Yesterday in ROGATE we had a very in-depth discussion about grades. We were asked what is the purpose of grades? What is our opinion on the grading system? Do we think that the current system accurately represents our skills and knowledge? Do we think that we should stick with the current grading system, switch to standards based grading, or use a combination of the two?
First of all, what are standards based grades? This is a grading system based on previously set standards. We take the test, and it is graded based on where the educators think we are when compared with where we should be. Standards based grading tells us where we are compared to the highest standard. I think everyone knows what the current system of numbers and letters is.
So what is the purpose of grades? I think that the purpose of grades is to tell you where you are on a set scale. A means you are already there and you fully grasp the subject. B means you are there but there is room for improvement. C means you are just barely there and you can do the bare minumum. D means you seriously need to work on the subject, and F means you epically failed and have no idea what you are doing. So there it is. Grades tell you where you are and where you can improve. Finally, they give you something to strive for. The other side to that is that if you don't see the actual test, you have no idea what to improve on. For example, you can see your grades in Powerschool, but you don't know exactly what you got right or exactly what you got wrong.
My opinion of our current grading system is that it is just fine. It tells us exactly what we did wrong, and exactly what we did right. the problem with standards based grading is that you either meet or don't meet the standard. You never know exactly what you did wrong or right, so you can never improve on exactly what needs improving.
I think that the current system accurately represents your level of skills and knowledge because it tells you exactly where you are on a one hundred point scale. Standards based grading does not do this. For example, when you get your NJ ASK scores back, it gives you a little dash on a scale. This does not tell you exactly where your skills and knowledge are, it tells you of you are advanced, proficient, or partly proficient. You never get an exact percentage of what you did right.
I think we should stay with the current grading system because it is the most accurate and grades you on what you individually did wrong and right. This is the only way you will improve.
In conclusion, standards based grading is a grading system that grades you on previously set standards. The purpose of grades is to tell you where you are on a set scale. Grades tell you whether or not you grasp the subject, what you know, and what you need to improve on. Our current grading system works because it accurately represents our skills and knowledge. Finally, we should stick with our current grading system.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Creativity Crisis?
A week ago in ROGATE, we read an artical called "The Creativity Crisis". This article talked about how creativity is declining in schools and what we can do to fix it. This is what I think.
Creativity crisis? What the heck is going on? What happened to the Steve Jobs in our society? Can we save our society from eventually having no creativity at all?
The creativity crisis is what the experts call a decline in society's creativity. Research shows that American creativity is declining. However, other countries' level of creativity is not. What are they doing that they can keep their creativity? Can creativity be taught?
According to Ted Schwarzrock, the accepted definition of creativity is production of something original and useful. America has created things that are original and useful, so why do people say our creativity is declining? It starts with our education system. Our country's public schools use a system of teaching that does not foster creativity. Other countries, such as China, are fostering creativity in their schools by doing away with the "drill and kill" system. This means that teachers teach a subject, drill it into your head, then give you a test and never mention the subject again. Where's the creativity there? Anyway, we need to to foster creativity in our schools. The hard part is how to teach creativity. According to the article, human beings can actually train their minds to use the equal parts convergent and divergent thinking requires. I think that creativity can be taught if done the right way. In sixth grade, I was making a poster. The teacher thought it was not creative enough; that I could do more with it. She said to be creative. I was like WHAT? So I went back to my desk, and told myself to think harder and come up with creative ideas. It worked.
We also watched a Ted talk by Sir Ken Robinson, who talked about how schools are killing creativity. Robinson said that we all have extraodinary talent, but our education system kills it. The educators aren't concerned about our minds, they are concerned about our amount of knowledge. I agree with this. My sixth grade pre-algebra teacher introduced a way to do a word problem, and I thought of a way to do it differently. He said in that annoying teacher voice, "You have to do it this way or it'll never work." My teacher was actually pretty awesome (for a teacher) but I was sooo mad. My way actually worked! Anyway, Robinson also said that we do not grow into creativity, we are actually educated out of is. This is so true. The article said that toddlers ask about 100 questions a day. This is because toddlers always want to know the whos, whats, and whys to EVERYTHING. Robinson also said that schools are teaching kids that it is not ok to be wrong. Kids are so afraid of being wrong, they never take risks, therefore never using their creativity.
In conclusion, America is suffering a decline in creativity, and unless we change our education system, we will continue to fall into a state of no creativity. This would not only hurt our society physically, but it would make for a very dull world. That's it for now. Thanks for reading!
Creativity crisis? What the heck is going on? What happened to the Steve Jobs in our society? Can we save our society from eventually having no creativity at all?
The creativity crisis is what the experts call a decline in society's creativity. Research shows that American creativity is declining. However, other countries' level of creativity is not. What are they doing that they can keep their creativity? Can creativity be taught?
