Hive input needed. Grading first lab reports from new chem students. Results dismal.

[FaithManor]

Sigh....it is really painful to see how low the standards for high schoolers in our area have become.

 

 

Here goes - Grading their first lab reports.

 

I have a little pit in the bottom of my stomach. There is one which is clearly from a student who had NO intention of making an effort. It was very clear...but then, said young lady has been suspended several times and is on the edge of expulsion for refusing to do work, so this is not surprising.

 

The other 10, well, the best grade in the bunch is a C and that's if I become a very generous grade inflator. These are all 10th or 11th graders along with one senior.

 

I was very patient (the school lost it's high school upper level science teacher a LONG time ago and never replaced that person....the kids have been on independent study with an English teacher - WHO HATES SCIENCE and told me this in no uncertain terms - overseeing them.) I gave them a course syllabus, examples of properly documented labs, copies of the procedure, etc. I went over theory, hypothesis, designing experiments, testing, data reporting, data conclusions, etc. I went through every single vocabulary word and gave two examples of how that word is used. Then we did everything together, step by step explained in exacting detail, a fairly simple but very educational chemistry experiment. I gave them time to take notes along the way and left my huge white board unerased with an outline of the entire class presentation and procedures. They were given three days to create their own lab reports containing the prescribed information and make some stab at a conclusion.

 

I knew these kids were underprepared for real work. I didn't think it would be this bad.

 

The very best report was from the young lady who is likely to be the valedictorian of their class of 20. She is counting on her 4.0 for merit scholarships. As I said, a C would be a generous, major grade inflation award. She managed to give me the materials list, the procedures though some important details were left out....we are working with LYE, I said it was a caustic substance and one needs to be very careful...."pour some lye into the solution" makes my face twitch. They were working with one level tsp. per beaker - lots of errors along those lines as well as just general immaturity of writing style.

 

She did manage to sort of quasi state the physical law we were studying. She reversed the usage of qualitative and quantitative measurements. There was NO conclusion. Her last line was. "Clean up your mess." She signed it...didn't date it, gave no title to the experiment and stated no hypothesis/objective of the experiment. If you knew what you were doing, you could still reproduce the experiment from her report, but if you were new to chemistry, would not.

 

Of course, I emphasized to them that the whole point of lab reports was to document objectives and outcomes...scientists must be able to verify each others' work. Additionally, when an unexpected outcome occurs, it is vital to be able to go back over your notes to see if you did something wrong, if you failed to eliminate a variable that could have been eliminated or at least its effects reduced, etc.

 

 

That was the best lab report. Everything else went downhill from there. Two had no names on them...I called the English teacher, she says it happens all the time and the teachers are expected to know everyone's handwriting, identify the student, and give credit no matter how many warnings the student has received. I said, "Well, I'd like to point out that two of these kids want to attend MSU and there were nearly 23,000 students on that campus last year. I seriously doubt that MSU professors wander around campus with unidentified work asking, 'Is this your handwriting?' ". She did concede that possibly I had a point. :glare:

 

 

The closest thing that I received to a conclusion was, "This experiment was really cool. i had a lot of fun and learnt a lot and think you will be a super cool teacher and i will like this semester a lot lot more than last year" (Quoted verbatim). Obviously not a conclusion concerning the science at hand. :lol: The cute thing is that I really do not believe the student was attempting to kiss up to the new teacher. This girl was so happy to be getting a hands on science experience that she was just about bouncing off the walls on the first day of class.

 

 

For our first lab, I did not require lab reports. I was teaching a lot of new terminology, demonstrating some equipment, laying out my expectations, and then letting them try a couple of simple experiments while I supervised; all of this was just to put them at ease with me and within the lab environment. I also needed to demonstrate proper clean up and disposal of hazardous waste because the school has provided me with a church kitchen as a lab and everything would end up in the septic tank if I didn't have some procedures in place for disposal. So, they had some necessary getting started - this is how we do things, etc. - to learn and since they are all so very new to it, I didn't overwhelm them with an assignment. Even then, it was clear these children were VERY unprepared for high school level science work. Hence my first update a week ago about my new students....the "these kids aren't ready for college" update.

