The first semester at my school ends tomorrow. We do not have semester exams. Some AP teachers at my school give an exam in the evening. I chose not to. I think the main reason my colleagues opt to give an exam is to give the students the experience of sitting through an extended test in order to prepare them for the exam in May.
I am confident that all of my students have sat a 3-hour exam once before. All but one were students at my school last spring, and they sat final exams at that time. Therefore, I don't feel the need to give them a long test.
I do want them to be frequently reviewing and revisiting previous topics. So, I am giving them three Free Response Questions that cover the first four chapters. But, those three questions will not combine to form some large percentage of their semester average.
After today, my students will have been graded on 13 free response questions. Two of them were of the Investigative Task variety (that is, Free Response Question #6 from past exams). The others were either taken directly from past exams or were in that style. I am dropping their lowest two scores.
My assessments in AP Statistics this semester have mostly been a departure from how I have evolved otherwise. I have another (dormant) blog regarding my thoughts on assessments and evaluation. My tenth grade integrated mathematics course has zero period-long tests. I have given homework quizzes. But, in that class, grades are largely calculated from projects and presentations. I believe these forms of assessment give me the best indication of what a student can do and knows.
My AP Statistics have completed two projects this semester and they account for a large portion of their grade. I think the projects have given the students a worthwhile opportunity to engage meaningfully with the course topics and skills in a way that will prepare them for the exam. But, I think they also help the students see the utility and relevance of the topics beyond the AP exam. And, I think they provide me with a much better insight into what the students really understand and their abilities to apply the methods they have been studying.
I dislike multiple choice items a lot. (I wrote about this dislike in this blog here and here.) I do not think they are fair nor do I think they tell me much about what a student understands. Perhaps, in a 40-item multiple choice exam, they give a better picture. The larger number of items reduces the chance that a score is based largely on lucky guesses and increases its probability of being due to a student's understanding.
The free response questions are better, but still contrived as they must fit into an arbitrary allotted amount of time and they are written in a way that takes much of the decision-making away from the student.
I do wonder if I could teach a project-based AP Statistics class and still prepare my students for the big, bad AP exam. Seems possible. I guess I have my goal for next year's course.
Anybody have experience teaching AP Statistics as a project-based course? I would love to read about your experiences, recommendations, ideas, and thoughts.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Projections and Senioritis
I had hoped to write weekly. I did that for nine weeks. Then, I lost momentum. I'm not sure why, but I expect it's not all that uncommon for new teaching blogs. You start out with a lot of enthusiasm, some good ideas to write about, and you're not too overloaded with work. Then steam runs out, work piles up, and ideas don't seem so fresh.
Tuesday is my blogging day. It says so on my calendar. I even have my calendar send me a nice email to remind me of that. Here it is Wednesday and I have not written a blog post since November 3. A month. And so, even though I am writing this without much of an idea of what I will write, I push the keys on my laptop hoping something worthwhile will end up coming out of this post.
My blogging statistics show that my posts gets anywhere from 12 to 26 views. I am sure that pales in comparison to many blogs, but I am honored that 12 to 26 people were taking their time to read my ramblings each week. I'm guessing my view count for this post will be lower because of my month off.
To be fair, I was out of town for a week in the middle of November, and then there was Thanksgiving. But, ideally, I would have written those weeks, too.
I have eleven more teaching days. AP Statistics will drop two of those days, so I have only nine more class meetings in 2015.
From where I sit, things have gone quite well this semester. Certainly, there is room for improvement, but I am pleased overall. We have covered about 40% of the AP Statistics curriculum. I made some projections based on the tests they have taken thus far and they are all on track for a three or better. Of my nine students, three of them currently project to a five, which certainly feels good to write.
Second semester will present new challenges. Seven of my nine are seniors. I would guess at least two of them will come down with a bad case of senioritis. That doesn't really bother me. I have been teaching seniors long enough to anticipate this and not take it personally. What concerns me is the potential negative impact they could have on the class as a whole.
For my non-AP Statistics class, I designed the second semester with the second semester senior in mind. I kept the workload light and we played blackjack, played craps, read the book "How to Lie with Statistics", and each student sold a product employing the artful use of statistics.
This year I have an AP Statistics class. Particularly since this is my first year teaching this course, I do not feel I can do the same projects. I expect the second semester workload will mirror the first semester, making senioritis a greater concern for me.
I will do what I can to fend it off. I will try to keep my energy up and do my best to incorporate several engaging activities that simultaneously teach the concepts and keep the interest of the students. But, ultimately, it is not me who will be taking an AP exam in May. The students will have to decide for themselves how hard they want to work and how important that three-hour exam is to them.
PS - If anybody can help me learn how to follow a Twitter StatsChat, I would greatly appreciate it. I have not yet figured that out.
Tuesday is my blogging day. It says so on my calendar. I even have my calendar send me a nice email to remind me of that. Here it is Wednesday and I have not written a blog post since November 3. A month. And so, even though I am writing this without much of an idea of what I will write, I push the keys on my laptop hoping something worthwhile will end up coming out of this post.
My blogging statistics show that my posts gets anywhere from 12 to 26 views. I am sure that pales in comparison to many blogs, but I am honored that 12 to 26 people were taking their time to read my ramblings each week. I'm guessing my view count for this post will be lower because of my month off.
To be fair, I was out of town for a week in the middle of November, and then there was Thanksgiving. But, ideally, I would have written those weeks, too.
I have eleven more teaching days. AP Statistics will drop two of those days, so I have only nine more class meetings in 2015.
From where I sit, things have gone quite well this semester. Certainly, there is room for improvement, but I am pleased overall. We have covered about 40% of the AP Statistics curriculum. I made some projections based on the tests they have taken thus far and they are all on track for a three or better. Of my nine students, three of them currently project to a five, which certainly feels good to write.
Second semester will present new challenges. Seven of my nine are seniors. I would guess at least two of them will come down with a bad case of senioritis. That doesn't really bother me. I have been teaching seniors long enough to anticipate this and not take it personally. What concerns me is the potential negative impact they could have on the class as a whole.
For my non-AP Statistics class, I designed the second semester with the second semester senior in mind. I kept the workload light and we played blackjack, played craps, read the book "How to Lie with Statistics", and each student sold a product employing the artful use of statistics.
This year I have an AP Statistics class. Particularly since this is my first year teaching this course, I do not feel I can do the same projects. I expect the second semester workload will mirror the first semester, making senioritis a greater concern for me.
I will do what I can to fend it off. I will try to keep my energy up and do my best to incorporate several engaging activities that simultaneously teach the concepts and keep the interest of the students. But, ultimately, it is not me who will be taking an AP exam in May. The students will have to decide for themselves how hard they want to work and how important that three-hour exam is to them.
PS - If anybody can help me learn how to follow a Twitter StatsChat, I would greatly appreciate it. I have not yet figured that out.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)