Assignment Submission Rates

It's that time of year again - report writing season. And as I sit here endlessly crafting the most parent-friendly report comments I can, I have been struck by a common thread across far too many of my students' results.... They don't submit assignments. I mean, I did know that already - it didn't take sitting down to write reports to realise - but I don't understand WHY? I was such a conscientious student that the thought of not submitting something never even occurred to me! But my students just don't care about assignments. Most of them would only submit an assignment if it was an in-class one. Inevitably homework or take-home assignments, if submitted, are late and not to the same standard as they would be if done at school - and that's if they're submitted at all. For one assignment in one class, I had less than a 30% submission rate. Which is making me think - is it me? Is there something I can do to improve this submission rate? Aside from doing all our assignments in class, which takes up so much valuable time, how else can I support my students to get their work done?? I've just started using Edmodo and I can see the potential for it to help keep students on track outside of the classroom... But I haven't quite wrapped my head around how to do that effectively. As well as that, many of my students are from low socio-economic backgrounds and I really can't rely on them having reliable internet access from home. We have a lunchtime homework club, which attracts appallingly low numbers - and the kids who come would submit their assignments anyway, so it's not really helping the ones who don't submit. I know other teachers who keep students in at lunch until their assignment is submitted - but that's a huge time commitment and a very negative-reinforcement way to approach the issue in my mind. I want to foster an understanding of the importance of assignments, and an intrinsic motivation to achieve, in my students rather than have them submit assignments simply to avoid some form of punishment. So what to dooooo?

Report Writing: An Exercise in Doublespeak

I feel dirty. I feel like an agent from Orwell's 1984; or like a modern day Australian politician. That's right; I am learning the art of report writing. The mastery of Doublespeak, Weasel Words and educationalese.

I am one-sixth of the way through my first report drafts. It's a slow process, that's for sure - although I am trying to be as efficient as I can be. The problem is learning how to express the unsavoury truth in the most savoury fashion possible - how to recast deficits in a positive light. How not to say "your child is a collosal pain in the rear and will probably end up being a trolley collector."

It's not all bad of course - there are a few shining lights - but in general I'm finding this process quite challenging. Definitely something that I feel underprepared for by my teacher education courses; and definitely a process I'll be working on improving next semester.

ELPC2: Task of the Week 1

Initial Thoughts

As an English teacher I am probably one of the more enthusiastic about our course content. I can understand teachers of other subjects having some misgivings about being expected to teach reading, with the amount of time pressures we all have and the seemingly endless list of topics we're expected to cover with our students, however I truly believe without the ability to read and write our students will be lost. So I'm looking forward to this course equipping me with more skills to help my students read.



My Own Early Literacy Experiences

I can't remember a lot about learning to read, and what I do remember I realise are received memories from my parents. They've told stories ever since I can remember about my conscientious nature (that was my teachers' pet word in ALL my school reports). When I was 4, my two preschool teachers passed one another a book over my head, and as it went past I read the upside down title out loud, to their surprise. We have various home videos of myself and my little sister reading (or trying to); I can't sit down for breakfast even now without some kind of text in front of me. I read the graffiti on toilet walls; catalogues and other junk mail; menu boards at cafes; road signs and so on. I can't help myself! I don't remember reading ever feeling like a challenge, I think it came fairly naturally to me.



Chapter One of Tovani

I've enjoyed Tovani's first chapter, especially her introduction of the "proficient readers" techniques, and generally I have high expectations of this unit. I really enjoyed her linking the chapter on viruses to the fat man sneezing on her; I think linking concepts and content to real life is so important, not just in reading but in engaging students in any subject.



Initial Thoughts on a Research Subject

My research subject for assessment one is my partner. He doesn't particularly enjoy reading and being a fairly practical, hands-on sort of bloke he is not drawn to sitting down with a book like I am. I'm hoping to learn from him not just about his reading experiences, but on a broader level how I can engage my male students who aren't as academically inclined.

RINE Research Journal 7: AD/HD

Noël Gregg's "Adolescents and Adults with Learning Disabilities and ADHD: Assessment and Accommodation" attempts to redress the imbalance in the literature surrounding learning disabilities and ADHD. As Gregg asserts, the majority of studies and associated literature on ADHD focuses on early childhood and the primary years, in the hopes that early intervention can correct the impact of the disorder on later life. However Gregg believes that the disorder is a lifelong condition that requires accommodation in secondary, tertiary and adult education as well, and her book focuses on these later years.

As Gregg's book also deals with learning disabilities, students with ADHD are not the primary focus, however as with many "Universal Design for Learning" principles many of her ideas apply to both categories.

One area in which Gregg asserts students with ADHD are being marginalised is in standard, high-stakes assessment such as college entrance exams, NAPLAN and the like. Much standardised testing both in America and Australia is still largely based on written work, so they do not accommodate students with ADHD well, nor do they reflect their whole ability (Gregg, 2009, p. 128). Multiple intelligences are poorly catered for in written exam situations, and the requirement for sustained focus in a stressful, silent exam environment is particularly difficult for students with ADHD. This is one area in which accommodations are yet to be made, although relatively simple changes to procedure such as allowing breaks in exam settings, would no doubt assist students with inattention problems.


Source:

Gregg, N. (2009) Adolescents and Adults with Learning Disabilities and ADHD: Assessment and Accommodation. New York: The Guilford Press.