Assessment is something I work with every day in job. Most of the assessment I work with is formative. I'm assessing what a student knows about a particular math skill at a particular point in time. This guides the instruction I provide. Summative assessment occurs on a less frequent basis. I think of summative assessments as typical end of unit, end of course assessments. These generally assess many skills where as formative assessments often involve only one or two skills.
The key to having assessments that are valid and useful lies in the creation of questions that truly require a response that reflects the level of knowledge attained. Sometimes it is okay to ask a question that requires a student to identify an object or concept while other times the student needs to be able to demonstrate their ability to perform a skill or communicate their deep level of understanding of the concept. Tying test questions to a tool such as Bloom's taxonomy is useful. I find that instruction that begins with the consideration of where a lesson activities/content falls in this hierarchy is almost always better than lessons that are more random in nature. In fact, I like to begin designing a lesson or activity with the questions I would use for assessment. This insures that I truly teach the content that is important.
As I think about my project, assessment is in my mind. Students need to understand and be able to correctly use math vocabulary. A project that requires them to do more than recognize a mathematical term would benefit my students. This week I began a project that originated with a question my students asked. They were curious about which ice cream treat is the most popular in the cafeteria. Furthermore, they want to know if there is a difference between grade levels. Each grade level I teach has a data unit. I could easily turn this into my project as we collect data, create graphs, and then analyze the graphs to answer the questions. Technology would be involved on several levels: we would vote for our favorite treat using activotes that connect to the Promethean Board, we would create excel spreadsheets to record our results, and we would create a presentation to share with the school that reveals the results. Each grade level from 1st to 5th would participate at any appropriate level.
I'm pondering on this one...
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Project Based Learning
Let me begin by saying that I love the concept and ideas behind Project Based Learning (PBL). The idea of students engaging in and completing a project that is their idea, using and learning new tools to complete the project and having a teacher act more as a guide than instructor...love every bit of it. I think back to my own children and the projects they worked on and completed. Whether it was a report on a Civil War battle for the social studies fair or a video public service announcement produced for other teenagers, the result was knowledge gained that has not been forgotten. I know PBL works.
The current standardized testing climate that has a grip on the public education system is not conducive to using PBL. The test drives the curriculum and more importantly, the pacing of the curriculum. PBL takes time...lots of time. Teachers do not have the luxury of having a classroom that is rich in PBL experiences. The teachers in my school who use this approach most often are the gifted education teachers. It is their job to cover the state mandated learning objectives in greater depth. Regular classroom teachers do not attempt many of these type projects until after the spring standardized test is administered. I've often heard teachers say they love the window of time after the tests and before the end of school because they can teach the way they want to teach. This is the time of year I see PBL implemented.
In my opinion, teachers need to be persuaded to use PBL and be reassured that their class test scores will not suffer. Teachers need to have time to review the notebooks, rubrics, and frameworks used to document the progress of students that other teachers have found successful. Teachers have to buy in to the idea that grades can be gathered from sources other than one final product. Collaborating with other teachers who are experienced in using PBL would be beneficial.
I would love to see schools where PBL was used on a regular basis; however, unless and until students and teachers are evaluated on more than a single test score I am doubtful it will happen.
The current standardized testing climate that has a grip on the public education system is not conducive to using PBL. The test drives the curriculum and more importantly, the pacing of the curriculum. PBL takes time...lots of time. Teachers do not have the luxury of having a classroom that is rich in PBL experiences. The teachers in my school who use this approach most often are the gifted education teachers. It is their job to cover the state mandated learning objectives in greater depth. Regular classroom teachers do not attempt many of these type projects until after the spring standardized test is administered. I've often heard teachers say they love the window of time after the tests and before the end of school because they can teach the way they want to teach. This is the time of year I see PBL implemented.
In my opinion, teachers need to be persuaded to use PBL and be reassured that their class test scores will not suffer. Teachers need to have time to review the notebooks, rubrics, and frameworks used to document the progress of students that other teachers have found successful. Teachers have to buy in to the idea that grades can be gathered from sources other than one final product. Collaborating with other teachers who are experienced in using PBL would be beneficial.
