In talking with students, we have decided to move quizzes that normally happen on Mondays to Tuesday or Wednesday. We meet every other day. We also decided to move the quizzes to the last 10 minutes of class instead of the first 10 minutes. That allows students to ask questions throughout the class period.
As we move into our next unit, I will be adding in more activities and less practice problems. That will allow them a chance to make a connection to the material other than rote practice. My goal is to not give 50 practice problems and an activity, but to narrow the focus of the practice problems and use the activity to solidify the learning.
So balancing the practice, activities and quizzes will encourage learning and limit stress. Instead of trying to give students full sets of everything in the time allowed in class. Sometimes less is more.
I allow students to make corrections on any assignment to improve their grades. I also have a no zero policy which means students are not allowed to have missing assignments. They will attend lunch box (a lunch specifically for students who need to complete work), take work home, schedule a time after school, or complete work during our FIDO (a day where all students who have Fs, incomplete, Ds or zeros are required to work on missed/late work). Students know they have many opportunities to complete work. I think this relieves some pressure. And, definitely less is more sometimes, but it's hard to give less when it seems students need more practice.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious how it turned out with the students being allowed to re-take quizzes. Did you see an improvement in their test scores? Kudos for trying something new!
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