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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Special Blog Assignment Due Wednesday Midnight November 7, 2013

USA TODAY special article on education
Read the USA Today article A World Where Grades Will Be Left Behind by Mary Beth Marklein. Summarize the article. Then respond to the arguments of the author from your perspective as a preservice teacher. This response, should be thoughtful, personal, and reflective. It also must be well reasoned. It must not contain any grammar or spelling errors. DUE WEDNESDAY midnight November 7, 2012

Friday, October 26, 2012

Midterm Evaluations

grades
Otherwise Known as Grades

You gave yourself a grade at midterm after evaluating yourself on a number of items of importance including doing all your work on time, the quality of your writing, the quality of the content of your posts, the grading system prescribed by the University of South Alabama ( A - Outstanding, B - Above Average, C - Average, D - Below Average, F - Unsatisfactory.) You also were to have been honest in your evaluations. You also were to have considered the evaluations provided by me and the Lab Professionals through our comments as well as the comments of your fellow students (which, I fear, must be heavily discounted since most are not true evaluations but cheerful "You are doing great" statements even if that is not true).

How do the grades you gave yourself compare with the grades I have given you?
Here are the data:
Dr. Strange gave a one letter better grade that the student gave him or herself: 4 - 3.5%
Dr. Strange and the student agreed exactly on the grade given: 37 - 32.7% (including 2 D grades)
The students gave him or herself a one letter higher grade than Dr. Strange gave them: 38 - 33.6%
The student gave him or herself a two letter higher grade than Dr. Strange gave them (A vs. C):10 - 8.9%
The student got a D from Dr. Strange but gave him or her self an A, B or C: 12 - 10.6%
The student did not complete the midterm questionnaire and therefore did not give a grade to him or her self. (All of these students were given an F or a D by Dr. Strange.): 12 - 10.6%

How were the grades given by Dr. Strange distributed?
A - 25 22.1%
B - 35 31.0%
C - 27 23.9%
D - 13 11.5%
F - 13 11.5%
How were the grades given by students distributed?
A - 59 52.2%
B - 31 27.4%
C - 09 08.0%
D - 02 02.8%
F - 00 11.5%
No Grade given 12 10.6%
Here are data concerning how you evaluated yourselves as to writing:
writing quality data self reported midterm fall 2012
Here are data concerning how you evaluated yourselves as to as to the quality of the content of your blog posts:
blog content quality data self reported midterm fall 2012

Some of you need to sit down and have a talk with me about your work. Who needs to do that?
Everyone to whom I gave an F or D (24 students not including the 2 students who gave themselves a D)
Everyone who gave themselves a grade two letters better that I gave them (10 students)
The two students who gave themselves a D (and I agreed) might also benefit from a chat with me although it is not required.
If you were within one grade of my grade or equal to my grade (and you did not get a D or F), we do not need to meet. Why not?
1. I have not reviewed all of your work yet (podcasts, my sentence, C4T, and some C4K assignments as well as comments by partners on cooperation or lack thereof).
2. This is midterm. Most students are improving the quality and timeliness of their work (which is what we should expect).
3. I used + and minus scores which the University does not recognize and which will not show on your midterm grade report.
4. There is limited time and I must meet with 34-36 students already.
How can you find out whether you must meet with me? I will send everyone who needs to meet with me an email by midnight Sunday October 29, 2012 stating the time for our meeting. You MUST confirm the appointment by return email. All appointments will be scheduled during the time slots allocated to your EDM310 section.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Correction: Lab Open and Staffed Saturday 10/28 and Sunday 10/29

What time is it?
The Lab will be open and staffed Saturday and Sunday October 28 and 29, 2012. We have found an available staff member (Carly) for Sunday.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Richard Howell Offers Good Advice on Writing

The Demeanor Report
Richard Howell, an EDM310 graduate, offers excellent advice on writing in his blog The Demeanor Report. Read his post How to Write Something Thoughtful and Commendable.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Lab Open and Staffed Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday

Open
Need to catch up during the Fall Break? The Lab will be open and staffed Saturday 10/6, Sunday 10/7, Monday 10/8 and Tuesday 10/9. Regular hours will apply.