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Amy Wolff Module 9 16 March 2010

There were a lot of great ideas about assessment in this module. In this module there was discussion about using checklists, controlling cheating, and the different aspects of giving and grading tests. Even with so many great aspects the part that stood out to me the most was the two sections about assessing what a student says and does as well as what a student writes. Granted these sections are relatively small, however, the way I see it they are the most important stepping stones to the other aspects of assessment. So much can be discovered about students just by observing what they show outside of formal assessment. This is actually one of the skills I feel I will be able to successfully implement into my own teaching. I was one of those students that did well on paper but in all reality was having more difficulties than could be known from just that. Because of my past as a student struggling in different ways outside of the assessment I feel that I will do a good job on picking up on the signs with other students. Tests and worksheets can only show so much. It is what students show outside of the one word or letter answers that show how they feel and how they are actually doing in the class. It is easy to guess on those types of questions and do somewhat ok even when the knowledge is not there. It is far more difficult to fake knowledge when students must say out loud or write down their answers. I know many students have a difficult time with writing long answers or speaking out loud in front of classmates. I want to be able to see the bigger pictures with students, more than just the answers a paper provides for them.

Brandon Krull Module 9 Reflection March 9, 2010 This module covers an area that I do not have much experience. Assessment is a very important part of being an effective teacher. This module briefly discusses diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment and the importance of each. It also tells you how to go about these assessments by giving us valuable pointers such as how to formulate assessment and align it with our goals and objectives. As I read this module, I was able to recall a bunch of different assessment techniques that were given to us. I have used rubrics, checklists, portfolios, and journals in the past, but never really realize how valuable these types of assessment can be for a teacher throughout a grading period. All of the above are very important for a teacher to self-assess themselves. They can find particular learning preferences or styles that may not be obvious on the surface. Also they may find what the students are deriving from the class, and make adjustments to better suit the student. Rubrics, checklists, portfolios, and journals also gives the student responsibility in their learning. Teachers set up the guide lines about what is expected from the student, and the student can take it where ever they please as long as it fits the unit. I believe that parental involvement is vital for a student's education. When a parent is concerned about what their child learns, how they learn it, and how they perform, then the student will be more likely to succeed in classes. They will feel an extra push or obligation to perform well because they know that their parent cares. Setting up a functioning relationship with parents early on is vital. Maintaining this contact throughout the semester will help the parents become involved, and feel more comfortable confronting teachers about student performance in class.

Abby Suelflow Module 9 Reflection 4 March 2010 Much of what was discussed in this module has also been addressed in my Educational Assessment course that I am currently enrolled in. Assessment is a major component of education and it is extremely important for teachers to understand how to properly assess their students and analyze the data gathered from those assessments. As it was mentioned in the beginning of this module, it is no secret that the emphasis in schools is on receiving the highest grade rather than on learning the material. More often than not, students are tested over a simple recall of knowledge and are not challenged to really learn and understand the greater meaning behind the material. Reflecting back on my educational experiences, I have realized that our culture obsesses over being at the top; individuals often have a difficult time settling for anything less than perfect. As a society, we need to focus more on what the student can do as a result of the learning process instead of what information a student can recall from the lecture notes given last week. In order to motivate students to learn the material in a way that promotes life-long learning, it is important for educators to prepare assessments that are appropriate for the course and involve the use of higher order thinking skills. In my experiences, high school teachers have relied too heavily on the use of tests prepared by book companies that are not necessarily aligned with the instructional objectives and course content. How are students supposed to perform well on a test that has been prepared by a third party who has no clue what has been covered in class? As educators, we must put in the time and effort to construct exams that are a good measure of course content and produce valid and reliable results. In addition to preparing tests, teachers must also take the time to properly analyze the test results. As a student, I appreciate it when my professors take the time to analyze each test item in order to determine if there were questions that a majority of the students answered incorrectly. Professors will often admit that a specific question was ambiguous, worded incorrectly, or more than one response was correct. Without analyzing the results, the professor would likely have missed this error and students’ scores would have been lowered. In addition, teachers can use this analysis to assess and improve teaching effectiveness, assist in student learning, and assess and possible alter instructional strategies.

The last component of this module that I wanted to address was the importance of involving students in assessment by encouraging students to put together a portfolio. A portfolio enables students to see the progress they have made from the beginning of the year, and they have a collection of their best work at their fingertips. I remember putting together portfolios in my high school English classes and I still have these today. As I look back at my portfolios I put together, it is truly remarkable to see how much growth I developed in my writing skills over the course of a few years. Although they require a lot of work, I hope to use portfolios in my future classroom in order for students to see the progress they have made over the course of one year.

