Throughout this month, I have been reflecting on a different word each week. This week’s word is Value. What do we value as educators? And how do our actions support this? I think this is a particularly important discussion to have around how we value learning. Do we value the outcome, the process or both? Intrinsically as educators, we would say that the process of learning should, at the very least, be equal in value to the outcome. If this is true, then what message do we send to students when we place greater point values, weight or emphasis on the outcome? Or, when we place so much weight on the process, under the guise of, “If we don’t make the practice/drafts/ worth points they won’t do it”, that even when students demonstrate mastery, if they haven’t earned enough points during the process of achieving mastery, they can not be successful in the class. I am asking these questions because we have all, in some way, contributed to the culture of point chasing or GPA tracking. This is now starting as early as 3rd grade. When students ask the value of an assignment, what they are really looking for is a gauge of how much time and effort will need to be devoted to that assignment, and what level of quality work will be sufficient. Is that what we value? To some extent. We do want students to see value in the work and to do quality work. And… as a result, engage in the work itself because they see why they would want to do it to build their knowledge and skills, or apply what they know in new ways or to real world tasks. There’s the missing piece. If we respond to the question of “what is this worth” with a point total, instead of, “It is a necessary step in the learning process so that you can build the skills you need to take on problems that matter to you in the world” [Effect size of perceived task value is .46], we continue to value the outcome above the process, and so will our students. So, the first reflective activity for this week is to take a look at how your grading/feedback process communicates what you value and reinforces what your student’s value. And, considering Hattie’s Visible Learning meta-analysis, what opportunities do students ( and teachers) have to establish learning goals [Effect size .68], demonstrate self-efficacy [Effect size .92], and self report grades [Effect size 1.33]?
What else do we value? I know that I value relationships. So much so that it is the lens I use to prioritize my weekly time budget. Building relationships with peers, students, parents, and the community are an important part of our work. [Effect size of teacher student relationships .52] What do our actions say about how much we really value relationships? “There are only so many minutes in a class day, and by the time we fit in all the things we need to stay on track, there just isn’t time to do a class circle or a check-in, or a shareout”. Or, “ I am so far behind on my to-do list, I can’t possibly attend _____, come to that meeting, spend more than 15 minutes touching base with you.”, Or, “I really want to send out a regular newsletter or have a parent roundtable but I just can’t find the time to get that started”, Or, you are scrolling emails and on your phone multi-tasking when you do have an opportunity to engage with students, or colleagues. Does this sound like you sometimes, all the time? If the first thing that gets jetisoned overboard to lighten the time load is the time that you would be spending building those relationships, stop it. Without those relationships, achieving your goals becomes much more difficult. Sometimes the time you think you are “saving” is actually added to the time it will take to accomplish your work. It is those relationships that you can lean into when life becomes complicated with a student or colleague, when you run out of innovation energy, when you want to light that spark of inquiry or creativity, or when you and your team face a challenge that you can’t see around.
What do we value? This would be a good starting question for a team meeting, TBT or BLT, or DLT meeting, board work session, or admin council meeting. The answer will drive what data you prioritize, how you allocate funds in your budget, staffing decisions, what is included or not included in bell schedules and course guides, your grading systems, your PBIS model…
Knowing what you value and agreeing on what it looks like in action is work worth doing.
Resources To Spark Your Thinking
Peers and Pedagogy Blog - Get Every Student Engaged in 10 minutes
Increasing Student Engagement - Stanford Learning Commons
Karin Hess - Metacognitive Skills To Reveal Hidden Learning
Is Standards Based Grading Effective - Theory Into Practice - Laura Link, Thomas Guskey
Center For Creative Leadership - Building Relationship Skills At Work
Lead With That Podcast - The 3 Cs Curiosity, Compassion and Courage
Cult of Pedagogy Podcast - With James Sturtevant On How To Connect To Students
Upcoming Opportunities
Registration is now open for the Science Education of Ohio (SECO) Conference. This year’s theme is Science Is Universal. Join us on January 29 & 30, 2024 at the Nationwide Hotel and Conference Center for the 2024 Science Symposium. Come learn, connect, and recharge at our two-day conference, put on by Ohio science educators for Ohio Science educators. Keynotes are Page Keeley and Dennis Schatz
Proposals are open for the 2024 Ohio Council of Teachers of Math (OCTM) Conference - find more information here.
Registration is now open for the Ohio Education Technology (OETC) Conference
On Demand Webinar - How To Create A Culture of Mistake Learning In Your Classroom