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I introduced some new strategies to our staff that they can use in the classroom pertaining to facilitating collaborative conversations to support student comprehension.  A recent challenge in my teaching practice is in working through a coaching cycle with a teacher.  While she is willing to engage in new learning, putting it into practice has been a challenge.

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I introduced some new strategies to our staff that they can use in the classroom pertaining to facilitating collaborative conversations to support student comprehension.  A recent challenge in my teaching practice is in working through a coaching cycle with a teacher.  While she is willing to engage in new learning, putting it into practice has been a challenge.

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I felt Donor's use of peer assessment was very successful as the students chose to change their art based on other students' observations. Also, the teacher kept the criteria very simple, allowing the students to focus on details they understood and had been taught.

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Peer editing or critique appeals to me, because the students would demonstrate what they know while critiquing the work of others.

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Peer editing or critique appeals to me, because the students would demonstrate what they know while critiquing the work of others.

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I really appreciate seeing how Donors simplified the critieriaand hoow she worked with the students to create a visual rubric.

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I have the second lowest reading group in our first grade reading rotation.  My challenge is to keep these students interested and engaged so they can progress in their reading levels.  A success I had recently was the use of a GLAD chant for the instruction of what are seeds.  The students love the chant and were able to share information on seeds from the chant.

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I have the second lowest reading group in our first grade reading rotation.  My challenge is to keep these students interested and engaged so they can progress in their reading levels.  A success I had recently was the use of a GLAD chant for the instruction of what are seeds.  The students love the chant and were able to share information on seeds from the chant.

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I agree that I thought it was successful.  The teacher modeled more of a growth mindset way of thinking for the student when she told them that they could take the recommendations and grow from them instead of getting defensive about it. (The teacher worded it much better than I did there!) That would be the major challenge that teachers face in using peer assessment, but I think the rubric helps with them because there is set criteria to base their assessment on.  The visual rubric is such a great tool.  I will definitely consider using something similar in my unit.

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I agree that I thought it was successful.  The teacher modeled more of a growth mindset way of thinking for the student when she told them that they could take the recommendations and grow from them instead of getting defensive about it. (The teacher worded it much better than I did there!) That would be the major challenge that teachers face in using peer assessment, but I think the rubric helps with them because there is set criteria to base their assessment on.  The visual rubric is such a great tool.  I will definitely consider using something similar in my unit.

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One success I've had recently is just realizing the richness of the relationships that have been built in the classroom. Not just with each other, but with myself as well. I know what they're capable of and they trust me. The dynamics of our classroom is a safe place to make mistakes combined with students who have gained enough skills to really take off... and it's created a true learning environment.  It feels good.

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One success I've had recently is just realizing the richness of the relationships that have been built in the classroom. Not just with each other, but with myself as well. I know what they're capable of and they trust me. The dynamics of our classroom is a safe place to make mistakes combined with students who have gained enough skills to really take off... and it's created a true learning environment.  It feels good.

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A challenge I've had recently is finding where I fit in our grade level team and being prepared enough to know what I want to collaborate about and what I want to do differently.
-Angelee

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I liked it for a couple different reasons, but I feel like the biggest positive is that it felt like it was preparing them for a scenario they might encounter in the future. Music is a rare subject that it opinions of others do matter. It's not a writing prompt where your response is yours along...music is something is to be shared and enjoyed with others...it's a natural assessment to check in with those whom you're sharing it with.

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I loved how she infused cultural practices into her lessons. Something I could see myself using is the concept of earning a white belt when they mastered a certain task. It is an incentive as well as giving the students first had exposure to an aspect of a studied culture.
-Angelee

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This year has been an amazing blessing. I have a class filled with at grade level learners who love to express themselves and are kind and considerate. Normally my room has a number of challenging students because I jokingly claim to have a gift with little stinkers. For whatever reason, everyday we effortlessly laugh and sing while going on creative artistic intellectual tangents. I'm going to cry like a baby when they graduate to second grade in June. This group of students has been a once in a career experience with very few let downs or challenges. I'm appreciating every moment.

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Peer assessment is a great way to engage students. The kids were very open to listening to their peers and seemed really engaged in the discussions and peer feedback. For peer assessments to work, the classroom has to have a lot of prior discussion about listening for information and students need to feel safe. They need to be comfortable with the idea that making mistakes or asking others for help is the starting point for growth. Encouraging students to expand their ideas or add to one another's thoughts are great ways to help students open up and work collaboratively.  Because my kids are used to this modeling process, it's going to be fun expanding this type of peer discussion into art. First graders will need a more structured feedback form and we will use small group settings to help the kids stay focused and encourage discussion. My students are going to really like this part of the lesson process.

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I'm really excited about approaching this lesson from a peer discussion followed by revision mindset. I want my kids to embrace the idea that their project will have a rough draft, reflection/peer discussion/revision phase followed by the final project, just like their writing. The idea that in all academic areas learning is an ongoing process is important.

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One challenge I have had this year is with some students who have had lot's of trauma in their young lives. Keeping the balance between student accountability and behavior has been tough. A success I have had has been using kindness, love and humor to keep these kids on track and learning.

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One challenge I have had this year is with some students who have had lot's of trauma in their young lives. Keeping the balance between student accountability and behavior has been tough. A success I have had has been using kindness, love and humor to keep these kids on track and learning.

