MPM1D1 - Day 43 Group Test

I've been away for the past couple of days and while I was away the class was working through some review. Ideally, had I not been away we would have reviewed on Friday, done a group test on Monday then done an individual test today.

I felt like a third day labelled as a review day might have been a waste of time so I decided today that we would do a group test. To be fair, my students were totally unaware of this until this morning. I decided that rather than assessing their work I would try to assess the conversations that were happening in the groups. I wanted them to help each other understand the concepts that were covered. I was actually surprised at how well they took to the group test without any prior warning. I didn't hear a single complaint.

The nice thing about this test is that I was able to put into practice some of the things that Peter Liljedahl showed HPEDSB secondary math learning teams yesterday. I gave the first question orally and they started working at the board right away. I circulated, listened, asked questions and tried to get groups to do a good job of documenting their solutions.

We had Maria Morris as an observer in the class today to see what a group test might look like. She also circulated, asked questions and helped out. It's always great being able to work with other teachers. I think it's something that we need to do more often.

Groups worked at their own pace and I gave them the next question as they were ready for it. Some groups worked very effectively, while others struggled a bit due to group dynamics.

Overall, I'd say it was a productive period. I did a terrible job of documenting the conversations that I heard. I wrote down a few things, but since it wasn't really a test I did a lot more talking than I might have. In any case, I did get some information down that may help me round out some test marks after tomorrow. I'm hoping to see some great results tomorrow.

I look forward to doing this again for our next test.