Feedback through Reflection Sheets, QuickKey

Excellence in Education

Susan Brookhart, an educator and researcher who focuses on feedback, urges us to involve students into the feedback process. One suggestion she has is to provide students with reflection sheets. The reflection sheets, whether they be a log, a graph, or something else completed by the student, should require the students to reflect on their daily learning success.

By monitoring their own progress, students took more responsibility for their learning and were able to accurately predict their own performance on larger tests. By involving the students in a metacognitive manner, students took greater ownership of their learning and enjoyed the learning process more!

Tech in Education: QuickKey

The founder of QuickKey has reached out to me several times on Twitter and this past weekend, a teacher mentioned it at this past weekend’s edcamp.

Right now it’s only an IOS app, but it’s coming soon for Android and Windows mobile devices.

What’s it do?

1. It turns your phone into a optical scanner to grade quizzes, tests, surveys, etc. up to 30 questions long.
2. It then gives you a data breakdown and the data can be uploaded (I don’t know how well it works with BlackBoard’s gradebook).

How’s it work?

1. Download the app.
2. Download the answer sheet and copy it. No more having to pay for Scantron sheets!
3. Enter the answers into your phone and scan each student’s answer using your phone.

Advantages?

1. Cheap! Actually it’s free. The only cost is the paper we print our answer sheets on.
2. While not as fast as the Scantron machine, it doesn’t break, there are no lines, you can do it at home.
3. It’s great for quick formative assessments and quizzes.

Administrative Stuff

Thank you to all of you who attended prom. It was—by far—the best attended prom by both students AND staff. While your attending helps with supervision, more importantly, the students appreciate seeing you.

We’d really like to say thank you for your participation in last week’s professional development and faculty meetings. It was among our best! As we go forward, please remember that you are the biggest variable in making Kettle Run better.

We’re trying to be more proactive and supportive of your efforts to educate all of our students. We’ve had some great success with some early strategies! Thanks for collaborating and communicating with us and let us know what we can do to support your teaching.

Please be sure to contact any families of students with D’s and Fs’ through a phone call or a personalized email.

Tonight’s #vachat tackles one of the most heated/passionate topics in education: homework. Join us tonight at 8.

Upcoming Kettle Run Events/Schedule

April 7:

Boys Lacrosse vs. Brentsville Home 6/7:30

Girls Lacrosse @ Brentsville 6/7:30

Boys Tennis @ Spotsylvania 4:30

Girls Tennis vs. Spotsylvania Home 4:30

April 8:

FLEX

Girls Soccer @ Fauquier 5:30/7:00

Boys Soccer vs. Fauquier Home 5:30/7:00

Varsity Softball vs. Fauquier Home 6

Varsity Baseball vs. Fauquier Home 6

JV Baseball @ Fauquier 6

April 9:

Varsity Softball vs. Freedom Home 6

Track @ Kettle Run Home

April 10:

FLEX

Career Shadowing Day

CTE Interviews

Girls Lacrosse @ Eastern View 6/7:30

Lacrosse vs. Eastern View Home 5:30/7:00

Girls Soccer @ Spotsylvania 6/7:30

Boys Tennis vs. James Monroe Home 4:30

Girls Tennis @ James Monroe

April 11:

Varsity Baseball @ Culpeper 4:30

JV Baseball vs. Culpeper 6

Varsity Softball @ Culpeper 4:30

Boys Soccer @ Culpeper 6/7:30

Girls Soccer vs/ Culpeper 5:30/7:00.

What I’m Reading

7 Things to Remember About Feedback

What Americans Like About Their Favorite Teachers

Virginia’s New State Superintendent of Instruction : (the Twitter world spoke really highly of his appointment and this article makes him look pretty promising)

Quote of the Week

Feedback to any pupil should be about the particular qualities of his or her work, with advice on what he or she can do to improve, and should avoid comparisons with other pupils.

~Dylan Wiliam