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I really like the visual rubric idea.  I am already thinking about different ways that I can use that.  Beyond creating art, I think I could use it in scoring the organization of writing and the process of revision in writing.

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I really like the visual rubric idea.  I am already thinking about different ways that I can use that.  Beyond creating art, I think I could use it in scoring the organization of writing and the process of revision in writing.

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This year has lent itself to a focus on gratitude, service to others, and community building. I'm grateful for the sweet and silly kiddos with whom I spend each day. The sense of community and togetherness that this group has achieved is a complete success.

One challenge this year is trying to make up for our lost instructional time. It's taken a lot of effort to critically analyze each standard and skill to determine what can be skipped, what can be modified, and what is crucial, etc.

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One challenge I had in the last few weeks was with an assessment and student apathy. I thought I had come up with a great strategy for a project assessment using peer feedback. I created a google slide presentation and shared it with my HS art classes on Google Classroom. Students were instructed to photograph and post a picture of their completed project on their own slide. They then were to use the comment feature and do a TAG peer review (tell them something you like, ask them a question, give feedback) using artistic vocabulary (that was provided on a handout). Most of the students did amazing, but a large handful completely blew it off, left snarky, effortless feedback and didn't even take it seriously. Their grade reflected their actions, but I was just really disappointed in some attitudes.
A Success: is the relationships that I have built with my student artists! My classroom is a creative hub and I love it. We are just finishing up entries into the Vans Custom Culture contest and it had a noticeable impact on our creative school culture. It was pretty amazing!

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Recently, one challenge I've had within my teaching practice is scaffolding within projects. One assumption I wrongly made about my students earlier this year is that they knew about and valued the drafting process. Simply asking them to turn in three thumbnail drafts before beginning on their final really stumped them. So I started to create project packets that outline that process for them. One packet I created for a drawing packet in January was way too complicated and students became exhausted from the draft work. I'm learning to find that balance. So, I would say a rose is that I am finding that balance and as the students have been working on their final projects of choice, they are successfully completing draft work and I see them valuing it. A few weeks ago I had an observation by our principal and she asked a student what were they learning that they could take out of this art class into their future lives. The student responded that she's learning how to organize ideas and complete projects. That feels like a real success for me.

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Analyzing Donnor's Assessment - Erin Lizardo

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Analyzing Donnor's Assessment - Erin Lizardo

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I think that how Donnor designed the whole experience for her students helped them be successful in so many ways. The way that the students were involved in the whole process of creating the criteria and rubric helped them be more connected with the process and engaged in getting feedback about their artwork. I've focused on student created criteria this semester and my students have really stepped up their use of academic language and their critical thinking skills as a result.

Some of the challenges I've faced with peer assessments is when a student doesn't take the task seriously and uses it as an opportunity to make a joke or give their classmate a hard time. During peer assessment, I have to circulate the room to monitor productivity, learning, and appropriate conduct.

The visual rubric is something I'd like to utilize in my classroom. I always try to create an example project for students to refer to, but breaking down each criteria with an closeup photo on the rubric seems like it would really appeal to visual learners and would further my efforts to uphold UDL.

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A really simple strategy I'd like to implement is the use of sticky notes for peer critique. Recently, I've started carrying around sticky notes in my apron and using them to leave notes or drawings on my students' draft work for them to reference as needed. That keeps my work and suggestions separate from the student's work. Similarly, simple peer critique notes or suggestions on sticky notes can be kept with the draft work, but keeps it separate.

I'd also like to incorporate visual elements into the actual rubric. Rubrics tend to be overwhelming for most students and I know that the majority of students do not refer to the rubric after the first day when we go over the entire project. I think visual example of exemplary work would benefit the visual learners and further clarify expectations.

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I felt the peer assessments were effective because the students were well informed beforehand about what criteria they were looking for. I would think that many students in my first grade class would be threatened by a peer telling them that they needed to add this, or fix this. I think it takes a level of maturity that many of my students don't have. I would modify this by giving students anonymous examples and have them critique and level them according to the rubric we made together.

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I think Donnor's assessment methods were highly effective. The visual rubrics had criteria that was clear, concise, and student-driven. This would allow her students to be well-informed of expectation and add to their buy-in. In regards to the actual criteria being assessed, Donnor's rubric touches upon the three components of art assessments: content knowledge (texture), process (small strokes, paint application, and how to achieve texture), and production (overall impression & similarity to observed birds).

Peer assessments can be difficult because students don't always take them seriously both as the givers and receivers of feedback. Knowing Donnor was focused on peer assessment, I think it was powerful to have the class debrief at the end HOW they used their partner's suggestions. That strategy reinforces the importance of the feedback process. As a 5th and 6th grade teacher I could see myself using Donnor's method almost verbatim. My only hesitation comes from knowing the peer dynamics of preteens. I can anticipate issues with using student work to sort and create the visual rubric. I would rather have anonymous samples to sort to avoid student embarrassment or acting out to "save face."

- Cassandra

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Like many of you, I would like to incorporate more self & peer assessments. I appreciate Donnor's process of creating the visual rubric  and could see that as a powerful tool in my own classroom. In addition, the Fauvist portrait project's use of worksheets was outstanding. The blank face worksheets allowed students to mark the locations of their peer feedback without damaging their peer's artwork. I'd like to use these thoughtful, quick feedback forms in addition to the post-its used by Donnor.