Case
Rigor

I teach Honors and next year will teach an AP course. I struggle with the level of rigor within my classroom. I know at times I am too "soft" on the students, but I want the students to learn and enjoy the experience. I do not want to beat them over the head with "extra" work which many times is what taking Honors means. What are some ways I can rise my rigor without it just being extra work?

Posted on: 03/13/15 | Views: 1036
Solution #1
It is important to keep in mind Bloom's Taxonomy and the different levels of thinking. Have your students complete a project that requires higher order thinking. Instead of add to the amount of work, make the work more meaningful.

Thank you.

I agree with you. The projects would be a better way to handle the classwork. The projects could be extended as well over an entire unit.

This is a very good and detailed response. Great idea.

This is a very good and detailed response. Great idea.

Making the work meaningful is a good idea.

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Solution #2
I have challenged my classes in the past by giving them the challenge of developing a lesson in which they teach to the class on different topics. You of course will give the topic, guidelines (close to the five step protocol), and rubric in which they would use to develop the lesson. The audience (peers) would do a peer evaluation of the student(s) that teach (via presentation) the lesson. This may take time but will definitely challenge and engage the students.

This is a very good and detailed response. Great idea.

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Solution #3
Examine your pacing guide. See if there are any ways that you can reduce the time you spend on some of the easier to grasp topic. After you have done that, take the more important units and create activities that are more project based. Use technology and students will not see the work as as much of a burden.

Thank you. I do love using technology which they enjoy.

This is a very good and detailed response. Great idea.

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Solution #4
Honors courses do require a lot of extra work at times or a faster pace, but the level at which they understand the content should also be deeper. Students reasoning skills should be challenged consistently. Teacher questioning skills play a big part in developing students' reasoning skills. I would always try to create learning opportunities for students to consider posed situations that they have to create solutions (maybe even multiple solutions) to situations and discuss their approaches with their classmates. With my honors classes, I care more about the WHY than the HOW - although both are important.

I would focus on covering information or topics in depth as opposed to covering as many topics as possible. This may not be beneficial if you're concerned about AP test scores, but it could work for honors type classes. Additionally, don't waste time doing what students already know how to do. Keeping their minds working without cluttering them with busy stuff is what will make them enjoy the class.

Thank you to you both. Great suggestions!

This is a very good and detailed response. Great idea.

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Solution #5
Have you thought about having your students discuss topics by using Socratic seminars? That would force them to use their higher order thinking skills and it's highly engaging.

This is a very good and detailed response. Great idea.

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Solution #6
Rigor is all in challenging the students. If you teaching how to regroup with double digits and your students are mastering the concept, then take to the next level and add the hundreds then thousands digits. Don't stress yourself, rigor is all about making learning fun while forcing students to use the critical thinking skills. You can always find resources online for whatever area you need to enforce that extra rigor.
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Solution #7
I too struggle with rigor in my honors classes but have come to realize that honors does not mean 'extra.' Instead of adding to the assignment in terms of length, I add to the assignment in terms of information. For example, while my on-level class will read 1 article and write a response, my honors will read an article and analyze a political cartoon, then write a response where they analyze the connections between the two. Another way to increase rigor is to provide students with more open-ended assignments. Instead of providing your honors students with discussion questions, have them create their own.
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Solution #8
Instead of coming up with just extra work for students to complete, you could add a project for students to complete for each unit that requires students to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the material. This would not be busy work, but would make the students research the topic more in depth and demonstrate their deeper understanding of the topic.

This is a very good and detailed response. Great idea.

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