Sunday, March 19, 2017

Assessment Inventory


Assessment Inventory
Date Name and Description Assessment Administration Outcomes Assessed Improvement of Teaching and Learning Process
Column1 Column2 Column3 Column4 Column5
11-Jan Summative Assessment Chapter 8 Quiz focused on Section 8.3 about Exponents In class quiz Understanding of the rules of exponents Assessing student's knowledge about the rules of exponents helps teachers become more effective 
31-Jan Formative Assessment Fractional Exponent Introductory Worksheet In class worksheet Introduce students to fractional exponents See if students can recall information learned in middle school and where they stand with that knowledge now; Transitions students to a new concept: fractional exponents
31-Jan Formative Assessment Review Worksheet about  Exponents In class assessment graded as class participation Understanding of exponents Assessment allows teachers to decide whether students need another lesson or if students are ready for the next topic
7-Feb Formative Assessment Worksheet about the Transformations of Exponential Functions In class worksheet Understanding of how certain parts of exponential equation transforms the parent function of an equation Practice worksheet helps students get comfortable with an understanding of how certain variables tranform the equation rather than relying on a table of values 
14-Feb Formative Assessment Worksheet about Growth/Decay Models of Exponential Functions In class lesson worksheet Introduce students to exponential growth and decay and how to recognize it in word problems Allows students to practice exponential functions with real-life related questions
21-Feb Formative Assessment Worksheet about Solving Exponentials  In class group worksheet Graphing calculator skills of finding solutions for exponential functions Technology lesson helps students learn how to use a calculator; helps students follow certain steps to find a solution on the graph and table of values
3-Mar Summative Assessment Chapter 7 Quiz: Operations of Polynomials In class quiz Identifying and operations with polynomials Helps teachers assess students' knowledge 
15-Mar Formative Assessment Worksheet about Factoring Polynomials  In class worksheet Factoring Polynomials  Assess student's understanding and skills of factoring polynomials

Philosophy of Assessment


After learning about numerous assessments, I have realized that they can all offer something to the classroom. When choosing an assessment, I first consider what kind of learning I would like to assess. For example, if I want to see how well students work in the lab, I would not choose to give a written test or an essay because it would not accurately measure their abilities. Instead, I would use a performance lab activity and observe students to see if they can properly use things such as the microscope and pipettes. Using this kind of thinking, I will use tests, exit tickets, oral presentations, and other assessments in the classroom based on what the learning criteria entails.
Just as I will use assessments to help students learn better, I will also use assessments to help me teach better. I will statistically analyze the results of tests and other assessments to determine which questions should be rewritten or omitted. I will also use exit tickets to help me determine if there is something I am not teaching effectively. For example, if an exit ticket shows me that the majority of the class is confused about a certain topic, I will readdress the topic to the class and make a note in my lesson plans to teach it differently in future classes. Finally, I will use student surveys to help me determine what I can improve upon. The survey questions will address how helpful certain class activities and teaching methods were and a section will allow students to include their own comments.
Along with becoming more effective in teaching certain subjects, part of becoming a better teacher includes fairness. If rubrics are elusive or subjective, there is room for favoritism in the grading. I will be a fair grader by creating structured rubrics to avoid any personal bias. I will consult with other teachers to make sure my assessments and rubrics are effective and fair. I will also assure that my assessments do not discriminate against different abilities by making sure student learning is measured rather than students’ innate abilities.
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I believe technology can benefit my classroom to a certain degree. In my classroom observations, students were supplied with an iPad and are expected to take notes and stay on topic. However, this classroom tool has led to immense distractions as I’ve noticed students in the back of the classroom playing with different apps. To avoid these kind of distractions, I will use educational games such as Kahoot or Quizalize at select times in the classroom rather than allowing students to use their electronic device throughout the entire class period.
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Throughout this class, I really resonated with McMillian’s (2008) textbook. The textbook straightforwardly showed me everything I need to know about classroom assessments. I also resonated with Black and William’s theory that formative assessment improves learning (Kingston & Nash, 2011). Rather than just measuring students’ knowledge with summative assessments, I will try to help my students learn with formative assessments. The theory that I resonated the most with was the importance of affective assessment (Hall, 2011). I believe that addressing and helping a student develop a positive affect towards learning can have lasting, profound effects on that student’s life.
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As of now, I have developed my personal philosophy based on what I learned in textbooks and classroom observations. I have no doubt that my personal philosophy is subject to change in the future when I actually start teaching. Although I still have much to learn from my mentors and from my mistakes, I can proudly say that I am moving in a positive direction. Thank you for reading!


