How Do You Know When They Know It?
A Capstone Project
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
of Master of Education
Colleen Hodenfield
Department of Education and Human Performance
College of Education and Health Sciences
Graduate School
Minot State University
Minot, North Dakota
Summer 2011
1
This capstone project was submitted by
Colleen Hodenfield
Graduate Committee:
Dr. Laurie Geller, Chairperson
Dr. Rebecca Anhorn
Dr. Deanna Klein
Dean of Graduate School
Dr. Linda Cresap
Date of defense: June 30, 2011
Abstract
This project focused on formative assessment and its place in the classroom. In order for learning to take place, students need to be given consistent and informative feedback on their progress in a timely fashion. Daily entrance slips were given to students and one-on-one feedback was given on those entrance slips the following day. Students were surveyed and overwhelmingly agreed that this method of assessment helped them understand the concepts being taught better than previously used assessment methods. Throughout this project, a journal was written by the researcher who concurred that this method of assessing students is superior to formerly used techniques to assess students. It was determined that for this researcher, daily entrance slips effectively and efficiently helped answer the question, “How do you know when they know it?”
Acknowledgements
Once again, thank you Scott, Cody, Braden, and McKenna for all the patience and support you give me as I take on my professional projects. Your love and understanding are boundless!
A huge thank you also goes out to the chairman of my committee, Dr. Laurie Geller. The time you have invested, the patience you have shown, and your commitment to the teaching profession is amazing.
Another big thank you goes out to Dr. Becki Anhorn. You are always giving support, advice, and truly caring about your students. I have learned so much from you. You are an inspiration to me.
Lastly, thank you Dr. Deanna Klein for being on my committee. I have so much respect for you and value your opinion.
Table of Contents
Page
Abstract...... iii
Acknowledgements...... iv
List of Tables...... ix
List of Figures...... x
Chapter One: Introduction...... 1
Motivation for the Project...... 3
Background on the Problem...... 5
Statement of the Problem...... 6
Statement of Purpose...... 7
Research Questions...... 8
Summary...... 9
Chapter Two: Review of Literature...... 11
Formative Assessment...... 12
Essential Learnings and Professional Learning Communities...... 19
Feedback...... 24
Frequency of Assessments...... 27
Summary...... 28
Chapter Three: Research Design and Method...... 31
Setting...... 32
Intervention/Innovation...... 34
Design...... 35
Description of Methods...... 38
Expected Results...... 41
Timeline for the Study...... 41
Summary...... 41
Chapter Four: Data Analysis and Interpretation of Results...... 42
Data Analysis...... 42
Daily entrance slips...... 42
Survey...... 47
Quiz, test, and homework completion...... 51
Journal...... 55
Future study...... 56
Interpretation of Results...... 61
Summary...... 63
Chapter Five: Conclusions, Action Plan, Reflections, and Recommendations...64
Conclusions...... 64
Daily entrance slips...... 64
Survey...... 65
Journal...... 68
Quiz, test, and homework completion...... 71
Action Plan...... 73
Reflections and Recommendations for Other Teachers...... 75
Summary...... 77
References...... 78
Appendices...... 83
Appendix A: Parental/Guardian Consent Form...... 84
Appendix B: Youth Assent Letter...... 87
Appendix C: Principal Letter...... 90
Appendix D: Assistant Superintendent Letter...... 91
Appendix E: Student Survey...... 93
Appendix F: Entrance Slip #1...... 96
Appendix G: Entrance Slip #2...... 97
Appendix H: Entrance Slip #3...... 98
Appendix I: Entrance Slip #4...... 99
Appendix J: Entrance Slip #5...... 100
Appendix K: Entrance Slip #6...... 101
Appendix L: Entrance Slip #7...... 102
Appendix M: Entrance Slip #8...... 103
Appendix N: Quiz Sections 10.1-10.3...... 104
Appendix O: Test Chapter 10...... 106
Appendix P: IRB Approval Letter...... 109
List of Tables
TablePage
1. Entrance Slip Score Totals...... 43
2. Survey Results for Questions 7-19...... 48
3.Survey Coding Results...... 50
4.Average Scores...... 52
List of Figures
FigurePage
1. Scatter plot of entrance slip averages versus test scores...... 46
2. Scatter plot of total completed homework averages versus test scores...55
3.Boxplots of entrance slip averages by time of day...... 57
4.Boxplots of quiz scores by time of day...... 58
5.Boxplots of test scores by time of day...... 58
6.Boxplots of entrance slip averagesby grade level...... 60
7.Boxplots of quiz scores by grade level...... 60
8.Boxplots of test scores by grade level...... 61
1
Chapter One
Introduction
If a teacher teaches but no students have learned, has the teacher taught? This question brings up an important point: learning is integral to the act of teaching (Gareis & Grant, 2008). It seems like an obvious statement, but it is not as obvious as it seems. Teaching is not about “covering” the material; it is about students uncovering the material. Just because a teacher has taught a concept does not mean the student actually learned it. Gone are the days when teachers can say, “I have taught it so it is up to the students to learn it.” The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has stopped that philosophy in its tracks. NCLB was put in place by the government to provide incentives and create accountability for states to improve instruction in an effort to prepare students to succeed at school and in the workplace.
