"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free." -Frederick Douglass
This week we learned about reading assessment. One of the challenges we face as second language instructors is that students approach a second language with various strengths and weaknesses in their own native language. Even in a classroom of students who share a primary language, there is great variation in their ability to comprehend and communicate effectively. This is perhaps most apparent as it relates to reading. Some students do not read well, some do not like to read, and many of those who do not like to read do not read well. Passages, books, and texts in a second language add a heavy layer of intimidation and frustration to students who may not be comfortable with reading in their native language.
Regardless of the backgrounds of our students, reading is an essential skill. Reading ability gives individuals access to information, ideas, explanations and opinions. My father used to tell me that if you can read, you can learn to do anything. Reading permits individuals not only to learn in a school environment, but, more important, to educate themselves. We need to keep this in mind when teaching reading to our students and assessing their learning. Their ability to read will affect their life well beyond our classroom. As Frederick Douglass said in the quote above, reading opens the world wide open and sets an individual free: free to learn, free to understand, and free from those who would oppress the ignorant.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Chapter 9- Assessing Reading Reflection
Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled 'This can change your life'. - Helen Exley
Once a parent hears their child read it is like music to their ears. Personally, when I first heard my students begin reading I was filled with a warm feeling. Seeing their faces gleam with excitement and their confidence when they tell me "I can read!" is the best thing I have ever seen. I chose this quote because I believe it relates to the chapter. Teaching a child how to read and seeing them pick up a book is one major change in their lives. Reading is one important skill I believe is needed to get by in the world. In today's class, we discussed the chapter on assessing reading. I have learned about the many forms of reading such as perceptive, selective, interactive, and extensive. One of my favorite tasks to assess reading is picture cues where the student can read a short description and have to pick the picture that describes what they had just read. This can be turned into a game such as treasure hunt. Assessing reading can be fun and interactive. I would definitely enjoy using the form of perceptive reading such as multiple choice picture cued word, picture cued matching word identification, picture cued true/false sentence identification, and picture cued sentence identification.
Tenth Week Reflection
To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting. ~Edmund Burke
This week we learned about assessing reading. There are various genres of reading that include: academic reading, job-related reading, and personal reading. Most people will come across and have to read examples from all three genres of reading. There are four different types of reading. These are: Perceptive, Selective, Interactive, and Extensive. For the most part, ELLs with beginning English proficiency will start out focusing on Perceptive and Selective reading tasks. As they progress, ELLs will move on to Interactive reading tasks. Once ELLs become more English proficient, they will move on to Extensive reading tasks.
Depending on where the ELL is from, reading might take on a different order. In countries like Japan, things are read up and down from right to left. English is read side to side from left to right. So this can be a challenge for ELLs at first. Students also have to learn how to break up words and sentences depending on punctuation. Words and sentences can also have different meanings depending on what punctuation is used. So it is important to make sure that ELLs know what the various types of punctuation mean and how they are used in sentences.
I chose the about quote because by assessing students in reading, we are having them reflect on what they have read. If we have the students answer questions about what they have read or have them summarize what they have read, they are being made to analyze and understand what they read instead of them just going through the motions of reading.
This week we learned about assessing reading. There are various genres of reading that include: academic reading, job-related reading, and personal reading. Most people will come across and have to read examples from all three genres of reading. There are four different types of reading. These are: Perceptive, Selective, Interactive, and Extensive. For the most part, ELLs with beginning English proficiency will start out focusing on Perceptive and Selective reading tasks. As they progress, ELLs will move on to Interactive reading tasks. Once ELLs become more English proficient, they will move on to Extensive reading tasks.
Depending on where the ELL is from, reading might take on a different order. In countries like Japan, things are read up and down from right to left. English is read side to side from left to right. So this can be a challenge for ELLs at first. Students also have to learn how to break up words and sentences depending on punctuation. Words and sentences can also have different meanings depending on what punctuation is used. So it is important to make sure that ELLs know what the various types of punctuation mean and how they are used in sentences.
