"A" is for Assessment

I chose to put the article, “A” is for Assessment, in my collection because it is a straightforward look at simple assessment strategies that inform both learning and teaching. I learned ab... See More

I chose to put the article, “A” is for Assessment, in my collection because it is a straightforward look at simple assessment strategies that inform both learning and teaching. I learned about the three kinds of assessments. The first assessment is called preassessments. They are short, directly tied to learning objectives, and take place just prior to the learning experiences planned around a particular concept, skill, or set of concepts. The second assessment is called the formative assessments. They check for understanding as students are learning new skills or gaining new knowledge, which can be embedded into daily work. The third assessment is called summative assessments. They are demonstrations of what students have gained as a result of the learning experiences provided. TEK §112.15. Science, Grade 4, Adopted 2017. 4.(2) Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses scientific practices during laboratory and outdoor investigations. The student is expected to: (A) plan and implement descriptive investigations, including asking well defined questions, making inferences, and selecting and using appropriate equipment or technology to answer his/her questions; (B) collect and record data by observing and measuring, using the metric system, and using descriptive words and numerals such as labeled drawings, writing, and concept maps; (C) construct simple tables, charts, bar graphs, and maps using tools and current technology to organize, examine, and evaluate data; I could use this information in my classroom to be a more effective teacher. Assessments help teachers present a more accurate picture of what students know and are able to do. They also provide teachers with a more realistic picture of what students gained from the experiences offered, rather than making an assumption that everything they know about a concept was learned in the classroom. When assessments focus on individual learning needs and styles, students and teachers alike find the process satisfying. I agree with the article because it is beneficial on how to assess students learning.

Helping a New Teacher

I will be a new teacher and this was very helpful. I was able to get some good ideas for my teacher toolkit on how to use journals in the classroom and how to use assessments in the science ... See More

I will be a new teacher and this was very helpful. I was able to get some good ideas for my teacher toolkit on how to use journals in the classroom and how to use assessments in the science classroom.

Another look at assessments

What a great way to sum up different types of assessments. This article gives a lot of insight on all types of assessments. As teachers we focus on assessments as pre-assessment, formative a... See More

What a great way to sum up different types of assessments. This article gives a lot of insight on all types of assessments. As teachers we focus on assessments as pre-assessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment. However, this author expanded on other strategies that we use in our daily teaching that can also be looked as an assessment. Such as journaling, allowing students to write as well as illustrate their thinking. I especially like the idea of assessing students by allowing them to react what they are learning. Giving students a chance to show what they are learning besides paper and pencil.

Great overview of Assessments

This article is full of excellent ideas and examples of how to use assessments in classrooms to evaluate students learning. Beginning with ideas for assessing students' ideas before introdu... See More

This article is full of excellent ideas and examples of how to use assessments in classrooms to evaluate students learning. Beginning with ideas for assessing students' ideas before introducing a concept, the author then steps through several different evaluation methods and explains how each can be used to determine student understanding of concepts throughout the learning process. I found this to be an excellent article. Although I already use several of the assessment methods discussed, the author provides ideas for ways to use the methods in ways that I had not considered before.

Incorporating Variety into Your Assessments

This article discusses three common types of assessment, preassessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment. It gives concrete examples for including formative assessment into dai... See More

This article discusses three common types of assessment, preassessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment. It gives concrete examples for including formative assessment into daily instruction. Formative assessments can be used to identify misconceptions and to inform the teacher about the teaching and learning occurring in the classroom. Many of the formative assessments discussed, such as using drawings and graphic organizers, are useful when dealing with younger children of limited writing ability or with English Language Learners. Other examples include journaling, compare and contrast activities, dramatic representations, portfolios, and constructions. The variety of assessments included in this article will assist teachers with developing appropriate assessment tools for informing instruction and developing insight into student understanding.

What Is Your Opinion

Generally there are three kinds of assessment – preassessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment. This author looks toward journals as a form of assessment. She says “The jour... See More

Generally there are three kinds of assessment – preassessment, formative assessment, and summative assessment. This author looks toward journals as a form of assessment. She says “The journal is also an ideal strategy for a retrospective assessment in which students reflect on what they gained from a learning experience.” She also points out various ways in which students can demonstrate understanding. There are six that she discusses and they include ideas such as dramatizations, interviews and more. While these are possible, aren’t they just examples of formative assessments? You can judge for yourself.

Basics of assessment in science

We know that assessment is and should be ubiquitous in our teaching. Although assessment is sometimes tainted by improper use of standardized or high-stakes testing, we know we need to be u... See More

We know that assessment is and should be ubiquitous in our teaching. Although assessment is sometimes tainted by improper use of standardized or high-stakes testing, we know we need to be using assessment for learning every day. This article emphasizes the important uses of assessment, for teaching and learning along with strategies that we can use every day in our classrooms. While some of the concepts are basic concepts taught in pre-service teacher training (pre-assessment, summative assessment, and formative assessment) and most of the ideas are not new, it serves as a good reminder of some of the ideas we should/could incorporate on a regular basis in teaching. The article reminds us that we can be using journals, drawings, comparison/contrast charts, and more to assess students understanding and inform our teaching.