The Problem With Retakes Policies

"As the leader in the classroom, the teacher creates the conditions for success and the foundation for confidence which allows unexpected students to achieve high levels of performance. Leaders within our system do the same for the adults they lead." -Tom Schimmer

Many schools have gone to or are working towards standards based grading. Assignments are broken down into two categories: formative and summative assessments. Formative is meant to be practice and worth a small percentage of a learners' grade, while summative assessments are evidence of learning and holds the most weight. For this reason, many teachers allow learners to re-assess or retake any summatives that learners do poorly on. Retakes can assure learners meet the required standards, but the problem lies in the retake policies. Many teachers have retake policies that involve additional work, coming in early or late for re-teaching, and evidence of review or studying of the content. Our question is, why is all of the required AFTER the test? Once a class takes a test the class proceeds to move on to the next unit. Now a learner that is already struggling, needs to do extra work to try and catch up while the class keeps moving onto more content. This is overwhelming, stressful and missing the point of retakes. 

Retakes are meant to ensure learning for all, and honors that some learners learn at different paces. Additional learning needs to happen before a learner can retake a summative otherwise the results will be the same. In a personalized learning framework, learners have access to different pathways so learners have opportunities to do all the things teachers require for retakes BEFORE the test. If formative work is used as feedback (see blog Why don’t we trust learners to make choices) then learners know what they know or don’t know before they get to the test. Throughout the unit they can take advantage of teacher seminars for direct instruction, flex time for re-teaching or extra help, and provide evidence they are ready to take the test. 

Multiple Pathways

In a personalized learning class, the teacher already knows who is struggling and is able to intervene through pathways. There are points during the unit where teachers can slow down for some, while letting others go deeper or pace faster (see blog Multiple Pathways). Teachers that are well into personalizing are even letting learners test early and move on to applying the content to new situations to enrich and extend the learning. 

The key is to give FEEDBACK to learners before they have to demonstrate mastery on a summative assignment, project or test. We have found using "one point" rubrics allows us to give timely and specific feedback to learners. We try and use the same rubric (or as similar as can be) on the formative work that will be used for the summative assignment. This way learners get feedback in the process of learning and not just in the end. This formative feedback also informs us as teachers which kids need more instruction or more support before getting to the summative. We invite these learners to extra teacher seminars, daily flex offerings or during lunch. Once again, the formative work is crucial for providing learners and teachers with the data needed to determine which pathways the learners need to take in their learning.  

Single Point Rubric Example

Test Qualifiers

In addition, learners must complete “test qualifiers” that prove learners are prepared to demonstrate their learning on the test. A test qualifier can take on many different forms, in our class it is a check list for review and reflection. Learners would work on and be assigned a test qualifier the class before the test, when we would have traditionally had a review day. If a learner comes in to take a test and they have not finished the test qualifier, that learner will spend the class completing what they didn't finish.The learner will be required to take the test within the week, so there is still an end date but the message is you need to be prepared and qualified to take this test. 

Test Qualifier Example

Summary

1.) Use formative work that is directly connected to the summatives as feedback for the learners.

2.) Create pathways for support, extension or enrichment informed by the formative assessments.

3.) Assign "Test Qualifiers" to help learners understand whether or not they are prepared to take the summative.

As Teachers we need to set learners up with winning streaks, so they continue to strive for achieving success. Determining a date for a test and holding all learners to mastery on that date without a retake option is not equitable, but neither is requiring additional work for retakes. Giving learners access to different pathways so they have more than one opportunity to learn the content, concepts or information is equity! Personalized learning is about equity….ensuring learning for all!   

Personalized Learning, Where do We Start?

In just one year it is amazing how far our school has gone with personalize learning.  As we begin year 2 as PL coaches, we reflect on how we got started and moved as a school towards personalizing the learning for our learners.  

Common Language

While there can be many learning pathways, our school landed on creating norms and common language around teacher seminar(direct instruction with the teacher), collaborative groups(2-4 people working together on a common goal), and independent flex.  Each grade level spent time discussing and practicing each pathway.  On the first day teachers guided the learners in a conversation about what a teacher seminar would look like, sound like, and feel like. After discussing the rationale for choose to learn from a teacher seminar, learners went on to learn content in a teacher seminar.  The most important part of the guided practice came at the end of lesson when learners reflected how effective the teacher seminar was for them.  They answered the questions, “Were you able to meet the learning goal? Did you feel engaged?  Were you able to stay focused?”  In the next day of class it was the same format but the class discussed, practiced, and reflected on collaborative groups.  On the third day of class the class was guided through discussing and practicing independent flex.  Finally, on the fourth day of class the learners chose to engage in the content through teacher seminar, collaborative groups or independant flex, and of course reflected on their experience and learning. Here is an example of how 8th grade modeled pathways with learners.  8th grade PL INTRO

Naming the learning process gives learners an opportunity to reflect upon and own their learning.  Even if learners do not have an opportunity for choosing their pathway, when the teacher names the method or strategy they are using to help the class meet the learning goals, the learners develop metacognition of the process.  