 

 

So, unless my dear hive thinks I've completely missed the mark here, I've decided not to hand out grades that will be entered into their permanent record for this assignment. I feel as though I need to have five minutes of office one-to-one face time with each student, go over their reports, explain why they do not measure up, how they can do better, and try to make my expectations clear but also not crush their spirits. Truly, in just three weeks, I've fallen in love with my students. I have a mamma bear, protective spirit concerning them and while I know I need to be honest with them about their deficiencies and what kind of work will be needed to fill those gaps, I also feel that the best thing is to do some hand-holding, give massive amounts of guidance, and give many second chances as long as I am witnessing honest efforts and incremental improvement. I need to see some light bulbs go on in those eyes before I up the ante and become tougher on them. Well, at least, that is what I think I need to do. But, I will admit, when it comes to combining the teaching of upper divisional science to college bound students I did NOT give birth to :D and the guidance counselor bit, I'm a newbie.

 

 

Personal communications with them have also convinced me that they do not know how to speak or communicate in a mature manner. They simply do not have conversations with other teachers, parents, etc. that are on a higher academic plane. My 4.0 -hoping-to-be-valedictorian- girl has NO clue how to interview...none. She is better than the others, but still...her speach patterns remind me of a much younger person. It's so sad. My homeschooled 6th grader sounds like Einstein by comparison.

 

 

I am really worried for her. She has her sights set on a tier 1 university as a biology major. :001_huh: The other seniors are not in my class, however, I do have office time with them since I am helping to guide them through their last semester, college plans, etc. To be honest, there are three that aren't 4.0's but are FAR better off than the one the school will name valedictorian. I guess the moral of that story is "the number doesn't mean anything."

 

 

Essentially, what I encountered was grammar stage writing from 15-18 year olds. :(

 

 

I did speak at length with a dear friend who teaches algebra 2, trig, and physics at the high school in this school district. A couple of years ago, he was teaching biology to 9th and 10th graders so I wanted to find out what his expectations were and what his students were able to produce. He said that his kids would not have done any better. Sigh.....

 

 

Oh, and these kids aren't lazy...well, except the one and I'm going to do anything I can to motivate her. I know that once a child receives a bad reputation, overcoming it is nigh unto impossible. So, I'll give her several chances and lots of hand holding if she will try. The other 10 are thrilled to be in my class and they are going to be clueless Tuesday...downright flabergasted, when they discover that they didn't do well. Grade inflation has been very alive and well on their campus and I believe they really do not understand what true A/B work is.

 

 

What do you think? I am I being too soft? Is this the right approach? Should I just be tough? Somewhere in the middle? Let the chips fall where they may?

 

 

Can I make much of a difference in a semester?

 

 

At this point, my heart tells me not to give up this job at the end of the school year as long as the boys are thriving and even though we won't need the money after that.

 

 

I just want to hug them all, apologize to them for the adults in their lives that have taught IGNORANTLY, let them down, and I'd like to adopt them!

Silly me! I need a castle to house all the academic waifs I may rescue along the way. :D

 

 

Faith - hoping to do the right thing.

[kiana]

Well, my personal recommendation would be to announce you will do n labs and keep the best n-2 or n-3 lab reports. This will allow the people who are trying hard to be up to an A/B after a few messups.

 

I'd also write up your own version of the lab report showing what it SHOULD have looked like and distribute it to them.

[JFSinIL]

I would spend the next class period writing the lab report you wanted on the white board, step by step, and let them know how poorly they did. Do not record the grade from that first report, but let them know you WILL record grades thereafter. Hand back the graded reports before you go over it - at least the few kids who want to do better may pay attention and try to learn how to do a decent lab report.

