Embed Assessment in All Teaching
I agree that embedding assessment is a challenge. Having no script can be a little scary. I do feel though it is very important. We do have to really pay attention to the learners in front of us to be able to move them forward. We have to listen, observe, notice, rethink, and be risk takers. We need to remember we are the professionals, and we have to trust our decisions.
If we do not feel comfortable about thinking on our feet, valuable instruction time will not be lost.
I enjoyed the part of chapter 5 that discussed teaching responsively. I especially think that all teachers need to be reminded to validate all student responses. It is so easy to try to do the talking for the child, because you usually feel rushed to “cover” the material. I think rephrasing student responses to nudge them to think more deeply is so smart.
Skillful questioning is so important across the curricular areas. I think it helps me to actually post the deeper level questions in my plan book or even in my classroom to remind me to use them. I actually try to have examples of higher level questioning in my textbooks, near my conferencing table, and when I’m at my computer as a constant reminder. It is so easy to fall back into the surface level questioning, I need a constant reminder.
Feedback is crucial! I have found that taking pictures with my camera of children doing something well is a powerful tool. Sometimes I show the entire class what the child accomplished, and often I have the picture up on the SmartBoard or projector as the students enter class. This idea really works well in Writer's Workshop during editing and revising. Seeing what is done well, and correctly in print, creates a very powerful picture. This also shows the students and the rest of the class that their work is validated.
Another part of chapter 5 that intrigued me was the part about grouping students. I agree with what Regis said about grouping. I know that students do learn so much from each other. I also agree that we should continue to use small guided groups that are flexible. I learned while reading this part, that I need to do a better job of assessing what students accomplished within that small group. I need to have a better system to remember how well each student actually comprehended what we were learning. I think having a few questions to answer at the end of a lesson is one good way to check for understanding.
I really enjoyed this chapter, and I plan to rely on the Ongoing Assessment Framework to guide me in helping students check for understanding before, during, and after instruction.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Dianne, I want to comment on your post, because I, too, spent a lot of time reading and thinking about the grouping sections in chapter five. I completely agree that groups should be flexible and that the work the groups does should be helping the students move towards being independent readers and writers. Looking back on my first year of teaching, I feel like guided reading groups were the most difficult things for me to get going. I used my Dominie data and informal conference data to form my small groups, and before I read this chapter, I thought that I wasn't systematic enough about when my groups met. As I read, I was really surprised when Regie explained that she asks her students to join her if they are having trouble with the skill or strategy she is going to address with the group. I'll admit I had never thought to extend an invitation to a guided reading group; rather, I have put a lot of time and effort into planning groups based on the different needs of my students. Guided reading groups are something I still don't feel completely comfortable with, and I look forward to some professional conversations next week about them.
ReplyDeleteDue to the frustration of "fitting it all in", behavior distractions, and being the only adult in the room, I find seamless teaching and embedding assessment into the daily curriculum an endless challenge. I find the most difficult part to be connecting all the components of reading and writing workshops together in one uninterrupted motion. I think that teaching becomes more natural over time where giving specific and precise feedback, assessing while you teach, and conferring daily becomes second nature. One thing that I need to extend is my questioning style. Now, I will add "How do you know" or "Why do you think that?" after student responses. I think starting with assessment is a good idea but when do you start? I've always thought that you should spend at least the first 2 weeks on building community. Another question I have is when to group together your guided reading groups. I saw Debbie Miller this week, and she talked about how the first month should be immersion with read-aloud books and easy books for all children (First Grade). One thing that I want to change is to group my guided reading groups by skills and strategies instead of ability levels.
ReplyDeleteAllison, I have been teaching a very long time, and I still feel setting up Guided Reading Groups can be a challenge. Sometimes the groups that naturally happen because of an immediate need, are the best groups I ever have. I feel that when I really plan for my groups sometimes, they are just not as productive. I think I overthink my teaching, and make it too hard on myself. It seems to work better when I listen and observe my students, and let them take me where I know they need to go instructionally. I am an "on my feet" teacher, and I have always been more comfortable observing my students and addressing needs as they arise. I really enjoy working with a small informal group of children that are eager and ready to learn. Great learning takes place during this time and children are much better risk takers when they "feel it". They usually know what areas they need help in.
