Notebook Self Evaluation #2

Keeping a well-organized notebook with accurate notes is important for student success in this course. It is helpful for the students to evaluate how they take notes and to see where they need to improve. As students enter the classroom, I hand them a “Notebook Self Evalutation Sheet.” This is a two-part process. First, students self-reflect with the guiding question, “How much do you agree with the statements below?” They are instructed to circle a number from one to five with one being “I completely disagree” and five being “I completely agree.” Each statement relates to a different aspect, ie organization, tidiness, completeness, etc.

After students evaluate themselves on these aspects, I add my assessment. This second task for students then has them compare and contrast their self-evaluations with my feedback after they receive it.

In the Mini-Lesson, we prepare for Part B of the “Notebook Self-Evaluation Sheet.”  I show the students a sample objective and we rewrite it as an action statement. Then we address the statement. This is used as a guide that the students can refer back to when they work on the activity.

Example: Objective: How do we construct the bisector of a segment using a compass and a straightedge? Answer: Draw an arc from each endpoint of the segment using the same radius, which is larger than half of the segment. Connect the intersection points of the two arcs.

For the Activity, the students choose five different lessons and write down the objective as an action statement. They then answer the question using the notes from the lesson. Although the students in my class sit in groups, they must use different lessons and objectives from the other students in their groups.

This activity helps me and the students identify how well they take notes and what they understand from the lessons. I use this sheet as a guide when I evaluate their notebooks.

In this lesson, students are using their notebooks as tools for learning (MP5). I frequently have the students refer back to their notes when they struggle with a problem.  In the past, I noticed that students would take notes and never look at them again. Through this activity, students can see how beneficial taking good notes can be. Additionally, students use their notes to precisely describe how the lesson objective was met (MP6).