[LibraryLover]

I would totally lay on the line your specific expectations. Line by line. By line. Handouts included. Make it very, very clear. These skills are not learned through osmosis, and the task has fallen to you to teach them. Not every student will care, but they ones who do will be grateful. Eventually. :)

[Catwoman]

I would spend the next class period writing the lab report you wanted on the white board, step by step, and let them know how poorly they did. Do not record the grade from that first report, but let them know you WILL record grades thereafter. Hand back the graded reports before you go over it - at least the few kids who want to do better may pay attention and try to learn how to do a decent lab report.

 

I think this is a good solution. This way, everyone gets a second chance.

 

It's not like a few kids aced the reports and would be penalized if you didn't count the grades; if that was the case, I would have said to record the grades and let the chips fall where they may -- and then explain in great detail exactly how the reports should have been written.

 

I think Kiana's suggestion of giving them a written copy of "your version" of a good lab report makes a lot of sense, because the kids will have something to refer back to when they're writing up the next one.

[justamouse]

You can make a HUGE difference and you can make the difference that changes the course of their lives. You care and you want to do right by them, not let them slide through.

 

I wouldn't enter the grade, I would take the reports, and make one report together, because although it seems as if they could have done surgery with those explanations, it didn't compute. They'll see themselves how badly they did when they realize what you're expecting of them.

[laundrycrisis]

I'd also write up your own version of the lab report showing what it SHOULD have looked like and distribute it to them.

 

I think this may be really helpful to those who want to learn. I would emphasize that lab reports are very important for college-level science courses.

 

I also do not think you are being too soft, since you really feel they were not prepared for this level of work and this isn't from laziness but lack of exposure and experience.

[Annie G]

I would spend the next class period writing the lab report you wanted on the white board, step by step, and let them know how poorly they did. Do not record the grade from that first report, but let them know you WILL record grades thereafter. Hand back the graded reports before you go over it - at least the few kids who want to do better may pay attention and try to learn how to do a decent lab report.

 

:iagree:

The kids haven't had proper training up to this point. You have the opportunity to show them your expectations.

[ktgrok]

I'd give them a blank lab report to fill in for the next lab. Then after a few of those have them write them themselves. Kind of how WWE gives you diagrams to fill in at first. Also, i wouldn't grade these, but WOULD give the rewrites a grade. And they can do the rewrites on the blank lab report form you give them.

[Twigs]

Can you provide several reports as examples of what you expect? (It always amazed me that I was expected to write essays (never in high school, a few in college), but it was never explained what an essay is nor were examples shown.)

 

Also, could you provide examples of the kind of speech you are expecting (perhaps Teaching Company lectures)?

 

It sounds like your students need some good examples.

Thanks for caring.

[Unicorn.]

I would spend the next class period writing the lab report you wanted on the white board, step by step, and let them know how poorly they did. Do not record the grade from that first report, but let them know you WILL record grades thereafter. Hand back the graded reports before you go over it - at least the few kids who want to do better may pay attention and try to learn how to do a decent lab report.

 

:iagree: My thoughts exactly!

[Farrar]

I would totally lay on the line your specific expectations. Line by line. By line. Handouts included. Make it very, very clear. These skills are not learned through osmosis, and the task has fallen to you to teach them. Not every student will care, but they ones who do will be grateful. Eventually. :)

:iagree:

 

During the years that I taught, I got more and more specific with kids and I learned to be more and more succinct but clear in expressing what was acceptable and what was not. When I first started, I used to just bemoan that kids would do bizarre things like turn in papers they had printed out in pink in CurlyQuez Sans 16 pt (or something:glare:). But that didn't really help - they really did not know what was okay until I drilled them with it. And with other things that had nothing to do with font color, of course. I learned not to ever assume anything. Yes, they should know better by now. But all you can do is structure it so they can learn.

If I think back upon all my teachers I've had in my life, clearly, the ones who most influenced me in a positive way were the toughest, most rigorous, just as long as they were honest, fair and knew their stuff. I treasured the "B"s I sweated to earn from them over the easy "A"s from the teachers whose names I've forgotten.

