|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|||||||||||
|
Social - October 2003 |
|||||||||||
|
Award-winning idea raises grades and parent awareness |
|||||||||||
|
Published October 31, 2003 |
|||||||||||
|
By SARAH GRANO, Staff Writer ———————————— History students at West Lincoln High School get a second chance when they flunk a test. Teachers at the school use Donald Mowry’s “Test and Correct” system to help students learn. “It puts more burden on the student,” said Mowry, a civics and U.S. history teacher. “It gives them ownership of their grade.” Mowry received an Education’s Unsung Heroes Award for the system. The program now has $2,000 to spend. Students in Mowry’s class may fail a test, but they also have a chance to improve their test scores. For each answer a student gets wrong, they can get partial credit if they write a correct answer. Mowry creates more difficult questions that students must answer in at least 25 words. “It’s a good way to get a good grade,” said Ashley Woodie, a junior. “Only lazy people who don’t want to do their work don’t like it.” Mowry requires students to write the corrections, but some of them refuse. “The system helps with parents who want to know why their child is failing,” Mowry said. “I can tell them, ‘Your child could have had an 86. She chose a 52.’” Half of the $2,000 awarded to the program will go to curriculum needs in the class like maps and videos. The other $1,000 will be divided between two scholarships for Advanced Placement mentors. Advanced Placement mentors are former AP U.S. History students who work as teacher assistants and student tutors. “They’re the first line of defense in the test corrections,” Mowry said. “They tutor the students who have difficulty doing the test corrections, or who just don’t do them.” Cory Gates considers being an AP mentor training for being a teacher. “It’s a little more work than I thought it would be,” Gates said. “We help them if we can.” Gates is now competing with other AP mentors for a $500 scholarship. One AP mentor from the elective class this semester and one from the elective class next semester will be chosen by the social studies department. Mowry has been chosen to compete with other Unsung Hero Award winners for an additional $5,000, $10,000 or $25,000. ————— Staff Writer Sarah Grano can be reached at 704-735-3031 or sgrano@ltnews.com
|
|||||||||||
|
© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
|||||||||||
|
Terms and Conditions |
|||||||||||
|
|