Monday, July 7, 2008

Tuesday, July 12, 2008

Today we focused on assessment in a differentiated classroom. Please post your reflections about this topic here.

6 comments:

Hannah said...

Today we talked about assessment. It was interesting to find out about this. So many people mismatch the words assessment and test. They are not the same thing. They also think of assessment, evaluating, reporting as being the same. Assessment is the gathering data. Evaluating is analyzing and judging the data. Reporting is letting people know the final judgment or evaluation. I have to admit I have done some assessments and then not followed up on them. I am going to have to be better at this. I do think it is a good idea and will help with helping children grow with their knowledge and being more confident. If a child knows he or she can do it and others may be having trouble with the same thing they are going to become more confident learners.
I also picked up that there are three things to assess. Those are readiness level, social/emotional, and hobbies and interests. These are great things to assess. If you know a child has an idea/lesson mastered there is no need to reteach that child, enrich that child. Also the social/emotional part will help. You need to know about their home life, their health, and so forth to help that child learn. Also the hobbies and interests helps you connect with the students and will allow them to know you care. This then will motivate them to be better learners and harder workers.

Angel Renninger said...

I totally agree with Hannah – is that 200 words?? Just kidding….Today was awesome! I thought I knew the meaning of assessment but as it turns out I was mistaken. I was very happy to learn that assessment is not synonymous with testing. As a teacher of the fine arts I hate testing – or at least the “old” concept of it. I can’t put a students like or dislike of music into a written test but I can see that in class. I can find new ways to teach to reach them. They may not all become the next “American idol” but I want them to develop an appreciation of music. I want them to become critical listeners, form their own opinions and be able to THINK about why they may like or dislike aspects of music. Not just “because”. I was excited to see the flow chart on DI to see how and when to use it. I do okay on gathering the information from students but I’m sure like the others in class, I now know what I should be doing with it. I am looking forward to learning how write DI in my current lesson plans that need it. I also felt a lot more group discussion today and thought that was awesome – even though I’m a specialized teacher so many of everyone else’s ideas can be applied in my classroom (usually with a small tweak) too. Thanks!

cindy said...

First, I would like to thank everyone for helping catch me up on the morning and for being patient while I drove my children around town.
Assessment is such an important tool. Understanding the purpose of different types of assessment is very important because that is how you determine when to use a specific assessment, and what to do with the resulting information you gather from the assessment. I liked making the posters and sharing our ideas of how we assess. Everyone seems to have some great ideas and it helps me to hear others input.
It is also refreshing to hear the term "readiness" instead of ability or low ability. At kindergarten it is very obvious that readiness is the real key. We refer to this as developmental readiness. I know from experience how important readiness is. I use the following example with others to help them understand how important developmental readiness:
You cannot teach a 4 month old to walk until they are ready. You can work with them for hours each day trying every strategy possible, but they cannot learn to walk until they are developmentally ready. I think sometimes parents think their 4 year old is ready and they haven't considered their physical and mental development!
Readiness is very important in kindergarten!!

Mindee said...

Wow! What another exciting day with so much knowledge. I love classes like this with peer interaction and sharing. I feel so en“rich”ed with new ideas.

Assessment continues to capture my curiosity on what is right and what is wrong. I feel I have a wealth of knowledge about the whole process, but also have a whole lot more to learn. :0) I also wonder if there is ever an end? lol

The most important thing I learned today was don’t assess unless you absolutely plan to evaluate it and do something with the information. I found that I am using many basic assessment methods, but I am so excited with all of the new ideas. The students will be having so much fun they won’t even realize they are being assessed. I am most excited about trying the Concept Map, ABC Brainstorming, and the “IIQEE” activities.

I really want to take more time getting to know my students and how they learn and what interests them. I had a great time doing the Multiple Intelligences activity. I plan to do this with my class this fall. Also, I would like to make the wheel for grouping.

I feel really good about assessing my students. I even got to do some “shopping” and found more bargains for my students. I hope our district will step up and really take a look at what they are requiring of students and teachers and decide if they are utilizing/evaluating all the information district wide.

Dawn78 said...

This is for Wednesday since i posted Tuesday on Wednesday.

Today was a very busy day. We really ripped through the low prep- high impact strategies. Actually the pace was just right. We didn't over dwell on any one anfd if any one had questions or needed more info we could slow down and explore more. We did need some extra practice with the QAR and we got it. I loved all the handouts and examples. Of course i am very interested in the literacy samples such as Book in an Hour and cubing. Bloom's taxonomy is so important. i need to refer to it more often. I could see the cubing working during small group time during literature circles. I could also incorporate QAR and get some student help in questions for Literature Circles. I can hardy wait to share Gallon Guy with the science teacher. My daughter could really use the three cornered flash cards. They should be used in all schools. i also am looking forward to using mindwareonline.com and setgame.com durinng study hall for students who have nothing to do! They would be good for starting/ending class too. I can't believe how much was on that read, Write, think website. Oh my gosh, I am getting excited!

Marcia M. said...

Hi! Today was on assessment. I liked the idea of not assessing if you were not going to do something with it--Makes perfect sense!! The information was a bit clearer today than yesterday--one more day to make sense of the vocabulary, etc. I also posted on Monday's site--I got mixed up, again. Thanks. Marce