I chose the about quote because by assessing students in reading, we are having them reflect on what they have read. If we have the students answer questions about what they have read or have them summarize what they have read, they are being made to analyze and understand what they read instead of them just going through the motions of reading.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
I forgot to put in my quote earlier. Here it is now :)
"Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud." -Hermann Hesse
I am certain that the author of this quote was not thinking about language learning. This quote, however, really captured for me what it is like to assess speaking and to have one's speaking assessed. I think the reason that speaking in a language other than one's native language can be even more intimidating than the other language skills- particularly for beginners- is, in part, because speaking is a production skill that we use in our native language without even thinking. Suddenly in another language we do not feel free. Speaking, more than anything in language learning can make us feel clumsy and awkward and child-like. There is no time to look up words in a dictionary when we are having a conversation. No way to check our grammar or pronunciation until after the "damage" is done. Our thoughts can be brilliant and composed and articulate, but then our mouth opens and chaos spills out. Everything becomes different when it is spoken out loud. In order to properly assess speaking as teachers we need to bear that phenomenon in mind. We need to give students frequent opportunities to speak in class before they feel that they are being officially assessed. We need to make them feel comfortable with the vocabulary and grammar and pronunciation through repetition, reading out loud and very simple response solicitations before assessing them on more complex utterances. We also need to make clear to our classes as a whole that everyone learns at different rates and that no amount of disrespect toward classmates will be tolerated. All aspects of language need a solid foundation, but speaking also requires an extra layer of confidence-building. After all, no one wants to feel like an idiot, even if their language skills are extremely limited.
I am certain that the author of this quote was not thinking about language learning. This quote, however, really captured for me what it is like to assess speaking and to have one's speaking assessed. I think the reason that speaking in a language other than one's native language can be even more intimidating than the other language skills- particularly for beginners- is, in part, because speaking is a production skill that we use in our native language without even thinking. Suddenly in another language we do not feel free. Speaking, more than anything in language learning can make us feel clumsy and awkward and child-like. There is no time to look up words in a dictionary when we are having a conversation. No way to check our grammar or pronunciation until after the "damage" is done. Our thoughts can be brilliant and composed and articulate, but then our mouth opens and chaos spills out. Everything becomes different when it is spoken out loud. In order to properly assess speaking as teachers we need to bear that phenomenon in mind. We need to give students frequent opportunities to speak in class before they feel that they are being officially assessed. We need to make them feel comfortable with the vocabulary and grammar and pronunciation through repetition, reading out loud and very simple response solicitations before assessing them on more complex utterances. We also need to make clear to our classes as a whole that everyone learns at different rates and that no amount of disrespect toward classmates will be tolerated. All aspects of language need a solid foundation, but speaking also requires an extra layer of confidence-building. After all, no one wants to feel like an idiot, even if their language skills are extremely limited.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Reflection for the Week of March 16th
Listening and speaking are skills that are intimately related and are usually used more frequently in day-to-day life than reading and writing. Speaking assessment, as with listening assessment, involves both micro- and macro-skills and exists in increasingly involved types or levels. Imitative speaking represents the simplest side of the spectrum and extensive speaking, or monologue sits at the other, complex end.
Speaking is a skill that I frequently assess informally in class through repetition, read-aloud, and solicitation of responses from my students. When I assess the skill in a more formal fashion, I may have the students conduct simple interviews, create a skit to role-play, or in some other way. I might have my students play an adapted form of "Guess Who?" or have students direct a blindfolded student partner to an "goal" in the classroom. The greatest challenge to speaking assessment and speaking in general is getting students over their fear of mistakes. I try to remain positive and encouraging, to start them with short and simple responses and build them up to being able to say sentences, give directions or ask questions. I have learned over the years not to correct everything that might be wrong with what they say because if I crush speaking confidence it is very hard to coax up again. Instead I try to re-model pronunciation or grammar for them.
