respond to discussion 2
Respond to discussion 2 100 words per respond
Mariah
Based on "Decision Time" and the description of Ms. Celina's classroom organization I would modify the 60-40 split of the assessment grading scale. I agree with Mr. Florie's concerns concerning validity. I believe that it would be very difficult for Ms. Celina to accurately grade each individual student's contributions to the group. While I admire Ms. Celina's dedication to cooperative learning, I do not believe that is reasonable to expect all junior high students to be completely cooperative or honest about their contributions. I am also curious as to how she monitors the students' contributions and the rubric she uses to scale those contributions.
According to Popham, assessment validity "reflects the degree to which evidence and theory support the accuracy of interpretations of test scores for proposed uses of tests" (Popham, 2019, p. 70). And that I think supports the identified gap in Celina's approach; is how to defend or prove that her interpretations of students' participation is accurate.
However if Ms. Celina could in fact defend her accuracy of interpretation and provide supportive evidence of how she tracks that, I believe her colleagues concerns would abate. If that were the case then she could follow her first option and not change her approach. If she wanted to delete the group contributions and simply use it as a discussion and retention skill, that could be another option. This could be the best choice following the option of adjusting the grading weight. Particularly if she believes that the cooperative learning is the best tool for retention for her students. The validity of her interpretations simply needs the support of evidence to back up her grading.
Andrea
Cecilia's approach to her class is great for the age group she teaches. By making her students participate in group activities and holding their teammates accountable she is teaching the students valuable lessons. This is a confidence builder as well as prepares the scholars for the real world. I agree with the 60-40 split. After all, you can grade it adequately amongst those students because you are basing it on their participation. For example, I had a college professor who used this assessment method with my classmates and me and everyone had to participate. He allowed us to come up with questions as a group for our test and each group had to present their work as a group the questions you came up with you had to present when it was time and he gave everyone an individual grade as well as a group grade. With Cecilia being an English teacher, this method works well because she is covering literature and public speaking, building confidence in the students, teamwork, independence, and accountability. If I were Cecilia I would continue to use this method because it works best and has a lot of positive feedback from this grading system. This also allows the students to get participation grades easier because they are being hands-on with the assignments in multiple ways. Now if this was a younger group I wouldn't use this method because it is a lot for the younger kids and they are not ready to handle that type of responsibility such as junior high students. This method has allowed Cecilia to set realistic expectations of her students to assess them as well as support her data on how this assessment method has allowed her students to be productive and achieve their scholarly goals.
If I were to be in Cecilia's position, I would more than likely modify the 60-40 split of the grade for my students. However, because the group's collective grade depends on the efforts of the individual in the group, and including the individual's group members, I would have each group member rate and evaluate their fellow group members to determine which group members have cooperated and contributed from the least to the most while working on their group class assignment. This should give motivation to certain students who may not be used to contributing to their group that they can know, that in either aspect of how I will grade them, the grading will be nothing but fair. Every one in the group has the duty to cooperate and contribute by pulling their weight in the class, and with the rating and evaluation, I can determine what grade the group deserves, as well as the individuals in the group. In the Popham text, the author explains what should be determined when validating grading:
"(1) spell out clearly the nature of our intended interpretation of test scores in relation to the particular use (that is, decision) those scores will be put; (2) come up with propositions that must be supported if those intended interpretations are going to be accurate; (3) collect as much relevant evidence as is practical bearing on those propositions; and (4) synthesize the whole works in a convincing validity argument showing that score-based interpretations are likely to be accurate" (Popham, 2020, p.119).
Titus 2:7 (NIV) states, "In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity and seriousness". This means that whatever we have to do while educating our students, we should show fairness and seriousness in how important education is.