I would love to see schools where PBL was used on a regular basis; however, unless and until students and teachers are evaluated on more than a single test score I am doubtful it will happen.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
LOTI
The LOTI survey and results have been useful for making me reflect on my current teaching practices. My personal computer use was at a level 7 which doesn't surprise me. I am very comfortable doing most things on a computer.
My LOTI leve was 4a which is where I would have placed myself if I didn't have a survey to complete. My classes are structured differently than a regular classroom teacher. I see 5 classes of students each day: 1 first grade class, 1 second grade class, 1 third grade class, 1 fourth grade class, and 1 fifth grade class for 45 min. each. During this time, I concentrate on providing enrichment and remediation in mathematics. The constraints of my job do not allow me to differentiate instruction on a large scale; therefore, my teaching tends to be more mechanical. I do group activities and use very few individual assignments. I simply do not have the luxury of differentiating instruction.
My CIP level was also 4. I do teach sequential lessons that are primarily teacher driven. Again, this may not be my preferred choice but it is the choice that works best when seeing students once every four days for 45 minutes. In my job, I have to use what I would call a shotgun approach to instruction..." I aim for meeting the needs of the students in the middle and pray I hit those on either end of the spectrum." Knowing that I am not the primary math teacher for these children relieves much of the strees associated with ensuring a child has mastered a skill or concept. I'm providing support and recognize that I must plan not for mastery but for enrichment and remediation.
After completing the survey, my goal is to find a way to push my LOTI and CIP to levels 5 in as many areas as possible. The structure of my classes allows me to integrate technology in approx. 25% of the lessons I teach.
My LOTI leve was 4a which is where I would have placed myself if I didn't have a survey to complete. My classes are structured differently than a regular classroom teacher. I see 5 classes of students each day: 1 first grade class, 1 second grade class, 1 third grade class, 1 fourth grade class, and 1 fifth grade class for 45 min. each. During this time, I concentrate on providing enrichment and remediation in mathematics. The constraints of my job do not allow me to differentiate instruction on a large scale; therefore, my teaching tends to be more mechanical. I do group activities and use very few individual assignments. I simply do not have the luxury of differentiating instruction.
My CIP level was also 4. I do teach sequential lessons that are primarily teacher driven. Again, this may not be my preferred choice but it is the choice that works best when seeing students once every four days for 45 minutes. In my job, I have to use what I would call a shotgun approach to instruction..." I aim for meeting the needs of the students in the middle and pray I hit those on either end of the spectrum." Knowing that I am not the primary math teacher for these children relieves much of the strees associated with ensuring a child has mastered a skill or concept. I'm providing support and recognize that I must plan not for mastery but for enrichment and remediation.
After completing the survey, my goal is to find a way to push my LOTI and CIP to levels 5 in as many areas as possible. The structure of my classes allows me to integrate technology in approx. 25% of the lessons I teach.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Incorporating Technology
I've started looking for web sites that feature math lessons for elementary students. In my job, I use the web often as my first source when planning math instruction. My absolute favorite site for lesson plan ideas is a section of the the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics website: http://illuminations.nctm.org . The Illuminations section is developed by teachers for teachers and it shows. I could easily find all ten of my web lesson plans here; however, I know that is not the intent of the assignment. The activities and lessons found on this site are designed for students in grades K-12 with an emphasis on using virtual manipulatives and interactive games.
Two lessons from this site that I use often and recommend often are the factor game lesson found at http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?id=L620 and the Product game found at http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?id=U100 . Both these games and the corresponding lessons do a wonderful job of making the task of learning multiplication facts enjoyable. The games engage the students and create an environment where they are practicing multiplication "pain free".
Two lessons from this site that I use often and recommend often are the factor game lesson found at http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?id=L620 and the Product game found at http://illuminations.nctm.org/LessonDetail.aspx?id=U100 . Both these games and the corresponding lessons do a wonderful job of making the task of learning multiplication facts enjoyable. The games engage the students and create an environment where they are practicing multiplication "pain free".
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