Blog post #1
My Thoughts On Assessment
Growing up, I was one of those students that was only motivated to complete my work if I knew that I was being marked on it or if I had teachers that got angry when they noticed that students had their homework incomplete. However, as I got older I realized that it was important to do the work assigned to me in order to stay on track and not fall behind in my classes. I came to an understanding that the work that was assigned to me was to benefit me and develop my skills whether it was being marked or not.
Report cards were a big deal in my household as my parents looked forward to looking at them. They also wanted to see my tests and assignments to make sure I was doing well in school. When they realized that I was struggling in certain subjects, they would put me in tutoring classes for those subject in order for me to improve. Assessments were their way of knowing how I was doing in school because of the language barriers they faced while communicating with past teachers.
I believe that assessments in elementary classrooms are necessary for a number of different reasons. One of the reasons being that this is a way of maintaining communication about student progress between students, parents and teachers. Report cards for example are a perfect way to communicate to students and parents of the students level of achievement and whether or not they are meeting the overall curricular expectations. Another reason why assessments are important is because they allow the teacher to see where each student is at and plan accordingly to make sure that students are close to the overall expectation or exceed it by the end of the year. Assessments also provide teacher with the knowledge of how to group students and whether or not students need to be put in different programs or accommodated to.
Assessments allow students to demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter. When assessments are done, they also give teachers the opportunity to know whether they are teaching properly and whether students are learning what they are supposed to be learning.
Blog Post Entry #2
Growing Success
Prior to reading the Growing Success document, I
had a difficult time understanding the difference between “assessment FOR
learning, assessment AS learning and assessment OF learning.” However, this
document has helped me grasp a better understanding of all three components of
assessment and I am now able to differentiate between the three and identify
which type is being used when given a lesson plan to deconstruct. Learning the
difference between these three has also taught me the difference between
diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments. Diagnostic assessments are
done prior to instruction in order to identify student’s strengths, weaknesses,
knowledge and skills. Establishing these help the teacher to adjust the
curriculum to meet each learner’s unique needs. Formative assessment refers to
assessment through questioning, conferencing, observing and producing an end
product. A summative assessment is typically given to students after a specific
point in instruction to measure their understanding of a subject. Some examples
include tests, papers, presentations and exams. I now know what type of
assessment to use for each form
This document has also taught me the many
different components involved in evaluating and assessing students. The
importance of setting clear learning goals and success criteria for students
was emphasized all throughout the document. As an educator, it is extremely
important to set up expectations and provide criteria for students to refer to
while they are completing tasks. When teachers make these expectations clear
for the students, it makes it easier for them to do this independently and
properly.
The Growing Success document also mentions the
importance of maintaining good communication between students and parents.
Parents are on the same team as the teacher when it comes to developing their
child’s academic performance. Educators must work alongside the student and
parent to enhance learning and bring out the best results in the student. An
interesting element that I learnt from this document is the fact that progress
reports only include learning skills. I always thought that all three report
cards given out throughout a school year had grades. However, the progress
report is issued to parents to give them an idea of their child’s progress so
far in the year. It also includes comments on how the child can improve and
also indicates their strengths and weaknesses. This first report is an
incredible way to build communication with parents.
Educators are also required to differentiate
assessment strategies to meet the needs of the differentiated learners in the
classroom. This is something that I wondered about since the beginning of the
semester. I had no clue how differentiated learners or ELL learners were graded
and whether or not the same assessment tools were used for them and the rest of
the classroom. However, the Growing Success document helped me understand that
it is my responsibility as an educator to provide fair and equitable
assessment. While I am coming up with my assessment tools, I must keep in mind
the special educational needs students as well and the English Language
learners. Overall, the Growing Success criteria has provided me a good
understanding of assessment.
AER Strategy Form
EDBE 8Y01 Digital
Portfolio: AER Strategy Form Name: Kelsey Tharmakumar
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GROWING SUCCESS POLICIES
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My Professional Learning Goals
1 goal for each
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Strategies For Meeting
My Goals
1 strategy for each
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Curated
Resources
minimum of 2 sources for
each
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POLICY
Fundamental
Principles
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I
will let all the parents of my student know the progress of their child’s
academic performance.
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Get to know the parents as early as possible and
maintain a good relationship/communication with them.
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http://www.adi.org/journal/ss05/Graham-Clay.pdf
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POLICY
Learning Skills
& Work Habits
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I
will work with students to ensure that they understand the importance of
learning skills and work habits.
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·
Explain to students how these skills will be
assessed and evaluated after explaining each lesson.
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http://www.yrdsb.ca/AboutUs/ReportingStudentAchievement/Documents/LearningSkillsandWorkHabitsBrochure.pdf
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http://www.stillskin.ca/Files/Learning%20Skills%20Assessment%20Rubric.pdf
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POLICY
Performance
Standards: The Achievement Chart
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I
will give student various opportunities to demonstrate the full extent of
their achievement of the curriculum expectations.
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Assess and evaluate in a balanced manner with
respect to the four categories and that achievement of particular
expectations is considered within appropriate categories.
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http://www.yrdsb.ca/AboutUs/ReportingStudentAchievement/Documents/ParentBrochure_AchievementChart.pdf
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http://www.hwdsb.on.ca/westdale/files/2010/10/Achievement-Charts2.pdf
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POLICY
Assessment FOR
Learning & AS Learning
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I
will do my best to ensure that students have an interest in learning and a
belief that they can learn for them to be successful
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Promote student engagement and commitment to
learning by sharing learning goals and success criteria, providing feedback
in relation to goals, and developing students ability to self- assess.
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http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept95/vol53/num01/Strengthening-Student-Engagement@-What-Do-Students-Want.aspx
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http://www.tvdsb.ca/webpages/takahashid/techdia.cfm?subpage=128207
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POLICY
Evaluation
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I
will ensure that the evaluation of my students learning is reliable and
valid.
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Use multiple sources of evidence such as student
products in the form of tests, exams, assignments, observations, group work,
projects etc.
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http://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/curriculum/guides/esl/esl2205/assessment2205.pdf
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POLICY
Reporting
Student Achievement
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I
will effectively communicate with students about student achievement so they
are able to set goals for learning.
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Provide detailed information that will encourage
them to set goals for learning, help teachers establish plans for teaching
and assist parents in supporting learning at home.
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http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/classroom_assessment/09_report_student_prog.pdf
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http://www.edugains.ca/resourcesAER/PrintandOtherResources/ReportingStudentLearning_Engfinal.pdf
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POLICY
Students With
Special Education Needs
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I will make every effort to enable students with special education
needs to participate with their peers in all aspects of a provincial
large-scale assessment and demonstrate the full extent of their learning.
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Provide accommodations and modifications to these
students depending on individual basis. Plan activities in the classroom
where these students are able to complete the same tasks as their peers and
still be assessed. Examples: conferences, presentations, interviews,
performance tasks, etc.
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https://us.corwin.com/en-us/nam/effective-assessment-for-students-with-special-needs/book229448
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http://specialed.about.com/cs/assessment/a/assessment.htm
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POLICY
English Language
Learners
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I will provide modifications and/or accommodations to English Language
learners to ensure fairness and social justice is met.
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Using differentiated instruction
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Using ministry documents and refer to
modification/accommodation expectations
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http://www.oswego.org/webpages/dgarafalo/files/Accommodations%20for%20English%20Language%20Learners1.pdf
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http://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/curriculum/guides/esl/classroom_accommodations.pdf
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