Article 2 Response: Issues in Assessment, Enterprise and Higher Education: the case for self‐peer and collaborative assessment

This article was written in 1993, but I found it to be very appropriate for current issues in assessment in a secondary level. The article discusses strategies at a higher level education, like a Jr. College, but fits in to today’s issues at the secondary level. Today we are encountering issues of education being linked with economics and politics. There are three main ideas of assessment that are, self, peer and collaborative assessment. I find that each of these approaches are extremely valuable today in a secondary setting because it allows each student individually and collectively for the entire class to be held accountable for their own work and for their own assessment that they will have. It is extremely important for the student to have a say in how they will be graded, and I feel that it is just good practice as an educator to do that. With the current issue of common core standards becoming more of a reality now, I think that it is crucial to keep these types of assessment strategies in mind. Each student is different in their learning styles as well as whole classes are different from one to the next. I know that with the new core standards we as educators are going to be required to teach the same material to all students and all students are going to have to demonstrate mastery through the same type of assessment. But, I think that it is still up to us as educators to decide how they demonstrate that mastery. It is important to also teach our students responsibility and by having them involved in the grading process will benefit them greatly.

For me and my classroom I want every lesson of every day to be an enriching experience for myself as well as my students. I think that by having discussions through peer grading will help me become a better teacher, because I will be able to see what everyone thinks about a certain question on the assessment that they completed. If 60% of my class all writes similar answers to a test question and their wrong, peer and collaborative approaches will help me in seeing how I went wrong or didn’t fully explain something in the way that I had intended to. I don’t think that it is fair to the students to have all the blame for not performing well on a specific test. I think that the teacher should have to be accountable just as equally, because after all it is always the teacher that is “teaching”. For myself I want to know where my students are at collectively as well as individually, so I will definitely hold discussion groups as I return tests to get the students feedback of why they answered what they did. And with this collaborative approach, I think that it would still be ethnically correct to even change certain grades if the students can justify their answers through discussion based on what I had taught them leading to their ideas and therefore their answers on the test.

Works Cited

Somervell, H. (1993). Issues in Assessment, Enterprise and Higher Education: the case for self‐peer and collaborative assessment. Taylor and Francis, 221-233.

Weekly Blog #2

This has been a little bit of a challenging week for me. I basically lost my placement in my current classroom because my cooperating teacher is so overwhelmed with MAPS testing and the MSP test that is coming up in the next couple of weeks. My cooperating teacher teaches both math and social studies which I have mentioned in a previous blog and he is currently on a time crunch to get all of the students ready for the math portion of the MAPS section of testing. Because of this he doesn’t feel that he has the time for me to teach any social studies lessons during the next several weeks. He himself is only concentrating on the math portion of his class and will be using his allotted social studies time in addition to his math periods to get all of the kids ready for testing. This was a little discouraging to see how much of an emphasis these teachers are required to give to the standardized testing through MAPS and MSP testing. I have been hearing quite a bit in my education classes about how teachers are being required to teach more and more to a test, but this was my first encounter of just how intense the situation really is. My teacher openly admitted that he has to teach the students specific math areas and problems that will be on the test, in order to get them ready. I really find that unfortunate because I am unsure of how much the students are actually learning, because it seems to be more of a memorization practice than a learning one. I am confident that the EWU staff will find me another placement soon, so I can get back at teaching my lessons and learning as much as possible from my cooperating teacher.

I spent a couple class periods in my seventh grade class this last week that went very well. It was very fun introducing myself to both classes and taking the little bit of razzing that they dished out to me, being the “new teacher”. One practice that really stood out to me with this teacher was the entry tasks that he has his students perform each class and every day. So basically he has a quote on the board every day, and the quote could be anything from words to live by, to a well known philosopher. He has the students read it and then write a short paragraph about how they interpret the quote and what it means to them individually. I really like this task, because it teaches the students a little bit of history by explaining who the quote is by and the history behind it etc. But also it gets the students thinking in an intuitive way right at the start of class and so their minds are alert and ready to learn his future lesson. The students really seem to like the task and it also helps build the relationship with each individual student because he gets a little insight of how they think and what things seem important to each of them.

Weekly Blog #1

This was a really good week for me during my student teaching. I had my first full day of school today, which was really cool to see everything transition from start to finish. Last quarter I only did the last two class periods of the day for two days a week and it was a block section, so the only transition was from one subject to the next. It was also the same group in the afternoon until today, where I got to meet my cooperating teachers’ morning group of kiddos which was exciting! The day went very smoothly, which was a bit surprising to me considering that it’s Friday and all. I think that part of the smoothness was due to the fact that the students got to watch a movie for one of their periods today. I know that when I was in middle school, a movie day on Fridays was always welcome!