Kelsey Sammons Module 9

This module discusses student achievement, and how educators can best grade and report it. It talks a lot about the time consumption that is grading papers. I completely understand this, because I have seen my mom come home from her first grade classroom, and spend anywhere from 2 hours, to 2 days grading her students papers. It also builds up so quickly, that it can be really difficult to keep up with it. Because this is pretty common knowledge among educators, the book addresses the questions “what is worth grading, and “how should I grade it?” I think that the 3 general avenues that the book discusses for grading gives a general overview of what is important. These avenues are: what the student says, what the student does, and what the student writes. This encompasses everything from classroom discussions, watching the student’s participation closely, and using written exams. I believe that it is important to give the students the opportunity to grade themselves as well as to be graded. The book gave many examples of how this can be possible without giving the student too much power. I really appreciate the idea of using student portfolios, because I feel that it is very applicable in my discipline. English classes continuously ask students to write what they learn. A portfolio is a great way for them to store everything that they have created, and to give them the opportunity to look back at what they have done, and critique and monitor their improvement throughout the year. Their graded papers in the portfolios give them guidelines for what works, as well as what doesn’t work in their writing. The section on how to determine grades was enlightening. It showed that it is extremely important to factor in many contributions of the student before giving out that final grade. First, the educator must remember the guidelines that they gave at the beginning of the year. It is most important that the requirements that are being asked of the students are being followed, by both the teacher and the students. I find the fairest way to determine a grade is to use an overall point system. Every aspect of student involvement needs to be awarded a set of points, and these points need to be added and given fairly. The line “Build your grading policy around degrees of accomplishment rather than failure…” is a great thing for educators to remember. Students should be celebrated for the work that they have accomplished. Positive reinforcement, such as a good grade, is motivation for them to continue their good behavior.

Kevin McKinstry Module 9 February 28, 2010

Testing has always been something that has terrified me as a teacher. As a student I had a very hard time taking tests. I am a very bright individual but I can not prove so on a test. Unless that test is in a format such as essay or verbal. Multiple choice tests do not work for me as I am sure they do not work for some students that I will be teaching. Reading module 9 has shown me that there are more than enough methods to testing to incorporate into a curriculum. What I like about module 9 is that they give specific examples such as making tests shorter, doing more essay and multiple choice tests as well as using alternative methods to testing. I like the idea of alternative means to testing, the only problem I for-see is that they are harder to grade. Most of the tests that I have seen given are taken right out of the book and slightly altered for the class. This is very easy to tell for a student and that means a student can not focus in class and just read the book and pass the class. An idea such as this I do not agree with. What I propose is a teacher writing questions based on their classroom teaching, along with an emphasis on the book required for the class. Make it 50-50 and it will be easy to show that a student is either just reading the book or only listening in class. I think this is important because it incorporates different learning styles into the assessment strategy. Which is something that is often not done in today’s history classrooms. I can understand that some subjects such as math this would be hard to do for, but I am looking form a purely historical outlook. History is a subject where a lot of the information is not in the text, so it only makes sense to use a test that has a focus on the out of text material. Otherwise the students will not listen the alternative information. Also having the students keep their tests in a portfolio to show their development would greatly help their development through the year. Especially if a final test that takes answers off the previous tests would be made available.

Scott Morrison Module 9 2/27/09

Looking back at my experiences as a high school student, teachers were the enemy and tests were the weapons they attacked with. Now that I am going to be a teacher it is necessary to understand that a student might be thinking this way. The idea of testing is still a little scary to me, but now it has taken on a bit of a different light. I have evolved from the test-taker to the test-maker. As a teacher will honestly admit that I am dreading making up tests for my students. There are so many different purposes and techniques involved in testing that a teacher cannot expect to jump into the classroom and expect to be prepared. Teachers rely heavily on the information that is produced by a given test. Teachers do not just evaluate students but evaluate themselves and their teaching styles. This is a relatively new concept for me. Coming into this semester I thought that assessment were administered to evaluate student. However the main thing that a teacher must keep in mind is that assessments should assist in student learning. Among the critical techniques that go with this are those of validity and reliability. Validity as I understand it is the degree to which an inference for an assessment is adequate and accurate. Reliability, on the other hand, is the degree to which a test is consistently measuring what it is supposed to be measuring. If I were to create a test to measure reading comprehension for tenth graders, it would not be valid if I put a number of mathematical reasoning questions on it. Although this may be an over-exaggerated example, the items on a test must be congruent with the objectives outlined at the onset of a unit. And these test items must be consistent throughout the test. One way to ensure content validity and reliability is to construct a Table of Specifications. In a Table of Specifications each test item must match up with a specific objective. I would definitely like to become more familiar with applying Tables of Specification to my tests. It seems relatively easy to do and will help me understand where a student is excelling and where he/she is struggling. While keeping validity and reliability in mind, a teacher must also understand the different types of assessment at their disposal. These include diagnostic tests, formative tests, and summative tests. Using a diagnostic test is striking to me. I believe that diagnostic tests are very important in determining where a student‘s level on understanding currently stands. Pre-assessments not only help teachers determine what they need to teach, but help them make informed decisions in a student’s best interest. Throughout this spring I am helping to coach a high school baseball team. I am planning on giving the pitchers a pre-assessment to show me what they already know and what I need to teach them. Looking at the “Types of Assessment Items” throughout the module I could not help but notice that I have experienced most of these variations at one point or another. There were a number of these types of items that I found interesting however. The one type of assessment item that I can see myself using most is essay. For a language arts and/or writing teacher it is necessary to measure both composition and comprehension. The definite advantage in essay testing is that it asks a student to take relevant information and apply it using a higher mental process. The major downfall, however, is the fact that essay items are subjectively graded. This means that I can look at one student’s response and give it an “A”, but look at another student’s response, one that answered very similarly to the first student, and give it a “C”. Another disadvantage is that essay items take a significant amount of time to grade. As a student I enjoyed essay tests the most. My test anxiety was seemingly eliminated when I took one. The same may not apply to one of my students. My challenge is to employ different testing techniques so that I can make sure that the evaluations I make can benefit each student. I am not proposing that this will be easy. I am only hoping that I can continually improve.

