The Role of Practicing

I recently received letters of gratitude from two former students. They lifted my heart, and surprised me. They were uplifting because the girls each wrote perceptive comments about the effect that the LPM approach had on them.

“In previous years, I used to get back my bad grades and be even less motivated to work because I thought whatever I did wasn’t good enough. Your grading system taught me to actually work and think through problems and assignments… in your class I got to understand everything and learn it instead of just memorizing.” -Karya

“The grading system you had in place really helped me get away from focusing so much on grades, and rather put all my attention into actually learning the material.” -Hana

They were surprising because, if you had asked me which kids had experienced the most learning, I would NEVER have picked either of them. This is evidence of a huge shift. It is so validating, and I can’t wait to share the LPM with more people.

Today I’m going to describe the types of assignments that I use in my Physics classes, how they are assessed, and how they are used to develop mastery. You will probably use different assessments than I do, but I think it may be useful to see how I’ve streamlined my work. You can probably find a parallel if not identical way to do this with your own plans.

Recall that practices describe behaviors shown by students as they engage with the skills and knowledge specific to your discipline. This is distinct from “units”, “topics”, and “content”. Content is the vehicle, while the practice is the roadway, with mastery (at some defined level) being the destination.

These are the 10 practices that we use in our Physics classes.

LP1 – Experimental Design:  The parts of the experimental design section are: the lab question, the methods and materials, the data and observations. The goal is to communicate what and how you did the data collection, with enough detail so that someone else can follow your work easily.

LP2 – Data Analysis (in a lab context): The goal is to communicate what and how you did the data analysis, with enough detail so that someone else can follow your work easily. A discussion about sources of experimental error is essential. The other parts of the analysis section may include any or all of the following: graphing (creation and interpretation), problem solving (set-up and theoretical derivation), sample calculations, and/or quantitative error analysis (percent error and/or difference).

LP3 – Arguing a Scientific Claim:  The parts of the Arguing a Scientific Claim section are: the claim, the evidence, and the reasoning. The goal is to communicate the answer to the lab question, the best evidence you have for that answer, and how those results relate to the known physics theory.

LP4 – Using Feedback: The using feedback section is where you annotate your lab, highlighting the changes you made from the previous lab. The goal is to communicate what changes you made, why you made them, and how you have improved over time.

LP5 – Creating Explanations and Making Predictions:  The goal is to show what physics you know and can apply from the current unit of study. The physics can take the form of overly stated definitions, laws, mathematical models, equations, or relationships.

LP6 – Problem Solving:  The goal when solving scientific problems is to show the process used. This problem solving process includes givens and variables on a labeled sketch or illustration, diagrams (MD, FBD, Bar Charts), equations used, numbers plugged in, and an answer to the question asked. Units are necessary on all values.

LP7 – Graph Interpretation:  The goal is to overtly use features of the graph accompanied by an explanation, to demonstrate your understanding of the physics. “Features” include coordinate pair(s), slope, graph shape, area, and/or y-intercept. When appropriate, a mathematical model is developed or interpreted. Some of these are more sophisticated than others, depending on the question.

LP8 – Graph Creation: The goal is to overtly create a graph, including all relevant features. This includes axes labeled with variables and units, a trendline, a descriptive title, plotted points, and any given or reference values on the axes (to scale when appropriate). An overtly stated physics relationship is presented, in the form of theory and/or mathematical model.

LP9 – Engaging with Content: The goal is to overtly encourage and develop creativity. Creativity requires flexible thinking, originality, fluency with concepts, and elaboration.

LP10 – The Engineering Design Cycle: The goal is to solve a real-world problem, generally by building something. The steps of the engineering design process include asking questions, brainstorming ideas, planning solutions, creating a design, testing and evaluating, then repeating this process through as many iterations as possible in the time provided to improve the product. This practice is divided into two parts to help you to develop the various components of this skill.

• LP10.1 – Product Design (The Engineering Design Cycle):  This practice assesses the effectiveness of the design as a solution to the given problem.  
• LP10.2 – Communication and Documentation (The Engineering Design Cycle):  This practice assesses your ability to document the experimental design, all your progress, and your thinking.

