According to Engage-NY, data-supported instruction and inquiry (DDI) “is a precise and systematic approach to improving student learning throughout the year. The inquiry cycle of data-driven instruction includes assessment, analysis, and action and is a key framework for school-wide support of all student success”. How can an educator teach and differentiate a large, diverse classroom when they do not have data at their disposal? In order to properly assess every child in a classroom so that one may properly plan a lesson, or more importantly a theme, you need to be able to have data to pull from so that you can evaluate where each child is, and create your lesson in a way that each child is learning, while at the same time knowing who needs …show more content…
Dr. Tom Mawhinney did a masterful job at demonstrating exactly why that we needed not only data, but also fresh, accurate, and on-going data in order to properly assess children in order to plan exactly how we will be teaching them the subject matter. He introduced and demonstrated specific strategies such as baseline data collection, on-going assessments, multiple means of assessment, and well-planned instruction. Dr. Mawhinney challenged us as a class to create our own unbiased testing questions created by us from the Edtpa handbook. We then had to administer the test to each other and grade the test. We also had to grade each others double entry journals based on a certain rubric. This class was extremely challenging and required many hours of reading and rereading. Dr. Mawhinney was emphatic in his belief that all children learned and demonstrated what they have learned differently. He taught us that not only must we teach each child differently because of their own personal learning styles, but that we must also evaluate and document how each child is learning so that we can better plan exactly how we will be teaching them. Creating a …show more content…
Instead of constantly asking the cooperating teacher about each child, I tried to create a baseline when I first entered the classroom, depending on how the classroom was setup. It is easier for a student teacher to do in a smaller classroom, such as a 12.1.1 than it is in a 28 child ICT class, but you can still accomplish this as you are getting to know the children. Creating a checklist to be used to evaluate specific skills and milestones is one way in which you can create a baseline. It is a vital tool to use, especially in a large classroom where you may forget certain details about a child. Having this data on hand, and constantly updating it, is a great way to keep on top of and properly create the curriculum. I had the opportunity to watch first hand from a literacy expert guide the teachers and explain how taking data every other day on the students reading abilities was vital to incorporate the correct lesson and or
Such as, if Brayden and another little boy are not listening during transition I could separate them rather than giving them multiple warnings. Also, if I know that Roslyn is having a hard time controlling her anger appropriately then I could give her an “angry ball” or something that she can squeeze or take her anger out on rather than her hurting others. While for Fiona, we could talk about feelings one day during circle time and possibly figure out why she is feeling the way she is feeling. Due to the fact that everyone learns differently teachers need to be aware that not all children learn the same way as them. Teachers could possibly change the way they do activities such as, doing some hands on, watching videos, reading books, or even asking one child a day how they would like to learn about the theme of the
Current educational policy and practice asserts that increased standardized student testing is the key to improving student learning and is the most appropriate means for holding individual schools and teachers accountable for student learning. Instead, it has become a tool solely for summarizing what students have learned and for ranking students and schools. The problem is standardized tests cannot provide the information about student achievement that teachers and students need day-to-day. Classroom assessment can provide this kind of information.
There are many components that make up literacy. In order to effectively teach students these components the teacher must model the concept for the students. As teachers, we can't expect or assume that the student already knows what we expect of them. Modeling gives students a basis of what to go by. Modeling is the first and most important step in order for the students to gain mastery of a concept. A teacher must also undergo guided practice with the students. A teacher should always provide as much guided practice that is needed. Students should never move on to independent practice until it is evident that they are ready. For example, I was teaching a guided reading lesson in my EDU 218 classroom, in which my peers were posing as students. The lesson involved the students to complete a story map on a book that they read. Although I knew that the students would be slightly familiar with a story map I still modeled the use of it for them. I modeled the use of the story map based on a book that I knew the students were familiar with. So when the students set out to complete the story map on their own they could recall and look back to the story map that I had modeled for them. It is also important to note that not all students grasp the material at the same time. One student could be ready for independent practice, as another may still need a vast amount of guided practice. There is no need to caution if students are not at the same level, unless of course if there is a real developmental delay.
tests were primarily employed as measures of student achievement that could be reported to parents, and as a means of noting state and district trends (Moon 2) . Teachers paid little attention to these tests, which in turn had little impact on curriculum. However, in the continuing quest for better schools and high achieving students, testing has become a central focus of policy and practice. Standardized tests are tests that attempt to present unbiased material under the same, predetermined conditions and with consistent scoring and interpretation so that students have equal opportunities to give correct answers and receive an accurate assessment. The idea is that these similarities allow the highest degree of certainty in comparing result...
As we all are fully aware, each student is diverse and has special needs when it comes to learning. There are three types of learners: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Visual learners learn best when shown how to do an assignment. They prefer diagrams, pictures, and charts. Simply allowing your class to create flashcards and color coding notes can help these types of learners memorize the information. Our brain organizes information through a process. Creating flow charts will help the brain map out the information from the lesson given. Auditory learners learn best when a teacher presents information by talking to the student. When directions are read aloud, they tend to succeed. Allowing time for students to discuss the material in a group before moving on to the next is beneficial for these types of learners. Kinesthetic learners are learners who excel when engaged in the learning activity. By participating in labs, skits, and presentations, they acquire the information faster. Starting the class with a few warm up activities, next a lecture, then a classroom discussion, and wrapping up with a review will help all types of learning styles. Without the knowledge from psychologists about the different types of learners and their special needs, teachers would not know how to respond to their students who may struggle with the material given.
