Andrea Moore and Jennifer Gibbons, math teachers at River Bluff High School in Lexington One School District, chatted with us about their experience with using the Profile of the SC Graduate (PSCG) Competencies with their students. Read on to see what they shared about the use of these competencies in increasing student ownership in their classrooms!
How did you start using the competencies in your classroom settings?
One of the first ways we started using them was we looked at the goal setting ones, specifically the Learning Independently competency. We were integrating this into Algebra Prep Lab and one of the things we knew our students needed was a way to set goals, monitor, and work towards those goals to be successful. We chose that competency to dive into first and we started with reflection questions around the skills of Monitoring Progress and Taking Strategic Action. What we did changed from month to month as we worked with our students. We would modify the tool we were using or add something else to our practice.
What other uses did you find for the competencies?
We found more uses especially within that one class. Not only do we want to focus on goal setting, but we want to support a growth mindset as well. We ended up with three units where we could integrate the competencies. We used that not for grading purposes, but more for growth and monitoring within the unit for the students. So it was a focus more on “Where am I and how can I start growing myself?”
It wasn’t the tool to grade, it was the tool to grow.
For this spring semester, we have started to incorporate the competencies into our current classes. So in the geometry class, which is mostly freshman and sophomores, I noticed they needed more support in Monitoring Progress and then Taking Strategic Action based on that. That’s also under the Learning Independently competency, but I used a different route than I did for Algebra Prep Lab. Now we are using it as a reflection tool when they take an assessment, whether formative or summative. So they are looking at their results and then reflecting on this data and seeing how they can move forward.
Then in the Algebra I class, I’ve used the skill component of Constructing Explanations within the Reasoning Quantitatively competency paired with the SC standards in math and to design a learning target tracker. Students reflect on questions like, “Where am I and what is my end goal for this unit?” Then they use it as a way to monitor their growth in those formative assessments to know if they are working towards mastery with the end of unit assessment.
How do the students reflect using the competencies? Is it a form? An eportfolio? A journal? A conversation?
All of the above! In our Prep Lab classes, we held conferences, they wrote a reflection, and they had a portfolio. In the Geometry class, they are writing reflections and they share them with each other in small groups. In Algebra I classes, there is a written reflection and sometimes it’s just a visual reflection on posters around the room. Students self-assess at the beginning of a unit. It is a snapshot of where they are. As we get into the unit, they start to really have to sit down and reflect, “I took this quiz yesterday and I didn’t do well, so what skills did I miss?”
How do you find time in teaching the content/standards and infuse the competencies as well?
I started small and it’s grown each time I start a new unit, so I do a little more each time. I get a little excited because if it didn't work, I have a way to try it in a different way. It’s not overwhelming because it is an “in motion” kind of thing. I feel like the way you make time for it is like with anything else in teaching. We started small and showed ourselves grace because we have messed up and might want to change this or that. So start small and show yourself grace when you are trying this out. We’ve built this up for a little over a year and it’s already so different from what we were doing last fall.
As far as the worth, I have seen it. A lot of the time, when my students take an assessment, I hear them saying that they didn't do well, and I take that on myself. But now I’m putting more of that ownership on my students. Instead of getting stuck on a number, like a 70 for a grade, let’s delve into what that 70 means. I’ve seen my students really grow in that owning of their learning, saying things like, “Oh, well now I know what I need to study,” or “Oh, I just made a lot of careless calculation errors'' or “I really didn't understand that theorem.“
So they're saying specific things now compared to when we didn't reflect before. We may feel pressured to get all the content in but, for me, it’s been more valuable to reflect so kids understand what their learning is saying to them and they can move forward and progress.
As a high school math teacher, what would you say to someone who was doubtful about the use of the competencies?
If the math people can do it, anyone can! My suggestion would be to start small and if you spend some time with it, you can see where it fits. The authenticity piece of it is important. There is one competency called Reasoning Quantitatively but, ironically, we haven't used that yet. You need to find one that authentically connects to you and your students. So if you’re working on a project, there is a competency around working together in teams. So ask yourself, “What do my students need help with when it comes to skills, not just content?” Students may not necessarily understand how to work within groups well. The competencies lay that out clearly. So think about what your students really need to work on and focus on that.
Want to hear more from Andrea and Jennifer? Listen to our podcast episode with them here: https://anchor.fm/personalizeSC
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