Reflective Journal Entry Eight- Assessment and Learning

            As an educator, I am always trying to find a balanced approach to assessing student learning. With standardized assessments taking a more and more prevalent role in guiding our instruction and assessing student growth and learning, I believe it is our responsibility to provide a more authentic view of our students’ growth and abilities. A combination of authentic and standardized assessments can give us a much broader and more accurate picture of student growth and achievements.

            A variety of assessments are necessary in determining student performance. Evaluations are important for providing feedback for students, teachers, and parents (Slavin, 2012). Assessments are broken down into two basic categories, which are formative and summative evaluations (Slavin, 2012). Formative evaluations are a way to determine how well students are learning content along the way, while summative evaluations show what students know at the end of a unit. Both of these types of evaluations are important in determining student learning, but should be used in different ways to be effective.

            Formative assessments are designed to assess students’ learning throughout a learning unit. These can be done informally in a variety of ways without taking large amounts of time. This week’s discussion posts provide insight into how teachers use these in the classroom. Examples provided include conferencing with students, listening to group discussions, short quizzes, student cues, and short written responses. Many posts also stated that formative assessments are very important in meeting students’ needs because they show where students need additional assistance and enrichment. Finding out that a student is struggling or needs assistance early on in the learning process is very important, especially prior to a summative assessment.

            I believe it is important to use a variety of assessments, and that we should strive to incorporate more authentic assessments. Slavin (2012) states, “One goal of these “alternative assessments” is to demonstrate achievement in realistic conditions” (p.429). This year my fifth grade students are being provided iPads for during and after school use, and I plan to incorporate these types of assessments with the use of this technology. I have always wanted to create personal portfolios for my students, but find the paperwork and storage to be difficult to manage, so I am going to work with the students to create online portfolios that they can expand on throughout the year and in the future. I also plan to have students reflect on their work and add pieces and documents that they believe demonstrate their best work. I believe these portfolios will be valuable to use for parent conferencing as well due to the fact that parents will be able to see how their child is progressing.  

            It is important that learning objectives match assessments and that we use a variety of work samples for grading purposes. I believe combining formative and summative assessments with authentic assessments provides a more realistic understanding of student learning and progress. Presently, primarily standardized test scores determine student success and I believe that teachers have a great opportunity to capture more of students’ learning and progress with the addition of authentic assessments. Students need to know that their learning is more than standardized test scores and that real world applications of skills and concepts are the true measure of learning and growth.

Reference

Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational Psychology: Theory and practice (10^th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Reflective Journal Entry Seven- Classroom Management

            My first classroom observation experience took place during my first year of college in my mother’s classroom. She was a second grade teacher at the time and I had volunteered to teach an art lesson to her class. Even though I was not an education student at the time, I was able to recognize remarkable things taking place in her classroom. There was a true sense of unity and family, the students knew their jobs and were all actively engaged in their learning, and I heard my mother using phrases like, “I really like the way you are helping your partner with her work.” I felt excited for those students to have that type of learning environment and proud of my mother for creating it.

            The thing I was not aware of at the time is the amount of work that goes into creating that type of a positive, engaging learning environment. It took many more observations of her and other successful teachers to develop an understanding for the need of routines, procedures, and expectations in the classroom. During my journey as a student of education and since my time as a teacher, I have had the opportunity to observe many classrooms, and have discovered that classes with teachers who use effective classroom management methods are easy to pick out. These are the classrooms where students are actively engaged in their learning and behavior issues are minimal. Slavin (2012) states, “Creating an effective learning environment involves organizing classroom activities, instruction, and the physical classroom to provide for effective use of time; to create a happy, productive classroom; and to minimize disruptions” (p.317). Unfortunately, classrooms that lack effective classroom management methods are even easier to pick out because of the lack of student engagement in learning and the abundance of behavior problems that exist in these classrooms. This weeks discussion posts show that a majority of teachers have encountered classrooms with effective and ineffective classroom management methods. Some of the posts were also quite candid in personal teacher learning experiences where least intervention strategies were not used and became learning experiences for the teachers themselves. These included instances where teachers admit they probably could have avoided distracting from the lesson by using nonverbal cues and reminders. I believe we have all made these mistakes as teachers, and should use them to grow and develop better methods of classroom management. Many peer posts also listed mismanagement of time as a key contributor to behavior issues in observations and in their classes. I have also observed this to be the case and have learned over time that it is much better to be over prepared and provide more for students than not enough. Students who are engaged are simply too busy to participate in questionable behavior.

            I am setting a goal for myself this year to create a more student-centered classroom. Slavin (2012) states, “In more student-centered classrooms, children are likely to be spending much of their time working with each other, doing open-ended projects, writing, and experimenting” (p.325). I will still provide my students with rules and procedures, as these are still necessary in this setting, but I plan to involve my students more in setting the standards for acceptable behavior. I teach reading, so I need students to be able to work collaboratively in reading groups and quietly so that students who are reading will be able to focus and comprehend what they are reading. I believe that involving students in the development of class expectations and standards will help them understand the need and importance for them if we are to be successful in respecting each other as we learn.

            I believe that classroom management is the key to creating positive, effective learning environments. I continue to learn from my own experiences working with students from various backgrounds and with different personalities and needs. I am thankful for the teacher role models I have had, like my mother, who demonstrate effective classroom management and what learning should look like when students are actively engaged in their learning and thriving in their learning communities.

