Claim: Assessment plays a more efficient active part of instruction in my current classroom.
Support: The student progress in the area of writing conventions, and written expression.
Prior to my studies at Marygrove College, assessment was more of a formality that I implemented at the end of a unit as I had been taught, much like most of my colleagues. However, after my EDU 618 course, my perspective of assessment has changed. Not only am I more adamant about self-assessment on regular basis with my own teaching instruction, I am convinced that daily assessment was the key aspect of success for the students in my classroom. Waiting until the end of a unit to give an assessment will limit the information that is represented. The typical assessments at the end of a unit usually do not offer the necessary feedback to help students learn from their own learning (Brookhart & Nikto, 2011, p. 3). Instead of implementing the required assessment I have learned to look at "why I need the data, and what resources are available to collect the data“ (Chafouleas, Riley-Tillman, & Sugai, 2007, pg. 6) in an effort to help students gain more appropriate information for making adjustments in the learning process. The TEACCH method supports a daily assessment process that offers almost immediate feedback at the end of a workstation session (See artifact 1 below). Such feedback allows me to guide the students toward making adjustments/changes right away.
Another assessment that helped me make appropriate curriculum decisions was to have the students keep their writings in a journal. Using the writing journals (see Product 1 and 2), I was able to look back at previous writings and conference with the students about what areas had improved and what areas needed to be visited again. The 2nd grade student represented in these artifacts did not even know how to write all of his alphabet letters when I first started working with him at the beginning of the school year.
Product 1 Product 2
Support: The student progress in the area of writing conventions, and written expression.
Prior to my studies at Marygrove College, assessment was more of a formality that I implemented at the end of a unit as I had been taught, much like most of my colleagues. However, after my EDU 618 course, my perspective of assessment has changed. Not only am I more adamant about self-assessment on regular basis with my own teaching instruction, I am convinced that daily assessment was the key aspect of success for the students in my classroom. Waiting until the end of a unit to give an assessment will limit the information that is represented. The typical assessments at the end of a unit usually do not offer the necessary feedback to help students learn from their own learning (Brookhart & Nikto, 2011, p. 3). Instead of implementing the required assessment I have learned to look at "why I need the data, and what resources are available to collect the data“ (Chafouleas, Riley-Tillman, & Sugai, 2007, pg. 6) in an effort to help students gain more appropriate information for making adjustments in the learning process. The TEACCH method supports a daily assessment process that offers almost immediate feedback at the end of a workstation session (See artifact 1 below). Such feedback allows me to guide the students toward making adjustments/changes right away.
Another assessment that helped me make appropriate curriculum decisions was to have the students keep their writings in a journal. Using the writing journals (see Product 1 and 2), I was able to look back at previous writings and conference with the students about what areas had improved and what areas needed to be visited again. The 2nd grade student represented in these artifacts did not even know how to write all of his alphabet letters when I first started working with him at the beginning of the school year.
Product 1 Product 2
References
Brookart, S. M., & Nitko, A. J. (2011). Educational Assessment of Students. Boston, MA, USA: Ally & Bacon.
Chafouleas, Sandra, T. Chris. Riley-Tillman, and George M. Sugai. (2007). School-based Behavioral Assessment: Informing Intervention and Instruction. New York: Guilford.
Brookart, S. M., & Nitko, A. J. (2011). Educational Assessment of Students. Boston, MA, USA: Ally & Bacon.
Chafouleas, Sandra, T. Chris. Riley-Tillman, and George M. Sugai. (2007). School-based Behavioral Assessment: Informing Intervention and Instruction. New York: Guilford.