Planning Assesments

There are two types of assessments that teachers can use in the classroom. The first type is a formative assessment and these are used during class as ways for teachers to gauge how well their students are comprehending the lessons. These informal evaluations help the teacher identify students that need extra help and students who are comprehending the information. The second type of assessment is a summative assessment and these are usually performed at the end of a unit as a more formal evaluation. Grades or point values are usually assigned and towards the student's final grade on an official report card or transcript. According to Rick Wormeli, author of Fair Isn't Always Equal and Differentiation, formative assessments offer better feedback to student's and are a more effective way of evaluating students in real time (Wormeli, 2010).

Objective 

Students should be able to summarize the key incidents and turning points within a story by the end of the unit.

Formative Assessments 

Entrance Tickets: At the beginning of the class, students write down the main incident from the previous required reading on a note card (Dyer 2014). After collecting the note cards, I can use them as a quick assessment at the start of the class to know whether or not I need to review the previous chapter in the text and whether or not students understand the key plot points. High-level students can even color code their note card with a marker (Red: Very Important Incident, Orange: Semi-Important Incident, Yellow: Not Very Important).

Rationale: I like this assessment because it gives me a base from which to start a class so instead of going into it blindly, I can have an understanding of exactly where my student's proficiency level is on the past chapter and go from there. If students can't identify the key incident in the chapter, then I may need to spend some time reviewing it before going any further. Being able to identify a key incident in a single chapter can help students identify key incidents on a broader scale, such  as a whole story.According to Judith Dodge of Scholastic, formative assessments need to vary from lesson to lesson. Variety is the key to consistently good assessments (Dodge 2015).

Draw It: The students are told to draw one incident from the previous required reading that they think is the most important to the story. Then, we go around the room and they can show the drawing to the class and explain why they choose this specific incident. (Dyer 2014).

Rationale: This is a quick a dirty way of getting student's to think of a big idea and I really like this assessment because it gives students some freedom to be creative, have fun, and explain their thinking. I can also use this assessment for another objective, such as identifying key lines of dialog in a story by having students create a comic strip of the most important line of dialog in the chapter.Visual representations help students make better connections with the source material and increases memory comprehension (Dodge 2015).

Carousel Brainstorming: In this assessment, students breakout into small groups and quickly discuss the main plot points from the previous required reading. Once they decide on one, they share with the other groups (Dyer 2014).

Rationale: I like this assessment because it allows for teamwork and for students to compare and contrast their ideas with other group's findings (Dodge 2015). This also allows the teacher to walk around from group to group and listen to the dialog going on between students which is a great way to gauge understanding and comprehension. According to Wormeli, descriptive feedback is vital for students and this would be a good way for the teacher to give it right away by addressing the three main questions with each group: What was the goal? Where are you in relation to that goal? How can we close that gap?

Sources

Dodge,  Judith. What Are Formative Assessments and Why Do We Use Them? Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/what-are-formative-assessments-and-why-should-we-use-them; January 25, 2016

Dyer, Kathy. Teach. Learn. Grow. Education Blog, Retrieved from https://www.nwea.org/blog/; January 22, 2015

Wormeli, R. 2010 YouTube Video: Formative and Summative Assessment, Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJxFXjfB_B4; January 25, 2016

Standards and Backwards Mapping

8^th Grade Reading Literature (Key Ideas and Details) Standard

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.3
Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character or provoke a decision.

Backwards mapping is the process of starting with an end goal or objective and working backwards to create learning experiences and activities that help students meet the desired objectives that were established first. This strategy is effective because it ensures that teachers are helping their students meet the end goals by designing their lesson plans around them. Most often, the end goals will be common core state standards and for this activity, I have chosen the above standard for 8^th grade reading class. I chose this standard because of my passion for reading and the grade level (I plan on teaching ELA middle school).

3 Proficiencies

Students will identify major and minor characters in a story or drama.

Students will analyze how particular lines of dialog in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

Students will analyze how particular incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

3 Assessments

Class discussion questions at the end of each reading assignment throughout the entirety of the story or drama

Short quizzes about the major plot points and character dialog throughout the entirety of the story or drama

Summarizing the story or drama with emphasis on character dialog and plot points at the end of the unit

3 Learning Experiences

Character Mapping: This activity involves giving students a blank figure that they can draw and color on as they read the story. The student’s should add things that pertain to the character’s personality (ie. A businessman could be wearing a suit and a green tie that represents greed or money). They also keep track of important dialog that comes from that particular character.

Story Mapping: Story mapping is similar to character mapping but pertains to significant plots throughout the story. The students can do this as a class on a blank bulletin board. When students identify a major plot point, they map it on the board. As the story progresses, it’s easy for student to refer back to the map to remember key details.

Creating a Movie Trailer: The story is being turned into a Hollywood Blockbuster! Students write an outline and create a movie trailer based on the major plot points on the story. A good trailer will tease the story by summarizing important dialog and incidents without giving away the ending.