Kellen Moser Module 9 Reflection 02/28/10 The beginning of this chapter was very familiar to me. It talked about the same concepts that we have been talking about in another class of mine, Measurement and Assessment. It was nice to see two completely different classes being intertwined together. This makes me think of how we have been talking about mixing to subjects together with PBL. Although this is a different situation than what we have been talking about, I see how it would help a student to make connections. I was able to pick up on the material about validity, reliability, measurement and assessment, etc., much easier, because I had already been introduced to the material. However, I do find myself asking the same question: how do I find the time. I think that it is just something I will get better at the more that I do. Right now, it seems like nearly an impossibility to find time to make sure my tests are valid and reliable and I'm assessing in diagnostic, formative, and summative ways. I think it is something that will come with experience. An important point in this chapter, for me, was student involvement in assessment. I can probably count the number of times in my K-12 education that I was involved in the assessment in my class. In most cases, it was zero. By giving students an input, like we are doing in our class, it gives them some more control over their education. The teacher is still educating the student, but they are giving the student some say in how. This puts teachers and students on the same page as to how the student will be assessed. Now, their should be much less confusion on what is to be expected of the student. I think that writing portfolios are a great way to do this. Students know that they have to write, but they are able to select what writing is entered into the porfolio. They have the control on what is graded. I'm sure I will have some sort of portfolio writing done in my class. I just have to find the best way to set it up. I thought that the types of assessment items seemed a little old-fashioned. They all seemed like traditional ways of teaching, for the most part. I think that some of these ideas could be great, but need to be tweeked a bit. For English, I liked the "completion statement" assessment. I think that I should be able to put some sort of statement out there, and my students should be able to either finish the statement or be able to say why they agree or disagree with that statement. These could be great writing prompts for my students. Also, you give them several, so they have some choice. Also, I think that performance assessment is something that needs to be seen more in classrooms. It is a tough concept to incorporate, but I think that if teachers could use more of it, then we would see some students shine, when usually they wouldn't. Some people are better at "doing" things as opposed to writing them out or taking a test on it. If you just let them show you how to do it, they might be able to do a better job. It's like people that need to do hands-on experiments in science. They aren't as good as reciting what the book says, but give them the tools and they can show you how to do it. Why don't we give kids the option to test this way (especially in Science class)? Finally, I found the dealing with an irate parent section helpful. I think it is something that I won't truly know how to handle until it actually happens. I don't think that teachers are ever really prepared for that moment until it actually happens. This laid out some basic guidelines that seem to be helpful for starters.

