Physics 1 Students,

Remember that your ramp lab assessment evidence is due to be turned in on our new Schoology class.
If you have not signed up yet, go to schoology.com and join a course with the following access codes.
1st Hour Class: XPRXX-SV5SG
2nd Hour Class: 7RFCF-ZFQXJ

(for more detailed info, see the schoology.com student sign-up tutorial)
Once you have created a username and have access to our course, look for the assignment entitled, “Ramp Lab Assessment”. Upload a photo of your group’s whiteboard, and a photo of your individual notebook. Then write a reflection justifying how your photo evidence shows your skill level for S.P.04, S.P.05, and S.P.06

Greetings Introductory Physics athletes,

We are more than half-way through the first quarter, and we now have some evidence to begin tracking your learning progress.  Remember, we use the ActiveGrade system to keep track of your skill level from assessments, assignments, and lab activities.

A walkthrough presentation of ActiveGrade and the tips to succeed in this system can be viewed at the following link:
http://goo.gl/3VJ8yp

The main ideas to keep in mind about our system of feedback and grades are:
- This is a rubric system, not a point system. You don’t “lose points” nor “make up points”. You can simply show that you are getting smarter on subsequent assessments.
- Assessments determine your skill level relative to the skill rubric discussed in class.
- Your most current scores (your latest assessments) matter most.
- You achieve the best grade by actively learning from your past assessments.
- You are also assessed on the consistency of your homework. Keep up with your assignments.

Are you receiving the reminders for our class? If not, please sign up at
https://www.remind.com/join/dannugip

Your achievement is the goal of everything we do in this class.  Our assessments and feedbacks are also designed to increase your achievement. On any particular assessment, you will receive multiple scores; one for each learning goal that appears on this assessment.  We will use ActiveGrade to keep track of your scores, and your learning progress. 
This class only has four grades: 1st quarter, 1st semester, 3rd quarter, 2nd semester.
All other scores are your most current feedback related to specific learning goals.
At the end of each grading period, the average of your most current scores will translate to letter grades.

Refer to ActiveGrade to view your most current progress in achievement.

We use rubrics scores (not points) to give you feedback on your assessments. The scores communicate your skill level with each learning goal, not the assessment as a whole. I would like to describe our rubric scores in more detail.  The main idea behind rubric scores is to show you your level of science skill and understanding.

• At level 4, you understand the important information and skills accurately and in detail. You can apply the important skills without error and with fluency, and can also explain them in such a way to teach another these same skills and information.
• At level 3, you understand the important information and skills accurately but not in detail. You can apply important skills without significant errors, and can also explain them in a knowledgeable, but superficial way.
• At level 2, you have an incomplete understanding and/or have some misconceptions about the important information and skills; however, you know enough to have a basic understanding of the topic. You make some significant errors when applying the skill but still accomplish a rough approximation of the process.
• At level 1, you have so many misconceptions or your knowledge is so incomplete that you do not demonstrate an understanding of the topic. You make so many error in applying the skill that you cannot actually apply the skill.
• A score of 0  indicates that you provided little or no information with which to make a judgement.
  

As you receive feedback from all our assessments, please keep the Stockdale Paradox as your guiding perspective:
you must retain faith that you will prevail in the end and you must also confront the most brutal facts of your current reality.

When you receive your assessment scores, you can choose to learn from them.  Here are some ways you can learn from your assessments:

• Choose not to get discouraged. Remember the Stockdale Paradox.
  
• If the scores you receive are surprising to you, reflect on what you assumed you could do, and what the feedback really communicates.
  
• Compare your assessments with exemplary examples, with the goal to identify the differences between your work and the exemplars. You can interview your classmates with level 4 work. They are here to help you acheive learning. Ask them, "how did you approach this?" rather than "what did you do?" or "can I copy your work?"
  
• Compare your assessments with the solution key. Again, approach it with a learner's eye. What is written out in the solution that you didn't write? What is explained that you didn't explain? If you need more help identifying the differencese between your work and the solution, don't hesitate to talk with me. I am here to coach you through the learning process.
  

If you choose to use your assessment scores as learning opportunities like I outlined above, you will go a long way forward to achieving the two goals of our class: (1) to prepare you with science knowledge and skills for the next step in your educational career, and (2) to prepare you to be a resilient, growing learner for the rest of your life.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Make today great!

Greetings physics student/athlete!

As you receive progress reports from your teachers, you may or may not be motivated by your current performance. In our class, the feedback/grade system is designed to help you have a clear way to advance your learning if you choose to engage with it.

In our system, your feedback is rubric-based, not points-based.  Therefore, when you see your progress report grade, it is most helpful to look a bit deeper and examine the learning goal skills demonstrated on your most recent assessments. You will find your current standings on ActiveGrade (https://activegrade.appspot.com/DannugPhysics).  When you see the current bar charts of your skills, remember what each number means on the rubric:

4 - shows Advanced skill with this learning goal
3 - shows Proficient skill with this learning goal
2 - shows Developing skill with this learning goal
1 - shows Beginning skill with this learning goal

In class, we developed descriptors for the levels of each skill level. Refer to your notes about that discussion.

As you take time to reflect on your progress, here are some beneficial questions to ask yourself:

1. What made my response on the last assessment show the level that is given as feedback?
   
2. What is the difference between my response and a response one level up?
   
3. What action(s) will I do to learn and practice so that my response on the next assessment will be one level up?
   

As you reflect with these questions, keep in mind that you have many resources available to you. Your classmates can help you become clear about the level you currently demonstrated; additionally, the students whose feedback is one level higher than yours would be great peer-coaches to help you know how to respond better next time. Talk with your classmates.  Also, I am always available by appointment after school on certain days; set up an appointment to go over concepts with me.


Reflecting in this way will help you actively prepare for the next assessment, where the skill-rating scores you demonstrate will take the place of your current scores.