ginlindzey (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ginlindzey) wrote2009-09-24 06:21 pm
ginlindzey) wrote2009-09-24 06:21 pm
Entry tags:
Assessment
I'm on Facebook these days (Magistra Ginny Lindzey) and if nothing else, students, parents, friends and colleagues are seeing how hard I work. Ok, admittedly that's a bit narcissistic to say (as if I need some sort of recognition or approval), but I guess there are times that teachers are trash-talked so much I *do* want recognition for how hard I work. Because I know I work too hard... it's obsessive, in a way, and I cannot help myself. <sigh>
So let's talk about some of my obsessiveness.
The first thing I do that I know a lot of other teachers don't do is have written portions on my tests. Most teachers just make total multiple choice tests these days. And I don't blame them. I spent two nights working on Latin 1 tests, and that was the first "easy" test, though clearly I have a lot of strugglers this year. I'll just have to work with them somehow. But here's how my tests are structured, and I'm sure I've talked about this in previous years. (I guess I'm just trying to justify what I do an convince myself that it's worth all the grading--and I'm personally sure it is, but I'm tired too!!!)
My tests are broken up this way:
I. Reading Comprehension questions of an unseen story. (Many written or adapted by myself. I love writing funny stories about the characters in CLC.) The questions are both in Latin and English, and I demand specific answers. That is, for UBI it must be the complete prepositional phrase (in triclinio, for example). And I'm training them to not give any extra information so I can see that they truly understand the question and are not just guessing at what sentence it comes from.
II. General grammar questions (multiple choice) on items from the story.
III. Spot translation from stories we've read in the book. These are snippets of 3 or 4 stories and I let them choose which one. For instance, on the stage 1-2 test, I had a snippet from Cerberus, one from Mercator, and one from In Triclinio. About 20 words for each of them. I count this to be the equivalent of 5 questions. What's interesting about this is that students often think they are picking the easier story when they aren't.
IV. Targetted grammar drills on whatever is the new grammar in the chapter. Multiple choice. (I have quia.com drills to preview the information and help reinforce the details I'm after.)
V. Culture. (Multiple choice) I keep this section small, but I think it is important to include culture on the tests. On this test, for instance, there was a map of the house and information about Caecilius's typical day. This information is also previewed in quia.com, targeting information I think is important.
So, what's good about the way I test? I can tell you what's bad--takes a long time to grade!!
But what's good is this:
I. Reading Comprehension: I can see if they are tracking a new story accurately, and if they understand how the questions can guide them through a story, etc. It is application of learned information, but not relying on a cold translation. Just comprehension.
II. General Grammar: I can see if they are keeping up with their comprehension of grammar--for instance, in later tests there will be tense and case questions, etc, as we keep adding information. It also shows me if they take the time to check the word in question in the context of the sentence or allows me to teach them the importance of checking the word in the context of a sentence (that words do not just exist in isolation, so to speak).
III. Translation of known passages: part of this is to see whether they can translate fluently and accurately. I'm also trying to teach them and reinforce the importance of rereading stories. Plus a lot of students can recognize the correct answer in multiple choice; at some point I need to see what they can do totally on their own.
IV. Targetted grammar with quia.com support: although questions are generally previewed via quia.com, this can still be a tricky section for students. And often it is when students are doing the quia that I am able to walk up behind, figure out where the student is going wrong and give them one-on-one feedback besides the feedback from the computer. Sometimes this is exactly when the information clicks for students too.
V. Culture. Well, there are probably better ways to emphasize culture. I just don't want a test without culture because it is so important in understanding how the Romans thought.
Anyway.
I also think that if I don't start getting them to do questions and write out translations on tests now, how can I possibly prepare them for the likes of the AP exam? I mean, if everything is multiple choice up until that time, how is a student prepared for that??
MY QUIZZES....
Mainly vocab, always in context, but also includes a little target declining and conjugating. Total quia preparation to see/understand what I'm targetting and why. My good students really understand why I do things the way I do, and do internalize the details. And as the level of Latin increases, so do the amount of words for each blank. That is, I require whole phrases to be defined--chunking. Yeah, it ends up being like chunking so that when I explain that the Vergil translations are graded via chunking, they have no problem with it. It's how the vocab quizzes have been all along.
And this year I'm adding back....
ORAL RECITATIONS.
This is so simple and so worthwhile. I just have a couple of sentences or so pretyped from the first story of each stage. We practice saying it in class together and then I go around and just have them read it to me. I grade it on a rubric, and it makes them work a tiny bit harder on pronunciation. I heard a lot of good Latin today... I was really pleased.
Anyway, this all takes so much time and work to do right. But I want to make sure that each successive group of students I graduate is better prepared than the last. I have to teach them better, somehow, and make them more able to be successful in future Latin courses.
Ok, part of me just doesn't want them to seem ill-prepared for future Latin courses. I don't think my first group of graduates from Dripping were as well equipped as I would have liked. So each year I try to figure out how to produce a better prepared student. This year I'm using the fact that my Latin 3 class is pre-AP to torture them with drill and kill conjugating and declining, and in some ways I'm glad I waited to pile on this stuff until they were juniors and seniors--so much more mature, and so much more appreciative of WHY I'm making them do it.
Right. I need to get back to grading. I guess I just needed to justify what I do. Remind myself that I am not just being obsessive.