ReplyDeleteDuring writing instruction, I often have open invitaions to the entire class and children join the group just because they know they need a little extra help. I love when students have the confidence in themselves to move into a small group because they know they need help. This makes my job so much more rewarding.
I enjoyed this chapter as I think it provided a clear picture of the assessment process. I liked the idea of having "open" groups where the children are invited to join the group based on a skills/ strategy they feel they are having trouble mastering. This really encourages student empowerment in learning which is AWESOME.
ReplyDeleteThe flexible groups is an area I would like to really focus on for next year to really ensure that my groups are indeed flexible, no matter the subject area.This sometimes can seem difficult but is a necessary task for meaningful learning to take place.
I also liked Regie's focus on working as a team to look at, analyze , compare and come up with strategies to help improve not only "scores" but the WHOLE child as a reader and writer. One of our best assets is our fellow teachers.
I also was glad Regie just came out and said "... there has been NO emphasis on reading help above grade 3 for a decade." I find this VERY true and VERY frustrating. I teach 3rd grade and can honestly say that this would apply for grade 3( at my school) as well and is something that I would like to see a change in.
I did have one question: How does PASS measure to the NAEP's standards as well as the "national test"? This was mentioned on pgae 80 and I was just curious.
Hi Wendy. We were recently told at our last leadership meeting that SC is looking to go towards the national core standards, which would indicate that we are going to exchange our state PASS test for a national one. This kills me, especially when you consider all of the funding we used to redesign the PACT. But we’ll see!
ReplyDeleteI just spent the last two days working on creating an Exemplary Writing plan for my school. If implemented correctly, this would encourage and create a paradigm shift for the way ALL teachers view teaching and assessing writing. Our committee was granted three hours of staff professional development training before students return to school in August. The staff development will actually focus on one of Routman’s “Guidelines For Looking At Student Work.” For the first time ever, our entire school will come together to address “How can you tell if the work is the students’ best effort? Is the work excellent? Mediocre? How do you know? What are your criteria for evaluation? Are these criteria reasonable?” As a staff, we are going to determine what excellent writing should look like for our students, how much time we should be spending on correcting conventions, and we will find consistent rubric and assessment expectations for writing. We are going to engage in Rangefinding, to make sure that each teacher understands what constitutes as an A, B, C, etc. paper and so grading will not look so radically different depending on the course and teacher. I am still overwhelmed at what this could mean for our school—it is certainly a step in the right direction, and is also aligned with what we’ll be expected to do when our school adopts Making Middle Grades Work, which is another initiative that is certainly on the horizon. For the first time in my experience as a teacher, it looks like two initiatives will actually coincide and support each other.
The concern I have is how all this will be received by our faculty. I know from the outside it will look like “just one more thing” we have to do—especially since our core area teachers are so used to working independently of each other. It will look like ELA is directing the curriculum and gaining time and support from other subjects. I constantly hear, “Where is the support for math/science/social studies? Why do we have to include writing in our course but ELA does not have to deal with our content?” I know this will be a resistance, and to be honest I can’t even blame anyone for thinking this way. We all have so much to do with a million mandates from the district and paperwork required from the school. Yet I know that doing this will be in the best interest of students. Any suggestions on how we can present this concept in a way that will inspire all teachers to WANT to participate?
I was also glad to see Regie come out and say that there has been no help for children above grade 3 in a decade. I was very frustrated this year by this. Teaching fourth grade really opened my eyes to how some children just fall between the cracks. It is difficult for the classroom teacher to deal with these deficits and still attend to all of the other children's needs. Meeting the needs of the high children and the struggling children is a major challenge. It is not too late for these children but I don't know how the poor classroom teacher can be expected to do it alone.
ReplyDelete