8.+Assessment

< Back to table of contents **8. ASSESSMENT PRINCIPLE:** //The teacher candidate understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continual intellectual, social and physical development of all learners and to inform instruction. Assessment is embedded in authentic learning activities that are for real audiences and real purposes.// //**8.1. Candidates understand the multiple purposes of assessment and are familiar with a variety of assessment and evaluation strategies, their purposes and potential uses.**// Assessment is one of the most important components of education. Formative and summative assessment should both be used to identify where students are situated in their learning. Formative assessments are ongoing and can be formal or informal, to check in with students throughout a lesson to gauge their level of understanding as their ideas are developing and the lesson is progressing. These help students recognize what they do and do not know, as well as help teachers identify the same thing which can help inform their instruction. Summative assessments are given at the end of a unit or topic where students can represent what they have learned. It is important that assessment is not just used at the end of teaching to see what students learned, but as a continuing process that includes authentic or alternative methods to gage what students have understood. They should be fair, be used to improve students’ learning, support their learning, should be supported by collaboration of teachers, include the community, draw on what the community has to offer, be communicated regularly, and constantly reviewed so teachers can consider ways to make them better (Oakes, //2003)// . Assessments that offer multiple routes to success include those that are interesting, challenging, involve different senses, use multimedia, and allow students to use their strengths. Other effective assessments are those which are interactive. These include the teacher asking open-ended questions and getting students to apply what they know to construct their own meaning. Other assessments that students might enjoy which help them learn and showcase their understanding, are ones that are personalizes, such as portfolios and other collections of work that can show how they improve individually. Sticking to authentic assessments engages students, gets them interested and thinking deeper, rather than simply answering straightforward questions out of the textbook. Having taught 4 weeks of Life Sciences to ninth graders, and 5 weeks of Chemistry to ninth through twelfth graders, I have had the opportunity to use multiple types of assessment and understand their importance. As much as I want assessments to be useful to me, the teacher, I want them to be even more useful and helpful to the students themselves. After students handed in assignments, no matter if it was a simple worksheet on covalent bonding, or an essay explaining their understanding of how acids and bases affect their every day lives and how buffers are involved, I would do my best to get their work back to them as soon as possible. I believe that feedback is one of the most useful tools that students can use to help them better understand something. When they receive specific feedback that encourages them, asks them for more explanation, or asks them to try again, they are receiving reflection on their work. This can then help guide them through their own self-reflection on what they understood, what they do not understand, and what they might need more practice with. Simply giving students choice enables them to adjust the assignment to fit their learning preferences, and when that is done they can better showcase their true understanding of the material. Students learn and different ways, and therefore they demonstrate their knowledge differently too. Some are good at tests, some are good at writing, some do not like tests, some do not like writing. It is important that educators help students by giving them the chance to demonstrate what they have learned not only to teachers, but to themselves. Assessments need to be able to help teachers inform their own practice and see what students did and did not understand, as well as what worked, what did not work, and what material students may need to spend more time on, or what other ways it should be presented. Going along with that, assessments can also help students determine what they do and do not understand, and give them time to organize their thoughts, create meaning of what they have learned, and demonstrate that meaning through various, thoughtful ways.

//**8.2. Candidates are able to use a variety of assessment and evaluation strategies, including some that are embedded in authentic learning activities and have real audiences and purposes, to monitor, assess and provide guidance to student learning over time.**//

//** When students have the opportunity to engage in authentic assessments, their work is more vibrant and provides a much better representation of what it is they took away from the course and were able to make meaning of. Authentic assessments can take many different forms, and in my student teaching placements, authentic assessments were used as often as possible. In my first student teaching placement, I watched as students took on leadership roles at the end of their expeditions, as they presented their projects and findings to family, students, faculty and community members. This gave them a sense of pride, and the feeling that their work was meaningful and truly meant something more than just a grade. They felt as though their project, where they worked in the community to come up with a building location and design for Lolly Pop Farm, made a difference, and that motivated them to work hard and provide others with insight into what they had learned. During my own innovative unit at that same school, students had designed and implemented their own investigations from start to finish, presenting their work to their entire class of peers who had no knowledge of their unique investigation (8.2.a). Having ownership of their topic, and following guidelines and check points of making their predictions, procedure, gathering data, and analyzing their data to generate conclusions, the students had the freedom to construct their own graphs and design their own presentations for their final showcase. The enthusiasm from students as well as their outstanding graphs and effort that went into their presentations was incredible. Students had worked hard through the whole project because of their interest in the subject that they chose on their own, and when given the freedom to decide how they wanted to represent their understanding of how to make biofuels from left over fruits, of eco-friendly house designs that worked best, hair products that were worst for the environment, and windmill designs that produced the most energy, students were very engaged throughout, creating a great understanding of their project. **//

