Assessing The Situation

One of the biggest and most important things you do as a teacher is assess students' learning.  It is fun to deliver content, create lesson plans and interact with students, but if we are not getting through to them in a meaningful way, then we are just spinning our wheels.  If it seems like we have been beaten over the head about assessment and how we will use it, we have....but in a good way.  There is certainly a reason as Dr. Clark mentioned a week or two ago, all the work and "mini" assignments given to us have a meaning and a purpose.  It is not there for our Professors to sit back, ring their hands together and let out a Muuuuuhhhahahaha!

I love how this article from Teach Thought offers a tool to use in the classroom for assessment.  In order for you to assess student performance, you have to assess where they are at.  Are they getting the information?  Is it meaningful content?  From the article:

"Why the brain actually benefits from reflection is a matter of neurology, but the extensive research is clear: Prediction, reflection, and metacognition are pillars for the thoughtful classroom."  " Perhaps most crucially, by shifting their reflection from content to thought, students have the chance to put themselves back at the center of the learning process." (teachthought.com)

This correlates nicely with all that we have been learning involving a Bloom's Taxonomy approach to teaching and learning.  Higher order thinking requires more than worksheets and mindless drilling of information until students grasp what we are talking about.  We as college students reflect on everything (assignments, lesson plans, articles, lunch menus) so we are well versed I believe in this approach.  I feel this ties in great with NCPTS: 4E---Teachers help students develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. and 4H:--- Teachers use a variety of methods to assess what each student has learned.  This of course is only one way to help students understand what they are learning.  Another method may be a simple 1 thumb up if you understand, 2 thumbs up if you are super confident in your understanding and Thumb to the side if you are not quite sure, thumbs down if you are clueless.  This would be a good quick tool during instruction.  The trick is, getting students to be honest about their level of understanding.  You will be able to tell when tests come in, but it is better to catch it early on.  Just like college course work, it is easy to get behind and we don't want that for them or for us.

In my classroom, I would love to develop some of these skills for students to use during the day and at the end of the day.  It will help me better prepare my lesson plans as well as the pace in which I can move through them.  That seems to be the tough part about curriculum planning.  You have to cover all of these standards, but you also have to spend extra time occasionally reviewing and assessing.  One idea I have seen in my Math CE's class is a pocket folder in which students place their name tag.  It is labeled: I got this, I kinda got this, I need more instruction/have questions, I have no clue.  Like I said, it is up to the students in this case to determine their level.  But, my big thing is, why not do this during instruction.  Examples: Call on kids during the lesson (may back fire because some students hate that) but you can see who is paying attention.  Others signals to get their feedback could be: Is this making sense?  Who gets this (thumbs up or down)?  Ask students to come up and demonstrate or share what they have learned.  Have your higher level learners share and lead their small group, have small group discussion time, pal to pal discussion time (1to 1) etc.... Just don't assume students understand, have them explain their reasoning and methods.  Whether they are correct or not, it will instill confidence for them to try. 

In order for us to become better at what we do, we have to rely on the students' feedback.  It is all about them right??  We have been given the knowledge, ability, tools and instruction on how to do this, it is our responsibility to continue learning how to BEST do this each year.  As much as policy changes and mandates change, we have to be able to adapt.  Be creative, be proactive.  Pay attention to students who struggle as much as possible.  Create a culture of "It's okay to try and be wrong." or "It is okay if you don't understand, let's get to where we do."  Assessing our students' learning is one of the most important aspects of our profession.  Without it, we cannot progress as educators.  And I don't think any of us are going to be or want to be mediocre.  What are some of the ways you will use assessment??

Resources:

http://www.teachthought.com/learning/use-twitter-exit-slip-teaching/

http://www.insidemathematics.org/performance-assessment-tasks