References
Hall, R.A. (2011). Affective assessment: The missing piece of the educational reform puzzle. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators, 77(2), 7.
Kingston, N., & Nash, B. (2011). Formative assessment: A meta-analysis and a call for research. Education Measurement: Issues and Practice, 30(4), p. 28-37.
McMillian, J.H. (2008). Assessment essentials for standards-based education. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Friday, March 10, 2017

Grading


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Usually when I think back on bad grading experiences, I think back to my high school history teacher. Since I used this example so often already, I will switch it up and talk about my college lab teacher. The class I took with this teacher was all lab based; there was no lecture. However, the teacher would often utilize the first 30-60 minutes reading off of a PowerPoint in the front of the lab class. There were some external factors that made it difficult to learn in that room that the teacher had no control over: there was a constant hum of machines and a vent that often over-powered her voice. What she could control, though, was how she taught and how clear she was about objectives. My teacher read off the PowerPoint slides word for word in a monotonous tone, never pausing at the end of sentences nor adding any emphasis to any part of sentences. The way she spoke put half of the class to sleep on any given day and motivated the other half to use this time to work on assignments for other classes. We would have a quiz every few weeks based on what we learned on class but the quiz outline was not clear on what we had to know. My best friend and I (along with the majority of the class) received 50s-60s on these quizzes. This experience reminds me of the experiences in the article. One of the teachers recall that they had an unfair physics class because the students didn’t know what to expect on the tests (Guskey, 2006).
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Although I’ve had a few negative experiences with grading, I’ve also had positive ones. My most positive experience was in organic chemistry. According to student gossip, I had the most difficult teacher and it would be nearly impossible to get an A. I was motivated by the challenge and I put my all into the class. My teacher, unlike the other teachers, went into very deep detail about every organic chemistry topic. She expected us to know even the slightest details and put arrows showing movement of every positive and negative charge. She also gave very detailed study guides. This was a positive grading experience for me because the teacher was challenging but very clear about her expectations. In the article, one of the students had a similar experience as they reported about a teacher that “expected a lot, but showed us how to meet his expectations” (Guskey, 2006).  

I want to use my past experiences to help shape me into a fair grader. I want to be clear about my expectations towards my students by providing detailed rubrics and study guides. I also want to utilize my class time as well as I can by providing engaging lessons while speaking in a clear, enthusiastic voice. To prevent from bias, I want to use by rubrics to grade student work as objectively as possible. If it helps, I could grade the assessments while covering the name of the student to assure that I don’t act on any assumptions I have of how well my students should have done.
                                                   
Reference
Guskey, T. R. (2006). "It Wasn't Fair!" Educators' Recollections of Their Experiences as Students with Grading. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.

Saturday, March 4, 2017

Student Ability


After reading the book about growth and fixed mindsets (Dweck, 2007), I am inclined to believe that students have the ability to succeed if they so desire. I believe all students are capable of learning given the right mindset and the right environment. The right environment can be at home or in school. For example, I have a mom that’s a math teacher so I got a very solid foundation at home. For other people who can’t have that kind of help at home, teachers can help create that right environment in the classroom.
To create this type of environment, a teacher can use various teaching strategies. Teachers can accommodate the various types of learners by speaking a lot to audio learners and using diagrams and drawings for visual learners. Teachers can also use techniques to help learners with disabilities including color-coding, peer/cross-age tutoring, and use of calculators (Maccini & Gagnon, 2006).
I believe that students can show how well they are learning, but it might not be in the same exact way. Some people are strong writers and some people are strong singers. Although everyone does have the ability to grow stronger in abilities they are weaker in (Dweck, 2007), it can be easier for one to express oneself using abilities they are strong in. For example, when two students understand something equally, one may express it in words while the other expresses it in pictures.
To ensure my students have the opportunity to express their learning, I will include various dimensions to my assessments. On tests, I will include a variety of test questions including critical-thinking questions, multiple-choice questions, and essay prompts. For projects, I will give students a flexibility to choose what they would want to do whether it be creating a mural, writing a skit, or writing a rap song. By using a variety of assessments, I will keep from being biased by only using one assessment type over and over again.

References
Dweck, C.S. (2007). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Ballantine.
Maccini, P., & Gagnon, J.C. (2006). Mathematics Instructional Practices and Assessment Accommodations by Secondary Special and General Educators. Exceptional Children, 72(2), 217-234.