According to Ted Schwarzrock, the accepted definition of creativity is production of something original and useful. America has created things that are original and useful, so why do people say our creativity is declining? It starts with our education system. Our country's public schools use a system of teaching that does not foster creativity. Other countries, such as China, are fostering creativity in their schools by doing away with the "drill and kill" system. This means that teachers teach a subject, drill it into your head, then give you a test and never mention the subject again. Where's the creativity there? Anyway, we need to to foster creativity in our schools. The hard part is how to teach creativity. According to the article, human beings can actually train their minds to use the equal parts convergent and divergent thinking requires. I think that creativity can be taught if done the right way. In sixth grade, I was making a poster. The teacher thought it was not creative enough; that I could do more with it. She said to be creative. I was like WHAT? So I went back to my desk, and told myself to think harder and come up with creative ideas. It worked.
We also watched a Ted talk by Sir Ken Robinson, who talked about how schools are killing creativity. Robinson said that we all have extraodinary talent, but our education system kills it. The educators aren't concerned about our minds, they are concerned about our amount of knowledge. I agree with this. My sixth grade pre-algebra teacher introduced a way to do a word problem, and I thought of a way to do it differently. He said in that annoying teacher voice, "You have to do it this way or it'll never work." My teacher was actually pretty awesome (for a teacher) but I was sooo mad. My way actually worked! Anyway, Robinson also said that we do not grow into creativity, we are actually educated out of is. This is so true. The article said that toddlers ask about 100 questions a day. This is because toddlers always want to know the whos, whats, and whys to EVERYTHING. Robinson also said that schools are teaching kids that it is not ok to be wrong. Kids are so afraid of being wrong, they never take risks, therefore never using their creativity.
In conclusion, America is suffering a decline in creativity, and unless we change our education system, we will continue to fall into a state of no creativity. This would not only hurt our society physically, but it would make for a very dull world. That's it for now. Thanks for reading!
Monday, September 24, 2012
Learning Styles
Last Friday in ROGATE, we took two tests to determine how we learn and what intelligences we have. These are the results.
The first test was the Gregorc Learning/Teaching Styles test. Its results tell us who we are and how we learn. I tested into the concrete random group. This means I am independent, creative, a risk-taker, unusual, an experimenter, inventive, a problem solver, curious, investigative, and intuitive. All of these apply to who I am, except for the creative one. I have no idea how I came up with creative in my results. Anyway, the test also lists how I learn. Apparently I learn best with:
The second test was the Gardner Multiple Intelligences test. The results tell us where our true intelligences lie. I tested into four groups. They are logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, and interpersonal. I also was strong in the spatial category. These all make sense for me, except for the musical one. While I play the piano, I have a hard time being enthusiastic about Mozart, and it might kill me to sit through a long opera.
I think that if Steve Jobs had taken the Gregorc test, he would have tested into the abstract random group or the concrete sequential group. This is because he was imaginative enough to create Apple and most of it's products, and he was practical enough to design and make products that would be useful to other people. If Carli Lloyd took the Gardner test, she probably would have tested into the bodily-kinesthetic group. You have to be athletic to score four goals in Olympic soccer.
This is how I learn and where my intelligence is the strongest. This is what I think the reults would be if these people had taken these two tests. Thank's for reading!
The first test was the Gregorc Learning/Teaching Styles test. Its results tell us who we are and how we learn. I tested into the concrete random group. This means I am independent, creative, a risk-taker, unusual, an experimenter, inventive, a problem solver, curious, investigative, and intuitive. All of these apply to who I am, except for the creative one. I have no idea how I came up with creative in my results. Anyway, the test also lists how I learn. Apparently I learn best with:
- Games and simulation
- Problem solving
- Creating products
- Independent study
- Experiments
- Unusual solutions
- Options
- Open-ended work
- Practical ideas
- Few restrictions
The second test was the Gardner Multiple Intelligences test. The results tell us where our true intelligences lie. I tested into four groups. They are logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, and interpersonal. I also was strong in the spatial category. These all make sense for me, except for the musical one. While I play the piano, I have a hard time being enthusiastic about Mozart, and it might kill me to sit through a long opera.
I think that if Steve Jobs had taken the Gregorc test, he would have tested into the abstract random group or the concrete sequential group. This is because he was imaginative enough to create Apple and most of it's products, and he was practical enough to design and make products that would be useful to other people. If Carli Lloyd took the Gardner test, she probably would have tested into the bodily-kinesthetic group. You have to be athletic to score four goals in Olympic soccer.
This is how I learn and where my intelligence is the strongest. This is what I think the reults would be if these people had taken these two tests. Thank's for reading!
Friday, September 21, 2012
The Ups and Downs, Myths and Truths of Being Gifted
There are ups and downs to everything. Ups and downs to being young, ups and downs or being an adult, and ups and downs of being popular. But what are the ups and downs of being gifted?