Rob Cunningham Modulo 8 This modulo was a fairly common sense modulo pertaining to media in the classroom. I think that it was very helpful to have the laws and regulations pertaining to free use and public domain in the module because I think that many teachers are not fully aware of the restrictions that are on the use of certain media. I found it very interesting, at least with programming, that there is a 45 day period from the original air date that the teacher can show the program to the class before they must obtain permission from the originator. When I was reading this websites like YouTube.com and Hulu.com came into my mind because of the availability of television programming on the internet if that the rules are more relaxed now than they used to be or if those sites pertain to only the personal viewing of these shows, or do they somehow become part of the public domain and are available to be used in presentations and in front of large audiences. I do, however, feel that this book is outdated because it is missing, in my opinion, a lot of detail in the media section of this book. In this book I felt that the book completely underestimated the power of the internet. The book barely mentions about the searching power that the internet has given both teachers and students. The vast amount of knowledge at our fingertips is astounding. With this power, however, is an even greater risk of plagiarism and cheating in academia is at an all time high. Also, trusting different sites on the internet is a big problem. Since much of the internet is unregulated, many people can write their own opinions, thoughts, and ideas without having to worry about whether they are valid arguments or not. If students are not educated in what to look for in a website, or the biases that can be present in a site, the students may use highly unreliable resources in their work. I did like the part of the module that dealt with the planning and partaking of field trips. I think that field trips can be a great way for students to get out of a typical learning environment and experience in real life where the material they are learning can be put into good use. Especially in mathematics students will ask “When am I ever going to use this?” which sometimes is a very difficult answer to come up with. However, if you bring students out to a workplace where your field is in use the students will be able see the importance of a topic in their lives. I liked how the book emphasized the planning process when it comes to a field trip. I once took a field trip to the Air and Space Museum for my Calculus class to learn about velocity, acceleration, and other functions and the relation between them and the development of air planes. Well, the communication between our teacher and the museum must have been confused because they talked mostly about the cost of the production of the plane. I guess in the email our teacher asked them to talk about the numbers associated with the planes, and that was (understandably) up for interpretation. In essence we as students gained only one thing out of the trip, a day not confined in the high school, which was both a blessing and a considerable waste of our time. I know from experience how field trips must be carefully planned out, otherwise disaster may arise and it would be a day away from learning when it was designed for optimum learning.

Jamie Wickham 3-3-10 Module 9 After today’s discussion on the conceptual change model, I found one quote from module 9 to be especially powerful. It states that “if students are to progress in their understanding of their own thinking (metacognition) and in their intellectual development, then they must receive instruction and guidance in how to become more responsible for their own learning” (330). I found this thought to be refreshing amid a chapter full of information regarding assessing and reporting student achievement. I believe that much of my schooling took place in an environment that was ruled by a Behaviorist philosophy, and for that reason I thought that I was simply to respond to the teacher in the way they had expected and that would earn me the grades I needed to go where I wanted to go. It had nothing to do me taking an active role in my learning. Our discussion about the conceptual change model, and then information in this chapter regarding the various aspects that must be present in effective assessment, have reaffirmed for me the idea that true knowledge can only come about when a student is encouraged to challenge their preconceptions and participate in learning activities that are meaningful to them. If this takes place, then the assessment that follows can be an accurate portrayal of a student’s ability. I particularly like the idea of student of using student portfolios, because I believe this is one means of assessment for which the student was an active participant. Whichever category the portfolio falls into (selected works, longitudinal or growth, or passport or career), it gives the student the ability to compile of sample of their work that demonstrates their abilities in a variety of ways. Most importantly, the need for self-assessment and self-reflections are built into the process of creating the portfolio. The text does state that issues arise concerning the validity and reliability of evaluation of portfolios, and while I believe this is probably a very important concern, I think that if teachers make the expectations well known and evaluate each students work individually, the possibility for authentic performance assessment is there. One final aspect of module nine that I found to be of interest personally regards grading. The beginning of the module stated that when teaching, “Your summative evaluation of a student’s achievement and any other final judgment made by you about a student can have an impact upon psychological and intellectual development of that student” (328). This was emphasized when discussing recording teacher observations and judgments, and I think it’s important that all teachers recognize the impact that their assessment can have on a student’s academic future. No student is perfect, nor is any teacher, and everyone is going to have a bad day during which they just are not getting along. It is important that these are not the occasions during which a teacher chooses to make recorded judgments, because they will not be reflective of a student’s true capability. It is necessary to only include information that is truly representative of a student. This is also a reason for which criterion-referenced grading is preferably over norm-referenced grading. For much of my education, especially during my undergraduate years, I was in classrooms where teachers graded on a curve, and unfortunately this is not always a true representation of what someone is truly capable of. It shows what they were capable of in comparison to others for that particular assessment. Assessments will follow a student long after they have completed their formal schooling, therefore making it absolutely necessary that all measures are taken to ensure the student is not only taking part in meaningful learning, but that there learning is properly represented.