The goal of education is to provide children with the opportunity to amass a wealth of knowledge, love for learning, and academic strength. Children go to school to read, write, and learn a variety of subjects. While education is meant to be exciting for children, there have to be standards in order to make sure that progress is being and those children are where they need to be in order to move onto the next phase of their education. Education builds as it grows, and students need a strong foundation in order to succeed and continue. Without those strong building blocks, students will continue to fall back and repeat the same material again and again. And so, testing and assessment come into play to make sure children are where they need to be. However, in early childhood settings testing is almost non-existent because of the stigma around testing. The current debate in our education system argues that testing is not a good measure of a child’s actual knowledge. Rather, assessment gives teachers a better picture of a student’s abilities and capabilities in the classroom. Thus, currently the debate continues over assessment versus testing in the classroom due to the demand for knowledge on whether or not testing is a good way of measuring a student’s progress in school.
Cole, H., Hulley, K., & Quarles, P. (2009). Does assessment have to drive the curriculum?
When teachers differentiate their lesson, the students are more engaged to learn. Students have some choice in their learning activities, which motivates students to want to learn and also puts more learning responsibility on the students. Some students may prefer to work alone or in groups and some students like to be hands-on. By differentiating the lesson, all students’ needs are being met. “Differentiated Instruction gives students a range of ways to access curriculum, instruction and assessment. DI engages students to interact and participate in the classroom in a richer way. It is based on the assumption that all students differ in their learning styles, strengths, needs and abilities and that classroom activities should be adapted to meet these differences
Teachers must pay attention to presenting to their students, is very important in their education. If the student finds it too much of challenge there will give up and if it’s too easy there will be bored. An example of teaching strategies is scaffolding strategic support that teachers provide that allows children to complete a task they could not accomplish independently (Vygotsky, 1978; Wood, Bruner, & Ross, 1976). Teacher needs to plan out a task according to the child ability to help they respond and engaged the lesson there increase their independent performance in school. It creates an understanding of English is pronouncing and how to read, both of these skills are important in life. By making these an important part of early child development it reinforces these
Teachers gather information everyday form student’s through classroom activities to get a picture of where a student’s progress and abilities are. There are many different ways to collect a child’s artifacts such as using a checklist, anecdotal notes, teacher reflections, video and audio recordings, and work samples. Each student has their own folder where all their notes, videos, recordings, and artifacts are kept. As stated in the text (Enz, 2014, p. 207, “They must systematically collect, store, organize, and analyze the samples in order to understand the children’s growth and to plan their next teaching” (Ackerman & Coley, 2012). I learned that an on-demand assessment is more like an annual physical checkup. On demand assessments happen at specific times during the course of the year. One day children will be asked to do something specific such as circle the numbers the teacher says out loud, or having to take a test with a pencil and paper. Some label on -demand assessments as tests. This is because children are asked to perform the same action at the same time and in the same manner during an on-demand assessment. “Standardized tests are administered, scored, and interpreted in the same way for all test takers” (Enz, 2014, p. 208). Some examples of an on-going assessment that could be used in a comprehensive approach to literacy
It is important that teachers give children a fair chance to show their knowledge when assessing. “The purpose of assessment is to provide feedback that can be used to improve student performance” ( Orange 2000). Teachers assess children to ensure that they are understanding the material, and to make sure they are learning. For young children especially tests should never be the only criteria of assessment. Instructors should always make sure that their assessment is fair. When testing a child, make sure that the testing method used is appropriate for that child. For example, if giving a test that relies on visual aids to administer the test it is important that the teacher is certain that all the children have good enough vision to clearly see the aids.
During my own classroom observation it was noted that the level of questioning with the students needed to be improved upon. Reynolds and Muijs (1999) mention one of the main requirements to be an effective teacher is knowledge of the content being taught. Spending more time reviewing the content and preparing a list of questions prior to each lesson would greatly help develop the level of questioning with the
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
Inquiry is an interactive way of learning. Students are actively engaged in their studies. Inquiry involves student-centered activities focusing on questioning, exploring, and posing explanations. The goal of inquiry is to introduce a new way of learning where students can learn about the world around them through active engagement in real-life examples. Inquiry based learning can be incorporated into all academic subjects throughout the curriculum. Science could possibly be the most effective subject to incorporate inquiry.
I am a firm believer in Differentiation. Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences states that each student possess a different kind of mind and therefore will all learn, remember, perform, and understand things in different way. Some students learn hands on, some learn by seeing, some need step by step instruction or a gradual release method. I feel as if a combination of the two methods would be the most effective. Using the I do, we do, you do. You can give the step by step kids the help they need the kids who learn by watching, and the hands on what they need. As I stated above I feel as if differentiation is key! Not every child learns the same and because of that the way I will make sure my students are learning the essentials will not always be the same. I will differentiate for my students along with using some engagement strategies (math centers, manipulatives, projects) and motivation. In my