Pathways through Classroom Space

Learners sitting based on where there are in the research process 

How does your classroom space reflect the experience you want learners to have?  This simple question gets to the heart of how important it is to think strategically about how you design your classroom space. These are the four things we asked all teachers to consider:

1. Design not decorate: most classrooms are cognitively distracting.
2. Consider how the space creates multiple pathways: use flexible seating that is conducive to seminars, collaborative groups, flex groups, and independent learning.
3. Use the walls as a canvas for learning: think of your class as vertical and not just horizontal.
4. Leave room for learner input: they have ownership and can see themselves in the space.

The teachers in our school ran away with these ideas and transformed their classrooms, see what we mean from this presentation SV Space      

Learner Profile/Reflection

Our school has learners track their learning preferences, academic progress, and goal setting in advisory. Advisors use the schoology advisory page to assign documents that gather this information to the learners. Advisors check in with learners and conference with them about their learning profiles.  Academic Check In     Learning Preferences   Learner Success Journal    

One of the best entry points to personalizing the learning is by implementing ongoing reflection for the learners. Reflection is really processing the learning so it should happen at all points in the class.  Reflection requires learners to think about what they know, don’t know, and what their next steps should be.  Learners can reflect independently, in small groups or as a whole class.  Our class begins with a learning goal and ends with learners reflecting on their understanding and effort they put in to reach that understanding.  This allows learners to track their effort and self-regulation and then compared to how they do on the assessments. 

Example of learners reflecting on the daily goal with evaluating effort and understanding 

Data for the learner to reflect on, how their effort scores related to their test results

Here are other reflection prompts that can be used to help process the learning:

-How is this similar or different to ____________________________________?

-How does this part relate to the whole?

-What perspectives were represented?  What perspectives were left out?

-Explain the relationship between__________________ and ________________________.

-Tell a story that illustrates________________________________________.

-What does this new learning make you think of?

-What can you do with this information?          

SPARK!

Recently we were asked to present a 'Spark Session' at a Personalized Learning Conference in Chanhassen, MN. "Sure!" Was our response, shortly followed up with "What is that?" The response: "It's just a 5 min. inspirational speech. Just wow them with humor and inspiration. It's a pep talk!"

We were honored and also greatly challenged! Below is our original script for our 'Spark Session' (slightly over 5 min.), and the video of the end result. We loved this exercise and plan to implement something similar with learners this year! 

Spark Session

We are fellow educators who don’t take our careers for granted. Our relationship is unique because we are not only colleagues but sisters as well. Our journey to embrace and practice personalized learning has given us a new lease on careers we love.

We wish everyone had the opportunity to work with their sister because we feed off each other’s energy and creative ideas. More importantly, we give each other courage. Courage to take risks, be vulnerable...lead a ‘spark’ session. That’s one of the things we want to share with you today. In your work, you may not have the opportunity to work with your sister, but we encourage you to find your person that can be that inspiration to you.

Relationships, resources and relevance are three components of personalized learning we found to leverage the purpose of one’s learning.

Relationships and Resources

Scientists have found that our need to connect is as fundamental as our need for food and water. Our instinct for relationships and connections is why most of us became teachers. Our calling is to work with children and have a lasting impact on their lives. The research also says, that no significant learning can occur without a significant relationship. Every child that walks into our classrooms wants to be validated, and in the words of one of our favorite teachers, Oprah, every person wants to know, do you see me, do you hear me, does what I say matter to you?  