Speaking is a skill that I frequently assess informally in class through repetition, read-aloud, and solicitation of responses from my students. When I assess the skill in a more formal fashion, I may have the students conduct simple interviews, create a skit to role-play, or in some other way. I might have my students play an adapted form of "Guess Who?" or have students direct a blindfolded student partner to an "goal" in the classroom. The greatest challenge to speaking assessment and speaking in general is getting students over their fear of mistakes. I try to remain positive and encouraging, to start them with short and simple responses and build them up to being able to say sentences, give directions or ask questions. I have learned over the years not to correct everything that might be wrong with what they say because if I crush speaking confidence it is very hard to coax up again. Instead I try to re-model pronunciation or grammar for them.
Chapter 8- Assessing Speaking
"If the child is not learning the way you are teaching, then you must teach in the way the child learns" - Rita Dunn
Today, we discussed Chapter 8 Assessing Speaking. Listening and speaking are two skills that interrelate. Has stated in the previous chapter that the four skills listening, speaking, reading, and writing can be isolated, however, isolating speaking or oral production tasks can be difficult without the use of interaction. I learned that speaking is a productive skill that can be observed. Combined with listening skills, oral production tests become more reliable and valid.
I also learned that there are five types of oral production. The first type is imitative an ability to parrot back or (imitate) words or phrases. The second type is intensive which request for a specific production of speech and read aloud. The third type is responsive which includes interaction and test comprehension, small talk, and greetings followed with follow up questions. The fourth type of oral production task is interactive is somewhat similar to responsive, however, interactive include multiple exchanges and/or multiple participants. Finally, the last type is extensive or a monologue. This oral production task includes speeches, storytelling, and oral presentations. Because I teach in the primary level, I would assess my students oral production and competence using the imitative and responsive tasks.
The quote above somewhat relates to what I am experiencing with my ELL learner Jane. Many say there are many teaching methods, but the quote suggests that we take how the student learns and use that to help teach them. "Jane" learns best through drawings and gestures. When I am correcting a sentence I try to use hand gesture to help her remember the sentence and for sounds I show her my mouth movements. This quote is also inspiring because if we can engage and take the interests of our students and implement that into our lessons we will be able to grab their attention, teach them, and spark a new piece of knowledge.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Ninth Week Reflection
Children have to be educated, but they have also to be left to educate themselves. ~Abbé Dimnet
This week we learned about assessing speaking in the classroom. There are several different ways that speaking can be assessed. For the most part, speaking is our main form of communication. If we are teaching ELLs, we basically do informal assessments of their speaking on a daily basis. Often we provide feedback by just restating what they have said in the correct way. Other ways that we can assess speaking include: role playing, presentations, conferences, and speaking tests.
I chose this quote because it reminds me of how some ELLs go through a silent period. This is typically when an ELL has up to 500 words in their receptive vocabulary but they are not yet speaking. New ELLs will listen attentively and they may even be able to copy words from the board. They will be able to respond to pictures and other visuals. They can understand and duplicate gestures and movements to show comprehension. ELLs at this stage will need much repetition of English. So just because some ELLs are not speaking yet, does not mean that they are not learning anything.
This week we learned about assessing speaking in the classroom. There are several different ways that speaking can be assessed. For the most part, speaking is our main form of communication. If we are teaching ELLs, we basically do informal assessments of their speaking on a daily basis. Often we provide feedback by just restating what they have said in the correct way. Other ways that we can assess speaking include: role playing, presentations, conferences, and speaking tests.
I chose this quote because it reminds me of how some ELLs go through a silent period. This is typically when an ELL has up to 500 words in their receptive vocabulary but they are not yet speaking. New ELLs will listen attentively and they may even be able to copy words from the board. They will be able to respond to pictures and other visuals. They can understand and duplicate gestures and movements to show comprehension. ELLs at this stage will need much repetition of English. So just because some ELLs are not speaking yet, does not mean that they are not learning anything.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Chapter 7 Reflection- Assessing Listening
Teaching is more than imparting knowledge, it is inspiring change. Learning is more than absorbing facts, it is acquiring understanding.
