Classroom tests/assessments are the most common type. These can include anything from teacher-made unit exams to teacher observation notes to rubrics. Teachers can use observation notes and conversations to motivate students to use what they already know to construct new ideas. Teachers can also implement interest inventories (such as the ones we must use in clinicals) to find out what their students already know.
Classroom tests/assessments makes me think of authentic assessments, as discussed in CIE 343 last semester. Ms. Beavers stressed the importance of creating assessments that encourage students to think critically and that involve solving real-life problems. My personal opinion is that authentic assessments measure students' knowledge of what they already know. They give students the freedom to use what they know and be creative in producing the product that the teacher is looking for (if that makes any sense, lol.)
State assessments and standardized tests tend to go hand in hand in my thought process. I think of the term "high stakes" as mentioned in the text. I also think of the No Child Left Behind policies that were discussed in Chapter 1. How can standardized tests/assessments results depict accurate success rates when each student is unique and may have special needs that affect their test performance?
I remember mrs. Beavers class and agree with Hope on getting to know your students before you teach or test. Why would you teach your students thing they have already learned. You are not only waisting the students time you are waisting yours to. Also, if you can find any reason to motivate your students you should always do it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, i do agree with connecting learning with real life situations. So many teachers teach just to say they taught. They forget how it is to be a child who has not discovered the joy of learning for the sake of it. As a teacher we have to make it as real as posible so that they can make more broad connections and avoid limited thinking.