Carrie Brooks SEED 400 Module 9 Reflection 11 March 2010 Contrary to popular belief, academic assessment involves more than deciding whether a student demonstrates “A,” “B,” “C,” “D,” or “F” quality work. Module 9 discusses the complexities involved in school assessments. One important statement that the book points out, deals with the fact that grading has made school more about what the student can //recall//, rather than what the students can actually //do//. This is the case mostly because of the heavy emphasis on receiving good grades. Module 9 lays out different ideas that teachers can use in order to create a more well-balanced and effective assessment. Assessments have a variety of purposes. Beyond grading students, assessments assist in student learning, identify student strengths and weaknesses, help determine the effectiveness of instructional strategies and curriculum, assist in decision-making for student’s future, and to provide data to communicate with student’s families. With the preceding purposes, it is easy to see that effective assessment will benefit the student, the teacher, and the student’s family. In order to have the most effective assessment, teachers must use a variety of assessment techniques at different points in instruction. Diagnostic assessment occurs before instruction. By administering a pre-test to the class, the teacher can determine where the student’s skill levels begin, so the teacher can plan his/her first lesson plans around the student’s current levels. Once instruction begins, formative assessment occurs during the educational process. Through formative assessment, the teacher typically observes the student’s reactions to the material in order to determine whether or not the students understand the material. After instruction, teachers should administer summative assessments in order to determine the proficiency level that the students have achieved. During all steps of assessment, it is important that teachers record their findings. For example, the book discusses that teachers should record observations. By recording observations, the teacher has a better record of the students’ progress and habits, rather than simply relying on the letter grade to decide the student’s progress. By recording observations, teachers can back up the letter grade that the student earns. If the student or his/her parents have questions or qualms with the letter grade, the teacher can rely on his/her observation records in order to justify the grade. Teachers will typically inevitably meet with the student’s parents/guardian, and it should be as pleasant as possible. The families typically come to parent/teacher conferences or even to special meetings. In these conferences, it is important to remain professional and positive. Teachers must remember that they represent the school and the quality of education that the students are receiving. Standardized tests are another way of demonstrating the quality of education. I believe that America’s schools are relying too much on standardized testing. Luckily, Spanish does not have standardized tests. Eventually, standardized tests of world languages may be required, but for now, I will feel more at ease in creating my lesson plans around the school’s curriculum and around the material that I feel is the most important. I can also use more performance-based assessments, rather than multiple choice and other lower-level cognitive tasks. Performance-based assessments include oral exams, skits, essays, and conversations. The students typically enjoy such activities, therefore gaining more from the experience. The more that the students can actually use the Spanish language in a realistic context, the more comfortable they become with the language. Using performance-based assessments encourage realistic settings, which improve the students’ use of the language. In my future career, I will remember the multiple purposes of assessment, and I will utilize the multiple forms as well.

Emily Schaefer Module 9 March 7, 2010 I especially liked this module because it covered assessing students, an area of teaching in which I have little experience. One overarching point that I thought was especially important was the fact that teachers need to continually assess their students every day, using a variety of assessment instruments. Using multiple types of assessments allows an instructor to realize student weaknesses and strengths, and gives the student a fair chance to demonstrate what they’ve learned. I appreciated the inclusion of the three avenues of student assessment—what the student says (a child’s contribution to class discussions), what the student does (a student’s performance), and what the student writes (as shown with homework assignments, tests, etc.) This is helpful for teachers to know they are covering different bases and allowing students to show their learning in several ways. From experience, I know that in many classrooms an emphasis is put on what a student writes, and grades depend heavily on tests, homework, and projects. With this in mind, I thought the inclusion of different ideas to assess what a student says and does, such as using observation forms and checklists, was an important point. Instead of grading papers, the instructor can listen and observe to assess students. In the section about grading, I liked several points made by the text. I appreciated the suggestions for determining grades and what to do in the case of exceptions. For example, if one student misses a day and therefore misses an assignment, the teacher can offset these types of zeros by allowing the students to drop their lowest grade. Another point the text made was that the instructor needs to be clear about his or her policies for grading late work to both students and parents. When due dates have been set, late assignments should receive reduced or no credit. The text also points out that life happens. A teaching professional must consider all the different aspects of a student’s situation, and therefore should make situational decisions about late work when necessary. One option might be to allow for a second chance through make-up work of extra credit. I also had concerns about forming and administering tests, and I am glad this module touched on this aspect of teaching. The book mentions that the best time to prepare a draft of test items is right after forming objectives for the unit, which aligns with the UbD model we have studied. I will definitely use this strategy in the classroom. Another important point the book made about testing is that short but frequent testing is a better approach than longer assessments given infrequently. Frequent assessment reduces student anxiety because less emphasis is given on one measurement. I think the most important point the book made to me in my personal situation is that preparing and writing good assessments takes time, practice, study, and reflection. This is a beneficial point to realize, because as a student I can understand that I might not be an efficient assessor in the beginning. I will work on and develop my skills over time, and treat each assessment as an opportunity to improve my skills.