 

I think a common tactic is to give a low "scare grade" for the first assignment, that lets the students know that you are a serious teacher, with rigorous standards. However, it needs to be done in a way where students can see that they can earn their way back to a decent grade. If they think that all hope is lost after the first assignment, you've probably lost them (one way or another) for the whole term.

 

the whole point of lab reports was to document objectives and outcomes...scientists must be able to verify each others' work.

 

 

This may sound incredibly cruel and unfair, but since the real point of a lab report is to allow another scientist to duplicate your work, I've thought that that a fair test of a lab report is to give it to another student, and have them reproduce the experiment solely based on the original lab report. Whatever grade the second student earned could be equally shared with the writer of the original report.

 

But, that is probably not feasible. I would urge you to keep your standards up, give an honest, low grade for this assignment, be clear about your requirements, (perhaps hand out examples of "A", "B" and "C" reports), and give your students the opportunity to surprise you with how far they can come in one semester.

 

Also, I wonder if there are other, more fundamental deficiencies causing the problems, that may need to be addressed first. You mentioned writing everything down on the whiteboard. Maybe these students don't know how to take notes, or how to summarize, or how to internalize a lecture?

 

And, please, keep us all in the loop during the semester. I think homeschoolers are often unfairly pegged as anti-teacher. In reality, I think few other parents better know the difficulties of teaching.

[elfgivas]

our oldest dd is now a professor. many of your observations were hers as well, just a few years more into the educational process. she discovered that she needed to make sure they had the basic tools before she tried to teach more complex things. she did not relax her standards, but did do a "i'll drop your lowest score" as a solution, and also offered extra credit opportunities that addressed the areas of weakness. most came out of it well; a few chose not to.

 

for your class, maybe it was all just too much all at once? (not that it should have been, but....) .

 

i just remembered the first lesson of singapore interactive science. (lower secondary)

 

the first lesson was in essence how to write a lab report BUT they started with a logic problem rather than lab equipment...

 

the old river, raft, person and how to get three things across one at a time it without the ones left behind eating one another or other things.... (we used a river, raft, cheetah, rabbit and hay)

 

we talked it thru, played with solutions, and then.... then they asked us to write what was in essence a lab report.

 

we went thru it step by step.

 

we identified the problem. i worked with dd (who is 12) until she got it down to one clear and neutral statement.

 

then she came up with a hypothesis. again, we worked it until it was clear and concise.

 

next, materials. i had her write them down, then asked her to talk me thru her solution again. as soon as she went to use something she hadn't written down, i stopped her.....

 

procedure: this was very fun. she wrote down what she'd done, while i went away, and then i came back and tried to duplicate it. much laughter.

end result. very clear procedure. (i've seen this done with making a peanut butter sandwich where the class tries to tell the instructor how to do it and the instructor follows only the literal meaning of what they say....)

 

observations: she did this part very well first off.

conclusion: again, very clear..... her mindset shifted during the procedure event somehow.

 

so for your class, could you maybe try the peanut butter sandwich one? have them write the purpose, the hypothesis, the materials, the procedure, the observations, the conclusion..... then they could tell you how to do it and you could try? (maybe using butter or jam instead of peanut butter due to potential allergies?).

 

then have them try the crossing the river one? it would all only take a period or two at the very most.

 

by then, they've had a chance to think it thru and do some skill development with familiar objects. then you could give them a basic experiment to write up and see how they do.....

 

i just think giving them back really bad grades first off is not so likely to encourage them, kwim? could you give them back with corrections, but without grades? then do the peanut butter and river, and then ask them to revise the ones they've been given back in class, with you wandering and checking and suggesting/correcting as they go?

 

:grouphug: its a gift you are giving them, but it will be a challenge, too....

ann

[ma23peas]

I have faced similar situations in my high school writing class...

 

Patience and perseverance!

 

Next class, be honest...tell them that no one would have scored above a C. Wait for the sighs and slumps...then announce...but you get grace! We are going to write an A lab report right now. Get out your papers and pens...copy everything I write....if you copy everything word for word you get an A on this lab...it will be your responsibility from here on out to make sure your next report strives to meet or beat this one.