Reference

Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational Psychology: Theory and practice (10^th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Reflective Journal Entry Six- Grouping, Differentiation, and Technology in the Classroom

            There are challenges in education that can seem impossible to conquer as a teacher. This week’s assigned reading addressed several of these issues, which include grouping, differentiation, and technology in the classroom. I really enjoyed learning about the data and research that supports effective use of these in education.

            There are certain aspects of teaching and learning that we can control. Slavin (2012) describes Carroll’s model, which includes quality, appropriateness, incentive, and time and the effective use of this model of instruction when the four elements are in balance and adequate. Many choices are already made for us as teachers through a top-down approach from the school board, central office, and school administrators. Choosing high quality models of instruction is a choice that we as teachers can make to improve our teaching.

            The section of the chapter on grouping students to accommodate achievement differences was very informative and concerning to me. My concern stems from the fact that my school participates in between-class ability grouping in fourth and fifth grades. We have a group of students that are in an EIP class with eleven to fourteen peers. I have voiced concerns about the effects of this type of grouping on students in the past and was told that the EIP class allows for more small-group interaction. I understand the need for small group, but do not believe this is a strong enough reason to support this type of between-class ability grouping. Slavin (2012) states, “concentrating low-achieving students in low-track classes seems to be harmful because it exposes them to too few positive role models” (p.255). I have observed this first hand and believe that peer support and interaction is invaluable in learning. The quality of instruction is lower in these types of classes and sends the message to these students that success is not within their reach (Slavin, 2012).

            The group discussion we participated in this week proves that these at-risk students need to be sent the message that they can succeed, which is the opposite of the message they are receiving by being placed in low-track classes. Many posts stated that at-risk students need to know that we care about them and be continuously made to feel that they can succeed. Some posts also stated that at-risk students need additional teacher and peer tutoring opportunities to be successful. Most students in low-track classes are similar in their abilities, especially in reading, and are therefore unable to assist one another adequately in most instances. I plan to voice my concerns in regard to this issue again prior to the start of this school year and will share this valuable research data with my administrators. I already create reading groups based on students reading levels and abilities, so students will still receive differentiation and small-group support.

            I also enjoyed reading about the use of technology in the classroom. Slavin (2012) states, “In order for technology to be beneficial in the classroom, you have to use its various tools effectively” (p.268). All of the students in third grade and above in my county will be provided with iPads this year to take from class to class and home after school. I am extremely excited about the prospects of using the iPads for research and instruction, but want to make sure that I am using them effectively to enhance instruction. In particular, I plan to incorporate WebQuests in social studies lessons, and problem-solving programs to help develop critical-thinking skills.

            This week’s reading assignment and group discussion were very insightful and informative. I am always looking for ways to address issues in our field and look forward to implementing and changing things within my control as a teacher. I will also make an informed opinion in regards to current practices of between-class ability grouping taking place because I believe we have to be the voice for students, especially those at-risk who need us the most.

Reference

Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational Psychology: Theory and practice (10^th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

Reflective Journal Entry Five- Student-Centered Instruction

            I began my last reflective journal entry by stating that I always feel guilty when my lessons involve me delivering information more than students developing concepts and ideas on their own, so this week’s reading assignment was very refreshing and inspirational! Even though research supports the effectiveness of direct instruction, I cannot ignore the boring effects associated with this type of instruction. I believe effective teachers combine direct and student-centered instruction to create a balanced approach to teaching.

            The constructivist theory states that learners must discover and transform complex information in order to make it their own and develop a higher level of understanding (Slavin, 2012). Teachers must provide students with learning opportunities that require discovery and the active participation of students. Teachers must also take on a different role in student-centered instruction as a guide to assist when necessary, but not in the main delivery of content. This requires teachers to give up a certain amount of control, which can be difficult, especially with the large amount of content we are required to teach at this time.

            Constructivist approaches to teaching incorporate cooperative learning, so that students will discover and comprehend concepts that might be difficult for them (Slavin, 2012). I really enjoyed reading peer posts this week about how this can seem like a chaotic learning environment, but that structure can still exist even when the teacher is not solely in charge of the lesson. One method I plan to use in the future, that I believe will be beneficial to my students, is the reciprocal teaching approach in reading. Slavin (2012) states that research on this approach has found that it generally increases the success of low achievers. I teach fifth grade reading, and one of the classes I work with is a small, EIP group. I believe this strategy will be an effective strategy to use with them and will help them to build their comprehension, which is the area of reading this group struggles with the most.

            I also plan on incorporating the Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) program next year. I work very closely with the language arts teacher in planning lessons, and a majority of students’ writing assignments stem from their reading. I believe working together in small groups in reading and language arts will provide additional support for students, especially those who struggle with writing and responding to literature. Students will be able to remind one another of discussions from the reading and apply what they have learned to their writing.  It has been my experience that when students work in groups, they are engaged in discussion and are actively seeking understanding, but this chapter provided additional practices that aid in the effectiveness of cooperative learning, which include creating and rewarding group goals and requiring individual accountability. I plan to create a way of rewarding group work and individual goals within the Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition program by brainstorming ideas with the language arts teacher.

            Several of the peer posts I read this week stated that teachers are seeing a lack of respect among students when working cooperatively, but I believe we owe it to our students to learn how to work with others and to problem-solve socially and academically. We know students will be joining the workforce one day and it is imperative that they are able to work collaboratively. As educators we can provide students with these effective learning strategies in a way that we can feel good about by implementing constructivist approaches in instruction.

Reference

Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational Psychology: Theory and practice (10^th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.