Module Three:
Powerpoint: Overview of Assessment
This powerpoint was extremely helpful in learning so much about the assessment process. It will be a great reference when assessing students in the future. I especially was interested in the four types of assessment: screening, diagnostic, monitoring, and outcome. I did not know all those components came together to create one, large assessment. It says that progress should be monitored monthly or weekly, and I would say it should be weekly through small, formative assessments. The more feedback a student is receiving, the more benefit a child will receive from teaching methods improving.
When this presentation discussed scoring, I did not know about "Stanines" and what that type of scoring that represented. Most schools score differently and use different programs, however, it is always interesting to me to compare types of scoring and the numbers different programs use to represent low, middle and high scores.
Overall, this presentation was a great review and learning for me. I appreciated the definitions of validity vs. reliability and formative vs. summative assessments. This presentation will be a great resource to use in the future when doing assessments in my classroom.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Module Three: Phonics Evidence and Strategies
Module Three:
Powerpoint: "Phonics Evidence and Strategies"
Reading this powerpoint was a great review on phonics and the most effective ways to teach phonics. This powerpoint defined phonics as the ability to know letter-sound correspondences, to be able to decode and encode. When teaching phonics, the lessons should be explicit and systematic while also continuing over a long period of time. When a student has mastered their phonics skills, they should have accurate letter-sound correspondences and can recognize spelling patterns. All of these comments were a great review for me along with the differentiation of phonemic awareness and phonics because those two terms can be easily confused.
In regards to consonants, vowels, compound words, etc, I really appreciated the strategies suggested on how to help children master those concepts. Those things can be very difficult for young readers, so implementing worksheets that specifically focus on these concepts or different individualized exercises can be very beneficial. In my current class, we do word study every day which focuses on different sounds of words such as long vowels or short vowels. We use individualized worksheets that focus on one vowel letter sound (short and long) to help the students learn other words with that same sound and understand why the sound is short or long. This method tends to be very effective with our students.
Lastly, yes, some students do come to mind. I hope to implement more focused work on each of these concepts and taking more instruction time to ensure that the students are understanding the concept being learned. It was a very helpful presentation and will be a great resource when working with my class.
Powerpoint: "Phonics Evidence and Strategies"
Reading this powerpoint was a great review on phonics and the most effective ways to teach phonics. This powerpoint defined phonics as the ability to know letter-sound correspondences, to be able to decode and encode. When teaching phonics, the lessons should be explicit and systematic while also continuing over a long period of time. When a student has mastered their phonics skills, they should have accurate letter-sound correspondences and can recognize spelling patterns. All of these comments were a great review for me along with the differentiation of phonemic awareness and phonics because those two terms can be easily confused.
In regards to consonants, vowels, compound words, etc, I really appreciated the strategies suggested on how to help children master those concepts. Those things can be very difficult for young readers, so implementing worksheets that specifically focus on these concepts or different individualized exercises can be very beneficial. In my current class, we do word study every day which focuses on different sounds of words such as long vowels or short vowels. We use individualized worksheets that focus on one vowel letter sound (short and long) to help the students learn other words with that same sound and understand why the sound is short or long. This method tends to be very effective with our students.
Lastly, yes, some students do come to mind. I hope to implement more focused work on each of these concepts and taking more instruction time to ensure that the students are understanding the concept being learned. It was a very helpful presentation and will be a great resource when working with my class.
Module Three: "Formative Assessment: Simply, No Additives"
Module Three:
Article Response: "Formative Assessment: Simply, No Additives" By: Kathleen Roskos and Susan Neuman
While reading the beginning of this article, I couldn't help but agree that formative assessments have been pushed under the rug in regards to all the necessary standards of summative assessments. I think that good teachers are constantly using formative assessments, even if it is not an intentional, planned assessment. By observing students and really interacting with their learning, an observant teacher knows when to change a teaching method or how to fix a current problem which are both types of formative assessments. Continuing on reading about the different subsets of formative assessments, I liked the way Roskos and Neuman defined formative assessment as a type of "Gap Minder" explaining that the, "central purpose [of formative assessment] is to identify the gap between where students are and where they need to go in their reading development" (p. 535). This is why allowing formative assessments to happen daily is so vital in a classroom. When a teacher is more aware of student learning and improvement or struggle, then that teacher is able to make an effective changes for all students in that classroom by "minding the gap" and being on top of the students learning.
The different components that this article reflects upon were also very helpful to me in understanding the different categories of self assessment. Just like I was reflecting that formative assessment can happen informally during the school day, Roskos and Neuman also agree with this idea. They explained that, "One of the beauties of formative assessment, however, is that it can occur in real time during the natural course of instruction and therefore inform teaching and learning as it goes" (p. 536). I think this is the most valuable idea to take away from this article. Yes, formative assessments may have their plans and organization but perhaps, the most valuable assessment is when it is unplanned. That way, the teacher is actively involved in the classroom and changing things as the class progress. I hope to teach more in this manner, ensuring that I am staying involved in the student learning and changing things when necessary.
