JOANNE
PAYLING
Diary #19
From Panic to Perspective
This is a lesson about losing sight of a lesson's goal.
I was in the middle of grading the Plot Mountain book reports I discussed last week. After reading several of the diagrams, I knew that many of the students hadn't correctly recognized their novel's climax. The rubric I designed gave points for identifying and summarizing each plot element. However, if a student's climax was wrong, then it followed that their rising and falling actions were off, too, and thus they lost points not just for a wrong climax, but for incorrect rising and falling actions. Suddenly I was faced with assigning failing grades to students who had tried but hadn't yet mastered the concept. The overall summaries of their books were fine, but based on the rubric I had set up, many grades were going to suffer. Not knowing what to do, I knocked on our curriculum vice principal's door. I was in a minor panic since I felt responsible for my students' failing grades on the outline.Ah, how nice it is to have experience and perspective. Robin listened to me blurt out my concerns, immediately got to the crux of my dilemma, and suggested ways to approach the assessment. When she realized that I planned to continue addressing the fiction elements during our short story unit, she noted that the Plot Mountain should be considered a pre-assessment piece.
There went panic number one: my self-flagellation for not teaching the plot elements clearly enough the first time. This was an introduction, not a fait accompli. I had already planned on discussing these elements in more detail in each upcoming short story; I just hadn't recognized that what I was doing with the Plot Mountain could be considered an introduction to them.
Revisiting my objectives
I did, however, have to assess my students' work. A great deal of time and effort had gone into this assignment and my students expected feedback. Why not grade on a curve, Robin asked. There went panic number two. No undeserved failing grades. My discussion with Robin also caused me to revisit what my objectives were for this assignment. When I wrote the rubric, I was focused only on the student's recognition and summary of the plot elements. The reality was, however, that I was using this method to ascertain if students had read their novels. My second objective was to have students practice summarizing, and the third objective was to introduce Plot Elements. With this renewed awareness, I realized I would have to change my rubric. I now have a rubric that more accurately reflects my objectives. Yes, I should have figured all this out first, but in the hurly burly of daily teaching it is incredibly easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Robin was able to see it quickly and reassure me that I am on the right track. I feel much more confident now that I recognize I haven't short-changed my students. But I'll tell you one thing in closing. Panic and worry are exhausting and re-evaluating is very time consuming! Somehow I have to learn how to keep sight of the big picture while being immersed in the details. Easier said than done, but if anything teaches that, this lesson does.