During camp, students did beach investigations where the assessments that were involved were journaling, video interviewing, constructing testable questions, and representing their information on chart paper or on the computer through graphs. At the end, students were able to present their information to the community at a showcase (8.2.b). Also, in STARS, students engaged in learning about the impact different household chemicals had on the environment. Some assessments that included journaling, video interviews, drawing images, video conferencing and sharing ideas, constructing data tables, and constructing graphs, all led up to their final presentations in December. Their presentations involved student-led stations where students presented to family and community members on what they learned and experienced through different demonstrations and activities (8.2.c). These authentic learning activities where the students were able to develop their own testable question, followed by creating their own interactive stations, gave these activities real meaning and purpose as they were able to help the students engage in the topic as well as reinforce their learning by teaching other people.

//**8.3. Candidates are able to use assessment to inform instruction by making links between their teaching and student performance and by adjusting their practice as a result of analysis of and reflection on student assessment data.**//

Feedback given to the teacher is also extremely critical to lessons and future lessons as well. I had expected students to gather their data and create a graph of it to be handed in at the end of the class. Having observed the students, listened to their questions, and analyzed the graphs that were handed in, I realized that I needed to be doing something different in my instruction. Students were not sure how to make graphs and struggled with the concept of how to organize them and were unsure of what they were supposed to be representing on them. The next class when it was time to do another graph related to the previous day’s work, I allowed them to collaborate more, gave more explicit instructions, checked for understanding more often, and had people come to the board to set up the axes (8.3.a). The graphs I received from them had improved tremendously. This is why assessment is so extremely important and can be so beneficial for so many reasons. Ultimately, it is the students who matter and why we are there. Without assessments and feedback, we cannot help them by changing our own instruction, nor can we help them help themselves.

Also, at SWW Kaitlin and I did a lesson on animal adaptations. We did stations where students were observing photographs of different animals and describing the animal adaptations and what that physical feature helped them do. After reading through ticket out the doors after class, we realized that a handful of students were putting down food and water as adaptations, which they are not. Using this student assessment data, we decided to address this misconception the next day, explaining the differences between survival needs and adaptations (8.3.b). When Jim observed me, he noted that I did a good job with temperature checks, seeing what students understood. In one specific graphing activity, I noticed the students were struggling and did not fully understand how to construct the graph so I asked if it would be helpful if we worked on it together as a class the first time around (8.3.c). This collaboration greatly helped them and enabled them to complete the activity.

//**8.4. Candidates are able to have a positive effect on their students’ learning.**//

Throughout my student teaching placements I believe that I had a very positive effect on my students’ learning. With the multiple instructional methods and assessments that I used, I was able to cater to all students needs, regardless of whether or not they had a disability, and help them learn the material. I was able to provide students with authentic experiences that were meaningful to them and which therefore got them more engaged. These include camp, STARS, the atomic model, bonding, and acid and bases units at East High, and the environmental sustainability at SWW. Students were able to share their learning through comics, posters, letters, raps, skits, which all met the standards and showed me they had achieved the goals and objectives I had set for the units (8.4.a). Students continued to want to learn and be involved in these topics. One of my STARS girls even shared that she wanted to keep studying the topic on environmental sustainability and even write a letter to Obama about what should be done. I saw many students’ performances, behaviors, and academic scores improve while I was teaching. I was very persistent in working with my students, having them come after school, reviewing material and helping them understand it. After breaking down sentences and information and teaching students how to look at it differently, one student with ADHD told me, “This is all I need to do? Wow, this is so much easier than I thought, why do some teachers have to make it so much harder than it has to be?” Another student told my supervisor he liked my teaching because I cared and checked in with him to see if he understood it, therefore giving the students more individualized attention when I could. Student evaluations from my placements about my teaching also shared with me that they appreciated my teaching and were able to learn a lot during my time there.

