Math Blog #5: Grading Practices and Differentiation Strategies

 


    This blog post will be about grading practices and differentiation strategies! Grading is an important aspect of teaching that helps us learn a lot about our students. "Grading is a way to keep track of how well students are learning new material, how well they’re retaining material that’s already been taught, whether they’re meeting education goals and how well they compare to their peers" (Student Treasures, 2023). A few grading practices my host teacher used were not grading everything, using grading rubrics, and allowing students to redo and retake assessments. My teacher only has to have a certain amount of grades for each subject in the grade book, so she won't take everything for a grade. If the students do a worksheet that the teacher doesn't need a grade for, she will just take a participation grade. For writing grades, my teacher has a specific rubric to avoid bias while grading. When students take a mid-unit assessment, she will allow the students to retake the test. Retakes still show the teacher what the students know, because it shows how their thinking has changed from the first assessment.

    I plan on doing the same thing in my classroom. I won't take everything for a grade, but if the students do a worksheet, I will give them participation points. I will also allow my students to retake some of their assessments. Allowing retakes can reduce stress and anxiety, motivate students, and help students identify areas for improvement. As someone who gets really anxious taking exams and assessments, I think retakes would be very beneficial for students.  I also plan on grading assignments right away, so that students can see them in the grade book.

    Now, let's move on to differentiation strategies. "Differentiation is a teaching approach that modifies instruction to meet the individual needs of students. Teachers can differentiate in various ways, such as through the process of instruction, the content being taught, the resources used, or the learning environment" (Paul Main, 2022). Every student has diverse and unique needs, which need to be met in order for the student to have academic success. In my field placement, I noticed my host teacher using Google Translate for ELL students and scaffolding assignments for all students. The language arts curriculum at the school is very fast-paced and a little to difficult for the students. So, if they have to write a summary in a paragraph, she will create a fill-in-the-blank assignment of the summary. 

    In my classroom, I will scaffold/chunk information and assignments for my students, teach with manipulatives, give students time to answer, provide visuals, create hands-on activities,  and use real-life examples. Every student has a different learning style, and all of these differentiation techniques cater to those styles. I want all of my students to be successful, which means as the teacher, I need to do everything in my power to lead them on the path to success and foster growth/development.



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