Understanding and Applying Standards

For this unit, I learned to unpack a common core standard, wrote SMART objectives for them and used backwards mapping to plan activities and assessments to help achieve these standards. All three of these processes helped me understand lesson planning and breaking down a standard in order to better understand it.  As teachers, we must use these strategies to help our students achieve the objectives set before them by simplifying the complex wording and ensuring that we have encompassed both the breadth and depth of each standard. Only by doing this can we begin to create effective lesson plans, assessments and goals.

Unpacking a standard was relatively easier than I first thought it would be considering the sophistication of some of the common core standards. The premise behind unpacking standards is to break them down to ensure that you know exactly what the standard is asking the student to do. Because some standard can be complex and lengthy, it’s important to simplify them. This makes it easier for the teacher to meet all of the goals in the standard. By identifying the verbs and nouns within each standard, it can easily be unpacked. The two main objectives are to identify what the students need to know and what they need to do to demonstrate that they are meeting the standard.

Backwards mapping is the concept of working backwards from the objectives of a standard. Instead of planning lessons around a particular topic, you should plan them around a particular end result.  By doing this, the outcomes are more likely to be met by students. Starting at the end and working your way backwards is an effective strategy for teachers when lesson planning. In backwards mapping, there are three main steps. The first step is to determine the desired result or objective. The second step is to determine the assessment that students will do in order to prove they are meeting the objective. The third and final step is planning activities that help student learn and meet the objectives.

Writing objectives for standards was a bit more difficult for me to fully understand. I don’t quit know the difference between unpacking a standard and writing an objective for it. It seemed to me that they were very similar and that objectives were basically already written into each standard. I had a hard time with this because of the similarities and I’m worried that I don’t know the distinction between the two besides the fact that objectives have the SMART guidelines.

Overall, I learned a lot about understanding and breaking down standards. These three processes will help me create better lesson plans and help ensure that my students are meeting the objectives. While the sheer volume and complexity of the common core standards can feel overwhelming, these are great methods for helping organize the perceived chaos.

Applying Classroom Rules and Procedures

As we’ve studied in Module 4, establishing classroom rules and procedures is very important, especially at the beginning of the school year. There are two opposing sides to rules and procedures: consequences and positive reinforcement. Students who follow the rules and set good example for the rest of the students should be acknowledged and rewarded for their good behavior. Students who don’t follow the rules and exhibit bad behavior should suffer come kind of consequence. How you decide to manage classroom behavior and the distribution of positive to negative influence is entirely up the teacher but in The Art of Science and Teaching,  it states, “Clearly, the results of these studies should permit schools to strike a healthy balance’ between rewards and punishments.” (Marzano, 2007) 

Positive Reinforcement

There are several ways that teachers can administer positive reinforcement. Simple verbal and nonverbal cues towards students or groups of students can act as positive reinforcement. For example, if a set of particular students is setting a good example and adhering to a classroom procedure, the teacher can make a small comment or direct some words of gratitude towards those students. If the teacher is well liked and respected, then the students will be more inclined to please the teacher and seek these affirmations. In my own personal experience, I try to point out examples of good behaviors and draw attention to them. Not only am I praising the behavior, but the students are aware of what I am looking for from examples set by their peers and not me. Other good way to administer positive reinforcement is to get the parents or guardians of the student involved. Phone calls or e-mails home are a good way to share good behavior reports with the people that are important to the student. I have learned that the more positive reinforcements the student gets outside of the classroom from more people than just me, the more effective it is. It’s great if I praise a behavior in class but it’s even better if the parents acknowledge it outside of class at home. This increases the likelihood of the good behavior continuing in the class. In my classes, I also have a reward system for the both the class and the individual. If the individual student distributes a good behavior, then they are rewarded with a sticker on their personal chart and can redeem stickers for prizes throughout the year. I also keep track of class behavior which helps students understand the importance of teamwork and that their negative and positive behaviors effective everyone, not only themselves. 

Negative Consequences

I tend to use negative consequences less than positive reinforcement as a personal teaching philosophy. While The Art of Science and Teaching does point out that both need to be used in the classroom, studies have proven that positive reinforcements work better and have a more lasting effect than consequences. I can attest to this from my own personal experiences in the classroom which is why I use both but, but not proportionately. When administering consequences, it’s important that teachers have “withitness,” or are observant and aware of their surroundings at all times. This helps to stop bad behavior before it starts to spiral out of control and really affect the learning of other students. I always try to stop major displays of bad behavior immediately and if there is a major problem, I will address it after class in private. This saves the students from suffering any unneeded embarrassment. Making students stay after the bell or giving them a little extra homework are ways you can punish them without being too severe. It’s important to remember that your reaction to bad behavior should gradually increase the severity of the actions. Don’t immediately go from calm to angry without fully addressing the situation first.

Like I’ve mentioned before, it’s best for each teacher to find what works best for them. Each class and each student will be different and unique so what works for one class or student may not work for others. You want to reward students without becoming a “push-over” and losing their respect but you also don’t want to punish them too severely where you lost their trust and admiration. It’s a tricky balance that only experience and knowledge will truly prepare you for. 

 

Sources

Marzano, R. The Art and Science of Teaching, Retrieved from: https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/platform-user-content/prod-copy/get_help_resources/activity_resources/module4/The_Art_and_Science_of_Teaching.pdf January 4 2016