Claim: I have started the conversation with teachers and professors from other schools about more productive ways to assess student and classroom progress.
Support: Image of collaboration among educators at Project Dovetail/Stem day conference and Google docs threads of ongoing collaboration about assessment.
Support: Image of collaboration among educators at Project Dovetail/Stem day conference and Google docs threads of ongoing collaboration about assessment.
As a result of the Project Dovetail/Stem day conference I am a participant in an ongoing collaboration with members of the conference. Due to the success of the conference the planning committee decided to make the conference a yearly event, and collaborate over the next year to help establish goals for next year's conference. One of the main elements of collaboration is how to effectively assess student progress and classroom instruction in a more productive way that coincides with daily instruction.
The students that I teach need a lot of repetition and modeling. Another important aspect that I utilize in my classroom is to break the information down into smaller chunks. According to the authors, Nitko & Brook hart (2011), when teaching and assessing “you may need to break the assessment down into two or more specific learning targets” (Nitko & Brookhart, 2011, p. 20). Previous to this class I have only thought of using this strategy for daily practice assignments that we do. After taking this course I have changed my thinking and I am considering using this approach with my assessments as well. I have now divided the daily assessments for the repeated readings portfolios. The reading fluency portion is now totally separate from the reading comprehension portion. I have seen a change in the students’ focus and response to complete each part more diligently.
The math assessments in my room are still mostly based on hands-on student performance, with the exception of math facts. For the math facts, our building uses a computer based program that has the assessment included. I still use real life situations for math concepts as suggested in Educational Assessment of Students, the importance of “creating learning and assessment situations that require students to use combinations of specific skills and knowledge to complete tasks and solve real-life problems” (Brookhart & Nitko 2011, p. 21).
I enjoy finding and sharing new techniques and strategies since Special Education is so much repetition. Change is refreshing for me, as well as, my students. I am hopeful that the team collaboration from Dovetail will bring refreshing new opportunities to other educators, as well.
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The students that I teach need a lot of repetition and modeling. Another important aspect that I utilize in my classroom is to break the information down into smaller chunks. According to the authors, Nitko & Brook hart (2011), when teaching and assessing “you may need to break the assessment down into two or more specific learning targets” (Nitko & Brookhart, 2011, p. 20). Previous to this class I have only thought of using this strategy for daily practice assignments that we do. After taking this course I have changed my thinking and I am considering using this approach with my assessments as well. I have now divided the daily assessments for the repeated readings portfolios. The reading fluency portion is now totally separate from the reading comprehension portion. I have seen a change in the students’ focus and response to complete each part more diligently.
The math assessments in my room are still mostly based on hands-on student performance, with the exception of math facts. For the math facts, our building uses a computer based program that has the assessment included. I still use real life situations for math concepts as suggested in Educational Assessment of Students, the importance of “creating learning and assessment situations that require students to use combinations of specific skills and knowledge to complete tasks and solve real-life problems” (Brookhart & Nitko 2011, p. 21).
I enjoy finding and sharing new techniques and strategies since Special Education is so much repetition. Change is refreshing for me, as well as, my students. I am hopeful that the team collaboration from Dovetail will bring refreshing new opportunities to other educators, as well.
Products
References
Brookart, S. M., & Nitko, A. J. (2011). Educational Assessment of Students. Boston, MA, USA: Ally & Bacon.
Brookart, S. M., & Nitko, A. J. (2011). Educational Assessment of Students. Boston, MA, USA: Ally & Bacon.