Josh Freier Module 9 3/13/10 “Teaching and learning are reciprocal processes that depend on and affect each other. Thus, the assessment component deals with how well the students are learning and how well the teacher is teaching.” I think this sums up the point of assessment quite well. Assessment is obviously a way to see how well the student is learning. But it isn’t as simple as that. I suppose that’s because I’m used to taking tests, and not giving them. A student is given what he needs to know, and the only thing he has to worry about is knowing and being able to do what he is supposed. The teacher, on the other hand, has to first come up with what must be learned, must create a way to learn it, and then must create the best way to assess if said knowledge has been learned. On the teacher’s side, assessment isn’t just a test at the end of a section, it is connected to and encompasses everything. The more I think about possible assessments for this class and in my internship, the more I see the UbD process as being a little more natural. When designing an assessment, I need to know exactly what I want my students to learn and be able to do, as well as knowing the best way to test that knowledge. Going from expectations to assessment seems like the most logical way to do this. The top quote also points out that assessment doesn’t only show student performance, but also the teacher’s. Assessment shows how well students understand a topic and thus, normally, how well an instructor is teaching that subject. I’ve just finished giving the assessment for one of my lessons in my internship, and immediately upon looking over the results, I can tell which things I got across to them really well, and which things I should have emphasized better. Assessment is a tool to tell not only how well the students are doing, but also how well the teacher is doing, and thus I really need to make sure I pay attention to my assessments for both those parts, and not just the students’ performance. This module discusses the different types of assessments: diagnostic, formative, and summative. Although many people associate tests with assessment, just as assessment is not only for the students’ benefit but also for the teacher’s, so does assessment need to be taken not only at the end. I think assessment takes place at all times during instruction, in one form or another, and a teacher needs to be aware of all the various ways in which you can assess how well a student is comprehending the material. This module also lists and discusses several different kinds of assessment, which I thought was helpful. They discussed both the strengths and weaknesses of the different types, as well as discussing tips for using them. One thing I think is important when thinking about assessment is that assessment isn’t a bar you set for your students, stating that if they make they are proficient, and if they don’t, they’re not. Assessment should be used as a gauge, to see where a student is developmental and how best you can help him. It isn’t just pass/fail. Even a student who gets A’s without even trying isn’t being taught right. He’s just wasting his time if he’s not being challenged and provoked to grow intellectually and personally. A student who is failing should not just be labeled inadequate. It is the teacher’s job to use the assessments he takes to help tailor his instruction to help students better reach their potential.

Tyler Maxwell March 16, 2010 Module 9

Module 9 answers the main question, “how well?” This is not only how well students are learning, but also how well the teachers are teaching the material. Assessment of student learning and understanding is the main goal of this module. It talks about areas such as involving students in the assessment process and keeping them informed of their progress to maintaining accurate and clear records of the assessment results. This module reminds me, especially of my high school math classes, about how many state assessments we needed to take. For the most part, we had an assessment every Friday to see how well we learned the material being taught to us during the week. If some of the class struggled on the assessment, our teacher would know what she would need to review to make sure we knew what was being taught before we moved on. If we all scored well on the assessment, we would simply move on and cover different material. As a math teacher, it is hard to get creative with your assessments, or even vary them slightly. The hardest part about math assessments I think will be trying to find out where you lost a student if they have some of an answer right. You will need to go back and check every part of their work and see where they begin to go off track. When and if you find the spot where they got off track, you need to help them retrace their steps, help them correct the problem, and work towards the correct answer. I think assessments are very important, especially in math. By finding out what your students are picking up quickly and what they might be having trouble with, you as the teacher can avoid wasting time by teaching the students things that they already know. I particularly like the numerous examples they show in the book as well as showing an example of a grading rubric. Even though not many of the examples, if any, relate to math, it is nice to have the reference for teachers in other fields to look back on.

Jeff Sebern Module 9 Reflection March 15, 2009

Of the many reasons for assessment, perhaps the most important reason is to assist in the learning process. So many times teachers think of assessment as only a tool to find out if the student understands the content. The difference between recalling past knowledge and using assessment as a teaching tool is in using the past knowledge to create new meaning. Providing real-life examples and applications of past knowledge in an assessment format can be very helpful. In the science world this is the heart of the subject matter: making new discoveries for oneself. Thinking of assessment as a continuous process is a good principle to follow because when we think of learning as a building of knowledge, we realize that all learning comes from expanding prior knowledge. This continuous process involves keeping up to date with new discoveries and providing background information and applications to current events. In science, keeping up to date with your area of study can help to share new discoveries and show what scientific advances or discoveries might be in the future. Using assessment tools that cover multiple learning styles and modalities are critical for a teacher to gain complete understanding of the knowledge each student has gained. Assessing what a student says, does, and writes is also important to developing communicative skills and opens the three avenues of student learning. Keeping students engaged in activities in each of these avenues is an important way of assessing student learning and is an effective outline for assessment. In a science classroom, discussion, labs, and lab reports are three examples of testing what a student says, does, and writes. In this way we can also progress students from lower level thinking skills to higher level thinking skills which force students to apply knowledge and create new ideas about the new material. In today’s world of standardized tests it is important to prepare students for these tests while also performing one’s own assessments that advance students to higher order thinking skills. Standardized tests tend to assess the ability to recall past knowledge without applying it and using more advanced skills like problem-solving and critical thinking. This is why, as teachers, we must always remember that content knowledge and application of knowledge are both very important and that assessment should therefore pertain to both the content and its applications.

