This week's topic was on formative assessment. This is one of my favorite topics to reflect on, analyze, and discuss. I have found that by focusing my attention on formative assessment, I am able to improve my instruction on a day to day basis. I am also able to ensure my instruction is being differentiated for all the learners in my classroom, and that the strategies that I am utilizing are effective. Formative assessments are essential to the learning process because they let the teacher and student know the level of understanding and mastery the student currently has of the content. Formative assessments are informal assessments that are given throughout the semester, unit, or even lesson. These assessments are used as indicators to measure a student's current understanding. For instance, when I am doing a read-aloud I often ask my students to call out the rhymes in familiar texts. This formative assessment allows me to determine who is able to recognize rhyming words in familiar stories.
Formative assessments differ from summative assessments in that summative assessments measure the cumulative understanding that a student has made. It is often at the end of a unit, semester, or grade level that a summative assessment is given. According to our text, Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, author R. E. Slavin states the following about formative assessments,"Formative evaluations might even be made “on the fly” during instruction through oral or brief written learning probes or by listening to students during groupwork. Increasingly, computerized exercises and games are being used to give teachers and students immediate feedback on students’ learning (Philips & Popovíc, 2012). Formative evaluation is useful to the degree that it is informative, closely tied to the curriculum being taught, timely, and frequent (Dunn & Mulvenon, 2009; Fogarty & Kerns, 2009; McMillan, 2011; Popham, 2014; Spinelli, 2011)" (Slavin, 350).
Due to the nature of summative assessments, they data that is derived from them cannot be always be used for day to day instruction. Students are also given the results of summative assessments days or weeks after the assessment is given. On the other hand, formative assessments allow for the student as well as the teacher to know what their understanding of the content is. The data that is collected from formative assessments can also be used to drive the teacher's instruction and guide them on the next steps to assist the student.
Overall, as I am getting ready to begin a new year, I will focus on creating and utilizing formative assessments throughout my instruction. I want my students to feel the sense of accomplishment immediately when the understand a concept. I also want to be able to recognize who may need individualized instruction on subjects as they are being taught. I also believe that by actively using the data from formative assessments will help me better assist my students, and in turn raise their performance on the summative assessments that will be given.
Slavin, R. E. (2015). Educational psychology: Theory and practice, 11th Edition. New Jersey: Pearson.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Week Eight- Rules and Procedures
This week the theme of classroom management has continued with a focus specifically on rules and procedures. I believe that any successful classroom management system is dependent on the rules and procedures that the teacher puts in place. In order for the rules and procedures to have a positive impact they must be modeled, explained, and upheld with fidelity. In my own experience I know that the rules and procedures act as the glue that holds my management system together. About 95% of the students that enter my classroom each year are experiencing the school-setting for the first time. I would say that in Pre-K one of the main objectives that one tries to teach is social behavior. These four year-olds are being taught how to interact with each other, walk in a hallway, share, stand in a straight line, raise their hand to speak, make lunch choices, participate in small group work, adapt to a scheduled routine, etc. There is no way that any of those skills could be taught or even acknowledged if the students enter a chaotic environment that is not structured with rules and procedures. The task of demonstrating and teaching rules and procedures is critical for the classroom and must begin the moment students enter. In my own classroom, classroom procedures is the primary portion of my lesson plans for the first month of school. Students must be taught from day one what expectations of behavior the teacher holds. In the text Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, author R. E. Slavin discusses the importance of emphasis on procedures early, "Research has established that the first days of school are critical in establishing classroom order for the whole year. Teachers whose classes were mostly on task over the course of the school year, compared to teachers whose classes were less consistently on task, were more likely to engage in the following activities during the first days of school (Evertson & Emmer, 2013; Weinstein & Mignano, 2003; Wong & Wong, 2004)" (Slavin, 278). The management environment at the beginning of the year will definitely set the tone for the entire duration of the school year. It is for this reason that teacher must be prepared to create, model, and implement procedures from the onset.
Another important aspect of rules that I was able to focus on through the reading was the importance of creating rules that are appropriate for my students. The text mentions three general rules that help shape the classroom rules that teachers should develop, "Three principles govern this process. First, class rules should be few in number. Second, they should make sense and be seen as fair by students. Third, they should be clearly explained and deliberately taught to students (Metzger, 2002) (Slavin, 278). The rules should be direct and few, they should be written in student-friendly language, and should be modeled frequently. When the students are able to understand the expectations that are in place, they are more likely to follow them. Overall, this was a great topic that I feel teachers should constantly refresh themselves on.
References
Slavin, R. E. (2015) Educational ppsychology: Theory and practice. New Jersey: Pearson.
Another important aspect of rules that I was able to focus on through the reading was the importance of creating rules that are appropriate for my students. The text mentions three general rules that help shape the classroom rules that teachers should develop, "Three principles govern this process. First, class rules should be few in number. Second, they should make sense and be seen as fair by students. Third, they should be clearly explained and deliberately taught to students (Metzger, 2002) (Slavin, 278). The rules should be direct and few, they should be written in student-friendly language, and should be modeled frequently. When the students are able to understand the expectations that are in place, they are more likely to follow them. Overall, this was a great topic that I feel teachers should constantly refresh themselves on.
References
Slavin, R. E. (2015) Educational ppsychology: Theory and practice. New Jersey: Pearson.
