Wednesday 30 January 2013

Clarifying Understanding

How is your understanding developing after Tuesday's class with Paige regarding assessment practices? I would be interested to hear how you are piecing the concepts together. Last week we realized that this will be a long process and these aren't practices you can completely understand within one or two sessions of information. Each week should help you take one step closer in being able to try one or two ideas within your practicum.
I would appreciate if those that didn't post a comment last week try to post this time so I know you can manage the technology. If you need help please let me know. Thanks to those that shared thoughts last week.

9 comments:

Brandon R said...

Regarding Tuesday's class, one part that really liked was the concept of making audio recordings of students reading and reflecting on their how they did, and then attaching this to the students written work. It was very interesting to hear the young girl speak about how she was reading and to hear the viewpoint of that particular student.
-Brandon R.

Unknown said...

I like the research done by Black and Wiliam where they gave 5 factors that makes a difference in raising pupil achievement. It's all about the children taking ownership and responsibility of what they are learning instead of trying to memorize what the teacher is teaching. I also like that a teacher must adjust what he/she is teaching based on the assessment result to ensure that the students are learning and have success in their studies.

Unknown said...

I also really liked how Paige used portfolios with her students to demonstrate their learning. I like the concept of getting students to draw pictures of flowers/trees to illustrate what they feel their strengths and weaknesses are in various subjects. The video of Carol Dweck and her study on how the type of praise given to children affected how much they were willing to challenge themselves was interesting.

Mary-Lynn Epps said...

Lots of interesting feedback this week. I am glad the Black and Wiliam research and the Carol Dweck video clip and research helped clarify the foundation of where we are moving with assessment practice. I have also done e-portfolio with my students and have had much success with them discovering themselves as learners. If you are interested I will make sure I share examples when we meet up again in March.

Unknown said...

Hi Mary-Lyn,
I think I've finally connected with this blog. I have written once before but my comments didn't show up.. Hopefully, I'm on the right track now.
Well, I would say that I'm sitting with a "yellow cup" on my desk in regards to my understanding of assessment practices. I know we've just begun exploring these concepts, and some definitely make more sense than others. I agree that Formative Assessments and feedback are very motivational for students because it helps them feel like they are progressing quicker than waiting for the number or letter grade on the test, paper or report card.

Mary-Lynn Epps said...

Hi Jonathan

It sounds like you gained some new insights last week on assessment for learning and got a new strategy to check in on student understanding using the red, yellow, green cups. You can get them cheap at the dollar store. I really like that strategy especially when I am teaching math. I can zero in on the students that need a bit more intensive instruction while the green cups can move forward. It is an easy one to implement and for kids to understand how to use.

Mary-Lynn Epps said...

Week 2 Jacquie posted
What I find interesting about doing the e-portfolios is that it seems like the process reveals more about the student than just what they know about the topic or subject being studied. Hearing the students read and talk about their stories on tape seemed like a great assessment tool.
As Paige pointed out: what we can capture on a piece of paper are not the only things that we as teachers should be evaluating.

Mary-Lynn Epps said...

Week 1-jacquie posted
Even with the time and space constraints that we experienced for the circle activity at Brechin, I found that there were some great take-aways that I could see myself using in my future classroom. My partner and I were able to see some real growth from one of the students we worked with. Using the feedback about his story that he got from both his classmate and us, he was able to build confidence about his delivery and his zoom in. I look forward to trying my own version of this technique one day.

Unknown said...

I really have enjoyed all of the assessment classes so far. It is nice to see how each builds on another. The last class was so informative. I really liked the portfolio idea that Paige introduced us to. I like how the concept of numbering a grade is taken out of the equation. I could see from the audio recording of the girl talking about her own work really allowed her to reflect. I thought that the flower idea was great! I think it is important to see how your students feel about each subject to get a further understanding of each student and their strong areas, areas needing more development, likes, and dislikes. In the class Paige also used the red, yellow, and green cups for us to show our understanding throughout the class. I could see myself using this strategy in a classroom. In my practicum I tend to forget to check for understanding regularly throughout the lesson, and this is a great strategy to use that is quick and simple. The only question I had about it was whether kids would be inclined not to put yellow or red if they were of only a few that did. I think if the community of learners was really developed and present this would not be a problem. Overall, great information and learning so far!