Assessment (for the children’s learning) and Evaluation (for my planning and teaching) processes:
Assessment is a vital part in the good teaching process. It is designed to support learning by clarifying expectations and providing a constructive feedback to students on their progress. Assessment can be positive when it allows the students to show what they can do, as it then can be a “celebration of learning” as mentioned by Katz & Chard (2000).During this theme, the formative assessment (assessment for learning) is mainly used to assist the students’ learning through a constructive feedback and a day-to-day observation in order to modify their teaching based on the students’ needs (Zarrillo, 2004; Gilbert & Hoepper, 2014).
A portfolio technique
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It involve the students in concrete, three-dimensional learning as the learning materials closely relate to children 's daily life experiences as well as the environment (Maxim, 2006). It also encourages the children to demonstrate their image as capable and competent as they are able to investigate and to use technology as part of their agency (MacNaughton, Hughes & Smith, 2007). On the other side, the teacher is primarily responsible for creating, leading discussions and presenting lessons to the children. Both the teacher and the students worked collaboratively together to complete and achieve the activities outcomes (Marsh& Hart, …show more content…
First, the autobiographical lens, which is based on my previous experiences, background and my beliefs about the pedagogy that helps the students to actively learn about “My Home” topic. As I tried this kit practically with year 1 students in my school last year, it has been clear that the students were engaged with the activities that represent their personal experiences as well as the group activities. However, through my study in this unit, I developed a deeper understanding of the importance of technology (ICT) in increasing the motivation of the children to learn (Gilbert & Hoepper, 2014). As a result, I modified this kit to integrate different sort of technologies which is appropriate to the early years age as demonstrated in the mind map. Marsh& Hart (2011) discussed that ICT General Capability aims to enable the students to access, create, and communicate information and ideas. In this kit, technology has been used to emphasise the humanities and social sciences learning. From the geographical perspective, ICT enables students to see the world and our space through photos, satellite maps and surface data. It also includes the students with the historical imagery so we can go back in time. In relation to civics and citizenship, ICT develops and facilitates the socially responsible relationship among citizens through social
This article, initiated by the Assessment Group of the British Educational Research Association, focuses on how improving formative assessment raises standards and how there is still room for improvement. It discusses the importance of self and peer assessments and effective teaching. They also identified four ways to implement classroom policies to improve formative assessment.
Elwood, J. (2006). Formative assessment: possibilities, boundaries and limitations. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 215-232, doi:10.1080/09695940600708653
Many schools now send kids home with a laptop or a tablet for use in class and home. This helps to teach students early on how to use technology to help them do well in school and teaches them responsibility. This teaches children how to learn efficiently and understand how to find the information they need. As Megan Poore suggests in “Digital Literacy: Human Flourishing and Collective Intelligence in a Knowledge Society”, that it is not just about learning how to process what we learn. It is also about “raising people’s critical consciousness to a point where they become aware of their own historicity, so that they can intervene in and change the world - which is arguably the whole purpose of education to begin with” (2011, pg.
Formative assessment was first used by Scriven (1967), but studies focused on formative assessment in ESL and EFL classes started in 2000. Among very few studies on formative assessment practices includes the ones of Gattullo (2000) Ruiz‐Primo & Furtak (2007), Pham (2012), Buyukkarci (2014) and Wubshet & Menuta (2015).
Participation in external professional development, professional reading and shared professional discussion of formative assessment strategies and techniques. Development of physical resources to support the implementation of strategies.
Formative Assessment is used in any classroom to check students understanding of a topic. The type of formative assessment used in each classroom is different, depending on the teacher and the student’s needs. Teachers should incorporate a variety of formative assessments to truly see if students are learning. Dixson and Worrell describe formative assessment as gathering data to improve student learning. They are correct but teachers also need to provide students with feedback. Feedback gives students a better idea of what concepts they need to work on in class. There are many ways to integrate formative assessment and feedback into the classroom.