 

Then give them a handout...something creative...Ten Commandments for Lab Reports

 

1. Do not state Clean up your mess. Instead state...

 

2. Do not turn in incomplete labs...questions are meant to be answered.

 

Etc....

 

That is how I would handle it...your goal is to have them learn not earn grades...this will help them learn!

[tex-mex]

:iagree:

The kids haven't had proper training up to this point. You have the opportunity to show them your expectations.

:iagree:

 

Make them fill out the "fill in the blanks" style lab reports -- IN CLASS.

As you do the demo. Take the time to have everyone go over the style format. Then have everyone switch papers -- tell students they will be grading each other's work in colored marker.

 

Use an overhead projector of the "fill in the blank" lab report. Use a overhead projector pen to write on the transparancy. Go over line by line with the kids. I find that students are harsher graders than the teachers and the student whose work is being graded is more concerned that they will look bad in front of peers. It sounds harsh, but I've done this technique with students like you described. Not all of the time. But to point out to everyone the expectation for quality work.

 

Be sure to have kids know what earns an "A" (show them a sample lab report), a "B", "C", and so on. Most likely they have never been expected to turn in quality work. Talk to the girl who is wanting to go to MSU. Mentor her if possible. Try to get her to learn more study skills like taking notes, study habits, etc. She most likely has no clue what college is going to be like for her.

 

Do this for the first few labs. Then tell the students they will turn in lab reports as homework with the same expectations. From then on, give them the grade they deserve -- even if it is an "F". Are you doing weighted grading?

 

TESTS=50%

Chapter Questions=25%

Lab Reports=25%

----------------------

FINAL Grade=100%

 

Be sure the students understand what is expected of them and they will rise to the occasion -- as long as you are fair and kind. HTH

Edited January 23, 2012 by tex-mex

[Vida Winter]

I know an instructor who lets his students turn in a draft before the final lab. First time, the draft does not count. For the second lab, the draft counts for 10% of the lab grade. At the end of the course the draft counts for 25% of their lab grade. Each draft is returned with comments so that the student knows what they left out, needed to explain something more, etc. In addition, he distributes sample labs from the very beginning so they know what a lab report should look like. To me, it seems like a fair way to help students succeed.

[Pippen]

I would spend the next class period writing the lab report you wanted on the white board, step by step, and let them know how poorly they did. Do not record the grade from that first report, but let them know you WILL record grades thereafter. Hand back the graded reports before you go over it - at least the few kids who want to do better may pay attention and try to learn how to do a decent lab report.

 

When I was teaching we always wrote the first write-up together. They did better with guidance on the first one.

[Mergath]

I agree with the previous posters. I'd definitely give them the graded lab reports back, so they can see what they would have gotten, and be sure to tell them that the next ones will be recorded.

 

The best professors I had in college (I didn't have ANY good ones in high school, blech) were the ones who were the most thorough and the most strict. There was one, a lit prof, who looked just like a cute, tiny little version of Renee Zellweger. She came in the first day and basically told us, "By the end of the semester, you will think I'm the devil incarnate." But on the flipside of that, she was extremely thorough. She would go over things in stunning detail to make sure we understood. Kids will, in the end, really appreciate the strictness and high standards as long as you take as much time necessary to give them the tools they need to do as well as they want.

 

Of course, they might not appreciate it while they're doing the work, but they will later on. ;)

[Mama Geek]

I think it will take several of the ideas that have been posted to get them up to speed. One other piece of advice is that I would try to make it clear to them that based on the entire class having done a poor job that it is clear that they have not been taught the proper way to do things. (You probably can't come out and directly tell them that their previous teachers failed them.)

[cjzimmer1]

I just want to say up front that I was never a science major. However, I have to say that I was overwhelmed at what you were expecting in a lab report. I don't remember ever writing lab reports in high school and if we did they were never on the level you described. The two science classes I had in college where we did write lab reports (both being a 101 level class), were barely above the level you were aiming for.

