September 7, 2011

Reflection:

• Effective feedback to students
• positive reinforcement
• highlight what the student is doing correctly
• don't dwell on the don'ts and can'ts
• feedback needs to be timely and appropriate (not after the fact)
• display work (on wall, document camera)
• showing work on the board
• "thumbs up"
• work it into your every day flow 
• Active involvement of students in their own learning
• In math - have students explain their thinking.....talk about math
• Have students share their mistakes, and how they would fix their mistakes
• whiteboard activities
• partner work
• math journals
• Adjusting teaching to take into account after of assessment
• approach concept in different ways
• show students different ways to solve the same problem
• if most students are missing the same problem revisit that problem.  Reteach.
• PLCs
• A recognition of the profound influence assessment has on the motivation and self esteem of students.
• The need for students to be able to assess themselves and understand how to improve
• have students share their mistakes (create a safe learning environment)
• work with partners and compare answers
• Have students explain their thinking

Five key Strategies of Assessment for learning

1. Sharing Learning Expectations
2. Eliciting Evidence
3. Feedback
4. Self Assessment
5. Peer Assessment

7 Basic Assumptions of classroom assessment

1. quality of student learning directly related to quality of teaching
2. to improve effectiveness teachers need to have specific goals, comprehensive feedback on how they are achieving their goals
3. to improve learning students need to receive appropriate and focused feedback often, and need to learn how to assess their own learning - students need to have the opportunity to give and get their feedback on their learning goals before they are evaluated for grades.  **The grade should not be the feedback.  
4. the type of assessment most likely to improve teaching and learning is that conducted by faculty to answer questions they themselves have formulated in response to issues or problems in their own teaching
5. systematic inquiry and intellectual challenges are powerful sources of motivation, growth, and renewal for college teachers - classroom assessment can provide such a challenge
6. Classroom assessment does not require specialized training; it can be carried out by dedicated teachers from all disciplines
7. By collaboration with colleagues and actively involving students in Classroom Assessment efforts, faculty (and students) enhance learning and personal satisfaction

5 Key Strategies

1. Clarifying, sharing and understanding goals for learning
2. engineering effective classroom discussions, questions
3. Provide feedback
4. Activate students as owners of their learning
5. Activate students as learning resources for one another

Formative Assessments

• Justified list
• Traffic light cups/cards (similar to thumbs up or thumbs down)
• Fist to Five
• Learning Goals Inventory
• missed conception
• Ten two

Self reported grades has the greatest influence of student learning.

• students have reasonable accurate understanding of their levels of achievement
• high level of predictability about achievement
• should question the necessity of so many tests when students appear to already know much of the information the tests supposedly provide
• may become a barrier for some students

Reciprocal Teaching

• Teacher moves students from being "spectator" to being "performer"
• Students check understanding of the material by generating questions and summarizing
• Used mainly as a strategy to teach reading

Key Feedback Questions

• Where are they going?
• How well are they getting there
• Where to next?

5 "Must Have" Moves - Creating Student to Student Dialogue

• writing
• turn and talk
• tell me more
• can you rephrase that
• I'll come back to you

• Writing
• What does it look like?
• students writing their explantations of their thinking
• students writing what they would say
• journals
• Why is it important?
• it gets students thinking at a higher level
• it's difficult to explain your thinking to someone else
• creates accountability
• gives them time to develop their answer and thinking
• gives them record of what they are thinking
• Turn and Talk
• What does it look like in the classroom?
• students explaining their thinking to teacher and/or peers
• students have the opportunity to become the teacher
• pairing should be switched up a lot
• students are talking about what they are  learning
• mix the pairings a lot 
• Why is it important
• just like the writing students are explaining their thinking
• encouragement from teacher and/or peers
• students have the chance to defend their ideas which leads them to the "why"
• Tell me More
• What does it look like in the classroom
• students expand their thinking.  
• teacher asks questions to get students to explain their thinking
• students are explaining the "whys"
• Why is it important?
• students are thinking about the problem deeper and understand what they are thinking.
• The WHYS are important
• Can You RePhrase that
• What does it look like?
• there will be small changes to what was said, but that is due to how we internalize listening
• After a student give a response you ask "Can you rephrase that"
• Why is it important?
• student's voice myst be given value
• gives students' voices value - they feel what they have to say is important because others are listening
• It will motivate students to participate.....and pay attention
• It clears up misconceptions and allows for clarification
• I'll Come Back to You
• What does it look like in the classroom?
• never used when a child gives you the wrong answer, this is if students don't know
• The teacher will rephrase the student's correct answer
• Then call on another student to answer the same question 
• go back to the original student and have him/her answer the question (after the answer has been said three times)
• Why is it important
• you aren't letting students off the hook when they say "I don't know"
• ensure that knowledge is important