Kay M. Hedrick

ENG 600

Project Proposal

08/27/11

Rev. 10/ 15/11

Rev. 11/ 22/11

Project Research Question(s):

What are the effects of the daily utilization of accessible learning targets on student learning?

How does grading for mastery instead of using the traditional method impact student learning?

Justification:

Many schools are now requiring the use of learning targets in classrooms. These targets, often phrased in the form of “I can . . .” statements are meant to give the students a clear picture of what they will be learning and the expectations for them within the scope of the class. With the onset of the new KY Core Academic Standards, it is important to revisit the learning targets used in the classroom to ensure that they are reflective of the standards.

With a lack of training on the construction of targets and their use, many teachers construct inaccessible learning targets and merely go through the process of posting these targets as a formality. One could make the assumption that this practice is being encouraged by school systems because research has shown validity to the process. It would stand to reason that by focusing on learning targets that are student-friendly and grading students for mastery of the target (allowing additional practice, tutoring, and re-assessment, as needed) students’ learning would be directly impacted.

My school teaches on a trimester schedule – three twelve-week stand alone terms. Each course earns students ½ credit. Therefore, students must take both courses at any given grade level. I currently teach five classes throughout the course of the year. These are 1) ENG III: The Voice of Literature, 2) ENG III: The Cultural Impact, 3) AP Language and Composition, taught during two terms, 4) ENG II: Literature, and 5) Lights, Camera, Fiction: from Books to Hollywood, an elective class. During the current term, I am teaching several sections of ENG III: The Voice of Literature and AP Language and Composition. These two classes will end in November. I propose to work on the curriculum map for ENG III: The Cultural Impact, which will begin in November. Ideally, each of the new standards should be addressed during either ENG III: The Voice of Literature and/or ENG III: The Cultural Impact. This work will be focused on revisiting the standards to ensure that any standards not covered in The Voice of Literature are covered during ENG III: The Cultural Impact. Additionally, I want to focus on turning these standards into student-friendly learning targets. Lastly, I want to incorporate research and best practice into truly communicating the value of learning targets to my students through the use of Learning Target Logs with self-assessment as a component. A vital part of this communication will be generating rubrics and/or grading practices that encourage student mastery of the identified targets. I will look to research to aid in the development of these targets and the tools needed for student mastery. I also want identify studies or other data to rationalize this practice.

Project Objectives

  1. Revise current curriculum map for ENG III: The Cultural Impact in conjunction with ENG III: The Voice of Literature to ensure that all standards are addressed.
  2. Re-word learning targets to make accessible to all students on identified curriculum map. Research other resources to aid in the process of wording.
  3. Create Learning Target Logs for each unit of identified curriculum map, clearly distinguishing student learning expectations for the unit.
  4. Begin developing rubrics for each target that clearly communicate to students the components required at the various levels of mastery. (This portion of the project will need to be ongoing during the actual teaching of the class, as student needs are identified.
  5. Begin using the mastery levels as a tool for assessment in the form of grades.
  6. Research use of these practices to authenticate and endorse the application of the strategies employed by this project.

Curriculum Coordinator/ Principal Endorsement:

Nadine Griffith, Curriculum Coordinator: All looks ready to go. Have been in classroom to observe instruction to the students regarding the use of mastery grading and approved of the Assessment Policy. Will continue monitoring progress throughout the course of the semester. 10- 09-11

Debbie Howes, Principal: Have watched teacher instruct students in the use of the new mastery grading system and have seen the assessment policy that details the changes that was sent home to both students and parents. Based upon this work, required all teachers at RCSHS complete an assessment policy that outlines how their students are graded, since my teachers are at different places in the process of making this change. Will be working with Kay for the remainder of the year and helping her assess her progress.

Colleague/ Co-Collaborator Endorsement:

The current curriculum map will be revised as a part of this project. One unit on the current curriculum map was developed in collaboration between the English department and the Social Studies department, in hopes that other units would follow. Additionally, the US History curriculum map and the ENG III curriculum maps are aligned so that particular time periods or themes in history correspond with the same time periods or themes in literature. Hope Brown, US History instructor will be collaborating with me to work on creating student-friendly learning targets to accompany the already developed unit. She will also act as a reader and advisor of the project throughout its progression.