 

I'm guessing you had a science major in college and thus had to write to lab reports at a MUCH higher standard than us non-science people. Your expectation seem quite high for a first lab report from 10th and 11th graders.

 

So while I think it is certainly reasonable to be working with them and improving their skills in this area, I think for grading this first set, your bar needs to be lowered.

 

Actually I probably wouldn't even assign a grade. I'd mark up the sheets with the areas that you feel need more work and let them have another shot at it.

Edited January 23, 2012 by cjzimmer1
fix typo

[G5052]

I went to a techie school, and the freshman lab courses were considered "gate" courses. If you couldn't write a lab report, you didn't belong there. They spent a lot of time teaching us what to do and marked up the first one without counting it. After that, you were considered informed. They did drop one or two grades a semester, but we had weekly lab write-ups in almost every science after that. Thankfully I had tough lab write-ups in high school, and it was no big deal although the labs were longer and harder in college.

 

And when I was hired at a research lab, one of the first things they gave me was a log book to record my notes in. They also had a certain way of recording things, and I was required to turn them in for archiving on a regular basis.

[FaithManor]

I went to a techie school, and the freshman lab courses were considered "gate" courses. If you couldn't write a lab report, you didn't belong there. They spent a lot of time teaching us what to do and marked up the first one without counting it. After that, you were considered informed. They did drop one or two grades a semester, but we had weekly lab write-ups in almost every science after that. Thankfully I had tough lab write-ups in high school, and it was no big deal although the labs were longer and harder in college.

 

And when I was hired at a research lab, one of the first things they gave me was a log book to record my notes in. They also had a certain way of recording things, and I was required to turn them in for archiving on a regular basis.

 

This is what concerns me. I know every college can vary in what is required at entrance level science courses, but I attended a tier 1 LAC as a piano performance major and the two 100 level GEN ED science courses I took (chemistry and biology) all required a very heady lab component; our lab notes were 25% of the grade. So, yes, you could watch your grade take a major tanking just based on being unfamiliar with lab documentation. Actually, several of my classmates had issues and I became the default tutor because thankfully, I had who also required reasonable documentation of our objectives, procedures, and results. Given that the senior wants to major in biology at a tier 1 university and one of the juniors is really hoping to major in astronomy and physics at another top of the tier 1 rankings uni, I can't in good conscience let this slide.

 

But, I am going to change tactics. This Friday, they will receive a very thorough, step-by-step, write this down, write that down, course in how to fill out a basic lab report. Though they were provided some excellent examples of proper lab reports and though I let them take a gander at mine - yes, while teaching them, I also documented every step so that I was providing a real life example of this, they still couldn't connect the dots. However, they also have been in a false praise environment so paltry efforts in many classes in their past have received glowing reports from teachers. I can't just stomp on them...they are too naive. However, I also have limited time to help them achieve some maturity of thinking and expressing themselves, so I can't just let it go.

 

Therefore, based on an accumulation of advice from the hive as well as my own inclinations, they will be receiving their lab reports privately with the grade they would have received. Each one will have face time with me before class. Given that I work with them in a kitchen, staff of both the school and the church are always walking past and since I don't know what to expect in terms of he group dynamic, who would tease whom, etc. I think I need to give them some privacy when I shock them. As a group, I will then make a general mini-lecture about my expectations and how vital it is that they learn to think in this way...it's problem solving, just like math, put to paper with an explanation of how the results were achieved...I suspect that most of them have never been required to write on a logic level much less a rhetorical level, so I'm going to have to sell my case as to why this is so important.

 

The one thing that will speak to them is "merit aid". All of these kids have big dreams of something better...many of their parents worked in Michigan in the industrial manufacturing age which has now been sent overseas. They are finally beginning to figure out that those really great jobs with excellent benefits without higher level education are no longer available and they know they have to prioritize college or additional technical training and they do not have any money to do this on so merit aid is a must. The way they express themselves in person and on paper, at this point, is not going to impress any four year uni and our local CC is so poor that many uni's will not accept credit from them. So, sending them to CC is not going to be the answer. I do wish we had a better CC as this would probably be an ideal first step.