**NSTA STANDARDS:**

//**8.a Candidates use multiple assessment tools and strategies to achieve important goals for instruction that are aligned with methods of instruction and the needs of students.**//

Other experiences include providing students with a menu of options for an assessment. It is important that throughout lessons, teachers use both formative and summative assessments, being sure that assessment is an ongoing process and the teacher is constantly monitoring the level of understanding of each one of the students. To assess prior knowledge and see what the students thought of when they thought of scientists during a nature of science lesson, I did not simply want to have a class discussion or have them write a paragraph. Instead, for the first time, the students were given the chance to represent their ideas in drawings, comics, skits, raps, or writing (8.a.a). The responses I got from the students were all so different, and were extraordinary because they built on their individual strengths. Those who did not like to write formally, performed a skit or made a drawing. Others who were skillful rappers, wrote lyrics and performed very entertaining and detailed raps. The students were finally motivated to complete an assignment, and did not see it as an actual assignment or burden, but rather something that they could enjoy and have fun doing as they learned. Another menu option I used was for students to use the same menu type option in my second student teaching placement during my innovative unit as their final assessment. Students needed to talk about what they had learned about acids and bases, how they affect their every day lives, what acid rain is, the harms of acid rain, and the uses of buffers in every day lives as learned from their in depth lab where they simulated lakes and acid rain. Many students took the opportunity to draw what they had learned, write comics, create posters, write a letter to their friend, etc (8.a.b). Students were even able to select certain questions out of specific categories that they wanted to answer as long as they had at least two from every category.

//**8.b Candidates use the results of multiple assessments to guide and modify instruction, the classroom environment, or the assessment process.**//

At SWW, when working with the students on the nature of science, I observed that some students were having trouble at the beginning trying to get into different groups and settle down before getting to work. When I realized this was taking up too much time and interfering with their education, I moved the desks around in the classroom to facilitate better group learning, assigned students to groups, and had them initially sit there when they walked into the classroom. The classroom environment was improved and groups were adjusted to make more heterogeneous groups of students that enabled more peer mentoring throughout their activities.

During one of my classes I was intending to give a review on ionic bonding before the students were given their quiz. The day before students were struggling on ionic bonding problems, so I decided to review their sheets to see what it was they were having trouble with. Students seemed to be struggling with the idea of ions and how losing a subatomic particle could make an atom have a more positive charge. I modified my instruction for the next day, providing more practice with students acting out different bonding situations with one student being a more electronegative element, and also showed YouTube videos that demonstrated what went on during the bonding and how it occurred, and then did more practice problems as a class, then with a partner, which they then shared up on the board (8.b.a). By taking a close look at the assessments and judging by student looks and confusion, I was able to successfully modify my instruction and provide students with different media outlets to help them understand the concept.

Also at East High, students were observing the periodic table in teams and trying to determine some periodic trends which they then were to represent in a graph. Students were constantly asking questions about the graphs, some students seemed disinterested, and the graphs that students were turning in were not very good. Noticing the trouble that they were having, I asked the class how many of them were confident in making graphs and none of them were. Instead of working in partners from the beginning, I called the class back together and we worked as a class using the SmartBoard that had a graph image on it, to decide what the graph was representing, what the title should be, as well as the axes. Once this information was developed by the students they were able to break off again and successfully create their graphs.

To prepare for how my assessments would be used to inform my instruction, in the assessment section of my innovative unit, I designed a chart which included a column designated “ Using assessment to inform instruction.” In this column, I identified all of the assessments I would be using and in the unit and explained each type of assessment and how it may inform my instruction as I teach the unit.

//**8.c Candidates use the results of assessment as vehicles for students to analyze their own learning, engaging students in reflective self-analysis of their own work.**//

During camp, our team though it would be a good practice for students to reflect on their learning of the day. After having several activities and observations of the students that enabled us teachers to gauge the students’ understanding, they were asked to do video interviews. The video interviews enabled the students to reflect back on their work that day and share what they had learned, what questions they still had, and whether or not they felt like a scientist.

