EXCEEDS OPTIONS

I have been struggling all week to figure out what to write about for my blog.  I think part of my problem of inspiration is the amount of snow I have been shoveling since I last wrote.  Also, we have had another snow day since the last blog, and I have already written about snow days and the reflection time they allow for me.  It occurred to me that during our teacher inservice days we discuss many interesting topics.

I thought perhaps I would take one of those significant topics and I would "riff" on it.  Well, the term "riff" is a wonderful jazz word that means to improvise on something.  I actually would not be doing that, as I know a great deal about this topic, and have worked with it long before we started to use the standards based reporting system, and long before we let go of a 1-100 scale and a,b, c, d, and f grading system.

As you can see by the title, I will be talking about the "EXCEEDS" options when it comes to projects and assessments.  We are working today on creating those "EXCEEDS" options in the assessments in different curriculum areas.  I am the only person who teaches general music for fifth and sixth grade, so my "EXCEEDS" options are my own ideas or they are taken from other sources.  All of my projects have an exceeds option on them.   It is way above and beyond what is expected of the student who might be working on the project or assessment.

 Every week, at the end of the week, there is some assignment or project that is due so the students will have accomplished something before they leave music for a whole week.  Take, for example, the "DYNAMICS" project that they worked on and performed last week.  To get a "3" or a "meets" you have to create a one minute composition that uses pianissimo-fortissimo and shows an understanding of all those dynamics.  Everyone must be involved in the group, and the group must collaborate together throughout the process.  To get a "4" or an "EXCEEDS" on this project it is much more difficult.  A student needs to compose music using treble and bass clef, for a specific instrument or instruments, and needs to be able to use standard notation correctly and also add to that the use of subito forte and subito piano.  It is not just "more of the same" it is a more complex version of the project.  Students need to be thinking at a higher, more sophisticated level of music-making to create this composition and to perform it.

It is very complex to re-think your whole idea of "grading" and "assessment".  A four, I will repeat, is not an "A" or an "A plus".  A four or "exceeds" is also not "extra credit".  A four, or an "exceeds" is the option that some students will choose to do or be encouraged to do, because they are capable of thinking at a higher level.  We always used Bloom's taxonomy to understand the different levels of

thinking.  Now they use Marzano's taxonomy,

which actually is not that much different from Bloom's but has a few more parts to it.  If we study these different options, we can be pretty confident that we will be challenging our students and giving them many opportunities to succeed in our classes.  

Yesterday my fifth graders were writing new lyrics to "Down By the Riverside".  When they finished the three verses that were required, they asked if there was a way to get an exceeds for this project, since they had more time.  My immediate response was, in my head was, "more verses?"  However, that clearly is not asking them to think at a more complex level.  What if these students were asked to teach someone else the way we write lyrics?  That involves a transfer of learning, more decision-making, collaboration and more problem-solving, without giving the students the answers.  Then, I thought, what about writing a new song from scratch?  About freedom, peace, and laying your sword and shield down?  That would be another option for exceeds. 

 I think there are a few important final ideas about this subject that I want to re-iterate.  First, we cannot get bogged down in asking our quicker students to do more.  More is just that. More, it won't teach them to think at a higher level.  Second, we cannot correlate "Exceeds" with "extra credit" or "A plus".  It is definitely not extra or plus.  For some students, they are starting at a different point than others.  The bottom line is, this is that wonderful word that I have been plugging away at since I began teaching, and this "EXCEEDS" option keeps us honest and accountable: DIFFERENTIATION!!!!

AHA MOMENT!!! 

WIKEPEDIA ON DIFFERENTIATION 

I LEAVE YOU HERE..Check out Lennon and Maisy singing Jason Mraz..if you had these kids in your class you would have to find some serious exceeds options for them..Lennon and Maisy