Blog 11

Blog #11!

Observation: Level 4 does not mean using words to explain your answer during a math test.  

 

Reflection: At the Professional Development day during placement, the principals of the school spoke about how a teacher might mark a math question on a test. They presented a question to the teachers and gave them 4 different responses from students. They asked the teachers to use their judgment and grade the 4 different responses.

The question was as followed; “Andrew blinks his eyes about 3 times per minute when he is awake. He is awake approximately 14 hours per day. Does he blink his eyes more than 1 000 000 times in one year?

Circle one:    Yes        No.

Justify your answer.

From the answers that were given, the level 1 and 2 seemed obvious. Listening to the conversations, the majority of the teachers graded the level 3 answer that had the correct response, however did not explain their answer using words and complete sentences. The level 4 was given to the answer that was incorrect, as the student used 360 days instead of 365, however showed all their work and explained their answer using sentences and numbers.

Reflection on the Reflection: To many people’s surprise, when they were given a booklet with the correct way to mark this question, (according to the board office) the level 4 was the answer who got the correct answer, however used absolutely no words to explain their answer. Many teachers were shocked that it was not the one who justified their answer using words. They said that level 4 answers should be ones that complete the word problems using a concluding sentence.

They were told, however, that level 4 answers do NOT require words and sentences in math. As long as students show their work and come to the correct answer, they will receive a level 4. This was interesting to listen to as I thought the same thing as many of the other teachers in the room.

This was a valuable workshop to sit in on, as it taught me that in math, students do not need to write a concluding sentence in order to reach a level 4. This will definitely make me stop and think the next time I mark a math test. Just because students do not answer the question with words, does not mean they have not reached a level 4 score.