It was really nice to finally meet a new class of kids so I could see the difference of the dynamic from one group to the next. I was actually very surprised with how differently my cooperating teacher addresses/treats each separate class. As I mentioned, I have been in the afternoon class which has a total of eight students with IEP’s and the morning class only has one. So, it makes sense that he addresses each differently, which he obviously should, it was just interesting to the difference finally. I was also able to feel the difference in mood from one class to the other. We have been talking in class a lot lately about how each class has its own personality and I found that to be completely true today.

Today in class there was a student that continued to talk during the video, even after being redirected by the teacher several times. The teacher, who runs the classroom in a very structured format, called the student out in front of the entire class for their behavior. The student obviously became embarrassed and red cheeked, but did stop talking. The way that the situation was handled was obviously effective, being the desired result was achieved. I just think that with my own teaching style I would have handled it a bit differently. I don’t like to put the student on the spot and embarrass them into submission with their behavior. I find that a more empathetic approach suits me and gains respect from the students as well. I feel that this is a prime example of the importance of building individual relationships with our students. I don’t want my students to be afraid of me, but I also don’t want them to talk when they’re not supposed to be talking either. So, what do I do?! In my opinion, I think that if I know my students well and they know me, and we are in a mutually respectful relationship, then situations like this won’t arise. Or they at least won’t get to the point where the student has to be redirected 3 or more times, one time will end the behavior.

Article 1 Response: Classroom Management Strategies for Difficult Students: Promoting Change through Relationships

This is a very useful article that states that one of the most important aspects of classroom management is building relationships with each and every student on an individual level. I completely agree with this theory and have never really looked at the building of relationships to be an aspect of classroom management, but they completely coincide. An important point of this article states that each student should be treated differently based on their specific learning abilities. Having a different relationship and mind set toward each student will also help with behavior issues, since the students will not feel any mistreatment, because they have their own standards to meet in the teachers eyes. Also, with the teacher having an individual relationship with each student, I feel that this will assist in each student feeling comfortable enough to model the teachers behavior in their own way, thus managing the class themselves, rather than the teacher having to do all the work. In other words, each student will be managing their own behavior and that is because they don’t want to let the teacher down, because they have a good standing relationship with their teacher. Because of this, it is extremely important for the teacher to not let their students down and to always have the right attitude each and every day. After all, the students are looking up to them and modeling what they see. One of my favorite statements from this article is, “…teachers’ actions have twice as much impact as their assessment policies or classroom rules.”

Another important area that this article covered about managing a successful classroom is how to deal with problematic students. Rather than punish a student for being sarcastic or manipulative, a teacher should notice these traits and begin to redirect them in a constructive manner. One way to do this would be to notice them for how quick their come backs are and ask if they have ever taken a debate class or have any interest in politics, due to how quick they are on their feet. This way the student is still receiving attention for what they are doing, which is usually their goal, but you would be giving them positive feedback for it instead of punishment. I imagine that this would be a bit of a shock to that specific student and would probably gain a bit of respect for the teacher through their action of empathy. I was a bit of a “problematic” student myself and was constantly being punished for my behavior. They reason that I gave the teachers such a hard time, was because I didn’t have any sort of a connection with any of them and was bored with their teaching style. Eventually I was lucky enough to have a teacher that realized my situation and made it their personal goal to build a relationship and hold me accountable for my actions. It worked extremely well and my grades and attitude toward school changed drastically for the better. So from personal experience I can attest to the importance of building individual relationships with your students and furthermore, to hold each student accountable on an individual basis, based on their specific and individual abilities.

Context for Learning Assignment

I am teaching at a middle school. I have been in a 6th grade class the last quarter, and will be splitting my time this quarter in the same class and a 7th grade classroom. I am so excited to finally be in a classroom and have the opportunity to interact and teach the kiddos! It has seemed like quite a bit of time this past three years, but being in the classroom and teaching lessons really makes it all worth it. Not to mention that time has just been flying by now ever since I started at the school.

This school offers a program similar to AVID they call it GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs). It is a federally funded grant program that like AVID, gets younger kids on the right track to prepare for a career after high school, heading into college. There are 189 students in 8th grade currently enrolled in the program and will be monitored through 2017. I haven’t yet had the time to sit in on any meetings, but have every intention of doing so this quarter.

