Ravi Smith
Teach Blue Fellow
Optimal learning doesn’t require a lot of direct instruction. Students are largely able to learn by engaging in work with each other. Guide on the side > Sage on the stage.
Problem of Practice
The families that I serve have largely become accustomed to traditional grading systems, where they receive assignment based grades that typically show the percentage correct of that given assignment. I employ a standards based system where grades signify a level of mastery of a given learning objective or standard. The development of mastery for given learning objectives is typically an ongoing matter without a convenient end point for reporting, as the level of mastery often goes up after a given time where I decide to report. This has resulted in a general lack of understanding of where students stand in their development when students and parents view grades from my class in the system. Because of district reporting requirements, I often report mastery levels that are still in process, leading families to believe that there are failed assignments in a traditional sense, as opposed to learning objectives where mastery has not yet been obtained.
About Ravi Smith
Ravi currently teaches 10th Grade Engineering and Integrated Math 2 at the School at Marygrove. He is also a track and Cross Country coach and the Anime Club sponsor.
Accounts from Ravi Smith
Sometimes we start reinventing the wheel and then discover others have been at work reinventing that same wheel. Research can help us understand the work of like-minded practitioners. From there we can take another look at our problems of practice.
In a school that continues to employ traditional grading as the mode, using a standards-based grading system can present some substantial challenges.