Since teaching involves learning, teachers need to know what their students have learned. Teachers need a way of seeing learning (Gareis & Grant, 2008). Formative assessment can help.
Formative assessment is used while students are learning. The results of formative assessment are used for developing knowledge. On the other hand, summative assessments are used at the end of an instructional unit to judge the outcome of the development of that knowledge (Marzano, 2010).
There are many ways to assess student learning. The problem is that one of the most effective ways to formatively assess learning is to correct and give feedback on every problem that a student does. That process takes more time than most heavily burdened teachers have. In 20 years of teaching, I have still not found the best solution to the problem of seeing what my students know each day on a given topic without overwhelming myself to the point of burn out.
Early in my career I saw two extremely good math teachers quit the profession because they were simply “burned out.” I told myself that I didn’t want to follow in their footsteps. I love my job too much to let assessment tasks keep me from the profession in which I believe so strongly. I wanted to find a way to assess my students as quickly and accurately as I can.
Students and teachers need feedback immediately. That is how they learn. “Timely feedback is a critical element in any process to promote continuous improvement and ongoing learning” (Eaker, DuFour, & DuFour, 2007, p. 97). As the saying goes, if you keep doing what you have been doing, you will keep getting what you have been getting. If all is well, students will keep getting correct answers. If all is not well, students will keep getting the answers wrong. Teachers need the feedback students give so adjustments can be made while students are engaged in their work, rather than when that work is completed. Students need the teacher’s feedback to know if they understand the concept while they are engaged in learning it.
Motivation for the Project
I found myself too many times in the following predicament. Students were taking a quiz and completing a homework check over the first three to four sections in a chapter. As I graded them, I began to realize how many students had not taken the time to get their work done and checked. Until that quiz and homework check day, I had only the questions I asked during the lecture and any other formative assessments I did in class to inform me about what students understood. I had a general idea of what they knew, but nothing specific. At times I found myself frustrated that I did not know what was going on in their brains.
Our school district believes in the Professional Learning Community (PLC) philosophy. The premise of a PLC is that a school’s purpose is to ensure that all students learn. The learning process must happen through collaboration between all staff. Continual tangible evidence that the students are acquiring knowledge is essential for a student’s future success (Eaker et al., 2007).
The North Dakota state mathematics standards encompass many topics, too many to be covered within one course. The job before teachers in my school’s mathematics department was to “unpack” the standards. Essential learnings were the result of that “unpacking.” They are the state standard targets determined to be necessary for student success in each course. My school’s mathematics department has worked hard to create essential learnings based on the state standards and the district’s curriculum for each of the classes offered at the school.
Once the essential learnings were in place, common formative assessments were created. Data from these assessments drove how teachers taught. The problem was that these assessments were given after three to four sections were taught. I wanted to devise a way to immediately determine whether my students had mastered those essential learnings, rather than wait until after I gave a quiz. I wanted to know what each student knows daily, but without being overwhelmed with correcting papers.
I have used a variety of formative assessments throughout my Algebra I course. I have enjoyed employing many differentiated instruction techniques to reach as many students as possible. I wanted to put formative assessment and daily feedback together in a friendly way that would not be overwhelming. An entrance slip is a type of formative assessment where the students respond to questions relating to the prior day’s lesson. I used entrance slips that focused on current essential learnings and one past essential learning to determine whether students retained the material. I also continued to use other formative assessments, some formal and some informal, to give me additional feedback on what my students knew.
My hope was that this plan would benefit me and my students. Because of this project, I hoped to be better informed of my students’ progress, and I hoped my students would be better informed of their progress.
Background on the Problem
I have attempted to change and improve my assessment techniques. I tried to correct all the assignments for all my students and quickly became overwhelmed with the sheer amount of work it involved. Burnout is inevitable for me when I try to correct everything the students need to do to master a skill.
I have also tried giving completion points to students for having made an attempt to do all the problems. This technique helps me “catch” the students who are not working, but does not tell me or the students what they know.