The Practices are distinct from “practice”. Practice is when one performs (an activity) or exercises (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one’s proficiency [https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en].  I don’t need to tell you the value of practice in the classroom.  With the LPM, everything that students do is practice.  Whether it is graded or not, it is an opportunity to work on the learning progression at the target level. The role of practice is to identify where students are in their learning and to provide actionable feedback.

We have 3 types of assessments: Lab Reports, Checkpoints, and Projects, each associated with 2 – 4 distinct practices. Each major category of assignment is assessed with a set of Practices. Our rubric for Labs includes Exp Dsgn, Data Analysis, Arguing a Claim, and Using Feedback. Our rubric for a quiz/test includes Problem Solving, Creating Explanations, and Creating and Interpreting Graphs. Projects are assessed by Engaging with Content and The Engineering Design Process.

Within the types of assessments, we have two types of practice: guided and independent. Guided Practice is direct instruction by the teacher, in the form of notes and worked problems. Typical examples of how to address each type of question at each developmental level are provided. A majority of my guided practice is provided using pre-recorded videos, which students love because they can do them anywhere, anytime, and at their own pace. They can revisit them for review or if they get stuck. Of course, this is supplemented with plenty of in-class instruction at the board, or as I walk around the classroom working with small groups or individuals. Independent Practice occurs when students are ready to challenge themselves. It is always very similar to the guided practice, but the students now work with minimal assistance. I usually provide answer keys (in the form of video or scanned solutions) so students can self-check and get assistance with any corrections or confusions.

How much homework should you assign for sufficient practice? Here’s the deal: research shows that the quantity and type of homework depends on the grade level, the community support, and the course. I teach 11^th graders, and there is simply not enough time in class to NOT assign homework. For consistency, I simply assign homework every night… it may be notetaking, guided practice, independent practice, a lab report, project documentation, or studying vocabulary. I tell students and parents that it is absolutely crucial for success that  some homework is done. You already know this: one cannot get good at anything unless one practices consistently. That doesn’t mean spending hours upon hours! My philosophy is that they should spend 30 focused minutes a day… and I tell them that if they don’t finish in 30 minutes and can honestly say that they didn’t get distracted, then they have permission to stop!

The most successful students are the ones who are consistent. That doesn’t mean that they never miss a day or that sometimes they don’t finish the whole assignment. It’s like participating in a sport or the school band. As a coach or club advisor, you expect students show up to practice every day so that they are ready for the big performance. But they can miss a day here and there, but more than that will affect their performance.

Dave and my go-to phrase is that “everything matters, but nothing counts”… why? Because they have to perform and the only way to get good at it is to practice. We do not have to grade homework to emphasize that it is important. We do not need to punish students when they don’t do the homework… there are embedded consequences! Why not grade it? Sometimes they do very poorly on it because they didn’t understand the concept well. But sometimes it’s super easy and they do great. Either way, there should be no effect on their grade. That doesn’t mean you don’t keep track! If they don’t do the work, you talk to them and you call home.  I also want to provide some flexibility. If a particular skill is super-easy for them, they can just do a few and then stop! If it’s really hard, they do as much as they can without worrying about any penalty for errors. If they have a huge Math test to study for or you are working late one night, just do 10 minutes of practice instead of the usual 30!

You will have to tailor this to your particular situation. I highly recommend following the research, limiting homework for lower grades as well as for special needs. Regardless, “counting” homework as a grade is a major equity issue, since it depends so much on resources kids have at home, including time, space, and adult supervision.

In the next post, I will discuss the role of content and how we address it in our classes.

If you explore further on this website www.reimaginedschools.com, you can find the professional development course “The Essentials of the Learning Progression Method”, in which you will learn how to create your own Learning Progressions. You can find Dave’s podcast “From Earning to Learning”, here or on your favorite podcast provider. The book “Going Gradeless: Shifting the Focus from Earning to Learning” describes the development of the Learning Progression Method from its inception, and can be found on Amazon.