The syllabus is a commonly created and shared document in the education world (Parkes & Harris, 2010). For some high school, and most higher education courses, it is the first form of contact between an instructor and their students. The organization and content of the syllabus sets the tone of the course and stands as a resource throughout the semester or year. Continual analysis, reflection and refinement helps to maintain the syllabus as a dynamic educational resource for every student in that class (Slattery & Carlson, 2010). An effective syllabus provides, not only an introduction and overview into the course, but also outlines the academic standards and essential questions that are to be covered, shares the course schedule and …show more content…
The inclusion of engaging activities in this course is not completely clear from the information provided in the syllabus. While details about the texts that will be covered throughout the tentative course outline are shared, there is very little information on the actual learning activities that will be completed by students. In several areas of the syllabus, lists of activity types are given without description. It is stated that students will conduct research, work in groups, keep journals, and take quizzes, but there is no additional information about the expectations or format these assignments will take. The depth of knowledge on these activities is unclear, but may be an area of concern. Rigor is mentioned, but not substantiated with examples or evidence. While this may not be indicative of the actual learning experiences that students complete in class, the actual information on the syllabus guides the reader to the conclusion that students will primarily remain in the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, for example remembering and understanding, in regards to thinking skills accessed (Ainsworth, 2010, Reeves, 2006). With additional explanation, any confusion or doubt about the focus and purpose of the assignments for this course would be …show more content…
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
Savage, J. & Fautley, M. (2008). Assessment for Learning and Teaching in Secondary Schools. Dawsonera [Online]
However, the author also acknowledges and believes that the book can be useful to parents and academic advisers. The guide basically covers major chapters that provide useful information to general education in areas such as communication, citizenship and critical thinking. It also provides basic concepts for making better choices and explains the underlying issues that offer sense of purpose to students. In the past many students did not know the importance of classes they were doing. Today, these barriers have increasingly been broken by people through questioning their importance and contribution in general education i.e. anthropology, algebra among others. To enable value addition in making smart choices a great freedom and flexibility in taking courses and subjects is
Because the focus of this study is related to formative assessment, the researcher will spend more time on this. The term formative assessment is not used consistently in the literature (Bennett, 2011).There are some terms used interchangeably with formative assessment such as Classroom Evaluation (Crooks, 1988), Learning- Oriented Assessment (Pryor & Crossouard, 2008), Alternative Assessment (Berry, 2008), Assessment for Learning (Asghar, 2010) or Classroom-Based Assessment (Turner, 2012). A variety of definitions of the term ‘formative assessment’ have been proposed over the years by many researchers such as Black, Tunstall and Gipps, Black and William or Brown and so
The most important paper anyone will receive in any course will be given out on the first day of class. This paper is called a syllabus. According to the dictionary, the definition of a syllabus is an academic document that communicates course information and defines expectations and responsibilities. Some examples of what is on a standard syllabus are due dates, rules of the class and/or school, expected course schedule, required materials for the class, information about the instructor, where the class meets and at what time, and information about what to do if you miss class. Instructors spend a lot of time making a syllabus for their class and expect students to read and pay attention to what is included on it. They give out syllabi to help their students succeed in class by telling them what to expect in their course.
Structured, pertinent curriculum is the foundation of a good class. If students are not interested in the information presented, then the class has no value to the student but to merely satisfy a graduation requir...
Once I decided on what kind of assessment I wanted to use, I then wrote out how I would administer each piece and created the necessary worksheets to go along with them. I tried to incorporate multiple forms of assessment – the structure of worksheets, the freedom of journals, and discussion to talk through thoughts and issues – to provide students with numerous methods of expressing themselves and multiple opportunities to create connections with the material. I also made an effort to give students the chance to work in small groups, as a whole class, and independently so they could support each other’s learning to help make meaning from the content then put it into practice on their own.
Some teachers only think of summative assessments that are used for reporting grades. When used this way, assessments do not lead to learning. If teachers will effectively use formative assessments to provide students with timely feedback and individualize instruction based on assessment feedback, it will result in enhanced learning (Brink & Bartz, 2017). In order for this to happen schools need to develop a culture of formative assessment. Teachers need to be trained in the use of formative assessments and administration will need to cultivate this change in culture (Brink & Bartz,
6.1 – The teacher candidate understands multiple methods of assessment including formative and summative assessment strategies to assess the learner’s progress and how to use them in a variety of ways
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
In the article Seven Practices for Effective Learning by Jay McTighe and Ken O’Connor, several assessment and grading practices are presented. Characteristics of summative, diagnostic, and formative assessments are outlined. Based on these categories, descriptions of each practice is provided and compared with other typical forms of assessment typically used by teachers in the category. Justifications of how and why the practices enhance student achievement are also revealed.
“Assessment is one of the most effective instructional strategies to increase learning.” (Edutopia)When teachers think about assessment quality, they often focus on the accuracy of the instrument itself- the scope of which the assessment item tasks and scoring rubrics produce accurate information. It is imperative to use the different testing technique to improve learning. By taking tests, students can establish that they are independently capable of expressing their understanding of the material. I will have an opportunity to analyze each student's understanding and ability to apply learned information. I can then decide whether the
Assessment has been the greatest challenge in my development as a professional. My coursework as supported my growth in this area, especially in understanding the broad range of assessments used to support students’ growth and development. My courses have also supported my understanding of how ongoing observational assessment and standards-based measures can be used to inform instruction and support the cycle of observation, reflection and planning. Coursework
The understandings I have gained from this course have completely revamped my way of teaching. I have been using the unit plan and curriculum map I created in this course for the past two years, and my students enjoy it more and more each year. Learning the importance of using big ideas and essential questions in the classroom have made me a better educator and has assisted my students in learning content and skills that they can transfer to all academic areas and into their everyday lives. I now use big idea and essential questions in every ...
Formal and informal assessments help the teacher to monitor learning progress, diagnose learning issues, and determine what they need to do next to further learning. In a regular classroom activity, they collect information about how students learn, what they know, what is working and what is not, and it helps a teacher to take decisions about teaching and learning process. Reflection on student accomplishments offers instructors insights on the effectiveness of their teaching strategies. By systematically gathering, analysing and interpreting evidence we can determine how well the student learning matching the outcomes for a lesson, unit or course. The knowledge from student feedback indicates the instructor that how to improve instruction, where to strengthen teaching. Pre- assessment, formative assessment and summative assessment are different types of
English 101 is going to be a cake walk, or so I thought as the course embarked on if first assignment. As the first paper came due I quickly realized I could not have been more wrong. Having always thought that I could accurately convey a story yet, finding it to be very difficult when doing so for a grade. Discussing issues that in my mind could be described in only a few short sentences, then turning it into 500-1000 word essay was my conquest and at times my demise. As I lay awake at night, my mind would be riddled with ideas for the upcoming essays. I would have so many great notions of what to write just before falling asleep; I would arise to compose them on paper only finding that once a pen and paper had been obtained the