 

I am thankful that except for one, they are an enthusiastic bunch who are truly grateful to have someone help them achieve their goals. They are a lovely group of teens and if I can get them up to task, would then be great additions to any college. But, I fear that if they all had to walk into 100 level science classes at any remotely decent uni today, they'd fail their class and be left wondering if they even belong there.

 

I may even bring my dad in to talk with them during some of my group guidance counselor time. He has a logic test, very basic stuff, that also includes some algebra 1/geometry, and writing that he administers to any prospective new hire. He's getting so many people inquiring about jobs and they are not capable of problem solving, much less writing on a level that he and his office manager can communicate with them on paper. Teaching new hires to write an estimate is a nightmare and writing an estimate is actually similar to filling out a reasonable lab report. So, maybe if I give them a real-world example of what a future employer needs, this will help them see the need for gaining the skills. Dad does not need employees with degrees, he prefers employees that have current boiler, mechanical, plumbing, or eletrical licenses and in Michigan, these are difficult licenses to get...classes, lots and lots of studying, difficult exams, etc. This way I won't have some kid yelp, "Well, I'm not going to college so I don't need to be able to do this." Nope, whether or not you ever need to do labs as an adult, you NEED to be able to think in a logical manner and document what you do for your co-workers or your boss.

 

Thanks everyone. I'll try to post again in a couple of weeks and let you know how it is going.

 

I'm off to make sure my kids are getting their work done. We are doing double assignments in a couple of subjects today since I have office hours tomorrow.

 

Faith

[Susan in TN]

I like the idea of going through a lab report step-by-step, and also providing a "fill-in-the-blank" type sheet for the next lab report or two. Sort of like when you are first learning how to outline a paragraph.

[NCMom]

I actually provide my co-op kids with examples, we go through the first one together AND I give them a detailed rubric that explains what I am looking for in each section in detail. I grade off the rubric so there are no surprises.

 

Since I usually have an age range from 12 to 18, it is quite necessary. This year I only have 1 class going, with a 13yo, two 15yos and a 17 yo. They can write a very nice lab report at this point but it took about 4 reports to get there. :001_smile:

 

hth,

Georgia

[EKS]

I would spend the next class period writing the lab report you wanted on the white board, step by step, and let them know how poorly they did. Do not record the grade from that first report, but let them know you WILL record grades thereafter. Hand back the graded reports before you go over it - at least the few kids who want to do better may pay attention and try to learn how to do a decent lab report.

 

I would do this and take it one step further and have them redo these lab reports after going over what to do in class. Then grade the redone reports.

 

Assuming that most of them do care, it's apparent that they need quite a bit more scaffolding to get it right at this point.

[myfunnybunch]

But, I am going to change tactics. This Friday, they will receive a very thorough, step-by-step, write this down, write that down, course in how to fill out a basic lab report.

 

This is wise. Clearly this is entirely new for them. You've got to teach the task along with the material. When they get to college, they will thank you.

 

When my eldest dd returned to high school, she complained and complained about her chemistry teacher and how tough he was and how hard the work was and that it wasn't too hard for her because she kind of knew what to do already, but most of the other students were having trouble...then she let slip that he said to them, "I am preparing you for college chemistry." I didn't even have to say anything. She didn't complain about chemistry again, at least not to us. :lol:

 

I think your whole plan is a wise one. :)

 

Cat

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I would spend the next class period writing the lab report you wanted on the white board, step by step, and let them know how poorly they did. Do not record the grade from that first report, but let them know you WILL record grades thereafter. Hand back the graded reports before you go over it - at least the few kids who want to do better may pay attention and try to learn how to do a decent lab report.

 

:iagree: I wouldn't count this first one. I would still hand it back with your grades and explain that you were being generous. Then, go over exactly how you would have wanted it to be written. Write the whole thing out step by step on the board along with them.

 

Since not much has been expected of them up until now, I would give them a little leeway with this first report.