William Arthur Ward
I believe the quote above relates to what we discussed in class today. Today, we discussed assessing listening and how it corresponds with the other 3 skills, reading, writing, and speaking. We also discussed designing assessment tasks and I realized that many of the different elements we discussed I see happening in my classroom when teaching my ELLs. One assessment is recognizing phonological and morphological elements and this is when students either confuse vowels, consonants, words that end with -ed or -s, and contractions. One example I see happening in my class with my ELLs is distinguishing gender such as her and he and the confusion between vowels. My students are saying the sound of "e" for "i" such as it and eat. What important lesson I learned is that once we notice the mistakes being made, we must gently and calmly fix those errors before it carries on with their learning. Which brings me back to the quote where the teacher helps students gain knowledge and by doing, and we must inspire them. We must also remember that learning should be fun. Learning should not only be about absorbing facts but also acquiring understanding. And with some time, patience, and the correct correction process we will be able to get our students to understand what is being taught. Teaching in a DI school, a few teachers teach more for the lesson gains and some teach to mastery. My goal is to teach to mastery. I would like my students to understand more of the sounds and how to comprehend stories than to know more and not understand what they just learned.
Week of March 9th Reflection
"The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them." — Ralph Nichols
I chose this quote because it is important as educators of second language learners to remember how isolating and frustrating it can feel to lack language skills. It is not easy for our students to learn to understand and be understood, but they are willing to learn we just have to help them. We need to find ways to help them make connections, give them plenty of opportunities for practice, and praise them even for their modest achievements. Natural instinct when we don't understand is to be quiet and to hide. We need to help students step away from that instinct so they can develop the skills they need as quickly as possible.
In reading this chapter on assessing listening I thought a lot about my students and the many dictations, dialogues, films, and radio broadcasts to which I have exposed them and with which I have assessed them. More than that though, I couldn't help being reminded of my own language learning both as a student and during my time studying abroad. My teacher and high school and my professor in college spoke only French to the class so I felt confident going abroad that I would at least be able to understand. I remember being surprised at how quickly everyone seemed to spoke and how confused I was when I heard slang or vernacular terms. I remember never wanting to answer the landline at my host family's house because I was afraid that the caller would want to leave a message and- my greatest fear- their phone number. As insignificant as it may have seemed, the day I picked up the phone and took down a message and phone number without having to ask for numerous repetitions was a huge milestone for me there. We need to celebrate our student's milestones even if they may seem insignificant.
When I write an assessment, I try to put myself in the place of the student and be sensitive to their insecurities. I try to give them an opportunity to show off their strengths even if I also have to assess their weaknesses.
Eighth Week Reflection
Everything in writing begins with language. Language begins with listening.
Jeanette Winterson
Today in class we talked about how to assess ELLs listening skills. We went over some of the main ideas and looked out some examples of types of questions that can be used in assessing listening. We then broke up into three groups and worked on our collaborative group assignment. Each of the three groups were asked to review certain pages in the chapter and pick out the most important information. We then presented our findings to the rest of the groups. Each of the groups also did a role play of sorts. At the end, we took a group picture to post on our blog.
I can relate to how an ELL feels about listening to a native English speaker. I am sure that they think that we talk too fast. I felt this way when I was learning Japanese. Even after I got somewhat good at Japanese, I still felt like Japanese people spoke way too fast. Out of all of the skills, I definitely think that listening was my worst while studying Japanese. Even on my final exam, that was the section I scored the lowest in. I think that it would take me many more years of studying Japanese to ever get really good at understanding what Japanese people are saying.
I chose this quote because I do think that language begins with listening for the most part. As infants, we hear what others are saying around us and we start to mimic that. If we cannot hear how sounds are made, then we would have a lot harder time pronouncing the sounds correctly. We also need to know a language in order to write it.