One thing I feel I am doing right is trying at all times to take into consideration what will happen to the student AFTER he/she leaves my classroom, whether he/she goes on to another teacher or on to college. I'm not just preparing them to pass AP; I'm trying to prepare them to be SOLID READERS (*not* decoders!) of Latin so that they can succeed in any Latin class that comes in front of them.
<sigh>
So let's talk about some of my obsessiveness.
The first thing I do that I know a lot of other teachers don't do is have written portions on my tests. Most teachers just make total multiple choice tests these days. And I don't blame them. I spent two nights working on Latin 1 tests, and that was the first "easy" test, though clearly I have a lot of strugglers this year. I'll just have to work with them somehow. But here's how my tests are structured, and I'm sure I've talked about this in previous years. (I guess I'm just trying to justify what I do an convince myself that it's worth all the grading--and I'm personally sure it is, but I'm tired too!!!)
My tests are broken up this way:
I. Reading Comprehension questions of an unseen story. (Many written or adapted by myself. I love writing funny stories about the characters in CLC.) The questions are both in Latin and English, and I demand specific answers. That is, for UBI it must be the complete prepositional phrase (in triclinio, for example). And I'm training them to not give any extra information so I can see that they truly understand the question and are not just guessing at what sentence it comes from.
II. General grammar questions (multiple choice) on items from the story.
III. Spot translation from stories we've read in the book. These are snippets of 3 or 4 stories and I let them choose which one. For instance, on the stage 1-2 test, I had a snippet from Cerberus, one from Mercator, and one from In Triclinio. About 20 words for each of them. I count this to be the equivalent of 5 questions. What's interesting about this is that students often think they are picking the easier story when they aren't.
IV. Targetted grammar drills on whatever is the new grammar in the chapter. Multiple choice. (I have quia.com drills to preview the information and help reinforce the details I'm after.)
V. Culture. (Multiple choice) I keep this section small, but I think it is important to include culture on the tests. On this test, for instance, there was a map of the house and information about Caecilius's typical day. This information is also previewed in quia.com, targeting information I think is important.
So, what's good about the way I test? I can tell you what's bad--takes a long time to grade!!
But what's good is this:
I. Reading Comprehension: I can see if they are tracking a new story accurately, and if they understand how the questions can guide them through a story, etc. It is application of learned information, but not relying on a cold translation. Just comprehension.
II. General Grammar: I can see if they are keeping up with their comprehension of grammar--for instance, in later tests there will be tense and case questions, etc, as we keep adding information. It also shows me if they take the time to check the word in question in the context of the sentence or allows me to teach them the importance of checking the word in the context of a sentence (that words do not just exist in isolation, so to speak).
III. Translation of known passages: part of this is to see whether they can translate fluently and accurately. I'm also trying to teach them and reinforce the importance of rereading stories. Plus a lot of students can recognize the correct answer in multiple choice; at some point I need to see what they can do totally on their own.
IV. Targetted grammar with quia.com support: although questions are generally previewed via quia.com, this can still be a tricky section for students. And often it is when students are doing the quia that I am able to walk up behind, figure out where the student is going wrong and give them one-on-one feedback besides the feedback from the computer. Sometimes this is exactly when the information clicks for students too.
V. Culture. Well, there are probably better ways to emphasize culture. I just don't want a test without culture because it is so important in understanding how the Romans thought.
Anyway.
I also think that if I don't start getting them to do questions and write out translations on tests now, how can I possibly prepare them for the likes of the AP exam? I mean, if everything is multiple choice up until that time, how is a student prepared for that??
MY QUIZZES....
Mainly vocab, always in context, but also includes a little target declining and conjugating. Total quia preparation to see/understand what I'm targetting and why. My good students really understand why I do things the way I do, and do internalize the details. And as the level of Latin increases, so do the amount of words for each blank. That is, I require whole phrases to be defined--chunking. Yeah, it ends up being like chunking so that when I explain that the Vergil translations are graded via chunking, they have no problem with it. It's how the vocab quizzes have been all along.
And this year I'm adding back....
ORAL RECITATIONS.
This is so simple and so worthwhile. I just have a couple of sentences or so pretyped from the first story of each stage. We practice saying it in class together and then I go around and just have them read it to me. I grade it on a rubric, and it makes them work a tiny bit harder on pronunciation. I heard a lot of good Latin today... I was really pleased.
Anyway, this all takes so much time and work to do right. But I want to make sure that each successive group of students I graduate is better prepared than the last. I have to teach them better, somehow, and make them more able to be successful in future Latin courses.
Ok, part of me just doesn't want them to seem ill-prepared for future Latin courses. I don't think my first group of graduates from Dripping were as well equipped as I would have liked. So each year I try to figure out how to produce a better prepared student. This year I'm using the fact that my Latin 3 class is pre-AP to torture them with drill and kill conjugating and declining, and in some ways I'm glad I waited to pile on this stuff until they were juniors and seniors--so much more mature, and so much more appreciative of WHY I'm making them do it.
Right. I need to get back to grading. I guess I just needed to justify what I do. Remind myself that I am not just being obsessive.
One thing I feel I am doing right is trying at all times to take into consideration what will happen to the student AFTER he/she leaves my classroom, whether he/she goes on to another teacher or on to college. I'm not just preparing them to pass AP; I'm trying to prepare them to be SOLID READERS (*not* decoders!) of Latin so that they can succeed in any Latin class that comes in front of them.
<sigh>