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Let Flexibility Lead To Alignment

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  In my previous school district, I was the only teacher teaching a physics course with set, district-wide learning outcomes. These same outcomes were also taught in physics classrooms at the other high school in our district. But at our school, I was one of the 2 physics teachers. The other teacher taught the AP-level physics courses. So, in many ways, I had opportunities to incorporate strategies I believed were best for learners and that I found worked best for them without being seen as out of alignment with anyone in our building. My amazing friend and one of my teaching philosophy goddesses, Katie Novak, stated the following misconception about alignment: All teachers must deliver instruction in the exact same way. True alignment, she says, is about shared goals, rigor, and outcomes. Thank you, Katie! Katie has taught me to truly believe that learner variability is the rule, not the exception. I encourage you to take 10 minutes to listen to Katie Novak explain it in the ...
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Standards Presentations Using Flipgrid

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Summative assessment can be a bit tricky in distance learning when relying on traditional pencil and paper test. One of the assessment options I have allowed students to use in the past was an evidence presentation in which they created a 1 on 1 presentation demonstrating their mastery of the unit standards by presenting artifacts from the unit.

 I'm trying something similar with my students as we wrap up our momentum unit. This unit was done completely via distance learning. We had several different activities and I made sure that students had opportunities to cover our main 4 science skill outcomes as they related to momentum.

  1. I can plan and carry out investigations
  2. I can analyze and interpret data
  3. I can use mathematics and computational thinking
  4. I can construct explanations
The goal for the summative assessment is for them to provide evidence for each of these 4 outcomes. I didn't want the technology to be the barrier. So, I choose Flipgrid which is a very simple to use video creation and submission platform that my students have an easy time with.


For each of the 4 standards, I created a topic. I gave them a brief overview of what was expected in the prompt. For the focus, I used Screencastify to record the workflow for creating the Flipgrid video and explaining the prompt in more depth. In addition, I posted one example submission video to the grid for them to watch. The topic itself is moderated. This means that the videos posted by students will not be able to be viewed by other classmates.


Some of the tools that I am looking for them to use (and modeled in the focus video) are loading images, adding text, drawing, and using the Flipgrid smartphone app to record writing on a piece of paper. For those who cannot respond verbally, they can use the text option in Flipgrid to construct their response.

I created a simple rubric for feedback within Flipgrid.


Eventually, these videos will be added into their portfolios as unit evidence. I'm excited to see what they students submit. I'll be sure to share how it went.


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