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Assignment 305 – understanding assessment in education and training
Effectiveness of assessment for learning
Effectiveness of assessment for learning
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PLAN: Criteria for a Student-Centered Exam For the PDSA cycle I am going to use individual journal entries because they are engaging and interactive to every student, and they are a great tool in reflecting on what each student has learned in the lesson. “Student-centered assessments must be engaging and interactive, while incorporating sharing, trusting, team building, reflecting, helping and coaching.”(Pitas, 2000) The students will be given the freedom to write anything that is on their mind and the students will answer three questions that will help generate well thought out answers. The students will write at the very least a paragraph for each day they are learning a lesson. PLAN: Student-Centered Assessment The student assessment that I choose for my students to complete in my geometry class was to write in their personal journals. By writing in a personal journal and reflecting on the lesson they learned, I will be “Activating students as the owners of their learning.” (William, 2007) After each lesson, usually at the last 5 to 10 minutes of each class period, I had my students write in their personal journal of what they learned and what information they were not completely sure of. At the end of the class as my students leave, I will hold on to their journal and look through a few of them to see what they understood and what they still need help with in understanding. The students will have three questions they can answer on their journal entries, they are: 1. What is one topic I learned today? Why is it important? Why does this topic make sense to me? 2. What is something that I still need help with? Why? What can I or the teacher do to help me better understand this topic? 3. How does this lesson ... ... middle of paper ... ... the students a better understanding of what I am looking for in each entry. I think I will use a suggestion from McTighe, “Teachers can also use the examples (with student names removed) with future students to help them see the difference excellent, good, fair, and poor work.”(Richardson, 2009) This will be a great way for students to identify what is expected of them and it will save instructional time in the process so we don’t fall behind in my pacing scale Works Cited Miller, J. (2013). Video Lecture: Assessment for Learning Richardson, J. (2008). Evidence of Learning: A conversation with Jay McTighe. Principal Leadership. 9(1). 30-34 William, D., & Thompson, M. (2007). Integrating assessment with instruction: What will it take to make it work? In C.A. Dwyer (Ed.), The future of assessment: Shaping teaching and learning (pp. 53-82).
Educators, therefore, strive to create high quality assessments that produce meaningful results. Reviewing the learning objectives for the covered material helps the developer determine the best testing method. Depending on the content area, it may prove beneficial to include a student self-assessment step. It is important to report results in a timely manner. Reporting may be mean sharing with the students, administration, colleagues, or parents. Regardless, careful communication of results are important. After all parties receive results, objectives can ...
Questioning is an important strategy in eliciting students understanding of a topic, it is also a valuable tool that can be used to provide guidance, feedback and if higher order questions are used, engage and motivate students (Overall & Sangster, 2006). It allows the teacher to provide feedback that is timely, individual, and effective, which will lead to improved learning and performance (DET, n.d.). Observation is an important assessment strategy as it allows teachers to assess a diverse range of evidence (Maxwell, 2001). Summative assessment occurs at the end of a unit to determine, whether individual students have achieved the learning outcomes and the effectiveness of the teaching strategies (Overall & Sangster, 2006).
In order to fully understand and meet the needs of learners, teachers must be knowledgeable in using a variety of methods for assessment purposes. What is important is that teachers are able to understand and use assessment in a way that meets ‘best practice’. As students learn their knowledge expands and their skills develop, and for that reason teachers must use a combination of strategies to meet best practice in assessment. Not only must assessment follow learning in order to gauge a student’s performance for example, but there is also a place for using assessment before instruction in order make informed future instructional decisions.
Our second best practice, formative assessments, “provide insights into learning in progress. Timed well, they can reveal issues of misunderstanding or confusion before they become obstacles to student learning” (Martin-Kniep & Picone-Zocchia, 2009, p. 73). Most assessments should be formative and, if aligned to Learning Targets, useful for both the teacher and the student to better understand the knowledge and misunderstandings held about content, or strengths and gaps in skills. Marin-Kniep & Picone-Zocchia (2009) identify three characteristic of formative assessment; they occur during the course of student learning, not at the end; their purpose is to monitor student learning; and they provide data to the teacher to adjust instruction to better meet the learning needs of students (p. 74). Through this lens, formative assessments are another means to gain strategic data points for all students that allow a teacher to be proactive rather than reactive or inactive before a summative assessment occurs. After all, “the aim of teaching is not to master state tests, but to meet worthy intellectual standards. We must recapture the primary aim of assessment: to help students better learn and teachers to better instruct.” (Wiggins,
The National Education Association suggests that assessment is a “continuous flow of evidence that can only be provided by classroom assessment.” (NEA, 2003) Balanced assessments can actually promote student learning and achievement. “To maximize student success, assessment must be seen as an instructional tool for use while learning is occurring, and as an accountability tool to determine if learning has occurred.” (NEA, 2003)
Classroom-based assessments coincide with instruction. Instructional strategies such as journal writing, vocabulary games, literature circles, and group discussions are all means in which students can be assessed. Assessing students in these ways allow for student learning and growth to be measured without the student feeling the added pressure or stress of a “test.”