One of the ups is that it sets you apart. www.ngac.org says that gifted kids make up around 6% of the student population. People find it cool when they know someone unusual. The downside of this is that people think you are perfect. They set very high expectations, and when you don't do well on a test, or anything else, they are disappointed. This is because they think, "That person is gifted. They know things few people do, and they should definitely ace the test." I'll tell you I hate this. It puts a lot of stress on you. Another up is that you may have more privileges. People trust smart people. This is a downer though, too. People also trust you to do favors for them. At my old school, we had a special needs girl in my class. I was the one the teacher called on to help her, so when I was helping her, I was getting behind. The teacher would then say, "Megan, why are you not done?" I was so frustrated.
As with most things, there are myths and truths to being gifted. One myth is that gifted kids are perfect. People think we can handle anything. The truth to this is gifted kids often go through asynchronous development. That's some big word the Columbus Group came up with. This means our maturities are not in sync. Who watched the synchronized diving in the Olympics? Gifted kids would be terrible at that. Our physical, emotional, intellectual, and social maturities progressing at the same rate. Divers need to do everything at the same rate. An example of this is lunch. You are sitting around a table with all your friends, and you start talking like a nerd before you realize this may scare people. Your intellectual and social maturities are asynchronous. Okay, enough with the big words. Another myth is that gifted kids are small, vulnerable nerds with giant glasses. The only truth in this is that we are vulnerable to dumbing ourselves down. I warn you NEVER DO THIS OR YOU WILL BE ARRESTED BY MS. MYSTRENA! Anyway, we are not small or weak.
Sounds confusing? It's not, just do not make assumptions about us. I mean, how would you like it if someone thought you were small and scrawny just because you're smart? GO NERDS!!
One of the ups is that it sets you apart. www.ngac.org says that gifted kids make up around 6% of the student population. People find it cool when they know someone unusual. The downside of this is that people think you are perfect. They set very high expectations, and when you don't do well on a test, or anything else, they are disappointed. This is because they think, "That person is gifted. They know things few people do, and they should definitely ace the test." I'll tell you I hate this. It puts a lot of stress on you. Another up is that you may have more privileges. People trust smart people. This is a downer though, too. People also trust you to do favors for them. At my old school, we had a special needs girl in my class. I was the one the teacher called on to help her, so when I was helping her, I was getting behind. The teacher would then say, "Megan, why are you not done?" I was so frustrated.
As with most things, there are myths and truths to being gifted. One myth is that gifted kids are perfect. People think we can handle anything. The truth to this is gifted kids often go through asynchronous development. That's some big word the Columbus Group came up with. This means our maturities are not in sync. Who watched the synchronized diving in the Olympics? Gifted kids would be terrible at that. Our physical, emotional, intellectual, and social maturities progressing at the same rate. Divers need to do everything at the same rate. An example of this is lunch. You are sitting around a table with all your friends, and you start talking like a nerd before you realize this may scare people. Your intellectual and social maturities are asynchronous. Okay, enough with the big words. Another myth is that gifted kids are small, vulnerable nerds with giant glasses. The only truth in this is that we are vulnerable to dumbing ourselves down. I warn you NEVER DO THIS OR YOU WILL BE ARRESTED BY MS. MYSTRENA! Anyway, we are not small or weak.
Sounds confusing? It's not, just do not make assumptions about us. I mean, how would you like it if someone thought you were small and scrawny just because you're smart? GO NERDS!!
Thursday, September 13, 2012
All About Me
Hi ROGATE! My name is Megan. I am in 8th grade at Northern Burlington Regional Middle School. My favorite subjects are ROGATE, math, and PE. I like to learn about how things work and what is going on in the world.
In my free time, I like to do anything involving sports, going to the beach, and traveling. I also like to surf. I LOVE LOVE LOVE soccer and lacrosse, and my favorite time during the week is sports practice. I also LOVE to read. The Hunger Games is the best! One more of my favorite things to do is play outside. I enjoy getting dirty, playing manhunt, and climbing trees. :)
When I grow up, I don't know what I want to do. I am torn between three different careers. These are professional athlete, orthopeadic specializing in sports injuries, and production designer.
What makes me happy? A lot of things do. Some of these things are my family, my dog, sports, reading, and music. When I am frustrated about anything, for some reason going for a run makes me feel better. When I need to relax, I read a book or listen to my iPod. My dog or my family always seem to work the best though. My dog does so many stupid things, I can't help not laughing at her.
This is all about me. Thanks for reading!
In my free time, I like to do anything involving sports, going to the beach, and traveling. I also like to surf. I LOVE LOVE LOVE soccer and lacrosse, and my favorite time during the week is sports practice. I also LOVE to read. The Hunger Games is the best! One more of my favorite things to do is play outside. I enjoy getting dirty, playing manhunt, and climbing trees. :)
When I grow up, I don't know what I want to do. I am torn between three different careers. These are professional athlete, orthopeadic specializing in sports injuries, and production designer.
What makes me happy? A lot of things do. Some of these things are my family, my dog, sports, reading, and music. When I am frustrated about anything, for some reason going for a run makes me feel better. When I need to relax, I read a book or listen to my iPod. My dog or my family always seem to work the best though. My dog does so many stupid things, I can't help not laughing at her.
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