Students come first. When teachers look at their curriculum and the overall design of their classroom they should have the students in mind. Everything that a teacher does should benefit the student which includes assessment, teaching style and the entire setup of the room. With that in mind, you should make sure you incorporate developmentally appropriate practice into your classrooms as well as using assessment in the correct way to help guide your curriculum and lesson plans. Developmentally appropriate practice means to incorporate or use methods in the classroom that are at the correct age and developmental level of your students. You should not be teaching concepts and doing certain activities that do not fit the level of your students. Developmentally appropriate practice looks at the whole child which includes their physical and mental (cognitive) capabilities. This also includes students social and emotional characteristics. Each child is different and your students may not be at the same developmental level even though they are in the same class or same age. …show more content…
Assessment is the biggest contributor to helping teachers determine what concepts or topics need to be taught or even skipped. “The purpose of all assessment is to provide teachers with the information to best inform their teaching and work with individual children, Eliason, C. et al. Assessments are related to the curriculum in the fact that it can change the teacher’s plan. Assessments show the teacher what students may or may not know and their strengths and weaknesses. If you noticed that most of your class struggled on a certain topic the you, the teacher, will not move forward, but will reteach the concept. You will not know what to teach your class without giving some form of assessment. Assessment is critical and highly important in the classroom and effects how lessons are taught and the sequence of your
After taking the Personal Assessment Literacy Survey, I learned a lot about myself and what I do know about assessments, and what I don’t. This survey allowed me to reflect on the process that I take to plan, develop, and administer tests in my class and what I need to do with the results. When I went through the criteria of all of the topics in the survey, I honestly did not know what the survey was talking about or what it meant. This was really concerning to me because I like to think that I do a pretty good job when it comes to instruction of my class and how I assess their knowledge of the material. I learned from this survey that there are a lot of things I do well during assessments and that there is still a lot that I need to learn to be an effective classroom leader.
Developmentally appropriate practice is a method that Early Childhood Educators use in the field. A practice that teachers or caregivers use to get to know the individual child and reach the goals so all the phases of the development of the child, which should always be age appropriate.
As Popham says in his book, Classroom Assessment: What Teachers Need to Know, it is extremely important to frequently assess each students work because “you can’t gauge the student’s progress if you don’t have frequent evidence of the student’s efforts” (Popham 243). It is necessary for assessments to be frequently administered to students because the teacher needs to know consistently the amount of information and content knowledge that the students are actually retaining. Assessments can be delivered in a multitude of different formats , such as formal, informal, authentic and performance assessments. I believe that it is necessary to use several forms of assessments in the correct manner, in order to assist my students in being successful
Educational assessment is a valuable tool for observing and assessing the results obtained by the students, as well as for checking the efficiency of the teaching process and consequently the improvement of it when necessary.
Effective practices such as INCLUDE, allows teachers to accommodate more diversity in their classrooms. When teachers have the mindset of accommodating their classrooms, they reduce the need for making more individualized adaptations, unless necessary for particular students. The most important aspects to maintaining an orderly and effective classroom environment are organization, grouping, instructional materials, and strategies to promote successful students.
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)
In planning an activity as a teacher I would ensure that the activity being taught is appropriate for my students. It should integrate the Topic that is currently being taught. There is also the need for the teacher to have available enough materials for each students during the lessons. Therefore the environment should be well prepared to encourage learning. You have to ensure that the materials is age appropriate and can be use during the lessons.
Assessment is an important area of a teacher’s career. Assessment is the one way that teachers know that their students have met their standard and are on track with where they should be in the kindergarten year. If the student is behind in the subject area that gives the teacher a chance to either work with those children within a small group or teach the large group that topic again if many students don’t understand. Assessment is a way to modify instruction based on the students’ educational level. It can tell the teacher if the topic is too easy or too difficult for the students. Authentic assessment in kindergarten is key. The article, Crisis in Kindergarten, states, “testing of children under age eight are subject to serious errors and their use is largely invalid” (Miler, Almon, 2009, p. 19). They are not the only research article to agree on this topic that young children need to be tested using a variety of methods, not just pencil paper tests. Authentic assessment is mean to assess students learning in a meaningful way, so that they will show the teacher their full knowledge because they will not realize they are being evaluated. As a teacher authentic assessment is going to give truer results, as the student will be completing the assessment through play or an environment where they are confident and comfortable. Performance assessment is designed to be representative of real tasks in the world. The students may self-evaluate students, and students are evaluated based on the knowledge they already. Performance assessment can be teacher made. Academic or developmental checklists are authentic assessments since the teacher just checks off if the student meets the skill listed. These checklists can be used to show student growth over time. Another authentic assessment is academic or developmental rubrics, which articulates the expectations for a skill and allows students to show their knowledge in a variety of ways. Anecdotal records are when the
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
Assessment is an integral part of instruction, as it determines whether or not the goals of education are being met. Assessment affects decisions about grades, placement, advancement, instructional needs, curriculum, and, in some cases, funding. Today's students need to know not only the basic reading and arithmetic skills, but also skills that will allow them to face a world that is continually changing. They must be able to think critically, to analyze, and to make inferences. Changes in the skills base and knowledge our students need require new learning goals; these new learning goals change the relationship between assessment and instruction. Teachers need to take an active role in making decisions about the purpose of assessment and the content that is being assessed.
Assessment is an essential part of education. Teachers can use ‘information about student progress’ (MCEETYA 2008, p. 14) to ‘improve learning outcomes’ (Ferguson 2011, p. 391), and to make informed decisions about future planning and strategies (Godhino 2011, p. 200). This type of assessment is known as ‘assessment for learning’ (Godhino 2011, p. 201). Assessment can also be used to ‘make judgements about students’ achievement of objectives, goals and standards, [this is known as] assessment of learning’ (Godhino 2011, p. 201). Another form of assessment is ‘assessment as learning’ (Godhino 2011, p. 201) which involves students reflecting on their progress.
Assessments allow for teachers to monitor the progress and growth of his/her students, help engage students and help guide teachers as well as students in their decision making. Teachers should know that tests are not the only way to assess students in the classroom. It is important for educators constantly assess their students on comprehension and progression.Teachers can take use of both formal and informal assessments so that they can engage students in their own learning, as well as monitor their comprehension and progress.
In the teaching profession, assessment is one of the most important things that teachers need to know. Not only to know the assessment itself, but also the critical elements of it. Chueachot, Srisa-ard, and Srihamongkol (2013) stated that Assessment for learning in elementary classroom is a concept that aims to stimulate self-learning and development among the student via assessment model. In addition, the authors came up with a conclusion of assessment for learning in elementary school that can be divided into two stages, each with 3 steps, altogether 6 steps: First stage of assessment, The planning stage is composed of (1) define assessment objectives and what students need to achieve (2) define
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
We need to continuously assess and evaluate our students so we can set appropriate goals for each student and individual instructions. Each child learns different, so as a teacher we need to have different styles of teaching for positive reinforcement.