Like all Washington state schools the school has to adhere to the standardized testing. For the past couple of months now, students have been having scheduled times to go to the computer lab to take MAPS tests and have been having a lot of content specific lectures that are targeted specifically at teaching the students to the test. I like that I live in a state that has some of the highest education standards in the nation, but wish there could be another way to demonstrate mastery, than a standardized test. There is also a Teachers aid in my classroom that has seven students that are all on individual IEP’s and have their own specific curriculum that the aid is in charge of. Their homework assignments are often smaller than the rest of the class and she is there during homework time to help with reading or explaining any questions that any of the students may have.

I am in a sixth grade Social Studies classroom that is teaching the book World History Ancient Civilizations. The class is on semester basis and each class is a 50 minute block. Last quarter I observed two days a week in the afternoons, and this quarter I will be observing in the morning on Wednesdays and all day on Fridays. I will be splitting the day on Friday in my normal class and with a seventh grade classroom that I have only observed once so far, so am not quite sure of their protocols yet. In the sixth grade class there are eight students with IEP’s and they have a teachers aid assigned to help them during class time. The aid sits with them to ensure their accuracy on note taking and comprehension. I have also been taking a couple of students at a time, during class work time, out into the hall to give them additional tutoring. The fact that there is so many students with IEP’s doesn’t really slow the class down at all, the teacher goes through his lesson at his normal pace and leaves it to his aid to ensure that those students are keeping up with his pace. There is a smart board in the classroom that is the teacher’s primary instructional instrument during reading and note taking.

In my sixth grade class there are 25 student total, thirteen males and twelve females. Sixteen of the total is on free or reduced lunch. The class consists of two English language learners and eight students that are on IEP’s, most of which are for reading/comprehension, which is why they sometimes need to be read the questions during a test or homework assignment. The class also has two students that require Section 504 accommodations. There are no students that are “gifted” as far as state standards are concerned that require any support or special challenges. As I mentioned earlier the students that have the IEP work with a teacher’s aid during class time. The aid is responsible for ensuring that the students are reading along and understanding the material that is being read or discussed. The aid also assists the student with their note taking and at times I will take a few outside into the hall myself if they are falling behind the lesson. This is per the teachers request so that he can move on with the lesson and the IEP students are given plenty of time to understand the material that is being taught or tested.

TPA Lesson Plan Response

I think that the most valuable item in the edTPA is the Formative Assessment process. More specifically the question targeting how we know that our students are learning the material. I could lecture all day in the best way that I know how, but if I am unsure that my students are grasping the material being presented to them, I am not fulfilling my responsibility as an educator. Secondly, I believe that the content of the lesson is very important, in the fact that it needs to be relevant and also relatable to the students. I think that for every lesson we as educators teach, we need to find a way to build on the student’s prior knowledge to assist them in connecting what they already know with new ideas, concepts and material that are going to be taught. Just a thought that I had about the academic language is that I have to sometimes remind myself that I am teaching a middle school classroom. I can’t just assume that they know what certain words mean, so what I have been trying to allow extra time within my lesson to have side discussion on words or phrases that the class may not understand. I have noticed that it helps immensely with the class’s comprehension and also keeps them more engaged taking breaks for side discussions.

The only important thing that seems to be missing in this edTPA is how we would/should assess those students with specific IEP or Section 504 accommodations. I have several students with IEP’s in my class and they sometimes require a different format of the test to accommodate their specific needs. I think that it is important that it is addressed in the lesson plan, so not to be looked over or forgotten. Sometimes certain students even need to be read the test questions; otherwise they won’t have enough time to complete the test in the allotted amount of time.

I have been using basically this same format when completing my own lesson plans, so nothing is really surprising. However, the very first time that I was introduced to this format a couple of quarters ago I was completely shocked and overwhelmed with the thoroughness and attention to detail that is has. I think that it is a great format, and am still getting used to using it, but would have never imaged the amount of work that goes in to each specific lesson. And yes, I know that this is a new format that is being introduced and many veteran teachers don’t necessarily agree with it. But in my opinion I think that even though it is more time consuming to prepare, it definitely has the student’s best interests in mind. It also ensures that the teachers are being thoughtful and thorough in their preparation. I really appreciate the step by step format that this example is in; it helps to see it as a layout, rather than a template of what to do. I think that this is easier to use when creating a lesson plan, because I can go down a list checking items off one by one, rather than the block format that I have been using.