Thomas Gluf Module 9

There were several aspects about module 9 which I like. The first was the section on cheating, which I found very interesting. This is one part of teaching that you know it is out there, but I feel gets put towards the way side. The module hit some very good points that some students will go to great lengths to cheat. The students are becoming very ingenious of using technology to help cheat. It would seem to me important, to an extent, to be aware of ways students cheat and keep it in the back of your mind. Then it gave some helpful hints as to prevent cheating, very easy and non harmful ways to accomplish this. Another part of the module was the all the different kinds of assessments that you can use. I did find these useful for the most part. However one kind of assessment seemed difficult to achieve for multiple disciplines. That was the performance based tests. In my area, history, would seem to be challenging to be able to make a performance based test. Maybe I missed something in the reading, but I could not think of something for this type of assessment. This is a great alternative way to assess knowledge and learning, but is another thing to implement this for all disciplines.

For the most part I thought the module was very indepth with all the assessments and just about everything that has to do with them, giving all the advantages and disadvantages of each assessment. One complaint about the module was the part about parent involvement. This seemed to come out of no where, considering 97% of the module was about assessments. Then it just throws in parental involvement. The module had good basic tips for working with parents. It just seemed out of place.

Amber Hegge Module 9

I found this chapter to be very insightful. One of the keys to becoming a great teacher is mastering assessment. Using assessment as a tool can help a teacher know how well the students are learning, but also it can provide clues as to how effective different teaching methods are, and where a teacher can improve. I found the different forms of testing advantages and disadvantages very interesting. As a student I have my own preferences as to which type of testing I think I am best at, which may be a different outlook than that of my peers. Because of this I feel that tests utilizing a variety of questions is often most efficient. However obviously certain types of assessment do not work for all disciplines. For example essay questions would not be all too popular on a math test. Another aspect of the chapter that drew my attention was the idea that teachers should be flexible. I have missed a ton of school over the past 3 years due to basketball and track. I have dealt with teachers who range from extremely understanding to downright hostile over that amount of time. As a student –athlete, I don’t expect a teacher to bend over backwards to accommodate me. I realize this is not their job. However it is very nice when a teacher is flexible with due dates, provides outside class help, and does not punish a person for missing class. I feel that in most cases a teacher needs to look at the individual circumstances with each student in regards to this flexibility. I feel that if a student has earned a good reputation for handing in assignments etc. this should be worth something. Sometimes teachers are so caught up in abiding specifically by strict rules, that it seems that the goal isn’t even to help students learn anymore. The last aspect that I found extremely important in this chapter was parent teacher conferences. It seems to me that such meetings can be very vital to a teachers success. The recommendations of being well prepared, having materials for the parent to look at, and not comparing one student to other students all seem like good practices to follow. Much of being a successful teacher to me revolves around ones social skills. Yes, one needs to be able to effectively teach in the classroom, evaluate students, etc, but if a teacher does not handle themselves well around peers, and parents, their time at the school could likely be short lived. Parents want to know that their child is receiving the best education possible, and that their tax dollars are being well spent. This seems vital in being an effective teacher.

Rob Cunningham Modulo 9

Overall this was a very interesting modulo section to read. The initial parts of the modulo deal with student achievement and how students should be assessed and graded throughout the school year. I found it very interesting when the book began to talk about portfolios. According to the text there are a few different types of student portfolios. The first kind is a selected portfolio where the students keep the pieces of work that the teacher feels is important to the display the students achievements up until that point. A second type of portfolio is a longitudinal portfolio where students start with work from the beginning of the year and keep adding pieces of work to the portfolio throughout the duration of the year. The final type that was discussed was the career portfolio where pieces of work travel with the student from year to year in school, so they can see the progress they have made in their entire academic life. I believe that each of these may of a unique purpose in the prolonging of academic achievement. The first thing that came to my mind is I was wondering if students would actually use these as tools to see the growth of themselves, regardless of what specific type of portfolio was used. I have a feeling that most students would not look at each piece of work in the portfolio to try and better themselves in the academic world. I can say this from experience. When I was in the seventh grade, as the year ended we were to construct a portfolio of some of our best work throughout the semester, so that it could be given to the eighth grade teachers at our school so they could get an idea about what kind of students we were. I remember putting no effort into the selection of my articles of the my portfolio. I, like most of my classmates, decided to select the pieces of homework that simply had the highest scores, regardless of what it was. I only wanted to show the my future teacher how bright I was and did not want to show any evidence of struggling in my work. I fear then that this portfolio really served no purpose to me or to my future teachers. I can see where these portfolios could be beneficial to some disciplines like language arts or a foreign language, but I do not feel that it would be beneficial if used in the mathematics world. One other part of the modulo that was discussed was about the interaction with parents, especially in a parent-teacher conference type of setting. I feel like this is a very integral part to the teaching experience. I personally feel that we as student teachers need to experience what it is like interacting with parents when it comes to their child’s grades. From talking with my high school teachers they mention that there are a couple of problems with the open forum parent teacher conference way for parents to come some night during the week to discuss student grades. They said that first those parents whose child needs the most help often do not show up to the conference, or do not care about their students achievement. Either this is the case, or else the parents view their child in the right and you as an educator are wrong, and that it is your fault why the student is doing poorly in school. I just feel that these can be very awkward situations for any person, let alone a young inexperienced educator like ourselves. I wish there was a way for those of us in the student teaching program had more interaction with the parents so we know how to deal with parent problems because I think it would be very hard to control myself in some of the conflicting times that may occur with parents. This is a time, I believe, where teachers will either sink or swim when dealing with parents, and that there is no real middle ground. Either they can handle working with parents, or else they will get bullied by the parent. I hope that I have the internal strength to be a swimmer, when it comes to dealing with parents.

