I suppose it’s become as much an invitation as an expectation. I expect my kids to discover better. I invite them to discover better. So, together, we can discover better.

In my Day 5 post “Seeking Simple” (http://www.letschangeeducation.com/seeking-simple-project-180-day-5/) I shared this graphic to illustrate my approach to teaching and learning this year.

And simple doesn’t end here. I attempt to continue to simplify our experience–not to make it easy, but to make it sensible. I want the process from the introduction of the tASK to the score reported on their record in Skyward to make sense–to them, to me, to their parents. This is how I do it.

As I have shared before, I don’t consider Skyward my “grade book.” I consider it a tool to record learning experiences from my class. How is that different from a grade book? Well, I also offer to my kids and parents that a “grade” doesn’t exist until the end of the term, when kids and I come together as they select and support a grade from their record, their “learning story.” Yes, there is a “percentage” in Skyward but it is simply a metric to catch attention, a temperature reading of sorts. For instance, if a lower percentage is currently registering in the record, that is an invitation to better. It is an invitation to revise based on feedback and resubmit–sometimes multiple times–until the record is righted.

In the record, kids get one of three scores. 1 = Satisfactory Completion (I am satisfied with their work based on the provided success criteria). .7 = Incomplete (the experience is incomplete, there are opportunities for better). 0 = Missing (I can’t invite or help them to better until I know where we start from). Why the .7? Good question. I have used different numbers in the past, and despite my intentions and earnest efforts to mitigate the effect of the percentage that shows up on Skyward, kids and parents are sensitized to this, and when they see a low percentage, they “freak out.” So, this year, I am offering a .7 as a middle ground. It’s enough to catch attention but not so much to cause an unnecessary panic. It’s communication. It’s an invitation to better.

And that’s how I am trying to reconcile the mess that happens when learning has to become grading. The best way to do it? Of course not, but I think for now it’s a better way until a discover a better way.

Happy Wednesday, all.

Do. Reflect. Do Better.