Author: jordiesblog22

Here is a link I found to a guide called Pocket Assessment. This guide gives teachers access to 70 quick formative assessment ideas. The website you have to sign up for in order to view this resource also gives teachers access to a variety of different resources ranging from growth mindset to lesson planning,etc. (There is in app purchases)

Access this guide here:Pocket Assessment Guide

Here are some thoughts and findings on how we can help our students learn to assess themselves…and why it’s important!

Definition of student self-assessment:

“the process by which the student gathers information about and reflects on his or her own learning…[it] is the student’s own assessment of personal progress in knowledge, skills, processes, or attitude. Self-assessment leads a student to a greater awareness and understanding of himself or herself as a learner” (Minister of Education, 2002, p.3).

Why Do Student Self-Assessment?

• raises student achievement
• teaches metacognition- students learn to “think about how to think”
• teaches reflection-learn how to evaluate themselves and set goals for how to improve
• teaches students how to set goals- which is needed in a variety of disciplines in life

How To Support Student Self-Assessment

• role model examples of how to self-assess- demonstrate critical thinking about how
• discuss why self-assessment is important
• allow time for learning how to self-assess
• have students practice self-assessing with familiar tasks
• make sure parents understand the value of self-assessment and why you are doing it.

Here is the link to where I found this information: Student Self- Assessment

 

Here is a link I found to a guide called Pocket Assessment. This guide gives teachers access to 70 quick formative assessment ideas. The website you have to sign up for in order to view this resource also gives teachers access to a variety of different resources ranging from growth mindset to lesson planning,etc. (There is in app purchases)

Access this guide here:Pocket Assessment Guide

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This You-Tube video I found by Rich Wormeli called Formative and Summative Assessment. Critical Feedback for Learning, is a great advocate for using formative assessment. Mr. Wormeli feels formative assessment should involve descriptive feedback and this short video describes how to do this.

Video Retrieved from: Formative and Summative Assessment

The goal of summative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against a set standard. It is an important measurement for giving letter grades or scores.

Summative Assessments are defined by three major criteria:

1. The tests or projects are used to determine to what degree the students acquired the knowledge that was presented to them.
2. Summative assessments are given after the instructional period is over so that they are considered evaluative rather than diagnostic; they are used to gather information about what the child has learned and whether the educational endeavours were effective.  Summative assessment also determines course placement.
3. Results are recorded numerically or with a letter grade and become a part of the students’ academic record.

Examples of Summative Assessments are: 

• end of unit/chapter tests
• end of term tests
• standardized tests such as: SAT,CAT
• portfolios
• capstone projects
• performance assessments

Summative Assessments are also used for assessing the educational process.  They can help teachers determine if they are teaching in the right way to help students learn.  They can be used to modify teaching techniques or materials.  Summative tests are also use to make decisions about students, teachers and schools.

A quote about assessment that I thought explained the difference between formative and summative assessment in layman’s terms.

“When the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative assessment.  When the customer tastes the soup, that’s summative assessment.”  Paul Black

Formative assessment strategies are ways to evaluate student’s learning while the learning is happening, to determine what information students understand, and what information may need to be re-taught.

These five Formative Assessment Strategies are some that I found most beneficial and that may be second nature to some of us already.

1. Analysis of Student Work

Teachers can learn a lot about a student through the work they produce such as homework, quizzes and tests, especially if students are asked to explain their ideas and thoughts. When a teacher analyzes a students work, they can learn about that students current knowledge, skills and thoughts about a subject, their strengths, weaknesses and learning styles and whether or not the student needs further or special assistance in this area.

Analysis of student work allows for teachers to make changes to their instructions so they can be more effective in the future.

2. Strategic Questioning Strategies

Questioning strategies can be done individually, in a group or with the whole class. In order for these question periods to be effective, the questions being asked need to be high order or well thought out questions that require students to think deeply about the answers they give and allow the teacher to discover the extent of the students understanding.

Also, a strategy that has been found effective when using questioning strategies is allowing a wait time to respond. Studies have shown that students are more engaged in classroom discussions when thought provoking questions are followed by a wait time.

3. Think-Pair-Share

This strategy is one that many of us as teachers are very familiar with and are already using within our classrooms. This strategy is done by the teacher asking a question, the students each individually writing down their ideas, then dividing into partners and discussing their ideas. During this strategy, teachers have a chance to circulate around the classroom and listen in on conversations to gain insight into which students are or are not understanding the concept being discussed. Once each partner has discussed their ideas, the whole class can then have a discussion.

Research has shown that when students feel responsible for their own learning, their performance is enhanced. This is a major benefit of formative assessments, especially this one in particular.

4.  Exit/Admit Tickets (Ticket out the Door)

Another simple but effective formative assessment strategy is an Exit ticket or what we at VIU like to call it a “ticket-out-the-door”.  Exit tickets or tickets-out-the-door can be as simple as giving each student a piece of paper and having them write what the lesson was about and one thing they learned about that topic. Another ticket-out-the-door strategy I have used in my classroom is having the whole class stand up and asking a question about the topic learned to each student which they have to answer correctly before leaving the classroom. This strategy helps teachers see which students are still struggling to understand the concepts learned and how they can modify their instructions to make their teaching more effective in the future.

5. One- Minute Papers

One minute papers are a quick assessment done at the end of a lesson that help the teacher gain an understanding of what each student learned through the lesson and what needs to be targeted further in future lessons.

One minute papers consist of asking students a question and giving them about one minute to write down everything they remember learning about that question before handing it in. The teacher will then read over each of the students responses and figure out which students are understanding or not understanding the concept being today and use this to modify their instructions for future lessons.

I found these Formative Assessment Strategies at :5 Great Formative Assessment Strategies

 

The main effects of assessment are on student learning and teaching. This article I found written by Shihab Jimaa, explains how assessment effects both student learning and teaching and gives advice on how to better the assessment process in order to improve in each area.

View this article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042811025729

 

Assessment is an important step in a student’s learning process. It determines whether or not a student has met the learning intentions. Learning intentions are what the student needs to know/learn by the end of a lesson, unit or year. If the student has not met the learning intentions, it can also help the teacher understand where that student is struggling and make differentiation in their lessons to help meet that student’s needs. Assessment is crucial when it comes to determining student’s grades, abilities, different learning needs, advancement within the curriculum, support and funding.

I chose to further my knowledge in the important topic of assessment.  Assessment is an essential part of a student’s learning process where the teacher and student can gage insight into what and how the student is learning.  I would like to explore various ways of assessing my students that allows them to have input and ownership into this process.