Jeanette Winterson
Today in class we talked about how to assess ELLs listening skills. We went over some of the main ideas and looked out some examples of types of questions that can be used in assessing listening. We then broke up into three groups and worked on our collaborative group assignment. Each of the three groups were asked to review certain pages in the chapter and pick out the most important information. We then presented our findings to the rest of the groups. Each of the groups also did a role play of sorts. At the end, we took a group picture to post on our blog.
I can relate to how an ELL feels about listening to a native English speaker. I am sure that they think that we talk too fast. I felt this way when I was learning Japanese. Even after I got somewhat good at Japanese, I still felt like Japanese people spoke way too fast. Out of all of the skills, I definitely think that listening was my worst while studying Japanese. Even on my final exam, that was the section I scored the lowest in. I think that it would take me many more years of studying Japanese to ever get really good at understanding what Japanese people are saying.
I chose this quote because I do think that language begins with listening for the most part. As infants, we hear what others are saying around us and we start to mimic that. If we cannot hear how sounds are made, then we would have a lot harder time pronouncing the sounds correctly. We also need to know a language in order to write it.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Alternatives in Assessment
"Don't rate potential over performance."
- Jim Fassel
This is a quote from a professional football coach. I think what he is trying to say is exactly
what we see in Chapter Six. We learn about alternatives in assessment for the same reason Jim Fassel stated this quote. If we have students with plenty of potential in our class it is our job
as educators to see this positive imagine and foster their potential in education. We need to allow them to thrive and learn using other assessments like portfolios, journals and essays. Chapter Six explains how we as teachers can utilize alternative assessment and measure these using items like rubrics. I utilize alternative assessments in my Geography class which helps measure my students’ achievement of objectives and standards. Rubrics also help the students’ to see what is being measured. Objectives being clearly identified are vital when using rubrics. I believe we as
educators need to utilize alternative assessments which may augment standardized testing in making sure our students potential is maximized to the fullest.
- Jim Fassel
This is a quote from a professional football coach. I think what he is trying to say is exactly
what we see in Chapter Six. We learn about alternatives in assessment for the same reason Jim Fassel stated this quote. If we have students with plenty of potential in our class it is our job
as educators to see this positive imagine and foster their potential in education. We need to allow them to thrive and learn using other assessments like portfolios, journals and essays. Chapter Six explains how we as teachers can utilize alternative assessment and measure these using items like rubrics. I utilize alternative assessments in my Geography class which helps measure my students’ achievement of objectives and standards. Rubrics also help the students’ to see what is being measured. Objectives being clearly identified are vital when using rubrics. I believe we as
educators need to utilize alternative assessments which may augment standardized testing in making sure our students potential is maximized to the fullest.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Seventh Week Reflection
Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner; put yourself in his place so that you may understand . . . what he learns and the way he understands it. Soren Kierkegaard
This week we learned about alternative assessments. Working in the ESL field and previously in Special Education, I have used a lot of alternative assessments. A lot of these assessments were just informal with me basically just making daily observations about my students. I have also used journal writing as a way of assessment, though looking back I do not think that I gave my students the kind of feedback that they really needed. I guess it all came down to time when I was reviewing the journals. I wanted to make sure that I read everyone of them, but I really did not take the time to write any positive or constructive comments. If I decide to use journals again in the future, I will make sure that I take the time to give my students the proper feedback that they need.
Some of the teachers in the ESL Department have folders for all of the students with various examples of the student's work in it. This is sort of like a portfolio except that I do not believe that the students make the decision on what does or does not go in these folders. Having studied a foreign language before, I know that we did a lot of roll playing in class. This is another type of alternative assessment that can be used in an ESL class. Most of the time, the students like to do roll playing with either the teacher or other students. Usually the teacher will show the students some examples of what they are looking for and provide the students with a script template to follow so that the students stay on track and do not just start talking about whatever they want to. We also used roll playing in one of my ESL workshops. In this activity, we were trying to express various emotions and get the audience to guess which emotion we were acting act. Students can also use roll playing without actually using words. The students will then have to infer what is happening.
