Sunday, June 12, 2011

Student feedback on the flipped classroom, instant feedback and technology focused assessment procedures.



As an update, I am no longer using this style of teaching in my classroom but will leave this post up as an archive of where I have been in my journey as a classroom teacher.

After thanking my students for letting me “experiment” with some new instructional strategies, I allowed them to give me some feedback on the tools we used as a class throughout the school year. Students remained anonymous unless they chose to enter their name at the end of the survey. I asked them to be honest so that I can continue, modify or change things to improve for the classes next year. The survey, like many things in class, was completed on iPods through a Google Form so that I could share the results with them as they were coming in. Below are some of the findings.

During the last half of the year, students submitted test responses through Google Forms on iPods. (Get my template here) Our district has a paper bubble sheet form that can be used alongside a computer so I wanted to hear from the students on what they liked best about the iPod method (the paper bubble sheets do not give students instant feedback...)

Unique use of ipods in math
14
24%
Instant test feedback
36
61%
Teacher always has an electronic result if I lose the paper copy
2
3%
Knowing what to section(s) to retake as soon as the test is finished
4
7%
Did not like using the ipods for tests


When asked how well they liked the self-paced, individualized format compared to a traditional large group instructional format, here is how they responded: 


(5 was strong like, 1 was strong dislike)


In planning for next year, I wanted to know if any students would have preferred to have the videos on DVD instead of delivered through the Internet. I was surprised to find ⅓ would have liked them on DVD. This is a good workaround for the students that have difficulty accessing a computer or Internet at home since I think a much higher number of students will have a DVD player.


(Students answering “yes” are saying they would prefer the videos on DVD rather than online or portable devices)


I required all students to submit select answers (covering the basic ideas for each learning topic) through a Google Form to be automatically corrected. Students get the answers right away after submission. I asked students “How helpful was the homework quiz process in knowing what you understand and do not understand?”


(1 was “not helpful”, 5 represents “very helpful”)


After submitting a homework quiz, students have the opportunity to correct their mistakes and work toward the correct answer. These corrections can be turned in the next day for additional credit. The graphic below is a reflection of their perception of this process (1 meaning the process was not helpful and 5 meaning the process was very helpful). (See the correction form students hand in here)





I wanted to get an idea of how accurate their grade was at the end of the trimester compared to their perception of their own understanding, again 1 would represent “not accurate” and 5 would be “very accurate”.





Additional student comments from the survey:
  • "I liked the layout and being more of a "technology" class"
  • (Some teachers) "Make people turn in paper homework just to make sure they did it (thankyou for not doing that to us)"
  • "I really enjoyed the class even though it was challenging."
  • "This class was very unique and very well done.  I defiantly think that it helped my learning. " 
  • "I love how  everything was accessible at home from the computer, that was super helpful !"
  • "Math was challenging this year but being able to retake really helped me and I think the sections I retook I knew it better. "
  • "hw quizzes are awesome do it always"

5 comments:

  1. These responses are very encouraging. I hope my students will be as happy with the methods!

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  2. I am planning on embedding google forms soon or for next year. How do you do that with students who get the videos on DVD? How has it worked in the last year since this original post?

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    Replies
    1. Sorry-just realized I never responded to your question. Students that view on DVD have the chance to log in their answers when they get to school and have access to internet and or a computer. It's been working well, many students are bringing their own devices. Been seeing a lot of Kindle and Nook users lately accessing same material.

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  3. What happens if a student attempts to retake one of your forms? Are they denied, does it overwrite the previous score or does it add a second score under their name? There is a great deal of potential with this tool. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. It will allow them to submit it again but I use a 'remove duplicates' script that will delete all later entries, keeping the 1st one. Before that script would be run it would be combining the two scores (which I wouldn't want). In the new templates linked online, the script is built into a menu that I've created that should load when the spreadsheet is opened.

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