Tentative Timeline:

September:

  • Complete process of verifying standards on curriculum map.
  • Begin work on student-friendly, accessible learning targets, using research from various curricula documents. This work will be done at the Unit Level.
  • Begin creating learning target logs which communicate learning targets by unit.
  • Begin developing rubrics to communicate expectations of learning targets for mastery.
  • Begin research process to endorse project strategies.

October:

  • Finalize curriculum map, including new learning targets by unit.
  • Finalize learning target logs by unit.
  • Continue work on learning target rubrics.
  • Continue research to endorse project strategies.

November:

  • Begin teaching course using curriculum map, learning targets, and learning target logs.
  • Continue work on developing learning target rubrics.
  • Make revisions to map, targets, logs, etc., as needed.
  • Begin grading for mastery.
  • Finalize research to endorse project.
  • Project Presentation

Resource and Reading List:

Chappuis, Jan. Learning Team Facilitator Handbook: A Resource for Collaborative Study of Classroom Assessment for Student Learning. Portland, Or: Educational Testing Service, 2007. Print.

This book is an extension of the materials found in Classroom Assessment for Student Learning: Doing It Right -- Using It Well, found below.

See notes below. It is my understanding that these materials served as the basis of Ken Mattingly’s grading procedures, which we, as a school system, were introduced to at the beginning of the school year and encouraged to use. Ken Mattingly is actually a resource used in the new edition of these material currently in the revision process. While I see the value in Ken Mattingly’s and CASL’s method, I find that it is cumbersome and overwhelming in an English classroom.

Chappuis, Jan. Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning. Boston: Pearson Education, 2009. Print.

This book looks specifically at the day-to-day processes used in the classroom in an effort to improve student instruction.

This book was my handbook over the last several months. It is not so much about the assessment itself, but about setting the stage for the learning that leads up to the assessment. The Learning Target Logs that I constructed and the Learning Target Rubrics were developed as part of my processing of the material in this book.

"College and Career Readiness Goals and Standards - National Center For Educational Achievement (NCEA)." Home - National Center For Educational Achievement (NCEA). NCEA, n.d. Web. 29 Aug. 2011. <

This title is self-explanatory.

I used this resource to help me phrase learning target and rubric language into student-friendly terms.

Marzano, Robert J. Formative Assessment & Standards-based Grading. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree, 2010. Print.

This book explains how to design several various forms of formative assessments and how to track the progress of students using these assessments in order to assign grades that reflect the learning of the student.

In reading this book, I found a several great methods. One of the most eye-opening passages had the reader look at how various teachers could evaluate the same assessment and have multiple grade assignments. This really made me think about how to make grading as objective and consistent school-wide as possible. This form cannot be used in my school because it is not supported by Infinite Campus.

" NCTE / IRA Standards for the English Language Arts." National Council of Teachers of English - Homepage.N.p., 20 July 2010. Web. 29 Aug. 2011. <

The Common Core Standards.

I used this document to incorporate all of the standards into the Curriculum Maps for both ENG III Parts A and B.

O'Connor, Ken. How to Grade for Learning: Linking Grades to Standards. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press, 2002. Print.

This book serves as a catapult to push teachers to think about and evaluate their grading practices. It examines the many issues that teachers face regarding grading and focuses on revising practice to ensure that grading is used as a tool to not only assess learning but also to frame and guide teaching practices.

This book made me re-evaluate many things that I was doing. I made changes to how I graded and what I graded based upon the thought-provoking strategies here. It also confirmed for me that some of the things I was already doing were right on target.

Stiggins, Richard J. Classroom Assessment for Student Learning: Doing It Right -- Using It Well. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Education, Inc, 2006. Print.

This book gives a pretty thorough view of one way to implement standards-based assessment by discussing the concepts, skills, and instructional strategies needed to apply assessment for learning in the classroom.

I used this book to help me design the original assessments used into target-based assessments. The rubric for the class project shows that the majority of the work will be designed for the second section of ENG III. However, I began implementing the process during the first section of the course and modified after seeing flaws in this system that were content specific. I was particularly intrigued by the potential barriers of bias and distortion section on page 115. The information in this text is good and I will definitely be taking what I can apply and using it in the revised version of standards-based assessment that I currently am employing. Chapter 9: Classroom Assessment for Student Learning helped me to think through the process of creating the assessment policy.