Multiple Methods of Assessment - Volante

It is one thing to give a test to measure the learning that has occurred, but if the test is not representative of what and how the student is learning, it is inefficient and invalid. Traditionally, we have used what we were exposed to as students, but if we continue to rely on what we know without upgrading our methods with our research, then our research is pointless. Why do research if not to improve our results by applying it?

I believe rummaging through the curriculum guides would be a worthwhile experience for most teachers regardless of years of experience. It is easy to get into a routine by repeating the sheets and tests of yesteryear. The challenge is to continually search for other ways of reaching our students. We need to know them. What works for one group, may be ineffective with another. During my student teaching experience, I was a bit shocked that my cooperating teacher was using a very old program with her students. I thought surely there was something more modern she could be using. She explained to me that she had all the modern stuff and that this program was the one her students best responded to. Lesson learned. I have always remembered that the method I use is based as much on who my students are and what they need as it is on what my style and knowledge tell me to use.

The curriculum guides provide a multitude of assessment tools to be selected by the classroom teacher. If we go back from time to time and become familiar with them, we are expanding our own repertoire as well as providing more opportunity for students to demonstrate their learning.

When designing an assessment tool, we need to be aware of the skills we are measuring - not only the content. As a new teacher, a colleague once told me, "Remember, you are teaching the child - not the curriculum." It has always stuck with me and the content becomes secondary to the person when you realize that it doesn"t really matter what year a historical event occurred, but it does matter that a student has the necessary skills to find the year.

In summary, we need to be sure that what and how we are assessing reflects what the student needs to grow.

15 Fixes for Broken Grades - a Ken O'Connor Webinar

In my second Ken O'Connor webinar, 15 Fixes for Broken Grades, I believe I was able to confirm that much of what I already believe and practice in my own classroom is sound. I have questioned the way I teach, the way I pose questions, the way I assess and the way I report student achievement. I have summarized the essential learning outcomes from the various curricula I teach and students are aware of what and how they are learning as we explore the content. It is not about memorizing facts, but about understanding process. Science and Social Studies courses are not about facts and figures, but about skills needed to be that lifelong learner we are trying to help emerge.

This has led me to rethink not only how I teach, but what I teach as well. A research project on Ancient Egypt, for example, is not about knowing which date is associated to which specific event, but in leading the student to understanding the impact past events have had on the world. When students learn that some children were denied an education based on race or gender, they may appreciate the fact that they have infinite access to knowledge in a time and a place that values learning.

It's interesting that I felt much more involved in this second webinar by Ken O'Connor. Much of the information shared in the session was similar or repeated from the first one I viewed. This confirms for me, that if I understand more thoroughly a second or third time around, why would my students be any different? Although some students understand things the first time around, most need that repetition in order to help it sink in.

Many teachers are still not clear on the difference between formative and summative assessment. The example noted above shows how the formative part of learning is essential in allowing the student to gain the knowledge and comprehension required to be able to advance to synthesizing information received. Once they have had the opportunity to process the information (content) and the way they learn (metacognition), the student is an active participant in his or her learning because he or she is aware of the learning that is taking place. At this point, summative assessment can accurately evaluate that learning has occurred and to what extent.

I am anxious to continue going through my notes in order to allow my own learning to sink in about evaluation. I am already looking forward to putting into practice much of what I agree with from this webinar. More to follow.

Damian Cooper: Talk About Assessment

I had the privilege of attending the Damian Cooper seminar today. It was engaging, fun and enlightening. There are many things I already knew; but knowing them and putting them into practice are two different things. Several aspects of his presentation made me think about the way I work with my students in my classroom and that some of them need to change in order to maximize their success as independent learners.

Assessment is our school goal for the year and I have really taken it to heart. I know what I want my formative and summative assessment to look like. Now, when I plan my projects and courses, having this assesment in mind will be what allows me to structure my units purposefully. Some of the ideas shared today come to mind when I consider these points about assessment.

1. Work With the End in Mind: My friend, Syd, has been telling me this for years and I have always had the intention of working this way, although intentions and reality do not always agree. Now that I can better imagine what I want it to look like in my classroom, I know how to go about planning it.

2. Tiered Assessment: We want all students to demonstrate proficiency of essential tasks at or above grade level independently. I love this definition because it is a reminder of our ultimate goal. Tiered assessment allows us to ensure we are reaching all students where they are at, and give them the challenge they need individually to proceed to the next level of their own learning. This requires a design that will give them all the guidelines they require to do so.

- One for students who are able to follow guidelines given and attain learning goals.

- One for students who are intrinsically motivated. They have fewer guidelines because these students are able to create their own challenge and take ownership of their learning. They simply need to be given their wings.

- Finally, one for students who need the motivation to complete the work, or who struggle with the required tasks. These students need more detailled how-to guidelines. This will help break down the task into manageable parts so that they will be able to succeed.

