Assessing with Respect by Sackstein Starr;

Author:Sackstein, Starr; [Sackstein, Starr]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development
Published: 2021-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

When it comes to personalized learning, we've come a long way in allowing students choice in terms of the what, where, and when of their learning, but what are we doing to allow students choice when it comes to the who?

Source: From "Flexible Grouping: Collaboration Reimagined," by Z. Cohen, 2020, The Core Collaborative blog. © 2020 by Zak Cohen. Adapted with permission.

Other Strategies for Self-Management

Beyond time-management strategies, mindfulness techniques, and approaches to dealing with stress, there are several things you can do to help your students understand and develop various aspects of self-management. These include explicitly identifying characteristics of successful learners, using classroom jobs to encourage responsibility, sharing think-alouds to demonstrate accountability, and acknowledging responsible acts (Sackstein & Hamilton, 2016).

Identify characteristics of successful learners. Begin by asking your students to come up with examples of traits that characterize successful learners (for example, "likes to read," "follows directions," "is well organized") and write down their responses. Group the qualities into various categories, such as "knowledge," "responsibility," "attitude," and so on. Then, depending on the age of your students, create common definitions of these category labels. Good and bad examples of what different traits look like will further clarify definitions. This list could be displayed in the classroom, available as a reference throughout the school year. Some teachers even have their classes sign the list, as evidence that students will strive to personify these traits. If you have multiple classes, each group of students should create its own unique list of words.

Use classroom jobs to demonstrate responsibility. Many teachers post a job chart that describes things students can do to help manage the classroom. Assigning jobs to students has various benefits. It "not only helps you carry out your duties, but also provides students with a sense of purpose and daily responsibility that is visible in the classroom" (Sackstein & Hamilton, 2016, p. 42). The tasks should include a level of accountability such that failure to carry them out would be noticeable and consequential. An example would be gathering attendance data at the beginning of class. Having a class job involves another layer of responsibility if a student has a prearranged absence, which would require the student to find a replacement. The layers of responsibility involved in classroom jobs are visible to all students. They see "the impact of how important it is for the role to be filled and the effect it has on everyone if it's not" (Sackstein & Hamilton, 2016, p. 42).

Share think-alouds to demonstrate accountability. Think-alouds are a good way to model how students might consider possible consequences of situations or actions and plan for the best possible outcomes. Here's an example:

I'm not going to be in class tomorrow. What responsibilities do I have that will not be taken care of if I'm not here? My class job this week is the communicator, so I need to talk to the student substitute [a job from the work chart used in class] to have her fill in for me tomorrow.

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