Assessment
Page overview:
The assessment tools and strategies that I used to evaluate learning in the classroom can be found on the following page.
Definition
The integration of different forms of assessment denotes the effectiveness of the evaluation process, where there is a balance between formative, and summative assessments.Tools such as formal tests, and final projects count as summative forms that aim to assess overall learning. On the other hand, formative assessment involves students understanding their strengths and weaknesses through tools like checklists and self-assessment (Garrison & Ehringhaus, n.d.).
Assessment For Learning (Formative)
Feedback
Description
When giving feedback to students about their work, I first start with praise, then point out something they should work on, and how they can improve it.
Rationale
Feedback should be specific and relevant to the task. Students should receive information on how to improve their work and not just receive uninformative comments (Gedye, 2015). Pairing words of encouragement with ways in which the learner can improve acts as constructive feedback, which is a part of my teaching philosophy because I believe it to be a crucial aspect of assessment.
Exit Ticket
Description
At the end of the lesson, I gave students a short fill in the blanks quiz to see if they can form a sentence about the lesson accurately. It is a quick and informative strategy to gain insight about students' understanding.
Rationale
Exit slips at the end of the lesson help teachers gain an understanding of what students achieved during the lesson, and if they need more assistance (Garrison & Ehringhaus, n.d.). I find that rather than having time-consuming assessment strategies, teachers can use simple ways to gather data about the learners.
Homework
Description
After a lesson about the weather, I asked students to make a record of how the weather is like during the week and then submit it on the smart learning gate. Some students wrote, others drew, and some recorded their voices. When I observed that shy students were not being active during the lesson, I thought this would be an effective way to get them involved.
Rationale
One way to extend learners' knowledge further, even after the lesson is complete, is to give them an assignment to do at home. Doing extra activities at home reinforces the information learned during the lesson. In addition, students can practice new skills and not be afraid to try out new things (Christopher, 2007). I find that it is even more engaging if the homework assignment is open-ended and allows learners to reflect and observe their surroundings.
Assessment As Learning
Self-assessment
Description
At the end of each lesson, I give students a chance to rate their understanding from 1-3. If students circle 2 or 3, I ask them what they need clarification or help with and assist them accordingly.
Rationale
While assessing their understanding, students are evaluating their thought process, and knowledge (Arends, 2015). When learners are actively engaging in the assessment process, they are practicing metacognition. Many times, this becomes a great learning opportunity for students who still have a few needs for clarification as they can pose questions and get answers from their teachers and peers.
Diagnostic, Formative and Summative Assessment
KWL (What I Know, What I Want to Know, What I Learned)
Description
One assessment strategy I found to be very informative is the KWL strategy in which students write down notes about what prior knowledge they have about the lesson, which acts as the diagnostic assessment. They then write down what they wish to learn, and finally what they learned, which is the summative aspect.
Rationale
Alsalhi explains (2020), "Through the implementation of the KWL strategy, students are encouraged to be mentally active during the learning process, makes the learning of concepts and topics remembering easier, develop appropriate questions for a particular topic and develop their skills in organizing their prior knowledge of the subject and evaluating their success in learning" (p.4). I have found that using multifaceted assessment strategies makes assessing students a much easier process since a lot of data can be gained.
Assessments to Inform Instruction
Description
During one of the lessons, I noticed that many students were not able to achieve one of the lesson outcomes, which was to use descriptions. Therefore, I used that information to plan for the next lesson accordingly. As a starter activity for the following lesson, I asked students to do an activity to answer questions about adjectives. Then, I focused on the few students who seemed to struggle with this particular concept by asking them questions.
Rationale
Teachers must take note of the students who failed to reach the learning outcomes and then pay attention to their progress. It's important to use assessments in a meaningful way, where the data gathered is used to improve the quality of teaching and learning (Guskey, 2003). Furthermore, reflecting on the teaching strategies that are most suitable for students who need support is crucial in ensuring their needs are met. One of my Professional Development Plan (PDP) goals is to improve my reflective writing.
Link to goal:
Session Reports
Description
Implementing lessons on the learning platform Nearpod allows me to receive reports on students' progress during the lesson. I can view their answers, how many attempts they made, their activity levels, and overall performance.
Rationale
Parents care about their students' performance in school and most of the time, this is portrayed through grades and summative methods. However, offering such reports of daily, or weekly performance can be more useful to parents and stakeholders. It's more frequent, immediate, and lets parents and teachers know how to aid the child (Hollingsworth, Heard and Weldon, 2019). Collecting student reports helped me see who was active and who was not. After locating the inactive learners, I reported it to my mentor and received guidance on how to engage all learners.
References
Alsalhi, N. R. (2020). The effects of the use of the Know-Want-Learn strategy
(KWL) on fourth grade students' achievement in science at primary stage and
their attitudes towards it. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and
Technology Education, 16(4). https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/115165
Arends, R. (2015). Learning to Teach. New York City: McGraw-Hill Education.
Christopher, S. (2007, December/January). Homework: A few practice arrows. Educational Leadership, 65(4), 74-75. http://www.cpuschools.org/ documents/filelibrary/parent_resources/Homework_Article_1_732EC6644823A.pdf
Garrison, C., & Ehringhaus, M. (n.d.). Formative and summative assessment in the
classroom. Retrieved April 15, 2020, from https://www.amle.org/
BrowsebyTopic/WhatsNew/WNDet/TabId/270/ArtMID/888/ArticleID/286/
Formative-and-Summative-Assessments-in-the-Classroom.aspx
Gedye, S. (2015). Formative assessment and feedback: A review. Planet, 23(1),
40-45. https://doi.org/10.11120/plan.2010.00230040
Guskey, T. R. (2003, February). How classroom assessments improve learning.
Educational Leadership, 60(5), 6-11. http://www.ascd.org/publications/
educational-leadership/feb03/vol60/num05/
How-Classroom-Assessments-Improve-Learning.aspx#:~:text=Using%20assessments%20as%
20sources%20of,and%20points%20out%20the%20mistake.
Hollingsworth, H., Heard, J., & Weldon, P. (2019). Communicating student
learning progress. Australian Council for Educational Research.
https://www.acsso.org.au/application/files/9415/7432/6065/
ACER_Communicating_Student_Learning_Progress__A_Review_of_Student_Repo.pdf