Accountability

Someone shared a tidbit with me today that was very encouraging.  She explained that students in my class are engaged because I hold them accountable (paraphrase).  That made me smile.  I like that an outsider observed that my students know that THEY are responsible for their learning.  They can't come in and just be observers or space out or only participate when they think it is "fun" or "interesting".

My students are responsible for their learning, for participating, for sharing out, for pulling their weight, for thinking, for analyzing, for fixing mistakes, for asking questions.

I haven't always been good at holding my students accountable, but I learned from a dear friend, Mrs. Rodriguez.  I implemented jobs this year and they have been incredibly successful.

• Leader/Notetaker
• Reading
• Reporter

Students in my class are just used to having to share out (using a microphone).  They have grown accustom to reading out loud together.  More importantly, leaders have taken their responsibility seriously and have asked their groups good questions, led their groups in good discussions, and kept their group focused.

I thought it would be too challenging to implement, but I kept it super simple and use the jobs daily and it has been successful.  I know Mrs. Rodriguez uses a rubric to assess each other in completion of jobs, but I am not there yet!  Maybe in January! :)