As mentioned previously, I find feedback to be one of the most important parts of assessments. If teachers do not spend time reflecting on student work and supplying them with constructive feedback, it will not be any good to the student. I believe that students should be giving additional chances to improve their work because I care about them leaving with an understanding of the material, and it is insignificant how many tries it takes for them to reach that point. Telling the students that you will not accept something or that they must redo it, raises the expectations we have for them, showing them that we will not settle for work that is not complete or thorough. We have to hold students to high standards and not accept them handing in just any work, or else they will never be reaching those expectations that we should be having for them. One teacher expressed concern, saying that because she lets them do test corrections, many times students come in not having studied for a test, don’t do well, and then just plan on doing test corrections. In these cases, it is important that students are taught how to study if they need to take a standardized test on this subject in the future. However, I say that more authentic assessments need to be used in general in order to meet the needs of the student, and not the other way around. The standards, goals, and objectives of a unit or lesson can be met in various ways, not just an examination, and I think it is important for instructors to strive to find those methods. A student once handed me a quiz that had many insufficient answers on them simply because he had not put enough effort into it. I handed it back twice and had him come after school before he finally received a 95 on the quiz. I see it as learning to use the feedback that is given to constantly revise answers and strive to do better. This is how I believe I will continue to assess students.

At School Without Walls, we also gave students the ability to review and make changes to their investigation ideas and procedures after the received their packets back that had feedback from us. With this feedback they were able to work together to look at their previous answers and think deeper into what they had meant and revise it and resubmit it. For one of their group projects, students also had the opportunity to share their opinions and rate themselves and their classmates on their effort, work and achievement. Additionally, after their fall expeditions, the ninth grade students filled out comment sheets that asked them questions about what they liked or did not like about the expeditions, what they learned, and what they learned about themselves. This let them reflect back on their experiences to have time to engage in self-analysis of their own work and experiences and share what it meant to them personally and educationally. These quotes I then used in the expeditionary learning video I made for one of my classes which can be viewed here. Also, at East High School, during the acid and bases unit, students were often asked to think about what they had learned that day in terms of the essential question: How do acids and bases affect our everyday lives? Students could use knowledge and experiences from other classes or from events outside the classroom that could help support their answers. Reflecting back on what they had learned gave them the opportunity to clarify their ideas in writing or pictures so that they and I could recognize their understanding of the material.

[|elephant toothpast and acidic candy.doc] [|stars pictures.doc] [|blue highlighter stars.doc] [|DSC07637.JPG] [|DSC07638.JPG] [|DSC07639.JPG] [|DSC07640.JPG] [|DSC07641.JPG] [|DSC07642.JPG] [|DSC07652.JPG] || STARS assessments and photos || [|DSC07627.JPG] || Graph making || [|DSC00419.JPG] [|DSC00433.JPG] [|DSC00437.JPG] || Acid Rain Assessments ||
 * Evidence # || Embedded or Linked Object || Description ||
 * 8.2.a || [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/msword.png height="32" link="http://comprehensiveportfolio-msaunders.wikispaces.com/file/view/20091214-SWWLesson2-InvestigationTopics-MSaunders.doc"]] [|20091214-SWWLesson2-InvestigationTopics-MSaunders.doc] || SWW Innovative Unit ||
 * 8.2.b || [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/msword.png height="32" link="http://comprehensiveportfolio-msaunders.wikispaces.com/file/view/20090803-EDU486UnitPlan-MSaunders.doc"]] [|20090803-EDU486UnitPlan-MSaunders.doc] || Get Real! Science Camp unit plan ||
 * 8.2.c || [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/msword.png height="32" link="http://comprehensiveportfolio-msaunders.wikispaces.com/file/view/stars+graphs.doc"]] [|stars graphs.doc]
 * 8.3.a || [|DSC07626.JPG]
 * 8.3.b || [|DSC00568.JPG] || Adaptation Assessments ||
 * 8.3.c || [[file:Megan Saunders East #3 (1).doc]] || Jim's observation comments on informing my practice ||
 * 8.4.a || [|DSC07626.][|DSC07627.JPG]JPG || Differentiated Assessments ||
 * 8.a.a || [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/msword.png height="32" link="http://comprehensiveportfolio-msaunders.wikispaces.com/file/view/20091105-SWWSeriesof3-Lesson1-MSaunders.doc"]] [|20091105-SWWSeriesof3-Lesson1-MSaunders.doc] || What is a scientist? Assessment ||
 * 8.a.b || [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/msword.png height="32" link="http://comprehensiveportfolio-msaunders.wikispaces.com/file/view/20100327-EastHighAcidRainLab-MSaunders.doc"]] [|20100327-EastHighAcidRainLab-MSaunders.doc]
 * 8.b.a || [[file:20100319-EastHighObs3InclusionClass-MSaunders.doc]] || Bonding Lesson Plan and lab description ||

References

Oakes, J. & Lipton, M. (2003). //Teaching to change the world//. New York: McGraw Hill. < Back to table of contents