EDBE 8Y01- Blog #1

 Assessment has transformed throughout the years that I have been in university and from analysis of my elementary school years it has become more anecdotal observation based compared to content based. I do not agree with the traditional testing methods of everyone receiving the same assessments at the same time. Traditional point of views also expects students to complete the tests and receive a specific grade that ranks them in comparison to the class average. I feel that my current beliefs surrounding assessment would be to assess a student's work depending on their learning style.

Assessment affects a teacher’s instruction and the work that students complete, therefore it should be tailored towards your students and put their best interests and learning goals forward. Providing as much feedback to your students is beneficial and can demonstrate which learning stage they are at and where they should be in a particular period of time. Without feedback, students may not understand why they received a particular grade and which areas they need to improve upon. I find that it is difficult to grade students based off of letter grades as there is not much feedback provided and they may feel defeated based off of a single letter on their report card, when they can really achieve so much. Proper instruction and guidance for a child who may be struggling with assessment can help them feel motivated to complete their work and assist them with reaching their full potential.

Additionally, participation is becoming a much more respected form of evaluation in today's educational society. Some students may be active participants in the classroom, however they do not perform as well on tests. Through the participation, teachers can see that the student is comprehending and analyzing the information provided, however they do not perform as well with assessments, even though they clearly demonstrate that they understand the content. This should be taken into consideration when students are assessed because their participation in certain activities demonstrates that they are motivated to complete their work, however they learn differently and should be assessed differently as well. Not all students demonstrate the same amount of participation in the classroom, but this could also be caused by disengagement and lack of interest in the content. This is significantly important to note because if a student is not engaged in the work, they will not perform as well on tests, which in a traditional classroom would be a large deficit. In my current beliefs, instruction should be tailored to engage your students, therefore when you perform observations or provide feedback on their work you can tell that they were excited and interested in what they were completing, therefore affecting their performance for the better. The feedback should be consistent and take into consideration the student's learning style and background information. For example, feedback assessments need to take into consideration ESL students, IEP’s, learning disabilities, home environments, and many other issues that can affect how a student performs in the classroom. With the typical standardized testing, this would not be taken into consideration, even though these factors greatly influence a student's learning.

Moreover, students should consider reflecting on themselves as learners and how they performed on specific activities in the classroom. This can help the student become aware of the next learning goal that they need to achieve and helps them to track their progress with achieving this goal. Peer evaluation should also be considered when assessing elementary school students as they can provide more feedback to their peers that a  teacher may not have thought of and also makes it easier for communication to ensue in the classroom.

Therefore, my current beliefs surrounding assessment in elementary schools moves away from the typical standardized testing towards observation and participation focused evaluation. As mentioned previously, I find that feedback is really important in terms of assessment as well as taking into consideration personal factors of the student that can affect their learning.




Blog #2

When I compare my knowledge from the first blog to now, I have expanded my learning dramatically in terms of assessment. I learned a lot about assessment for, as, and of learning and the differences between each. I’ve learned that conferencing and feedback from our students is incredibly important to ensure that there is clear communication about their learning and how they can reach their next learning goal.

I also think that the new areas on the report card that open up discussion with the parent are much more beneficial as it allows communication between the teacher and parent to flourish and it also creates a parent/teacher support unit. It also displays step by step information that parents can follow in order to assist their students at home. Additionally, the learning skills and work habits break down a student's learning and clearly demonstrates to them what they need to work on. In comparison to my report cards that I used to receive, the new report cards are much more detailed and explicit. The students are provided with a letter grade on responsibility, organizational, independent work, collaboration, initiative, and self- regulation. This is much more beneficial because students are graded on real learning skills rather than how well they can regurgitate facts. This will assist them in the future because these basic skills are mandatory to have in highschool and beyond in order to succeed. I see the importance of self-regulation specifically in  my ELKP placement as the students are just learning how to self-regulate their emotions and how to control their behaviour.

Success criteria and learning goals are important to have in all grades (especially elementary school) because they clearly map out what a student needs to accomplish in a specific lesson. This acts as a guide for them to refer back to in order to ensure that they are reaching their fullest potential. The learning goals must connect to the success criteria in order to have a flow in the lesson. I think that it would be beneficial to list the success criteria on the board throughout lessons so that the students can clearly identify what they need to accomplish in order to receive a level 4. However, the students should not focus on getting the highest grade as everyone learns at different levels and in different ways. Therefore, these are all ways that Growing Success has impacted my beliefs in assessment.




AER Strategy Form

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aX-3ZB82ZB39FdezNDWu1cCyxMrruV86kVtISoDo3Zc/edit?usp=sharing

AER Reflection

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-kkmuYicuh6xEe3E0O1nhH0GCMDzU0iiOI50Mx_Mj2g/edit?usp=sharing