New Wave Science

Grade Day

I've just finished posting my grades. I feel really good about the progress I've seen in my students. They didn't all earn A's or B's but they are all making progress. Out of all my classes I only have 4 students that are not getting a grade for this trimester. The good news is that they know that no grade doesn't mean they "failed". They know that it means that they have to work a bit more in order to master the concepts covered thus far. They know and understand that they are successful in my class and that I will continue to work with them (if they choose to) to ensure that they learn it.

The really good news is that of those 4 students, none of them feels like they have failed. They have spoken to me and have asked questions and made plans to demonstrate their understanding over the next few days. I believe that my students have learned more over the past few weeks than student have in the past. I don't have any solid quantitative data to support that statement, but I do know that the level of understanding is deeper this year than in the past. My students have always "learned" the material and achieved proficient (80% or better) grades on my tests, but this is the first time I actually believe they have learned the targets.

In the local paper over the past 2 weeks there have been articles about the chemistry of plastics and how they are affecting human life. I shared the articles with the students and the discussion that followed showed a high level of understanding for chemistry. It was also fun for me to see that they saw the value in learning about chemistry. One student commented that they never really knew that chemistry was important.

It isn't all roses though. I'm not sure if those 4 students will demonstrate understanding before I move on to the next topic. I do know that I will continue to work with them so that they feel successful and competent.