Through assessment students and teachers are able to determine the level of mastery a student has achieved with standards taught. Both formative and summative assessment should be purposeful and targeted to gain the most accurate data to drive further instruction (Ainsworth, 2010). While this syllabus does a good job of identifying the need for both formal and informal assessments, the way in which this is communicated does not provide enough detail for understanding. Simply listing assessment types does not give any insight into how these assessments fit in the learning process of this course. While some of the assessments mentioned could be common assessments chosen by the school or district to gain insight into the effectiveness of instruction, the inclusion of authentic assessments is most beneficial to students and demonstrates learning in a context closer to that of a work environment (Rovai, 2004). Unfortunately, this particular course, according to this syllabus, relies heavily on quizzes and traditional tests and essays to form the bulk of assessment opportunities. While other activities, such as formative assessments, journaling and discussions are mentioned as possible avenues for scoring, they are given a very low percentage of the overall grade. This shows that they are not valued for their ability to show progression and mastery. If this is indeed the case, this puts the students as a
An effective teacher will constantly review their teaching practices, identifying the way students respond and their results from the programs administered by their teachers. By constantly administering assessments to review their teaching students will be less likely to struggle as content will be up to date and appropriate to the students. Assessment needs to be given to the students in a clam and collective manner. Teachers should strive to reduce the stress of assessments; this often limits student’s potential. Teachers need to incorporate both formative and summative assessment strategies. During the beginning of a lesson topic it is important to track the progress being made by the students. Teachers need to constantly assess what topics are the students grasping and moving forward with and on the other hand which areas is extra help or teaching required. This is the role of formative assessment, which ultimately plays the role of monitoring the learning progress (Gronlund, 1993, p.5). As for summative assessment, such as formal testing and the end of semester reports giving
One way to ensure that a student has developed an understanding of the information that the teacher is teaching is through various assessments. Assessment Rubrics are one form of assessment that helps to give a clear expectation, feedback, are easy to use and explain, and helps to ensure consistency and reliability for every student (Gange’, Golas, Wagner, Keller, 2005, p268). A rubric is similar to a checklist that follows a certain list of criteria that the teacher feels the student must meet within the assessment. Next to each criteria, is a scale or point system. The more a student meets the criteria, the more points they will receive. This type of assessment allows the teacher to breakdown each area of importance, and give points based on that area. This helps the student understand what is correct, and what areas need improvement. Assessment Rubric can also be used as a form of self-assessment; this allows a student to check his or her own work (Gange’, Golas, Wagner, Keller, 2005, p
As more educators call for assessment for learning (Chappuis & Stiggins, 2002; Gavriel, 2013), attention has been paid to investigate how teachers use assessment in the classroom (Frey & Schmitt, 2010; Missett, Brunner, Callahan, Moon, & Azano, 2014). This is as important as understanding the rationale and perceptions of assessment strategies. Teachers need to have a solid knowledge and understanding of assessment so they can have an approach to assessment for learning (Greenstein, 2010; Stiggins, 2010). The alignment of instructions, assessment, and learning, involves teacher’s perceptions of the quality of lesson design, teaching strategies, and how both lead to accomplish the educational goals. However, many researchers
Students need 21st Century skills taught in the classroom, to prepare them to be competent adults (Caleb, Mazanai & Collen, 2014). Authentic assessments will help this become a reality. These assessments imitate skills students will need. They learn to demonstrate learning outside of a paper test to create a project or presentation (Boss, 2011). The chance to use knowledge and not rely on memorization gives students the opportunity to delve deeper and put their knowledge to practical use. Allowing students to show that they know helps promote student learning (Edutopia, 2010b). Many schools are so concerned about making AYP they fear the time spent on these assessments will take away valuable class time. This is not true, the time and energy
Assessment is a powerful process that can either optimize or inhibit learning, depending on how it’s applied.
“Every phase of instruction must be accompanied by a means of checking for understanding” (Fisher & Frey, 2008, p. 37). I have realized that assessing students’ understanding of the concept on which the lesson is based is a critical step in determining the flow of the lesson. A quick recap in the form of questions and answers works well for me to not only correct misconceptions but also improve learning as it helps the students connect the day’s lesson with previous learning. In my experience, all assessment may not count towards a grade but there should be feedback for learners as well as us facilitators to know where they stand with respect to achieving the lesson objectives. “Students achieve more when they have a clear picture of the expectations”
For students, knowing how they can improve on their work is an incredible asset, as it allows them to understand that they can control their own advancement in their education. Additionally, However, feedback is more than simply returning student work. When student work is given back, some students will focus on only the grade they received rather than the feedback presented on the paper, and because of this, feedback should always be shared with to the class in a way that is engaging (Moss, 2009). When developing my feedback and data plan, I took this into account as I have decided to present student data to the class. For example, when it comes to my postcard assignment, I avoid giving feedback to my students by handing back each students graded postcard. Instead, I chose to make brief comments about each student’s postcard by returning their work the next day with a response postcard written by me. This response postcard will point out what they have done well in their writing, as well as what they could improve on, and by doing this I can ensure that my students are comprehending the feedback I provide, rather than focusing on their
in recent years the view toward educational assessment changed noticeably. Assessment and student learning showed inseparable