I chose my quote because it basically states that as teachers, we must realize that our students learn in many different ways and they express their knowledge in many different ways. We cannot use tests as the only means of determining whether or not our students are making progress. Hence, we have to incorporate the use on alternative assessments into our classrooms.
This week we learned about alternative assessments. Working in the ESL field and previously in Special Education, I have used a lot of alternative assessments. A lot of these assessments were just informal with me basically just making daily observations about my students. I have also used journal writing as a way of assessment, though looking back I do not think that I gave my students the kind of feedback that they really needed. I guess it all came down to time when I was reviewing the journals. I wanted to make sure that I read everyone of them, but I really did not take the time to write any positive or constructive comments. If I decide to use journals again in the future, I will make sure that I take the time to give my students the proper feedback that they need.
Some of the teachers in the ESL Department have folders for all of the students with various examples of the student's work in it. This is sort of like a portfolio except that I do not believe that the students make the decision on what does or does not go in these folders. Having studied a foreign language before, I know that we did a lot of roll playing in class. This is another type of alternative assessment that can be used in an ESL class. Most of the time, the students like to do roll playing with either the teacher or other students. Usually the teacher will show the students some examples of what they are looking for and provide the students with a script template to follow so that the students stay on track and do not just start talking about whatever they want to. We also used roll playing in one of my ESL workshops. In this activity, we were trying to express various emotions and get the audience to guess which emotion we were acting act. Students can also use roll playing without actually using words. The students will then have to infer what is happening.
I chose my quote because it basically states that as teachers, we must realize that our students learn in many different ways and they express their knowledge in many different ways. We cannot use tests as the only means of determining whether or not our students are making progress. Hence, we have to incorporate the use on alternative assessments into our classrooms.
Chapter 6 Reflection- Alternatives in Assessment
"In education it isn't how much you have committed to memory or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't. It's knowing where to go to find out what you need to know and it's knowing how to use the information you get." --William Feather
Today, we discussed about different alternatives of testing other than using traditional tests. Some examples of alternative testing include students being assessed on what they do every day, a requirement for students to perform, create, produce, or do something else related to what was taught, a simple journal or even a portfolio can be use as an alternate way of assessing. Teaching in a school that is under the Direct Instruction program really takes away the time I would like to use to assess my students thoroughly in other areas such as telling time, shapes,colors, nursery rhymes, etc. Personally, I wanted to begin a portfolio for my students, but looking at the amount of data and work that is expected of me I threw that idea out the door. Portfolios require a lot of planning and time for both student and teacher to go though the portfolio together and communicate about what assignments he/she would like to choose. On the teachers end, we must figure out what exactly the student is being assessed on using the portoflio.
Today, we discussed about different alternatives of testing other than using traditional tests. Some examples of alternative testing include students being assessed on what they do every day, a requirement for students to perform, create, produce, or do something else related to what was taught, a simple journal or even a portfolio can be use as an alternate way of assessing. Teaching in a school that is under the Direct Instruction program really takes away the time I would like to use to assess my students thoroughly in other areas such as telling time, shapes,colors, nursery rhymes, etc. Personally, I wanted to begin a portfolio for my students, but looking at the amount of data and work that is expected of me I threw that idea out the door. Portfolios require a lot of planning and time for both student and teacher to go though the portfolio together and communicate about what assignments he/she would like to choose. On the teachers end, we must figure out what exactly the student is being assessed on using the portoflio.
The last two weeks of the quarter is very hectic for me and my fellow kindergarten colleagues because we need to make time in between our DI schedule to assess our students in areas such as personal information, shapes, colors, numbers, etc. I do however assess the way they color, they way they cut, trace lines through their busy work These are alternate forms of assessing. The chapter explains that alternative testing poses a challenge on teachers and I have to agree. Traditional tests, such as standard based tests are designed to be practical and reliable instruments. They also help minimize time and money. On the other hand, alternative testing requires effort, time, and money to prepare and evaluate what the students are being tested on, provide feedback and one on one conference when using portfolios, etc. In my previous studies, I learned that rubrics are the greatest assessment tool, especially when evaluating language. I understand that rubrics require effort, care, and precision from a teacher. And just like creating a standardized test, rubrics must have clear objectives. Most importantly, a rubric must have a scale to rate the student’s performance.
