Karen Klass October 18, 2013 EPSY 485 Grading Philosophy Grading Policy: My grading philosophy is intended for

a high school AP level psychology course. This course is designed for high school seniors. The overarching topics or themes for the course will include: psychologys history and careers in the field, social psychology, research and statistics, biological basis of behavior, sensation and perception, learning methods, sleep and consciousness, motivation and emotion, disorders and treatment, personality psychology, stress, developmental psychology, language, memory, intelligence, and problem solving. Approximately sixteen units for the class will allow an advanced level class to be fast paced; however, each unit will require a different amount of time. For example, while the unit on disorders and treatment may last several weeks, the unit on history and careers may only require a one-week and may be combined with a larger focus. Such an outline covers all of the major topics for a basic understanding of psychology and covers the broad range of topics that may appear on the Advanced Placement exam, which will take place in May. When it comes to grading, I value both mastery of the content material as well as the effort put into learning the concepts. In order to offer assess the wide variety of student needs, my summative assessments will measure students mastery of the concepts with a multiple choice section as well as a written portion. Therefore, I will require that students utilize a variety of skills in displaying their content knowledge. In addition to mastery of material, I will also take into account the effort put into the course to an extent. For example, I will have reading quizzes where students are able to use the notes they took from their textbook reading in order to answer the questions. If a student completed the reading, the quiz will not be difficult and will thus allow them to boost their grade by putting in the time and effort to read the material. Likewise, the class will be filled with interactive activities in order to learn about different topics. Participation and effort put into these classroom activities will also be taken into account when determining a students grade. Therefore, class preparation as well as engagement are critical pieces to learning and excelling in my classroom. I expect that students put forth a great deal of effort in order to excel in my class. I firmly believe that such effort will be tied to student mastery of the content material; however, if a student is putting forth a great deal of effort yet is still not successful in the course, it is my responsibility as a teacher to address the students specific needs and work with him or her individually if necessary. The purpose of my grading philosophy is to hold students to a high standard while understanding the individual needs of students. In an advanced placement psychology course, students are moving at a college level. Therefore, as a teacher I believe it is important to expect a great amount of effort from each one of them. However, I also understand that my students are not yet in college and many require individualized attention when it comes to success in the classroom. My combination of high expectations matched with my willingness to individualize my teaching demonstrates my commitment toward success for every student. I believe that high school is an optimal time for students to challenge themselves and effort should play a large role in the classroom. That means that students with disabilities or students who may not be tracked into one of the highest levels should be able to enroll in my course since it does not require any prerequisites. It is then my responsibility as a teacher to provide students with a plethora of tools and resources to succeed as well as my individualized attention. Therefore, my grading philosophy, which encompasses high standards combined with high levels of student support, is set out in a way that I believe will ensure success for every student.

Karen Klass October 18, 2013 EPSY 485 Assessment Methods My AP Psychology class will include several different types of assessment. The end of each major unit will conclude with a summative assessment test organized in a way that will prepare students for the advanced placement exam in May. This type of assessment will include multiple choice questions that require students to know the meanings and applications of the topics discussed as well as a written portion. The multiple-choice section of the test will include questions at varied levels of difficulties. Some will merely ask for definitions of important terms while others will describe a concept or scenario and then ask students to either identify or analyze the concept with the answer choice. Such varied levels help assess the different levels of student mastery of the subject area. The written portion will also ask students to apply concepts in a more detailed way. For example, the written portion may present students with a scenario describing the symptoms of a patient who has a psychological disorder. The student will then have to identify the disorder, list the symptoms, and describe the proper treatment. These summative assessments will count as a portion of students final grades, but will not account for students grades in entirety. Other forms of assessment will include formative assessments such as reading quizzes that offer students easy points for putting in the effort to complete reading assignments. These assessments are not difficult in nature but rather reward students who put in the time and effort to complete homework assignments and reaffirm that their work is meaningful and contributes to their overall success in the class. Likewise, in class activities will serve as student assessment for student learning. For example, projects such as using an orange to demonstrate what a human brain looks like is an interactive activity that asks students to apply what they have learned. Such a project will require students to identify and label the different parts of the brain and describe their functions. Students will be able to work together and use their notes to help them. This form of assessment will help kinesthetic learners display their knowledge. Finally, there will be a larger research paper assignment where students choose to research a particular psychological disorder and case study associated with the particular disorder and report their findings. Additionally, class participation will also count toward students grades. Allowing students to receive credit for participating is an incentive for students to engage in the class, and engaging in class helps maximize a students learning. Some types of assessment that will not count as a grade but will instead help me gather feedback for myself will include quick checks for understanding. These will consist of half sheets of colored paper that will be administered at the end of every week and will include a set of questions about the topics covered that week. Students will get credit for completion but not correct answers in order to allow me as a teacher to evaluate whether or not the students have mastered the material and these checks will factor into students participation grade. This tool is extremely useful for me as a teacher and will also help students know how well they are doing in the class without adding pressure to their workload. These non-graded checks can help me know if I need to revisit a particular topic or if students are ready to move on. Likewise, such checks will help students realize how they are doing and allow them to proactively revisit a topic or reach out to the teacher for more assistance. It is both the teacher and students responsibility to use these quick checks in order to measure students grasp of the content and as a teacher I will be able to distinguish if a particular student needs more attention or I should focus on the class as a whole. With all of the assessment types covered, I would weight each category differently. The breakdown would appear as follows: end of unit summative assessments would count for 40% of 2

Karen Klass October 18, 2013 EPSY 485 students overall grade, participation would count for 20% of students grade, formative assessments such as reading quizzes and in class activities would count for 30% of students grade, and the research paper assignment will count for 10% of students overall grade. The breakdown of all of these assignments is intended to show that it is critical for students to value all aspects of the class. Excellent performance on summative assessments will not guarantee success in the class. Students must also participate, complete assignments, and engage in activities in order to excel. Summative assessments are weighted heavily because they intend to measure student mastery over the material in entirety. The exams will be structured in a comprehensive format in order to assess that students are meeting all of the standards required for overall success. Students will also notice that participation is large portion of their grade. In order to engage students and maximize their learning it is critical that they participate and rewarding them for such efforts is a useful technique. Formative assessments also count for a large portion of students grades because of the frequency of such work. Whether short quizzes, in class assignments and projects, or online activities, these forms of assessment are good indicators of student understanding. Finally, the research paper is the smallest component of students grades; however, student will realize that they still need to complete the paper and take it seriously in order to do well in the course. This form of assessment serves as an application to specific content students are learning and helps make their learning experience meaningful and relevant. As previously noted, participation will account for 20% of students overall classroom grade. Within this category I will incorporate attendance, tardiness, oral participation, attitude, effort and improvement. In order to be successful in class the first component is showing up and being on time. However, presence within the classroom does not stop there. In my opinion, being in the classroom means being mentally present as well. Students must engage in conversation, ask questions, work together, and actively participate in class projects in order to demonstrate their full classroom capacity. Likewise, attitude is also a critical component of learning. In order to be a successful student, students must be willing to learn and contribute to a positive classroom environment. Therefore, attitude will contribute as a factor of classroom participation. Next, improvement will serve as a critical piece of students participation grade. As a teacher, I understand that all students do not begin a class with the same level of prior knowledge. Therefore, the improvements students make are critical measures of the amount of learning for each individual student. Classroom participation is the appropriate category of grading to reward students for their individual improvements, a crucial piece of the learning process.