Self-Grading, Learning Styles, and Stress Relief

The Friday Five

TGIF Teacher Newsletter #151

Become a Supporter

Before you dive into this week's Friday Five, I want to share a resource with you and something to ponder.

1. I just published an ebook on Amazon called "Reflective Pages: Stress Management Through Journaling for Educators: Harness the power of journaling as a form of self-care and to build your resilience." It's packed with practical tips to help you harness the power of journaling to counter the effects of teaching and build resilience. I'd love for you to check it out.
2. Do you feel like you don't have time for self-care? You're not alone. What if you put it at the top of your never-ending to-do list? Here are some thoughts.

Reflection Questions:

1. After reading about self-grading practices, what specific strategies could you implement in your classroom next week to help students better understand and evaluate their own learning? How might this impact both their academic growth and your teaching practice?
2. Considering the research on learning styles myths, how might you need to adjust your current teaching approaches to ensure you're not unconsciously limiting students' potential? What evidence-based practices could you use instead?
3. This newsletter discusses both professional development (through teaching strategies) and personal well-being (through exercise and self-care). How are you currently balancing these two aspects of your life? What specific changes could you make to better prioritize both your professional growth and personal wellness?

The Friday Five

1 - Grade It Yourself

In a 2023 study published in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, researchers Gutierrez and Schraw investigated the impact of self-graded homework on student learning and metacognitive accuracy in undergraduate psychology courses. The study, which involved 127 students across four semesters, revealed that participants who self-graded their homework showed a 23% improvement in learning outcomes compared to the control group. The results demonstrated that students who engaged in self-grading their homework not only showed improved learning outcomes but also developed more accurate assessments of their own understanding, with metacognitive accuracy improving by 31% over the semester.

Additionally, the study found that self-grading practices helped students identify their knowledge gaps more effectively, leading to better study strategies and academic performance. Students who participated in self-grading reported spending an average of 45 minutes more per week on targeted study activities, focusing specifically on areas they identified as challenging through the self-grading process. Here’s how self-grading might be implemented in the middle school classroom.

Self-grading is a helpful tool that works well for students of all ages, and each grade level offers different ways for students to learn and understand how they're doing. In elementary school, young students start learning how to check their own work using simple checklists and easy-to-understand guides with pictures. When students get to middle school, they can handle more detailed self-grading methods, like using scoring guides and answering questions about what they learned. This helps them think more deeply about their work while staying interested in learning. High school students can do even more advanced self-grading, like making their own scoring guides and keeping track of their work over time in portfolios. As students move up through the grades, they get better at understanding their own learning while still getting the right amount of help from their teachers.

Implementation Strategies Across Grade Levels

Elementary School Level

At the elementary level, teachers can introduce self-grading gradually with age-appropriate methods:

• Use simple rubrics with clear criteria and visual aids (e.g., smiley faces, traffic light colors)
• Start with basic subjects like math where answers are clearly right or wrong
• Guide students through the grading process as a whole class activity initially
• Incorporate peer review alongside self-grading to build confidence

Middle School Level

Middle school students can handle more complex self-assessment techniques:

• Develop detailed rubrics that include both content and effort criteria
• Implement reflection questions after self-grading ("What did I learn?" "What do I still need help with?")
• Use self-grading for both homework and in-class assignments
• Create opportunities for students to revise work after self-assessment

High School Level

High school students can engage in sophisticated self-assessment practices:

• Involve students in creating grading criteria and rubrics
• Implement portfolio-based self-assessment for long-term projects
• Use technology tools for self-grading and tracking progress
• Connect self-grading to broader metacognitive strategies and study skills

For all levels

• Regularly verify student self-grades to ensure accuracy and honesty
• Provide specific feedback on students' self-grading accuracy
• Use self-grading data to inform instruction and identify areas needing additional support
• Create a classroom culture that values honest self-reflection over perfect scores

2 - Learning Styles Myth

A new study shows how people's beliefs about learning styles can unfairly affect how they judge students' abilities. The study, published in a science journal, found that when people think someone is a "visual learner" (someone who learns best by seeing), they assume that person is smarter and better at subjects like math and science. On the other hand, when people think someone is a "hands-on learner" (someone who learns best by doing), they assume that person is better at subjects like art and gym.

The researchers found these wrong ideas were common among parents, children, and teachers alike. This is a big problem because scientists have shown that learning styles aren't real - they're just a myth. Yet people still use these false beliefs to make judgments about how well students can do in school. The study shows we need to fix these wrong ideas so students aren't unfairly judged based on what type of learner people think they are.

For teachers, this research highlights the importance of avoiding learning style labels and focusing instead on evidence-based teaching practices. Teachers should use diverse instructional methods not because students have fixed learning styles, but because variety in teaching approaches helps all students engage with and understand the material more deeply. They should actively challenge their own potential biases about students' abilities based on perceived learning preferences, and ensure they're maintaining equally high expectations for all students regardless of how they seem to learn best. Additionally, teachers can educate parents and students about the learning styles myth to prevent these misconceptions from limiting students' academic self-concept or aspirations.

3 - Pump it Up

Resistance training is an effective way to reduce anxiety symptoms. The benefits of strength training for anxiety may come from multiple sources, including the release of feel-good endorphins and the sense of accomplishment from mastering new exercises. Researchers note that the progressive difficulty of the workouts helped participants achieve personal goals, which boosted their self-confidence. Additionally, the social support from working with trainers may have contributed to the positive mental health outcomes.

For educators, it's important to note that these anxiety-reducing benefits can be achieved without expensive equipment, as bodyweight exercises are equally effective. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults perform muscle-strengthening activities at least twice per week, targeting all major muscle groups. Simple movements like pushups, lunges, planks, and squats are a good place to start. These can all be done with your body weight alone.

4 - You First

“Your to-do list will always be there tomorrow. But you know what might not be? Your energy, passion, and joy for teaching if you don't take care of yourself first.” - The Why Edify Guy

5 - Teacher Commuter Playlist - Wind In Our Sail by Weezer

Choose Your Own Adventure

• Student-centered teaching has merit.
• Short Answer - Gamified writing for any subject.
• Look into service learning. Here’s a resource.

Why Edify Recommendations

• Book - Bold School by Weston Kieschnick. Amplify “old school” wisdom with a layer of “new school” technology. Explore the benefits of blended learning.
• Teacher Vacation Socks - In preparation for Spring Break. It will be here before you know it.

❤ Enjoy this Article?

🍵 Show Your Support and 🤗 Share It