eGR – A New Version of jGR and dGR

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Ben Slavic

Ben Slavic

29 thoughts on “eGR – A New Version of jGR and dGR”

  4. Deena Swenson

    Hi Erica,

    Would you be able to send the document version my way? I appreciate it!!

    Thanks,
    Deena

    PS: I don’t know if you have access to my email or not…let me know!

  7. mb

    For those of you who said that it’s so hard to keep track of the students’ behaviors during class, I was just introduced to this website a couple of days ago — it kicks ass!!! You can enter in the behaviors at the end of class, you can open up the app on your iPad or iPhone and just add to it as you are walking around class, you can leave it open on your desktop and just “click” as you walk by ….. parents can check on their Little Lord Fauntleroy’s daily, or it will send a report home on Fridays! Parents can have a log in, students can have a log in. It can connect to a Smartboard, so kids can see immediate feedback for their actions (or not). It can be customized, so we can add in jGR criteria into it. Check it out – tell me the drawbacks (other than too much technology for THIS technophobe!!!) cause right now I am really liking the looks of it!!!

    http://www.classdojo.com

    2. skip

      So I like what the program Dojo allows you to do to keep track of JGR….

      I must say, however, that as I was applying negative things from the rubric it made me feel a bit like a “gottcha” activity. If relationships are the ONE thing that matter most in classroom mgt I have to get over the feeling of the “gottcha”

      I am sure students will feel like this too? How do we use the rubric without falling into this “gottcha” type of activity.

      Could someone help me think this through?

      Thanks
      skip

      1. Brigitte

        Why don’t you handle it the same way you would jGR if Class Dojo wasn’t involved? With jGR, if a kid asks why they got a 2 instead of a 4/5 (or whatever your points values are), wouldn’t you give them a reason? Such as “You blurted/spoke English when you weren’t supposed to/ had your head down the entire time…..”. When I put my jGR-average in my grade book every two weeks (same as Ben, I believe), more often than not somebody will ask me for the reason (can you hear me say 4%er?). Our students have access to their grades via PowerSchool, so they always know where they stand.
        Anyway, I don’t really see why it would fall into the “gotcha” category unless you make it so (and I can’t really see you doing that!!!! :-).

        1. Ben Slavic

          Brigitte I am going to go for a minimum of three jGR grades in the book each week. I had this conversation just this afternoon with my teammates at Lincoln, and they do almost daily assessments and I just realize I have to do that this year. I think it is Jeff who does this as well. Nice answer to skip too!

          1. Brigitte

            Actually, I am putting a number in a grid every single day, I just meant that I put the average of those (usually 10) days in the grade book only once every two weeks. As it is, my grade book is bursting at the seams. That’s one thing I don’t have to worry about, not having enough grades, haha…

        2. skip

          So you never feel like using the jgr creates resentment? Last year I had students grade themselves on the rubric first and then I did (I can’t remember Ben’s stance on having students assess themselves using the rubric – what do most of you do?) There were one or two students that ALWAYS gave themselves an A…. and they were not…. I always gave a grade that more accurately reflected their “behavior” with comments why. It was an ongoing struggle and even I began to really dislike the process.

          Do you think it would go better if I just assigned a grade? I also had students assess themselves with the rubric at the end of every class… Is that too often?

          1. Brigitte

            I remember a thread here recently that looked at the issue of students self-assessing their performance. In my experience, the kids seem to have a pretty good idea of where they fall on the rubric. However, there are always those who can’t really be that objective when it comes to their own performance. Therefore, I have scratched the idea of letting them grade their own behavior according to the rubric altogether. They can assess themselves at the end of class, when I do a finger check or something like that and ask them how they think they did on that particular day.

          2. Brigitte

            P.S. I think you answered your own question. You resented the process, so don’t do it. Just assign them the grade/points – you are the teacher, thus the authority on what happens in your class.

  9. Erica

    I agree with Bridgitte that it will only be a gotcha if you make it a gotcha. Until I get used to using the program it takes a moment to find what I am looking for. Thankfully the positive are separated from negative which helps a little. I hope to be able to learn the art of multitasking and not make it obvious though. Also, I told mine I was having a hard time keeping up with all their awesome cute answers and so this helps me remember and be able to grade them fairly. I tend to over exaggerate when I put “good” scores in which I hope encourages them to keep feeding me cute answers…and man do I get some weird answers with con quien. In my honors class it’s fun to watch them try to out beat each other’s ideas BUT good grief dummy me has no clue who they are talking about sometimes!! Anyone have the same issue and how do you solve it?

    1. Erica

      I’m not like Brigitte in the fact that I can’t just assign a grade. Maybe it is the different culture of the students but mine would argue that they would deserve a 5 instead of a 4 and if I couldn’t give them a specific explanation well I would just be wrong…next I would get a phone call from mommy…next I would get an email from the principal and if I can’t give specifics I’m in the wrong. One of the disadvantages of a small town school. Soooo, I say all that to say I guess it is something you would have to consider. If you have that need like me to give specifics, class dojo is perfect. If a simple grade appeases all, well lucky you. 🙂

    2. jeffery Brickler

      Yes. It’s hard to keep up. This could be a job for a kid? Maybe if we used a smaller device like a nexus. I’m going to try to mm use it, but I even had problems last year writing it all down. Let’s continue to report back on how this is working.

    3. skip

      Thanks for your ideas Brigitte.

      Just to clarify, though it was the dojo that made me realize the potential for the rubric to be a “gottcha” it was the RUBRIC and NOT the dojo that I was referring to…. I think anytime someone gets a negative evaluation it creates some type of ill feeling…

      I think the my concerns were addressed. Maybe the dojo would actually HELP because it would allow me to give specific feedback on specific behaviors…. perhaps that is the piece I was missing Brigitte…
      thanks again

  10. Ben Slavic

    Hey skip I hear you on the negative possibilities inherent in the rubric.

    However, we have to look at the options. In the past, in all their classes, most of our students have been able to put on a kind of mask that easily and effectively allowed them to go into role, the role that far too many students seem to learn by high school, that of “I’m not here.”

    So perhaps you can take the rubric in the light that, in my opinion at least, I have found nothing else that can make them remove that mask. There comes a point when we must insist that they show up as human beings in our classes, and jGR and dGR and eGR all serve that purpose.

    At some point these kids have to be called on their behavior and lack of participation. Otherwise we become no more than dancing bears in the front of our classrooms.

  11. Joe E.

    I agree with Brigitte and Erica. It was never a “gotcha” in my class. Students did ask why they got a specific grade and I just told them. I saw them working harder after that if they didn’t like the grade they got. Many would come up to me after class and ask How did I do today? I would always respond How do you think you did? before I gave my assessment of their “performance” in class. Just my 2 cents 🙂

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