Rita Buschbacher Module 9 SEED 400 3/24/10 Module 9 is mostly about how to prepare, design, and administer tests and assessments and also about how to deal with parents in certain situations. I found the sections on assessment the most interesting. I am looking for other ways to test mathematics that will be challenging enough and a different way for the students to show their knowledge of the material. The principles of assessment, including assisting in student learning, identifying strengths and weaknesses of the student, and providing data that will assist in the decision making about a student’s future, are all good to keep in mind when creating assessment. After reading through the rest of the purposes of assessment, I feel that the most important principle is to assess and improve the teaching effectiveness. I am currently experiencing a math professor that continues to teach the way he does regardless of the large part of the class that is not passing. It is very frustrating to see myself and my peers struggling when I know just a simple change to the way he teaches would be very affective. Grades may reflect how well the teacher is covering the material. If students are not performing up to standards then the teacher should look back at what they are doing as well to see if they are creating the problem. The other part of the assessment sections is the one on cheating. I believe that cheating is a major problem in our schools today. I know many people who have cheated in classes and math class especially since calculators are often allowed and it is easy to program in whatever you want. The text suggests ways to prevent cheating without the students actually realizing that that is what you’re doing. For instance, having tests frequently or not allowing a single test to count for that much will reduce the test anxiety and the pressure that can stimulate cheating. This is an easy way to test the students knowledge at more intervals and unknowing to the students reduces the likelihood of cheating. The portions of the text that talk about what to do with angry or irate parents is helpful when one would find themselves in a bad or uncomfortable situation with a parent. Staying focused on their students and settling their needs, regardless of how busy you may be, is the main goal at the time. To sum up the parent section the sentence, “Parents expect you to be the capable professional who knows what to do and is doing it,” describes the attitude of a parent who approaches the teacher. Through experience with dealing with parents I believe that this process will become easier, but the first time an angry parent comes into my classroom will be a challenge for me.

Cody Miller Module 9 Reflection March 9 2010

This module covers an area that I do not have much experience. Assessment is a very important skill that a teacher needs to have. The module incorporates diagnostic, authentic, summative, and formative assessment. The module also describes the methods by which parents can be involved in the education of their children. As I read this chapter I thought back to the methods my high school teachers used. I understand the time and effort it takes to construct a thoughtful checklist, rubric, exam, or any other type of assessment tool. In high school and college it bothers me when a teacher simply writes “good job” or “way to go” on a written paper. I want the teacher to spend the same amount of professional attention on my paper as I did. Parental involvement is essential for student success. When parents are involved in a student’s schoolwork it will increase the likelihood of the student’s success. Students will put forth more effort if they know there parents care about their schoolwork. I think seeking parental involvement within the classroom is important to the success of the students. Getting parents involved in the classroom will help parents encourage their children to perform well in school. Forming a relationship with student’s parents will raise student scores as well as make it easier to discuss student performance with the parents.

Andy Cahalan Module 9 Reflection

Assessment is a very important part of teaching. Not only is it important to give assessements, it is imporant to know how to give a good assessment. There have been times where I have felt like the assessement is not a good one. Sometimes that is because they are too easy, and sometimes they are confusing. An important part of assessing is knowing when to assess. There are three different types of assessments. Diagnostic assessment is assessing the students knowledge prior to the lesson. Formative assessment is assessing during a lesson. I think this is very important because you can gauge how well your lesson is going while you are teaching it so that at the end it isnt a surprise if the students didt grasp what you were trying to teach them. And lastly there is Summative assessment. This is the assessment that most people focus on. It gauges what the students has learned at the end of the lesson. It is very imporant to conduct all three assessments not just the summaticve assessement.