Not knowing until mid-chapter what students know results in some students “falling between the cracks” and not succeeding. Finding out that a student does not know how to do a skill two to three sections after it was taught is frustrating. Unfortunately, many students do not confess that they do not understand; therefore, they fall further and further behind. Catching some of these students before they are too far gone may increase the likelihood of their future success in mathematics.
The quizzes I currently use do not break down the skills into essential learnings. Thus, it becomes difficult to determine whether a particular student has mastered the essential learnings. The quiz score gives an overall grade for the sections it covers. I hoped frequently assessing students on small chunks of information and recording them according to the essential learning would help give a better picture of what the students know.
After speaking at many workshops, I have found that when given the chance, most teachers will bring up the subject of assessment and grading homework. It is a hot topic, especially in mathematics. I bought an “Easy Button©” to push when difficult topics such as this come up, but it doesn't work! There is no easy answer.
Statement of the Problem
I have had a difficult time in the past deciding the best way to formatively assess my students on a consistent basis. Formative assessment is frequently discussed in education. Homework is often an issue with teachers and students. Without constant feedback that is specific and time-bound, the student and the teacher do not know what needs to be done next to ensure success. Developing essential learnings within our school has been rewarding and time consuming. The hope was that pinpointing those essential learnings using more frequent formative assessments would help identify the mathematical strengths and weaknesses of my students. The current method of assessment used does not identify those strengths and weaknesses in a timely matter. For this project, the challenge was to see if daily entrance slips are the solution to this problem.
Statement of Purpose
“Assessment of a student’s work should provide a rich array of information on his or her progress and achievement” (Eaker et al., 2007, p.59).
The purpose of this project was to use daily entrance slips based on essential learnings from my school to determine whether entrance slips were more beneficial than homework checks for my Algebra I students.
I designed formative assessments known as daily entrance slips that are based on the essential learnings of the topics taught in my high school Algebra I classes. Three questions assessed the current essential learnings to diagnose the current learning status of students, and one question assessed a past essential learning to determine whether the earlier material was retained. I recorded the results by identifying the essential learnings assessed rather than by the section of the book. These formative assessments were graded for accuracy but wereonly a small percentage of each student’s grade.
Students need a say in their education. I gave the students a survey to determine whether the students found the entrance slips beneficial to their learning. I looked at the results of the mid-chapter quiz grades and the summative test grades to determine whether these grades correlated with entrance slip grades. I reflected in a journal about whether the entrance slips gave me the feedback I needed so I could adjust my teaching tactics in order to improve learning.
Research Questions
Would daily entrance slips provide sufficient information to adjust instruction to meet the needs of Algebra I students better than past assessments (specifically homework checks) had?
In the past, I have been frustrated, as a teacher, at the untimely access to data about what students know. Due to the timeliness of the entrance slips, I was better prepared to address student difficulties on a daily basis rather than on a two to three week basis. The question of whether entrance slips provided sufficient information to adjust instruction to meet the needs of Algebra I students better than past assessments (specifically homework checks) wasanswered by my thoughts and feelings written in my journal. The studywas qualitative in nature.
Would frequent feedback give my Algebra I students a better sense of what they know than past assessments (specifically homework checks) had?
In the past, students only knew if they were doing the problems correctly if they got up and checked their answers with an answer key posted in the classroom. Many students did not check their answers on a regular basis, but rather waited until they got the results from the homework check. This homework check was given after three or four sections had passed. Due to the layered learning that takes place in mathematics, the student may end up doing multiple sections wrong, based on inaccurate methods repeatedly used throughout these sections, making this form of assessment rather untimely for students. I determined whether the students had a better sense of what they knew by gathering their thoughts in the survey provided at the end of the unit. This approach was qualitative in nature, and the results were only used to help me guide future instruction of my classes; the results were not meant to be generalized. Using entrance slips provided students with more timely feedback, and as a result, improved the learning for many students.
I believed the entrance slips would benefit my students and me, but I was not without concerns. I was concerned that this type of formative assessment would be an overwhelming task for me. A burned-out teacher is not an effective teacher. Another concern was the issue of class time. I worried that this new form of assessment would take too much time out of classroom instruction and practice. Both of these concerns had to do with the passage of time. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Lost time is never found again.”
Summary
“Intentions are fine, but they will not impact results unless and until they are translated into collective commitments and specific concrete actions” (Eaker et al., 2007, p. 17). Finding a solution to the question, “How do you know when they know it?” was a difficult task. This project was the action I planned to take in an effort to improve my students’ learning.