Engaging Students and Improving Instruction Using One Tool

By: Leslie Bartow

For eight years, I taught 8th grade Social Studies and served as 8th grade team leader in middle school. For four years, I was an Site Based Decision Making (SBDM) Council member who had the privilege of interviewing and hiring two principals. I have served on various school committees; culture, discipline, data, PLC’s, and teaming. As 8th grade Social Studies teacher, I worked in a PLC with the social studies departments at both middle schools. As part of our PLC, we dove into analyzing data to drive our instruction. A huge part of that was the implementation of gradecam, an online multiple choice grading system. Because gradecam immediately grades multiple choice questions, feedback for teachers and students was immediate. Therefore, students did not have to wait for days to receive feedback from their teachers. Teachers could use feedback to make instructional changes on the spot and have intentional conversations with students about their progress. Also, it made the sharing of data with other teachers of the same content quick and easy, which created a culture of using data for instructional purpose, focused on improvement, not a just a wasted planning period of talking but no doing.

For the past school year, I have moved into a new role, curriculum specialist at a K-5 elementary school. My role includes various responsibilities, from co-teaching and modeling lessons in classrooms, to analyzing data to help make needed instructional changes, to mentoring teachers. Soon after my arrival, we integrated using gradecam with our 2-5 grade levels. This has allowed us to really use data in our instruction with students. Teachers are able to quickly grade assessments so that more time can be used for instruction because results and feedback is immediate. For students, it allows for conversation about progressing and really understanding the content, rather than getting a letter grade.

Students get excited about knowing and seeing their progress. They also now discuss their grades and their progress by looking at the item analysis and overall class percentages. It creates a positive classroom environment because the students are engaging with the teacher about what instructional changes need to be made. Gradecam is an excellent resource to allow for improved instruction and student engagement. 

This is a guest blog written by one of the teachers in our Innovative Teacher Leader cohort to share about an innovative teacher or practice from their area of the state. To learn more about the work happening in the Commonwealth from these Innovative Teacher Leaders, who are working to redefine teacher leadership in Kentucky, check back throughout the month of March. We’ll be sharing guest blogs all month long.