As a first year teacher, I am still looking for ways to make testing fun for kids where their anxiety level is lowered. One way I assess their motor skills is by taking them outside and do a little PE together.
Quote from: http://ripplemaker.hubpages.com/hub/50_Inspirational_Quotes_for_Teachers
Week of March 2nd chapter 6 reflection
"All assessment is a perpetual work in progress." -Linda Suske, 2005
This quote fits much of what we have discussed in class so far. All assessment, including standardized tests, are in constant need of tweaking and revision. Construct validation must continuously be monitored, tests can be made more practical, more authentic, or more reliable. Sometimes the pendulum must swing back and forth to find the correct balance.
This chapter discusses alternative assessment. In my classes I have used many, but not all, of the alternative assessments. I find that while the tests I create usually only require some tweaking or some alteration of questions or the order, the alternative assessments are always an experience. I am never sure exactly what students are going to do as a performance, a project, or journal until I have the product in front of me. Sometimes it is exactly what I expect, other times students surprise me. Either way, I am constantly looking for a clearer explanation of what I expect, and a more efficient method of scoring the result.
For alternative assessments I generally use rubrics or a checklist to determine how to score the assessment. I want to be consistent from project to project, and from day to day.
In assigning work to my students I would usually rather do alternative assessment than formal assessment. The limiting factor, however, is always time. It takes a great time investment to create a clear and effective alternative assessment. They also take longer to grade, and if they involve presentation, class time is needed to allow for the presentations. As I mentioned earlier, once I have created the assessment, I am always looking for ways to improve it and make scoring more efficient.
From the reading, observation is an assessment that I have used frequently without even thinking about it. I use this to determine participation, to measure level of comprehension, to assess what teaching styles best interest students, and how well students are working in groups. What I have not considered doing, but should, is a checklist of observations focused on a something specific like grammar.
I have used peer assessment when I have students work in groups, but I have only used self-assessment minimally. Self-assessment is something I would like to implement more in my classroom. I think it is important for students to reflect on their own learning rather than always expecting someone to tell them how they are doing.
This quote fits much of what we have discussed in class so far. All assessment, including standardized tests, are in constant need of tweaking and revision. Construct validation must continuously be monitored, tests can be made more practical, more authentic, or more reliable. Sometimes the pendulum must swing back and forth to find the correct balance.
This chapter discusses alternative assessment. In my classes I have used many, but not all, of the alternative assessments. I find that while the tests I create usually only require some tweaking or some alteration of questions or the order, the alternative assessments are always an experience. I am never sure exactly what students are going to do as a performance, a project, or journal until I have the product in front of me. Sometimes it is exactly what I expect, other times students surprise me. Either way, I am constantly looking for a clearer explanation of what I expect, and a more efficient method of scoring the result.
For alternative assessments I generally use rubrics or a checklist to determine how to score the assessment. I want to be consistent from project to project, and from day to day.
In assigning work to my students I would usually rather do alternative assessment than formal assessment. The limiting factor, however, is always time. It takes a great time investment to create a clear and effective alternative assessment. They also take longer to grade, and if they involve presentation, class time is needed to allow for the presentations. As I mentioned earlier, once I have created the assessment, I am always looking for ways to improve it and make scoring more efficient.
From the reading, observation is an assessment that I have used frequently without even thinking about it. I use this to determine participation, to measure level of comprehension, to assess what teaching styles best interest students, and how well students are working in groups. What I have not considered doing, but should, is a checklist of observations focused on a something specific like grammar.
I have used peer assessment when I have students work in groups, but I have only used self-assessment minimally. Self-assessment is something I would like to implement more in my classroom. I think it is important for students to reflect on their own learning rather than always expecting someone to tell them how they are doing.
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