3. End of Unit Assessment: Another great project that was shared today was the End of Unit Assessment. This hands-on assessment measures success by the student's ability to use the skills focused on during the course, which includes a personal reflection that confirms learning. This will be one of my goals for my future units in several subjects.

The day held many Aha! moments for me. Overall, I think that I am on the right track. I have things to learn and put into practice to ensure that I am assigning things for a reason and that my evaluations are measuring something worthwhile. I loved the way Cooper summarized this idea. "I won't accept crap, therefore, I cannot assign crap." In other words, if the student's success is my goal, then I want to be sure that the assignments I choose are also worthy of their time.

I am anxious to continue to grow in this area, because as I do, so do my students.

Feuille résumé pour l'évaluation d'un élève

Pendant son Webinar, Ken O'Connor a partagé une feuille d'évaluation employée par un enseignant. J'ai joué avec cette idée et j'ai créé une feuille d'évaluation qui donne l'aperçu globale d'un élève.

Sur cette feuille, il y a de la place pour 10 preuves par sujet et les domaines d'évaluation de notre bulletin pour chaque sujet sont inclus. Ceci me donne un aperçu de ce qui a été évalué ainsi que les domaines qui n'ont pas reçu assez d'attention.

Je vois l'image de l'élève instantanément donc, s'il y a un problème, il n'est pas perdu dans une feuille bourrée des données des autres. Je l'ai placé en attachement dans ma page d'évaluation. Je l'attache ici aussi.

Portrait de l'élève

Les blogues dans la salle de classe

Cette année, j'ai appris à utiliser un blogue. Au début, le fonctionnement me débordait et j'en avais un peu peur. Cependant, j'ai persisté et je suis rendu au point maintenant où chaque élève de ma classe a un blogue académique personnel. Il se sont bien amusés à faire le design de leur blogue et à ajouter des widgets de leurs choix. Il y a certaines attentes de ma part, mais autre que cela, le blogue est à eux. Ils savent que c'est un blogue académique et que les discussions sociales et autre n'ont pas de place ici. S'ils veulent jouer de cette façon avec un blogue, ils peuvent se créer un blogue personnel, qui n'est pas lié à la salle de classe.

On peut y ajouter tous les sujets et l'élève a le contrôle complet de son blogue. Ils doivent donner permission aux autres de visionner leur blogue - la seule exception étant moi, puisque je doit avoir accès afin de lire, évaluer et commenter leurs articles et projets.

Cette semaine, on les a créé et on a découvert quelques problèmes. En jouant avec les paramètres un peu, on a trouvé toutes les solutions afin d'avoir un plan de fonctionnement en place pour bien commencer avec cet outil d'organisation et de création de documents académiques qui font preuve de la réflexion de chaque élève.

La réaction de mes élèves a été très positive jusqu'à ce point et j'ai hâte de vraiment embarquer la semaine prochaine.

Maintenant que je me sens très confortable avec les paramètres et le fonctionnement du blogue, je vais écrire des feuilles de route pour la création et l'établissement du blogue afin de rendre l'enseignement de cette première étape plus efficace dans les années à venir. Je les placerai dans ma page d'organisation une fois qu'elles seront terminées.

Ken O'Connor - Webinar

Well, this was my first ever webinar (Ken O'Connor: How to Handle the Toughest Grading Challenges to Keep the Focus on Student Achievement) and it's great to know that these kinds of opportunities are available for me in areas in which I am ready to grow. I know where I want to go in evaluation and when I hear well-respected experts in the field confirm what I believe are great principles and best practices, I am encouraged. I now feel that I am going in the right direction!

The high points of this for me (although I have not reviewed in any great depth yet) were the following:

The difference between compliance and responsibility. I have always known there is a difference, but I love the way he explains it. I have even told my students about it so that they might be aware of what their actions really mean. He believes that compliance is when students do their work because they feel they HAVE to. If they don't, something will happen: failing grade, phone call to parents... Responsibility, however, is when students do the work because they choose to do it. They want to learn, or they know that they will understand by completing the work...

His 5 beliefs or guiding principles were also a good reminder of what we are really doing here.

• We are working with children/teenagers NOT adults.
• Schools should be educative: everything should focus on supporting learning.
• Responsibility and compliance are NOT the same.
• Fairness is equity of opportunity NOT uniformity.
• We should strive to maximize intrinsic motivation and minimize extrinsic motivators.

We have a ways to go to get all staff members on the same page. We all want to go to the same place, but we don't all want to use the same mode of transportation. The unfortunate part is that some of the methods of transportation mislead you into believing that their final destination is the desired target. It's kind of like believing the ferryman will get you there if you pay him in advance.

I'm anxious to put some of these ideas into practice so that I can be an advocate for tested and proven strategies in evaluation.