Tips for using Google Classroom
We all know that consistency is the key to teaching. I found that it is also the key to using Google Classroom. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to accomplish so I was not as consistent as I should have been. I was still figuring it all out. I wanted to be flexible in my expectations with the students. These are three of the lessons I learned:
First thing I needed was to number the assignments. I started in the 100's. Anything that I assigned in the first month was 100, the second month was 200 and so on for the entire semester. I started over again with the same system the second semester. This made finding my assignments much easier and when putting them in the electronic grade book, the students were able to find them as well. I didn't start this at first. I just titled my assignments. At first it was ok, but when I needed to reference them and there were more and more, it became much harder to keep track of them. By numbering them, I was able to keep track. I also included a hash tag in front of the number to make searching in the drive easier. I kept a spreadsheet with the number and the assignment to help with this.
The second thing I discovered was I needed to create an instructions page. This gave detailed instructions on what was expected from the assignment. I attached this to the assignment in Google Classroom. Students were able to make a copy for themselves and refer to it when they were working on the assignment. This kept me from repeating the instructions over and over. When a student asked, I referred them back to the assignment number on Google Classroom. Links and examples could be attached to the instructional doc for students.
The third thing I learned is that students did not like having to explain their thinking. I offered them the opportunity to earn full credit even if their answer was wrong if they could successfully explain their reasoning and how they came up with that answer. The students were so use to just plugging in A, B, C or D for their answers. This explain your reasoning process took more time on the part of the students as well as myself, but I felt it helped them in the long run with trying to figure out patterns and relationships. By using the commenting features of Google Apps, I was able to make comments and ask questions about student work. Mathematical practice states that students can construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. This was easily done by creating a Google Classroom folder and students can view the work of others and also critique each other. This was not done at first. I had to model the critiquing process with the students before they could begin to critique each other.
First thing I needed was to number the assignments. I started in the 100's. Anything that I assigned in the first month was 100, the second month was 200 and so on for the entire semester. I started over again with the same system the second semester. This made finding my assignments much easier and when putting them in the electronic grade book, the students were able to find them as well. I didn't start this at first. I just titled my assignments. At first it was ok, but when I needed to reference them and there were more and more, it became much harder to keep track of them. By numbering them, I was able to keep track. I also included a hash tag in front of the number to make searching in the drive easier. I kept a spreadsheet with the number and the assignment to help with this.
The second thing I discovered was I needed to create an instructions page. This gave detailed instructions on what was expected from the assignment. I attached this to the assignment in Google Classroom. Students were able to make a copy for themselves and refer to it when they were working on the assignment. This kept me from repeating the instructions over and over. When a student asked, I referred them back to the assignment number on Google Classroom. Links and examples could be attached to the instructional doc for students.
The third thing I learned is that students did not like having to explain their thinking. I offered them the opportunity to earn full credit even if their answer was wrong if they could successfully explain their reasoning and how they came up with that answer. The students were so use to just plugging in A, B, C or D for their answers. This explain your reasoning process took more time on the part of the students as well as myself, but I felt it helped them in the long run with trying to figure out patterns and relationships. By using the commenting features of Google Apps, I was able to make comments and ask questions about student work. Mathematical practice states that students can construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. This was easily done by creating a Google Classroom folder and students can view the work of others and also critique each other. This was not done at first. I had to model the critiquing process with the students before they could begin to critique each other.