Daily Notes

Third Week
September 24
September 25
September 26

Fourth Week
September 29
September 30
October 1
October 2
October 3

Fifth Week
October 6
October 7
October 8
October 9
October 10

Sixth Week
October 13
October 14
October 15
October 16
October 17

Seventh Week
October 20
October 21
October 22
October 23
October 24

Eighth Week
October 27
October 28
October 29
October 30
October 31

Ninth Week
November 3

Wednesday - October 8, 1997

I gave the retest in Algebra I today. The rules were as follows: They were allowed to use their book and they could not talk to anybody else (if they did, they were to receive an automatic zero). Also, if they were to finish their corrections before the end of the hour, I required them to check all their work. Both classes worked hard all hour.
    The end result of the redo was roughly what I expected. Most people raised their grade one full grade (D to C was the most common) with a few people raising their grade two full grades. The class average rose from a 64% to a 77%. So as a grade raiser, it was a success. Did it show me that the students learned the material overnight? Hah! The first test showed how much the students knew...
    I guess I don't mind being accused of grade inflation here, though. It's entirely possible that at least some of the fault of the classes' abysmal initial score was my fault. I wanted to get some feedback in that respect and hit upon a way late Tuesday night how I might do this. I decided that I would institute a journal of some sort in the class. Initially, I would ask the students to write at least 1/2 page on what they thought of the class. Was it going to fast for them? Did I not explain things simply enough for them? In general, what did they think of Algebra I so far. I assigned it as homework and told them I would collect it at the beginning of class tomorrow.
    I'm still not sure where I'm going to go with the journal idea. I've toyed with the idea of having a continuing dialog of sorts in the journals. For instance, I would give the kids a guideline for what to write in their journal and then I would collect them. Rather then assign a grade, I would read their comments on put my own comments to their comments. In this way, I could create a continuing dialog with my students. I would also be immediately swamped with work. I have enough work to do now, I don't need to invite more. We'll see how things go...
    Oh, I also gave the Algebra II test today. It was pretty standard. It looks like everybody did as expected on it, too. No surprised in that class.

<-Tuesday Home Thursday->