Formative assessment is known as "assessment for knowing not of knowing." Basically this type of assessment is used to find out what to teach the students in your class. It can be used to find out what they already know and what needs to have more time spent on it. Formative assessment can be used to aid in the decision making part of teaching. These assessments can also help in children in figureing out how they are doing and where they are going.
The central part of formative assessment is student learning.
Formative assessment will help with providing feedback because that is what it also used for. Providing feedback is an important part of any curriculum. Responses can be given to the students during these formative assessments that can help the students improve and understand how they can fix what was wrong and why it was wrong. I believe this is an important part of any students success.
A rubric is one example of something that can be used a formative and summative assessment. The students can use the rubric while the students are working so they know what is expected of them. It is then used summatively to give the students their grade based on the criteria.
In my placement the students have been practicing for their writing assessment, which they took this week. The students were given criteria to follow while writing their practice essays. The students were asked to write a rough draft and told how they were to write it. When they were done with writing the rough draft, they brought it to me or their teacher to ok them to finish up and make the final copy. Along the way, their teacher and I gave them feedback about word choices and ways to make it longer and flow better.
One great strategy to use when providing feedback is to be timely. You want the students to remember what they are doing so the feedback matches and is fresh in their minds. Feedback should also be specific. You should tell them exactly what you mean and make it clear in a way they understand. I believe their teacher and I did exactly this when we were giving the students their feedback.
Two advantages of high quality formative assessment are that it provides enough details so the students know exactly they are supposed to do as they work on assignments and also helps identify students who are having trouble with the tasks.
One challenge is that teachers need to vary the assignments based on their students. This can be time consuming and overwhelming for the teachers at times. Also it is challenging to take students to the next level. You don't want your students to stay where they are, but to expand their knowledge from what they have learned.
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CC/0201-sep2010/CC0201PolicyBrief.pdf
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Double Entry Journal #10
Writing is an important part of every single child's education. Without writing, we could not effectively communicate. It is our job as teachers to give students the education they need to be able to write and communicate effectively. In every subject students need to write in some way. I believe each teacher, no matter what their subject specialty is, should teach their students how to write. Students should not just be writing in language. It should also be incorporated in science, math, and everything else. The one thing that really helps students learn is repetition, so why not repeat writing strategies?
Four researched-based strategies to support writing
Use low-stakes writing assignments: These are just small writing assignments that won't take a lot of time to grade but will give the students practice and feedback they need.
Provide multiple forms of feedback: Students should be given the chance to provide peer feedback. Whole class discussion about work, one-on-one conferences, and students reflection about their own work are other ways to give the students feedback about their work.
Employ variety in text and their presentation: Use a variety of texts such as books, newspapers, primary sources, maps, ect. By doing this it can make students more interested instead of just reading out of the text all the time.
Use a variety of levels of reading difficulty: Teachers need to provide those students who can not read on grade level with a variety of materials so they can still read and learn with the other students. The teacher should have materials to reach students on all learning levels.
Four researched-based strategies to support writing
Use low-stakes writing assignments: These are just small writing assignments that won't take a lot of time to grade but will give the students practice and feedback they need.
Provide multiple forms of feedback: Students should be given the chance to provide peer feedback. Whole class discussion about work, one-on-one conferences, and students reflection about their own work are other ways to give the students feedback about their work.
Employ variety in text and their presentation: Use a variety of texts such as books, newspapers, primary sources, maps, ect. By doing this it can make students more interested instead of just reading out of the text all the time.
Use a variety of levels of reading difficulty: Teachers need to provide those students who can not read on grade level with a variety of materials so they can still read and learn with the other students. The teacher should have materials to reach students on all learning levels.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Interest Survery
I took an interest survery for the students in one of my fourth grade classes and here are the wordles for two of the questions.
I could tell from the beginning that this class was really into sports. This was the result of: What is your favorite sport?
I also wanted to find out what the students thought they were best at this is the results from that.
I could tell from the beginning that this class was really into sports. This was the result of: What is your favorite sport?
I also wanted to find out what the students thought they were best at this is the results from that.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Focused Observation
I was focused on this one boy from the beginning. When I came in to the class my host teacher told me that he was a newer student and caused many problems. He liked being liked so he would do things just to get the attention from the other students. He would say things just to get the reaction. One day the students were working on words ending with "er" and how if they ended with it the word would change from a verb to a person, seek to seeker. The teacher was asking the class for examples. His example was killer and my mouth just dropped.
He lags behind in his work, almost always being one of the last to turn it in. I can tell he knows how to do it, he just goofs off and procrastinates so much he doesn't get it done.
One day last week I had had enough. I chose to try proximity control. I sat right beside him the whole time. I didn't have to say anything to him during the class. He sat there, did his work, and was done fairly quick and got an A on the assignment. The next day I was there he did not interrupt once and did his work and turned it in.
I believe he is a smart student and that shows in his work when he take the time to do it instead of trying to impress people. He should be more focused on work and not on the students. The question is how can I help him do this?
He lags behind in his work, almost always being one of the last to turn it in. I can tell he knows how to do it, he just goofs off and procrastinates so much he doesn't get it done.
One day last week I had had enough. I chose to try proximity control. I sat right beside him the whole time. I didn't have to say anything to him during the class. He sat there, did his work, and was done fairly quick and got an A on the assignment. The next day I was there he did not interrupt once and did his work and turned it in.
I believe he is a smart student and that shows in his work when he take the time to do it instead of trying to impress people. He should be more focused on work and not on the students. The question is how can I help him do this?
Activity 1: Assessing Webquest
Introduction:
For this webquest I would only give it a 1, it needs some changes and updates. It was nice but only said what would happen at the end. There is no guiding question(s), Sarah and I also want to incorporate how bees are like good citizens and fit in to the molds.
Task:
The task for this webquest was not connected to any standards that I could find so I would give it a 0. Sarah and I will definitely have standards in the resource page or on the teacher page depending on where we feel it fits.
We also want to change the tasks to fit our theme of community better. The students will need to find out about each role of the bees but also find out how they contribute to their community as "a good citizen".
Evaluation:
Sarah and I DO NOT like either of the evaluations. We also would give this category a 0. We want a rubric with specifics as to what the students need to do. By having this, they will be able to figure out exactly what they need to do in order to get the grade they want. The evaluations that were used on these webquests did not have any criteria for their success.
CSOs for second grade:
S.S.O.2.1.2 examine examples of honesty, trustworthiness, compassion and empathy in daily life experiences.
S.S.O.2.1.3 model the personal responsibilities of good citizenship in the classroom (e.g., responsibility, self-control).
For this webquest I would only give it a 1, it needs some changes and updates. It was nice but only said what would happen at the end. There is no guiding question(s), Sarah and I also want to incorporate how bees are like good citizens and fit in to the molds.
Task:
The task for this webquest was not connected to any standards that I could find so I would give it a 0. Sarah and I will definitely have standards in the resource page or on the teacher page depending on where we feel it fits.
We also want to change the tasks to fit our theme of community better. The students will need to find out about each role of the bees but also find out how they contribute to their community as "a good citizen".
Evaluation:
Sarah and I DO NOT like either of the evaluations. We also would give this category a 0. We want a rubric with specifics as to what the students need to do. By having this, they will be able to figure out exactly what they need to do in order to get the grade they want. The evaluations that were used on these webquests did not have any criteria for their success.
CSOs for second grade:
S.S.O.2.1.2 examine examples of honesty, trustworthiness, compassion and empathy in daily life experiences.
S.S.O.2.1.3 model the personal responsibilities of good citizenship in the classroom (e.g., responsibility, self-control).
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