What have they really learned?

Learning vs Schooling

The end of the first trimester is Thursday.....I'm aprehensive and yet calm as I enter grades into the gradebook. Most of my students have learned a great deal of chemistry....the key word in the sentence was most. If you recall, I have tried to create a competency based quality classroom in which my students earn either an A or a B or no grade at all.

I have watched with amazement as students have worked through this first unit on Chemistry. Some have worked very hard and have demonstrated competence in their understanding of the learning targets. Others however have tried to approach my assessments the same way they approach all assignments given in school. They complete the task quickly and really do answer the questions well...often using vocabulary that isn't typically in an 8th graders spoken or written language....I'm sure they were confident that they had answered the questions competently. I however asked them to explain, give examples or further clarify the answers they had written. If they could do this, I knew they knew the material. If they couldn't, we discussed what they didn't understand and talked about what they would do to help them better understand the material.

I reminded them that they had learned a lot, but they needed to really be masters of the material. I never told them they "failed". I never held a "failing" grade over their head. I did tell them that I would like to help them understand the concepts more completely and that I was available before school, during class, at lunch and after school to help them. I watched them walk away from my desk with amazed looks on their faces after I had them come up with a plan to help them accomplish the task. They have a few more days before the end of the trimester to show me what they've learned. I'm really hopeful that all of my students will be competent.

I have seen more learning so far this year than I have in a long time. Students are helping each other understand. Questions asked show a deeper understanding than in the past. They aren't afraid to turn in their work because they know that they will have an opportunity to not only correct, but to also really learn the material. I believe that learning occurs when corrections are made and they have to explain their thinking and logic or support their responses with evidence.