Description:
This
week we read chapter 13: Assessing Student Learning. Slavin stated that
instructional objectives are “clear statements about what students should know
and be able to do by the end of a series of lessons, a unit or course” (2015).
One of the main parts of this unit was backwards planning. Backwards planning
begins by determining what you want your students to be assessed on by the end
of your lessons/unit/course. Next, you determine how you will be assessing them
and what your criteria for success will be. Lastly, this is when you plan. How
will you help the students master the topic?
Analyze:
On
page 341 Slavin breaks this down in even simpler terms. How will you assess (10
questions, essay, etc…), add a verb (identify, match, etc…), and how will you
determine success (2015). It is also pointed out that it is not always simple.
It would be great if every assessment could be, “8 out of 10” quiz, but in
today’s changing education system we assess children more and more often in
deeper, more meaningful ways. It is also important to note that objectives and
assessments should be closely aligned. This was demonstrated at the beginning
of the chapter when a teacher taught a series of fascinating lessons full of
stories from the civil war, but then assessed the students over material he did
not clearly teach (Slavin, 2015, pg. 339).
Also discussed is the principals for achievement
test. These are things you should keep in mind while writing, giving, and
scoring assessments. As previously discussed, the test and the learning
objectives should match. Questions should match instruction. For example, if
you spend 80% of your lessons teaching X and 20% of your lessons teaching Y then
your test should be 80% over X and 20% over Y. While formative assessments
should be over recently presented material, summative assessments cover broader
areas. Think of a lesson verses a unit. All assessments should improve learning
and scores should be looked at with caution. If students do not receive
feedback immediately in formative assessments and quickly in summative
assessments they cannot grow. Teachers should also use all assessment data to
guide instruction in whole group and small group (Slavin, 2015, pgs. 353-355).
Reflection:
This
chapter was very informative. While I do use testing data to drive my
instruction, I struggle with the development of meaningful assessments. I enjoy
using quick thumbs up/thumbs down or Kahoots quizzes. These provide me and the
students with instant feedback and I can use this to modify my next day lesson
or small group instruction. However, I know they are not as meaningful as they
could be.
I loved the section on backward
planning. This made complete sense to me. By building a foundation I can go
back and fill in the big holes and then the smaller holes. This will give me a
plan of attack. I can start with the small holes and fill in those gaps. Not
every student has the prerequisite skills needed to be successful. This is something that we really struggle
with in my school. We spend a lot of time filling gaps and building background
knowledge. Knowing the exact skills I need to reinforce by pre-planning would be
extremely helpful. Currently, I find myself moving forward with my lessons,
hitting a wall with a missing piece, having to stop and reteach that skill
before continuing with the lesson. This is not the most productive way to
teach. I have realized this, but struggled to make effective changes. This
chapter has helped me identify the changes I need to make to become a more effective
teacher.
Slavin,
R. E. (2015). Educational Psychology: Theory and practice (12th
ed.). New Jersey: Pearson
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