As I sit here writing and preparing for tomorrow's lesson, I am nowhere near as ready for the switch to a class that de-emphasizes grades as I thought I would be two weeks ago. I idealistically thought my time over break could be spent resting, spending quality time with family AND recreating the structure of my course. Easy enough, right? Instead, I spent time with my family and resting while thinking about the restructuring of my course. At first, I thought my time reflecting on the restructuring and the resulting lack of pen-to-paper (or finger-to-keyboard) work was a failure. Upon further reflection tonight, I realize the work is never going to be done and that fact is a key characteristic of this transition. Control over a classroom and the content covered is something I have strived to accomplish since I started teaching 11 years ago. The idea of a well-written lesson plan and extensive knowledge of content and pedagogy was the goal of my pre-service teaching program. I
As I enter my 7th year teaching second semester seniors, I am strongly considering a drastic change to my classroom structure to engage students through the remainder of the academic year. The decision and subsequent changes for my students may cause discomfort initially and a desire to go back to the way things were. However, as with most important things, if an action is worth taking it most likely is going to be difficult. My AP Environmental Science students will be going from a more traditional course with grades determined by points earned on summative assessments to a class where no points are earned and all grades will be earned via the accumulation of evidence of learning and making a grade claim based on that evidence. The first semester of this 2017-2018 school year saw students succeed in a classroom where grades were earned on based on summative assessment scores. Students could retake those assessments to earn more points to increase their percentage and accompanying