Friday, July 1, 2016
Week Seven- Classroom Management
This week's topic is classroom management. I can say with complete sincerity that classroom management is the key to a successful educational environment. There must be quality teaching, there must be technology, there must be an aesthetically pleasing room, there must be a positive relationship between the students and the teacher, but overall a system of behavior management must be in place to keep a classroom running smoothly. In the past three years, I have learned from and experienced moments of struggle with classroom management. In teaching students who are four years old, I have come to accept that their attention span lasts only seconds. It is because of their varied personalities and busy nature that I must adjust my teaching to constantly "be on the move." The biggest struggle that I have learned to overcome is involving all 22 students during whole group instruction. In the Slavin text, Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, the author focuses on strategies for maintaining attention during whole group instruction, "The idea behind these tactics is to maintain the involvement of all students in all parts of the lesson. You should be concerned not only about drawing all students into class activities but also about avoiding activities that relegate most students to the role of spectator for long periods. For example, a very common teaching error is where teachers ask one or two students to work out a lengthy problem on the chalkboard or electronic whiteboard or read an extended passage while the rest of the class has nothing to do" (Slavin, 276).
I have personally implemented this idea during my morning message instruction. After Christmas about 80% of the students in my Pre-K class are able to recognize more than half of their letters in isolation, the days of the week, and the numbers 1-22. For this reason, I implement writing boards during morning message. The instruction becomes more interactive for the students who are already retaining the letter and number recognition skills, while adding writing practice as well. I will often appoint two or three students to lead the class in the instruction of the calendar, weather, and days of school counting. Meanwhile, every other student on the carpet is given a writing board to write down the letters, words, and numbers we discuss. I believe having the interactive portion of the message board, allows all students to participate and focus on the skills being taught. Students need structure in order to be successful. According to their article, Exploring the Complexity of Classroom Management: 8 Components of Managing a Highly Productive, Save, and Respectful Urban Environment, authors K. A. Jones, J. L. Jones, and P.J. Vermette discuss successful management, "In highly effective classrooms, students are not well-behaved because of teacher threats or coercion but rather because they are held to high expectations and given clear, direct scaffolds for reaching them" (Jones, Jones, & Vermette, 24). By creating a more structured environment during morning message, in which every student was given something to do, the students were better behaved.
I would say overall, that the best way to address behavior management issues is to have an engaging classroom environment. When the students are involved and interested in the instruction there is a smaller possibility for distraction and disruption. In our text the author discusses the importance of student-centered instruction on behavior, "If students in student-centered classrooms are deeply involved and motivated by the variety, activity, and social nature of classroom activities, then disciplinary actions will be less necessary (Weinstein & Mignano, 2003)" (Slavin, 277). In my opinion the ideas presented in the above-mentioned quote are what prompts me to utilize so much technology and collaborative activities in my classroom. Students can learn many things from a teacher, but some of the best learning comes from interacting with each other in new and innovative ways. If the students are interested and engaged they are more inclined to follow classroom expectations.
References
Jones, K. A., Jones, J. L., & Vermette, P. J., E.D.D. (2013). Exploring the complexity of classroom management: 8 components of managing a highly productive, safe, and respectful urban environment. American Secondary Education, 41(3), 21-33. Retrieved from http://library.valdosta.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1431533420?accountid=14800
Slavin, R. E. (2015) Educational Psychology: Theory and practice. New Jersey: Pearson.
I have personally implemented this idea during my morning message instruction. After Christmas about 80% of the students in my Pre-K class are able to recognize more than half of their letters in isolation, the days of the week, and the numbers 1-22. For this reason, I implement writing boards during morning message. The instruction becomes more interactive for the students who are already retaining the letter and number recognition skills, while adding writing practice as well. I will often appoint two or three students to lead the class in the instruction of the calendar, weather, and days of school counting. Meanwhile, every other student on the carpet is given a writing board to write down the letters, words, and numbers we discuss. I believe having the interactive portion of the message board, allows all students to participate and focus on the skills being taught. Students need structure in order to be successful. According to their article, Exploring the Complexity of Classroom Management: 8 Components of Managing a Highly Productive, Save, and Respectful Urban Environment, authors K. A. Jones, J. L. Jones, and P.J. Vermette discuss successful management, "In highly effective classrooms, students are not well-behaved because of teacher threats or coercion but rather because they are held to high expectations and given clear, direct scaffolds for reaching them" (Jones, Jones, & Vermette, 24). By creating a more structured environment during morning message, in which every student was given something to do, the students were better behaved.
I would say overall, that the best way to address behavior management issues is to have an engaging classroom environment. When the students are involved and interested in the instruction there is a smaller possibility for distraction and disruption. In our text the author discusses the importance of student-centered instruction on behavior, "If students in student-centered classrooms are deeply involved and motivated by the variety, activity, and social nature of classroom activities, then disciplinary actions will be less necessary (Weinstein & Mignano, 2003)" (Slavin, 277). In my opinion the ideas presented in the above-mentioned quote are what prompts me to utilize so much technology and collaborative activities in my classroom. Students can learn many things from a teacher, but some of the best learning comes from interacting with each other in new and innovative ways. If the students are interested and engaged they are more inclined to follow classroom expectations.
References
Jones, K. A., Jones, J. L., & Vermette, P. J., E.D.D. (2013). Exploring the complexity of classroom management: 8 components of managing a highly productive, safe, and respectful urban environment. American Secondary Education, 41(3), 21-33. Retrieved from http://library.valdosta.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1431533420?accountid=14800
Slavin, R. E. (2015) Educational Psychology: Theory and practice. New Jersey: Pearson.
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