Using Zipgrade in Your Classroom

I hate paying for software. I pride myself on always finding a better, free version of everything. I made an exception this past year. I definitely do not regret it! Zipgrade is an app you can download on your iPhone or Android phone. Your students will complete a multiple choice exam on scantrons provided by their website. As students are finishing, you can walk around with your phone and scan their tests to give them instant feedback on their test. Here is a video demonstrating the app.

Zip Grade Demo from Joseph Bue on Vimeo.

One thing I love about this app is I can look for patterns immediately. When you scan a student's answer sheet, you will get instant feedback that looks like this:

If I notice that a student did well on the first 2/3 of the test but bombed the last third, I can ask them to go back and fix that problem without telling them exactly which questions he or she missed. Many students will stop trying near the end of the test and this app helps me to stop that from happening.

Also, I like to tell the students which questions they missed so they can go back and correct them. I know this inflates the grade and skews the data but I'm more concerned about them learning the material than having accurate grades.

I did have a few minor problems. Sometimes I couldn't get an accurate scan. I wasn't sure if the lighting was too bright or too dark. I also had some students bubble E when they meant to bubble D. So be very mindful at the beginning of the year.

Overall, I love this app and the price ($6 per year). Now, I don't have to beg for thousands of dollars to replace my aging clickers. It's data-driven; it's very easy to use.

Raising Students' Standardized Test Scores

I get it! In the old days, teachers made their own tests; if students failed then it was because the student didn't try hard enough. Today, tests are a measure of teacher performance and, in some cases, a basis for a raise.

Since I'm not willing to fight the system by going to the state capitol and speaking in front of the school board, I'm going to focus on what goes on in my classroom. To those who are fighting the good fight, I applaud you. But high test scores gave me the only decent raise I ever received in my 13 years of public school education. This is how I do it.

First, find out what is on the test. If it's a state standardized test, google the name of the test and the word released and obtain all the released exams. In Texas, google "released starr eoc." In New York, google "released NY regents exam." Feel free to be more specific with grade and subject. For AP courses, you will need to access them on the College Board website after you log in as an instructor. Sadly, you can find some older released AP exams online. Is there a "blueprint" of the test, meaning a list of what topics will be covered on the test? If so, print it out! My biggest challenge in teaching AP Psychology has been figuring out what has generally been tested and what has not. Once you get a firm grasp, you can focus your instruction on those things.

Focus your lessons on what is on the test. This seems to be a no-brainer but it deserves emphasis here. If you decide to teach something that is not on the test, make sure it is interesting and/or valuable. For example, in my history classes I like to spend a few days teaching about the Kennedy assassination. I know it will not be on the test but I know my students are interested. A good example of this is World War II. Teachers and students love WWII. However, there is a difference between a World History class and a US History class in what to emphasize. Rosie the Riveter will probably not be on a World History test. Teach what you want, but have students take notes only over what is on the standardized test. Make sure your in-class exam has questions that match what's on your standardized test.

Know your students! After 4 or 6 weeks, give a well-written assessment that matches the difficulty of the standardized test you are preparing for. Take those student scores and do something with them. One of the most effective moves is to call each student up to your desk and talk to them about it. In a Title I school, many students will take a test, fail it, and put it out of sight and out of mind. Their parents will never hear of this test. You, the teacher, must call the student up to your desk and look directly at them and ask them, "Hey! You got a 47 on this test. What happened? [insert awkward pause here] Did you try? Or did you just blow it off?" As a teacher, this is where your people skills come in handy. At minimum, you need to instill the idea that the next time they take a test, they will need to try harder so they don't have to go up to the teacher's desk and have an awkward conversation. Ideally, you could go over the test with them and figure out if there is a pattern regarding which questions they missed. If they did well but missed the last third of the test, that probably means they got lazy and just bubbled in random answers. Ask them directly if that is what they did. If they admit to getting lazy at the end, then directly ask them, "Could you please not do that? It makes me look bad." I can hear your groans as you read this, but it works with the students that I teach. They won't do it for themselves, they won't do it for their parents, but they will do it for me!

