Mr. McWeeny talks about the notebooks he has students keep throughout the course: "To me, that's what I want the kids to do. That's what I want their notebooks to be, a richly descriptive notebook; not just a bunch of scientific concepts and facts and pictures. I actually want them to think about it. Sometimes I say treat it like a diary. Just get it all out in there. I encourage them to do that. Many of my comments after the first evaluation are to challenge the kids to write more about their opinions and their feelings. For example, I may tell them: 'I want to know how you feel about these things ... You're doing a great job describing these things, what do you think about them? ...'
"The way we arrange our notebooks is they have a permanent bound notebook. I tell them to go 4 to 5 pages. They start tab #1 and they take a little stickie and they put a tab there. So, we get a whole bunch of tabs all the way down the notebook ..."
As the work proceeds, the class develops a table of contents that Mr. McWeeny eventually publishes. Once available, the students paste the table of contents into the first few pages of the notebook. The completed notebook is then a good record of students' learning and they can refer to it well after they graduate from Mr. McWeeny's class. As well, the notebook provides Mr. McWeeny and parents with an easy way to collect student work throughout the year so that they can assess how a student is progressing.
Once Mr. McWeeny has explained the notebook and how it is to be organized to students, he gets right to work : "Okay, here's your first homework assignment. This is tab #1 ... I want you to go out into a place that you would say is fairly natural... "
The notebooks are graded with a rubric that stresses organization, complete sentences, and accurate answers. The performance level ranges from 1 to 4. If a student scores a in the 1 or 2 range, this is considered unacceptable whereas the 3 to 4 range is acceptable.
| Criteria\Performance Level | 1 (Maximum score is a 1) | 2 (Maximum score is a 3) | 3 (Maximum score is a 5) | 4 (Maximum score is a 7) |
| Organization | No tabs/Order No Written Directions Not bounded or contained | One of the following: "Bound" Written Directions Tabs visible | Two of the following: "Bound" Written Directions | A bound notebook with written directions Neat TABS visible Name on front and/or Table of Contents |
| Complete Sentences | No Sentences Many answers not attempted | A few complete sentences (most not sentences) | Mostly complete sentences (Just a few not sentences) | All answers in complete sentences |
| Accurate Answers | 0-30% Correct or Researched | 31-60% Correct or Researched | 61-90% Correct or Researched | Above 90% Correct with only a couple researched |