In our work we are reminded that it’s impossible to form connections with every learner if we are standing behind a desk or podium and talking at them for most of the class. Personalized learning invites us to establish deeper connections to our learners because it allows us to shine a light on their interests, talents and gifts. By inviting the learner to engage in the learning process, we have seen those quiet and reserved learners become passionate and excited to share their discoveries. For instance, we will never forget when we went away from our traditional summer reading essay and asked learners to answer the question, “How does reading create an experience for one to grow?”  At first they were hesitant in trying to respond to the teacher truly giving them creative permission. In the end, they each brought unique and creative ideas to express learning, and began to see one another in different lights. New connections were formed and they began to see one another as resources and experts.  It was apparent that the teacher was not their only learning partner in the room. Establishing meaningful relationships and honoring a learners’ voice with choice, has allowed learners to express understanding in ways we never imagined or frankly witnessed in the past.

Our mindshift brought some anxiety because often times as teacher we are afraid to “let go”. This mindset comes with positive intent. We care so much and carry a deep passion for youth and our content area. We want to ensure learners are getting everything we think they need to know. But as one teacher said, “Just because they are sitting in front of me, doesn't mean they are getting it.”  You see a learner may not have found one of our favorite quotes in Animal Farm to support her argument, but she still demonstrated creative and insightful thinking. She (like many of her fellow learners) actually exceeded our expectations. She brought things into the learning community that were out of our “how students show what they know-repertoire”. In letting go we have been able to see our learners as crucial resources in the classrooms. After all isn’t that why kids want to come to school, to collaborate and learn from others including their own peers? Once again when we shine a light as we seek them out as resources, shine a light SO BRIGHT on our learners strengths, we help build their agency to tackle some of their areas of growth. Relationships and resources are the bookends to providing relevance to a learner.  

Relevance

An author once wrote, “Boredom is a sign one loses capacity for awe, wonder and delight.” Our experience as a learners was much about compliance. We were really good at “doing school”. We could fill out a worksheet like nobody’s business, we could neatly write our names and turn in a signed syllabus on time-even early on most occasions. We were masters of extra-credit and we tried hard to find relevance in what our teachers were teaching, not because we were inspired, but because we were compliant. Although we had some great teachers, most of our education lacked any relevance or connection to us. With that came a stifling of much of the creativity and insight we had to offer.

We see this same thing happening with learners today. Take Elise, a young lady who was working on demonstrating her ability to understand rhetoric by researching a debatable topic and crafting a persuasive speech. We gave her the parameters of the assignment which mostly involved the learning target, a list of resources and a timeline. That’s it, a one page google doc with easy to access links and clean cut language that was straight to the point. After a day of brainstorming Elise came up and said “Hey Mrs. Loo, I have my topic now.” “Oh great Elise, what is it?” “I am going to argue how school’s are getting worse.” Wow, if that isn’t a kick in the gut right? I replied “Tell me more about your thinking.” “Look, I just don’t like all this choice. I just want a packet okay? Just give me a packet so I can just do the work.” I was heartbroken, frustrated and exhausted for Elise in that moment and after a brief moment of silence while I went to grab her kleenex for the huge tears rolling down her cheeks, I said, “Elise, you want to move out to LA and design your own fashion line right?” “Yes.” “Elise, do you want someone to tell you the fabric and color choices you can use in your designs? Or do you want to someone to tell you the style of clothes you should produce?” “Head shake no.” “Well then me giving you a packet for this assignment isn’t going to help you get to LA.” Our conversation evolved into her talking about topics within the fashion industry that she could debate. She chose to write a speech about how she is 100% against plastic surgery. In the end she gave a fantastic speech and inspired others to consider the message plastic surgery sends to the consumer. Her speech was outstanding and her research well founded. On her way out the door after class I stopped her and said, “See what you can do without a packet Elise?” She smiled and those tears came back, but this time they meant something different. Elise’s creativity and wonder was overshadowed by her ability to be really good at completing packets. She struggled to find a relevant topic because she was relying too heavily on a packet as a crutch to aid her thinking. When she finally found her pathway and took control of the learning, she was able to build her own agency in ways she never thought possible before. Elise isn’t the only learner who traveled her own path during that unit, all of her classmates did as well. Together we learned a lot about the art of persuasion through a diverse set of controversial topics. What’s more is that together we learned about the unique individuals who were the fabric of our learning community.

We saw each other, we heard each other and what we shared mattered. This is the outcome of a community of learners being honored and empowered in the learning process.

Why Don’t We Trust Learners to Make Choices?