Article Response: "Formative Assessment: Simply, No Additives" By: Kathleen Roskos and Susan Neuman
While reading the beginning of this article, I couldn't help but agree that formative assessments have been pushed under the rug in regards to all the necessary standards of summative assessments. I think that good teachers are constantly using formative assessments, even if it is not an intentional, planned assessment. By observing students and really interacting with their learning, an observant teacher knows when to change a teaching method or how to fix a current problem which are both types of formative assessments. Continuing on reading about the different subsets of formative assessments, I liked the way Roskos and Neuman defined formative assessment as a type of "Gap Minder" explaining that the, "central purpose [of formative assessment] is to identify the gap between where students are and where they need to go in their reading development" (p. 535). This is why allowing formative assessments to happen daily is so vital in a classroom. When a teacher is more aware of student learning and improvement or struggle, then that teacher is able to make an effective changes for all students in that classroom by "minding the gap" and being on top of the students learning.
The different components that this article reflects upon were also very helpful to me in understanding the different categories of self assessment. Just like I was reflecting that formative assessment can happen informally during the school day, Roskos and Neuman also agree with this idea. They explained that, "One of the beauties of formative assessment, however, is that it can occur in real time during the natural course of instruction and therefore inform teaching and learning as it goes" (p. 536). I think this is the most valuable idea to take away from this article. Yes, formative assessments may have their plans and organization but perhaps, the most valuable assessment is when it is unplanned. That way, the teacher is actively involved in the classroom and changing things as the class progress. I hope to teach more in this manner, ensuring that I am staying involved in the student learning and changing things when necessary.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Video Analysis: Phoneme Segmentation Assessment
I think the exercise the teacher is using in the video with the student to help them learn the different phonemes in a word is effective. I think manipulatives are always beneficial in helping students grasp a new concept. Having each block represent a sound is also a very attainable and easy concept for young children to grasp. However, one concern I have with this video is that every time the student is sounding out the word with her blocks, she is spelling the word backwards. The first letter sound (aka. block) is being pulled down by her right hand, and then the following sounds/blocks are being added to the left, explaining to me as an outsider that the last sound of the word looks like the first sound or letter according to the blocks and reading left to right. This could potentially hurt the child's understanding of the sounds and correct spelling of the word.
Despite that concern, I think utilizing this type of instructional tool would be very helpful in my tutoring sessions. In undergraduate, during different field placements, I would do letter box lessons one on one with students during guided reading. I found great results from doing these types of phonemic assessments with students one on one. I would also recommend to use tiles that have the letters on them. That way, the student is observing the correct spelling of the word along with the main focus of the lesson, to understand how many sounds are in the word. I will try to utilize this in my own tutoring sessions next week. I think my student would benefit from this type of hands on learning.
Despite that concern, I think utilizing this type of instructional tool would be very helpful in my tutoring sessions. In undergraduate, during different field placements, I would do letter box lessons one on one with students during guided reading. I found great results from doing these types of phonemic assessments with students one on one. I would also recommend to use tiles that have the letters on them. That way, the student is observing the correct spelling of the word along with the main focus of the lesson, to understand how many sounds are in the word. I will try to utilize this in my own tutoring sessions next week. I think my student would benefit from this type of hands on learning.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
EDRD 7717: Powerpoint Summary
The Assessment of Reading and Writing Processes:
The assessment of reading and writing processes powerpoint
was very interesting to read. It was a great review of the processes teachers
should take to assess students and understand and evaluate their writing. It was helpful in regards to vocabulary, portfolios, rubrics, scoring, etc. The
writing tips were extremely beneficial. I also appreciated reflecting on the
techniques recommended to help assess their learning. I did not know all that entailed in analytical scoring, so I enjoyed learning about compositions and organizing work into a portfolio that both the teacher and student could be proud of.
The following are my answers to the questions posed at the end of the presentation:
1. Some examples of study skills are assessing students
vocabulary knowledge, having the students make notes of their learning’s,
understandings, and observations.
2. Good strategies are listening to the students listening
and speaking vocabularies and watching their them while reading vocabulary aloud.
3. Two techniques: observations and journals.
4. Portfolios can assess progress in reading and content
areas. The teacher works with the students to decide which works will make the
portfolio.
5. The TOWL-3 means “Test of Written Language 3”. This is designed for students ages 7-17. This
assesses mechanics of writing, sentence combining, spelling, and ability to write
a story.