Reflections and Revisions

After reading the questions on my blog, I realized, I need to be more specific with my action plan. The alternative grading system is going to be based on the grading system defined in Rick Wormeli’s Fair Isn’t Always Equal. A 4-point number scale, similar to the 4.0 grade average scale, will substitute the traditional letter grading scale. Rubrics will continue to be in place. Rubrics will be communicated to the students so students will be aware of the desired standards they are to complete. Motivation will be measured by student surveys/self-evaluations. Throughout the desired length of time, students will fill out the survey/self-evaluation to communicate if they were more, the same, or less motivated by the alternative grade. As far as the length of the action research project, I may need to extend my action research project to cover two classroom projects, which would extend the research project by two to three weeks. Based on the comment of reliable data, I scheduled a meeting with several team leaders this week to see if other teachers in the building would also be interested in implementing an alternative grading system. Recruiting additional teachers would elevate any shortage of reliable data.

I spoke with my site supervisor about my action research action plan and he thought that the plan was a good starting point. my site supervisor agreed with the additions I made to the action plan as a reflection to the comments and questions left from other students on my blog. My site supervisor suggested that I add parents as one of my resource tools due to the high involvement rate we have at our school. He believes that I would get an overwhelming amount of feedback from our parents. My site supervisor also suggested that I have the district curriculum specialist, building administrator, a first year teacher, and a veteran teacher analyze the data. He believes that collaboration with others in the district would give additional insight on the inquiry. I found my site supervisor's suggestions to be most helpful and I plan on adding these tasks to my action research plan.

A revised action research plan will be posted soon.

Action Research Plan

How is student motivation related to student’s perception of a traditional letter grading system compared to an alternative grading system and whether the alternative grading system allows for an accurate depiction of student mastery of the content provided?

Goals/Objectives:

1. Determine whether students are highly motivated by traditional or alternative grading system
2. Evaluate the accurate depiction of student mastery when the alternative grading system is implemented.

Activities:

1. Develop method of evaluating student motivation
2. Evaluate current and traditional letter grading systems with student motivation
3. Define alternative grading system
4. Implement alternative grading system in the classroom
5. Compare results of traditional grading versus alternative system.

Resources and Research Tools:

1. District and school grading policy
2. Campus Administrators
3. Related literature
4. Student evaluation tools

Timeline:

The qualitative data will be collected during a class project, which is projected to last two to three weeks. Multiple assessment checkpoints will be scheduled through out the duration of the project.

Persons responsible for implementation:

I am responsible for the implementation of the research action plan with the support of my site based administrator.

Process for Monitoring:

Through weekly assessments, I will monitor the progress of my action plan to meet the goals and objectives.

Assessment:

Based on Nacy Fichtman Dana’s, Leading with Passion and Knowledge, an assessment instrument will be designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the action research study.

My school administrators have inquired about the perception of a traditional letter grading system compared to an alternative grading system within our campus. A change in the grading system has been mentioned but further research has not been completed. Due to the schools interest on the subject, I intend to provide my data and research to provide insight and recommendations on the current grading system compared to an alternative grading system. Within my communication with my school officials, I will provide background information regarding our current grading system, the process of data collection for the alternative grading system, provide findings, analysis, claims, assertions, and arguments, and conclude with additional questions of inquiry.

Action Research Topic Defined

I originally was going to do my action research on the classroom evaluation processes. After speaking with my site supervisor, I am going to modify the action research topic. Instead of focusing on the evaluation process of student work in the classroom, I am going to research the grading system and how it relates to student motivation. The research will include how students perceive a traditional letter grading system compared to a completion grade and whether the grading system allows for an accurate depiction of student mastery of the content provided. The grading system needs to be a process that provides a thorough and accurate depiction of student mastery of the class material. Many times, passing a class with minimal effort instead of truly learning the subject matter motivates the students. Through action research, I want to find a consistent form of grading which presents a positive motivation for student learning.