In a personalized learning model, learners are given choices in how they prefer to access, engage and express learning. How can we trust that kids will make the right choices for their learning, is the number one question we are asked by teachers and parents. That question and the concerns that come with it, exemplifies the a big disconnect in education today.  If we are not preparing and allowing learners to have choice in their learning we are doing our kids a great disservice.  How can learners develop independence, self-confidence, and ownership if we don’t allow them to have some say in the learning process? A teacher’s role is not any less evident than in a traditional setting.  The teacher is guiding, modeling, and monitoring the learners so that they understand what choices to make and how those choices impact the learning. When the purpose is clear (connected to standards/learning targets), formative assessments are used as feedback, and reflection is ongoing, the learners can be trusted with making informed choices alongside the teacher.

A Framework that Connects Learning to the Standards

With our personalized learning framework the learners can see how all content learned prepares them for meeting a standard. We outline the standards for an entire unit for the learners, and each day we give them a goal to reach or have them set their own goal for the class (sample unit guide). The daily goals are directly connected to standards and give learners measurable data to consistently track their effort and understanding. When the purpose is clear (the why/daily learning goals) the how can vary. Learners are given voice and choice in what pathways they take in meeting the goals(see Multiple Pathways). When the time comes to express learning in a summative (final test, project, paper, etc.), the results are a much more accurate reflection of what one knows against a standard.  

Formative work as Feedback

Many teachers have shifted their assessment practices into formative and summative assessments, but have not shifted how they USE these assessments. The point value or weight of the assessments have changed so that formative work is worth a fraction of a learner’s grade.  A common misperception is that learners have stopped caring about the formative work because it “doesn’t have much impact” on their grade.  To us, it’s clear that something was lost in the messaging both for teachers and learners. Formative work is not simply daily work or small assignments that lead up to a test, rather they are an avenue to provide feedback to learners. In order for formative work to be useful it must connect back to the intended learning (the standards), inform a learner of what they know or don’t know, and have the potential to elicit an instructional response from the teacher.  We rarely give a numerical score on a piece of formative work but prefer to give a symbol instead. The plus symbol(+) means one is on pace, (+/-) directs one to closely review teacher comments, and the minus symbol (-) signals one must attend the next teacher seminar for clarification and/or more support. Learners use any of their formative work to understand what pathway to take. Pathways in our class include teacher seminar(direct instruction/guidance from the teacher), collaborative groups(processing with a group working on the same goal), or personal flex(self pacing and working independently to achieve a learning target). Daily reflection on effort and understanding as well as the symbolic teacher feedback on formative work  (+, +/-, -) help a learner make informed choices when it comes time to access and engage with materials that support learning.

Reflection for Learning

Learners are asked to reflect on themselves as a learner when they receive feedback, have a choice in their learning, and at the end of each class.  Learners understand the only time we collect their work as teacher is if it gives us an opportunity to provide information about what they know or don’t know.  An example would be an exercise where they had to apply content or concepts learned.  If the formative work is additional practice or notes, we don’t collect it.  We don’t ever grade for compliance, only learning (see Grading in a Personalized Learning Model).

As we stated, each class begins with the learners writing down a goal for the class.  This goal is the learning target given to them by the teacher, but at some point in the unit the learners are setting their own goals.  At the end of each class learners rate their effort and understanding related to meeting their goal and plan out their next steps.  Learners are prompted to think about how the choices they made in class helped them or hurt them in reaching their goal for the day.  This allows learners to track their effort and choices and connect them to their final summative  grade. 

Choice allows for Autonomy

According to Daniel Pink’s motivation theory we are driven by autonomy, purpose and mastery.  When all learning is connected to standards or a learning target, the purpose is clear.  Allowing learners to have voice and choice in the pathway they take to achieve the learning target gives them autonomy and opportunities to achieve mastery.  Involving learners in setting daily learning goals, providing feedback to learners through formative work, and incorporating daily reflections provides learners with the information they need to make the right choices in their learning.  

Multiple Pathways

"Personalized learning” can mean many different things to many different people.  It is not a noun, a “thing”, or a prescriptive binder of information for one to follow. Personalized learning is a verb, an active method of best practice that puts the learner at the center of instruction. Personalized learning is using a variety of strategies with multiple pathways designed to meet the needs of all learners. This approach is something effective teachers have always done. Below outlines how to re-think instruction and offer multiple pathways by looking through a personalized learning lens.

Common Educational Practice             vs.              Personalized Learning Process

A teacher takes a class through a variety of exercises to learn new information or skills.  The teacher controls the pace and delivery.

Teacher provides strategies to learn new information or skills AND makes those strategies known to the learners.  Teachers guide learners through voice and choice in understanding how they access, engage and express information.