After the second major test, the failure rate generally drops. Then I can focus on students who really need the help. At this point, I'll take a cue from homeschooling and work with the students individually or small groups. I try to assess whether the students did not know the material or was it the wording of the questions. This is a big deal since phrases like "the Silk Road facilitated the spread of Buddhism" can throw a LEP student. What does "facilitate" mean? How about the answer choice "Freud's theories were not empirical"? Words like empirical and facilitate can be a challenge to all students, especially LEP students.

Adjust your seating chart. I recommend you place your low-scoring students close to you. However, many teachers like to pair their low scoring students with their high scoring students. That's up to you. I don't like paring because students will just copy off each other. However, on the next test, if your approach doesn't work, try something else. Making adjustments based on test scores is what data-driven instruction is all about! It's something we teachers have always done before we named it something. If you don't make any adjustments to your seating chart, at least write, in pencil, their test grade next to their name. You need to call on these students more. You need to keep these students off their phones.

Notice, I haven't mentioned tutoring. If you can get them to come, then great! Many teachers have morning PLCs and afternoon coaching. Many students have to catch a bus or go to work. Some students have their own kids they need to go take care of.

Finally, don't forget good instruction! In short, good instruction involves enthusiasm, visuals, gamification (Kahoot and Quizizz), and repetition.

BYOD Part II Is Quizizz better than Kahoot?

Quizizz is similar to Kahoot. Both involve students using a smartphone, computer or tablet. Both are visual and help the repetition aspect of memorization. Both are colorful. Quizizz is potentially competitive, whereas Kahoot is inherently competitive. I use both in my classroom.

The main differences are 1. With Quizizz, the students see the answers to the multiple choice questions on their phones. 2. Quizizz is student-paced rather than teacher-paced. That means students go on to the next question without waiting for everyone else. The questions and answer choices are randomized to minimize cheating. Another interesting thing about using Quizizz for assessments is that it's much faster than a traditional bubble sheet. Filling in ovals with a pencil takes time. I just gave my students a 72 question final and they finished it very quickly. That means I can make the tests longer or I can allow them to retake the test immediately to use their time. Quizizz is much easier to create with. After you start to create a quiz you can search other teachers' quizzes and "borrow" questions from them. With Kahoot, you have to "borrow" the whole quiz and alter it. Another advantage quizizz has over Kahoot is the homework feature. Students can now be given a code where they can take the quiz on their own time. Certainly this can be a problem if you have students who would cheat, but my students don't care enough to do something like that. (One advantage of teaching inner city!) Quizizz stores data on its website for you so you don't have to remember to save it right then and there during class. There is no need for a projector since everything the students need is on their device. So which is better? That depends if you want a class activity or an independent activity. I use both in my class. I use Kahoot as a minor quiz grade and Quizizz as a major test grade. While Kahoot is like a game, I turn off the competitive feature of Quizizz. I always make sure to uncheck the feature where it displays all the answers at the end of the quiz. I don't want students doing a screenshot of all the answers. Often, I turn off the feature where it displays the answer after they select theirs. Sometimes I leave it on if I want them to learn from their mistakes.

BYOD Bring Your Own Device! Kahoot is cool!

Two wonderful tools for teachers have become available for classrooms in the last year. They are useful for students because they involve repetition, visuals and instant feedback. They are not the same. Both employ the use of student-owned technology, primarily cell phones. Kahoot has replaced my use of jeopardy in the classroom. With Kahoot, the teacher creates a multiple choice question for the student. The question is projected onto the screen for the classroom to view. The students will use their cell phone or tablet or computer to answer the question. All the student sees on his or her phone are four colors. The student presses the color that corresponds to the correct answer.

A few things about Kahoot: 1. It's competitive. That adds a fun element for some students. I know it works in some of my classes because the kids groan and cheer during the "game." At times, the guys will try to touch their friend's cell phones to push the wrong answer on their phone. That doesn't sound good but it works out in my class just fine. It shows passion and engagement! Remind the students that they don't have to be competitive if they don't want to be; they can just focus on accuracy. Students receive more points for quicker answers. I do usually take a grade for Kahoot. However, since it's a bit competitive, I let them miss a couple before I start taking off points from their grade. 2. It allows repetition of important concepts you want your students to remember. The brain works by learning a concept, then sleep, then learn it again the next day. 3. It is teacher-directed. After every questions, Kahoot indicates how many students chose each answer. At that point, you can discuss why the wrong answers are wrong. That's data-driven instruction! It's also instant feedback for the students and teacher. 3. It's visual; you can put pictures and animations into the question. Visuals are especially good for ESL.

