master’s degree. Credits run from $400-$1,000 a credit for non-residents and from $150-800 for residents. In general, you pay for the name. Private universities are more expensive than public universities as a general rule, especially if they have a prestigious reputation. Christian private schools are certainly no exception to this rule. If you can find a degree for around $400 a credit, you are certainly blessed. I have seen that Georgia residents pay significant less than non-residents. The University of Missouri charges the same online course fee for residents as it does for non-residents, which I consider a nice little bonus.

Where can I find information about all the programs available? You can go to U.S. News & World Report, click on “ratings,” and then “Education.” Type in the search box for “Online Degrees” and then a list will come up for you to narrow your search to Education. You can type on the names of the universities that filled out the reports and find out the tuition, the degrees offered, the accreditation, the year the program was initiated, and everything you need to know! Good luck!