How many times does a teacher hear, “How long does this have to be?” “How many notecards do I need?” “How many points is this worth?” These questions indicate that learners are working to meet a teacher’s expectations. While this may work for some learners, for many others it leads to misguided stress, anxiety or intense dependence on the teacher. Rethinking instruction that focuses on the learning vs compliance, invites learners to be active participants of their learning. When a teacher is more deliberate about helping the learners to make informed choices for their learning needs, the individuals own their learning. This shift puts much less emphasis on learner compliance and more emphasis on one understanding the actual learning process. One way to increase learner agency is to leverage instructional time. 

Creating Multiple Pathways

Once the standards or learning targets are determined multiple pathways for learning can be established. To begin, a consideration for how a learner can access, engage or express information is essential. In the scenarios presented, learners can access and engage information in a teacher seminar (direct instruction guided by the teacher), a collaborative group (3-4 learners working on the same task) or personal flex/independently.  Not all learners process information in the same way, and if learners know themselves as a learner they can make the choice that fits their needs(See blog on learner profile). To articulate this further we will provide examples of what this framework looks like in our class.

Lesson, 21st Century Literacy, Study of Rhetoric

Learning Target: Understand Rhetoric (Pathos Appeal).

Chronology of the lesson:

Every lesson begins with whole class instruction. We speak to the learning target(s) for the day; be able to understand pathos appeal. Next, we preview the lesson presentation BEFORE asking learners take notes. We emphasize the skill of active listening. Which means we show each slide and offer a brief explanation that speaks to learner tasks or content.  Then, we give learners a choice in how they want to further access and engage with the information.  Each learner is required to demonstrate their understanding of the concept(s) by taking notes and completing the formative work for the day. In this lesson, the formative work required one to identify different examples of pathos appeal on a worksheet we provided.

To engage with the formative work, learners can choose from three pathways:(we use flexible seating arrangements to allow for our classroom space to support the different pathways)

One-attend a teacher seminar with specific teacher guided practice on portions of the assignment.

Two-find other learners and form a collaborative group to review the presentation on their devices, take notes and complete the formative practice.  

Three-work independently (personal flex) to take notes and demonstrate understanding of the concept through completion of the formative practice.

Rather than plan to have all learners take notes during a teacher lecture from a presentation, we present three pathways. When all is said and done, we gain more time in the course, because we are no longer waiting for all learners to take notes from a presentation simultaneously. Studies show processing speeds vary, and it’s important to consider this when determining how kids will access and engage with information. Therefore, by planning for multiple pathways for note taking and learning content, individuals can work at their own pace to make for a better use of their time. At the end of the class all learners reflect by answering two questions: -what is pathos appeal and what worked well for my learning today? This process engages learners and gives them ownership in the learning process.

Learners participating in teacher seminar for accessing Noodletools

Another way to create multiple pathways is to create flex groups within a class.  After collecting data on where the learners are at from either a Google form, learner conferences and or teacher observations you can form different flex groups based on the needs of the learners. Once the groups are formed the rotate through teacher seminars where the teacher tailors the instruction for what they need while the other learners are working in collaborative groups or independently. Picture this, while researching and writing rhetorical speeches, predetermined flex groups rotated through teacher seminar to learn how to engage with tool Noodletools. As learners navigated their way through their first experience with Noodletools, the flex group seminars aided one’s ability to better focus and increased learner engagement and understanding.

Traditionally, the teacher decides what instruction to supply, but another way to offer multiple pathways is to get input from the learners for what they need.  For example, in an 8th grade LA class teachers, Anna Jankowski and Caitlin Bailey, had learners collect data on where they were at with writing (teacher comments on past assignments, peer edits/feedback and their own reflections) to write writing goals as they go into their next writing piece.  After writing goals, they used a Google form to let the teachers know what seminars they wanted offered in the next classes.  Based on the learner input, the teachers planned and offered different teacher seminars that learners had choice in what ones they would access and engage in.  

We are constantly reminding learners that they come to school to build their capacity to learn.  Our job is to prepare them to learn anything so they can go on to pursue their dreams and perhaps make a difference in the world.  The content becomes the vehicle to build skills, teacher-technology-and peers become a learners resource, and they are the drivers for building their capacity to learn.  

Check out these other great examples of how teachers created multiple pathways:

Rethinking Stations	7th Grade Health	7th Grade Science Depths of Knowledge
World of Music	7th Grade LA Rethinking Instruction	Rethinking Learning Spaces