Independent Brock Planning Template 

Here is my assessment tool I used with my planning template! Take a look! 

1.       Limited

2. Some

3. Considerable

4. Thorough/ High Degree

Students:	Student can create the proper parts of a letter using the beginning, middle and end of a letter	Students are able to work independently.	Students are able to construct their ideas from their mind map into full sentences.	Students are able to revise their letter checking for grammar mistakes and adding more content to their letter if needed.	Anecdotal Notes:

In order to accurately understand if a student has understood the concept, authentic assessment is key in understanding if students are able to take the skill and apply it to a real world context. Sometimes just giving out a test isn't enough. There are a lot of students who have test anxiety and their best work isn't captured in a unit test. Students need ongoing assessment so that teachers gave give them the most accurate mark that they deserve.

This week we were asked what were some effective assessment strategies in math. 

One form of assessment I like is called informal assessments. Informal assessments allow teachers to track the ongoing progress of their students. These assessments determine if students are learning what is being taught. Teachers can target specific problem areas and adapt their instruction. 

Some examples are:

- Anecdotal Records

- Blogs

- Exit Cards

- Gallery Walks

Formal Assessments focus on the data to support the answers from the students test or summative assignments. They have a pre-decided criteria for evaluation. With formal assessments teachers aren't able to gradually understand if the student has understood the concept overtime. They see the results at the end of the assessment and then have to start all over again to help the student based on their scores.

If you want to see a teacher in action displaying formal and informal assessment, I have found an amazing video you can watch here 

A great article that talks about authentic assessment can be found here 

Week 10: Data Management and Probability

We focused on two chapters this week which focused on data and probability. The main points to highlight were:

- Creating appropriate questions to gather data.

- Graphs are a powerful tool to reveal information quickly about the data being researched/taken.

- Probability can be expressed as a fraction or decimal. 

- Unless an event is impossible or certain we will never know how often it will happen. 

How can we ensure our students develop a conceptual understanding of data management and probability?

In order to ensure that all students have a conceptual understanding of probability,  we as teachers need to provide students with ample opportunities to test their knowledge of this math strand to fully understand how it works. I think that group work for this strand would work best so that if one student is struggling, he/she has three or four other friends to help and clarify what is not being grasped.  By providing students with examples of how data management and probability is displayed in the real world, it would help develop their understanding of how it applies to their life outside of school. 

We also had our last set of presentations this week. Here is a small recap:

The presentation that engaged me was Mikes's presentation on probability for a grade 4 class. He made the lesson fun and stress-free and each table got introduced to a different way to apply probability. For example Brittany's table got to use a deck of cards and our table got to flip coins. Using manipulatives helps students better understand the concept because we get to physically see the learning taking place. This is such an important strand that teachers need to help their students understand as there are so many aspects of this strand around us in our lives. 

That's where us brilliant teachers come in to help those students and get them out of their comfort zone! Here are two ways that I think can improve oral communication:

Guided Discussion:

This is a great way for quiet students to come out of their shell and have a chance to speak! Get your students into groups of 4 or 5 and ask them to write an answer to a question or prompt that you have provided. In their groups have the students share their responses with one another. While one student is speaking have the other students summarize what the other has said and create new questions to help get the conversation flowing. This gives those that don't usually speak a chance to feel comfortable in a smaller setting. We have been using this method of oral communication in our Literacy Class and as a quiet student it was very easy to explain my thoughts and thinking because I felt comfortable with my partners because we were all actively listening and creating a positive classroom environment.

I found a great resource for students to see the success criteria of speaking in class where they know exactly what they need to accomplish. You can find it here. Teachers also have to learn ways in which they can promote oral communication. I have found a great article which you can read here

Confuse them: 

When students have figured out the classroom routine, it is so easy for them to hide. Throw them off a little bit to create conversation. Write a statement on the board after you have just taught them a lesson that is completely different to what you said. When students return to the class and read the statement, sit in the back of the room and just let them talk. Most of them will be confused and start to explain why that statement is wrong because of what you taught them. By giving students something that gets them off-centre a little bit like playing a game, the confusion leads to questions, interests and ... TALKING!

Since I would like to become a French teacher I have found a lot of resources promoting oral communication in French Class. There is a good article on how you can do that here 

 

I also found a game that you can play with students to produce their oral communication skills in French using dice with pictures to create an oral study! You can look at it here.

If we use all the resources and strategies that we have learned in teachers college so far and apply  them to our placement, I believe that we have a strong chance to get oral communication flowing and create a positive classroom environment where conversations are always flowing and students are constantly learning from others. 

How has Growing Success impacted my beliefs about assessment?

I think that it is normal to feel overwhelmed with these documents because these are the tools we need to teach effectively. I know that I have a lot of reading and learning to do with these documents but I am excited to put it all into practice. Essentially we are learning how to grow and succeed understanding these documents so we can help our students grow and get the best learning out of them!