While four year old children are getting evaluated on their IQ results to have the very slim opportunity to attend these elite pre-schools, Finnish students do not take standardized tests until their final year in upper secondary, which is at the age of 19. Although they do not partake in standardized tests, there are three different forms of assessment that take place in Finland. The first form of assessment is the formative assessment. Formative assessment takes place within the classroom and it is mainly used for teachers and students to be aware of their progress and for teachers to give feedback to students in order to encourage them to continue growing. Tests will usually be provided by textbook companies or by teacher associations (Hendrickson,
It establishes the foundation and ensures that they understand the basics of every lesson before overwhelming the audience with terms and techniques that would likely intimidate students that may or may not be familiar with the introduced information. The author of this article makes it a point to enlighten educators that it is important to do things that the students can relate to, but to also operate within the comfort of your own zone. This ensures that the students are learning as oppose to being distracted by desperate attempts to “relate” or “be down”. Simply build the curriculum based on the likes and interests of everyone within that environment to ensure a welcoming and productive atmosphere when time for the execution of the
Although somewhat vague compared to summative assessment, several key features help frame formative assessment. First, formative assessment happens while learning is taking place as opposed to at the end of content delivery. Rather, this is considered “assessment for learning,” (Chappuis, J., Stiggins, Chappuis, S., & Arter, 2012, pg. 5). The format is formal or informal, but the outcome in its use is an in-progress check of what students know and what students do not know. Chappuis, Stiggins, Chappuis, and Arter (2012) define formative assessment as, “Formal and informal processes teachers and students use to gather evidence for the purpose of improving learning,” (pg. 24). Second, this type of assessment is used to make instructional strategy adjustments. If student learning did not happen via one instructional method, the teacher must make the necessary accommodations to reteach the concept or skill. Next, it is not only used by teachers for feedback on instruction, but formative assessment is also used for providing timely, descriptive feedback to students and extends to allow for student self-assessment (Chappuis, J., Stiggins, Chappuis, S., & Arter, 2012; Popham, 2008). Formative assessment provides opportunity to provide specific feedback to students on where they are currently in their learning, and where they should be headed.
The tools and techniques used are comprehensive which helps assess a learner’s development in the area of learning like the ability to understand, analysis, and apply knowledge acquired through creative process that are evaluated. The evaluation section was divided into two broad categories Scholastic that looked at the areas which were subject specific and Co-Scholastic that included activities that were co-curricular like life skills, attitudes and values. The Scholastic evaluations was divided into Summative assessment to help analyse how much the students have learned after teaching through various medium like multiple choice questions, long and short answers , match the following , fill in the blanks and understanding diagrams in science and Formative assessment were to evaluate the students everyday learning situations during teaching to help identify gaps which help provide feedback to teachers to be able take remedial action through the use of various tools like observation, document analysis ,peer reviews ,self-assessment ,tests and implementation of various techniques like projects ,assignments , activities , making of posters ,charts ,collages ,group discussions and seminars. While the life skills activities looked at enhancing the thinking, social and emotional skills, the summative assessment looked at assessing skills like teamwork
Assessments are an important part of teaching. Assessments are a good way for teachers to monitor students’ learning and understanding. Knowing students’ level of understanding can help teachers improve students’ learning and guide their instructions. In the future, I plan to continue assessing students in multiple ways such as, asking questions, illustrations and writing to adjust my instruction. I also plan to encourage students to assess their own work so they are involved in their own learning as well as look for ways to “employ technology to support assessment
Assessments have always been a tool for teachers to assess mastery and for a long time it was just to provide a grade and enter it into the grade book or report card. Through resources in and out of the course, there has been a breath of new life into the research on how to use assessments. They take many forms and fall within the summative or formative assessment category. Sloan (2016) addresses how formative assessments has traditionally been used by teachers to modify instruction, but when we focus on a classroom that is learner-centered “it becomes assessment for learning as opposed to assessment of learning” (slide 4). The fact is, the students are the ones that should be and are the ones using the data we collect through assessments, since it is our way of providing feedback in order
My teaching career has been spent learning how to provide appropriate support, guidance, patience, & understanding, as well as to enhance academic growth & success, for all students. My purpose as a teacher is to enrich and inspire the lives of young students with moderate/intensive needs by providing access to information instead of functioning as the primary source of information for students to flourish. My teaching methods will be to create an environment ripe with opportunities for discovery and exploration which will allow all students to learn at their own pace, generate questions and construct knowledge, while providing hands-on practice of skills in authentic situations as well as to make learning intriguing and meaningful to all students. Carefully planned and constructed learning environment will also allow the teacher more time to meet the individual needs of each student. Another important factor to a well-prepared learning environment is to facilitate learning, and providing students with balance and consistency (2004). Young students require a balance between various classroom dimensions, including activities guided by the teacher and independent work, quiet work and active work, gross motor and fine motor activities, and open and closed aspects to the curriculum and classroom materials (2004). Consistency is also a required condition for learner success. Schedules (daily and weekly), the enforcement of classroom rules, and student expectations should not be in flux but remain consistent. Without a sense of consistency in the classroom, school life would lack the necessary feeling of safety and reliability young children need to focus, to take risks, and to t...
For my homophones lesson in Mrs. Anderson’s class, I feel that I did a great job teaching the lesson and providing plenty of practice opportunities. I believe that the formative and summative assessments that I used throughout my lesson provided the information Mrs. Anderson and I hoped to get out of this small unit.
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