Dealing With Your Most "Challenging" Students

Let's be clear: Having enthusiastic, bell-to-bell instruction will reduce discipline problems in a major way. But what if you haven't achieved that and you have a couple of students in each class that refuse to do anything? You need all the advice you can get to deal with these students. I'll do what I can here:

Let's start with some ways to keep the entire class on task: First, you need to walk around the room. If you sit at your desk or your computer, you will have 5 or more students not doing anything. Many of them will eventually copy off of someone else. Walk around!

Second, instead of griping, try a positive approach. Walk over to them and ask them if they need help. Address them individually, not as a group. (This is why you need a seating chart and to know their names!) Hector, do you need help? Many times they will say no and start working. Sometimes they will take you up on your offer and ask for help. Do not expect students to ask for help if they need it. Luckily, most of the time, they are just spacing out and just need a little encouragement to get to work. Be persistent! My students know that when I ask them if they need help that I have a double meaning. I'm genuinely wanting to help them if they want it; I'm telling them to get their rear in gear!

Third, there is the therapeutic approach. Subtly call them in the hall and ask them what's going on. Tell them that you've already asked them if they needed help several times yet they still aren't getting their work done. They might tell you that they are working nights or something. This approach might make you seem more human and they might respond. But in the end, it doesn't matter what is going on. They HAVE TO DO THEIR WORK!

Fourth, call home. this won't take up too much time since most of their numbers are disconnected or incorrect. You might ask them for their parent's phone number. Tell them that you have already tried to talk to them like an adult and it didn't work so you will go to their parents. If they are athletic, tell their coach.

There is one more optional step before getting the principals involved. I call it the beating your chest approach. Different students respond differently to this approach, but sometimes you just gotta yell and scream like an animal establishing dominance. It may not work with that one student, but in many cases, that one student is a leader of a pack and that pack will stop working if their leader does. You are the leader of the pack, not him.

If you do get the principal involved, remember that they will talk to them and possibly their parents. But other than that, the only thing they can do is suspend them in school or out of school. They aren't going to learn that way, but at least you made an important statement to the rest of the class.

Again, let's try not to get to these last 2 steps. Let's try to be fun and as positive as we can while we are teaching these kids. Unfortunately, we have to be a bad guy on occasion to achieve this positive environment in the long run.

All of the above only deals with students who refuse to work. If they are disruptive, meaning they shout or throw things or cuss you out, then you have to skip several steps. You might have to call someone to remove them from your room immediately. Do not let anything or anyone stop the learning in your classroom.

Welcome to my high school teaching advice blog.

I love to teach. I love teaching students and I love to teach other teachers what I know about teaching. My goal in this blog is to write down all my ideas and get criticism now before I try to publish them someday. I'm all heart, little research. I don't trust Harvard researchers because they've never had to call a parent or have a student to tell them to go &*%@ themselves.

About me: I grew up in a pretty rough neighborhood when parents still let their kids go outside. I'm 35, just old enough to graduate without taking any computer classes but young enough to have grown up on video games.

My first teaching job was at a jail. I was 24 teaching a life skills class to inmates who have had more life experiences than I have. However, I went in there every day with the necessary confidence because I was smart enough to know that their life experiences are what got them in jail in the first place. I learned quickly not to be afraid of adults. Adults need leadership and guidance just like everybody. I spent 4 years teaching female inmates the math and writing skills they needed to get their GED and hopefully not return to jail.

My second job was at tough inner city school. I learned many things teaching in 2 rough situations: 1. You have to believe that your thugs are worth teaching. If you don't believe that your job is important, then you won't have the intrinsic motivation to get you through the rough spots of the day. 2. You have to teach to the heart. City kids do things voluntarily or not at all! Luckily for you, these kids have an intrinsic desire for learning. You just have to find a way to tap that.