Assessment Instruments

by Lee Gabor, MTTC 1002, Spring 2006

FORMAL AND INFORMAL ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK PLAN

  What - tasks, strategies, instruments How - the processes, how often? Why - how do the selected tools support learning goals and learning principles guiding design

a) to enable continuous and frequent feedback between you and the educator/s

Constant observation and awareness; Discussion among students and between students and teacher From first activity of using ball to show force, observe how students interact with each other and if they are able to understand what is happening with activity; this continues as students individually use mouse on computer to cause animation to become active; this continues through second animation; while much of that observation can be from the area of the computer, the next set of activities require that the teacher move around the room to insure students can make the small cars that will be used on ramps; continue circulating as students use cars on ramps to show force; observation of graphs is required and if the graphs are created using Excel, this must be carefully observed, since Excel is difficult for 3rd graders. Finally, feedback is required as students complete formal assessment using CPS remotes. All of the observations and discussions are used to insure that students are grasping the science TEKS. Since students are in 3rd grade, it is very important that the observer (teacher) is well aware of how they are doing individually and in group. Students must comprehend the basic understanding of force in order to move to science TEKS for 4th and 5th grades - they take TAKS test in 5th grade, which covers force as one area tested.

b) to encourage the educators to reflect on their learning progress and achievement

 

 

 Discussion with Mr. Amaya in a mentoring fashion, asking how he thinks the lesson has gone and what areas he thinks he could be improved upon. Since Mr. Amaya speaks Spanish and I am learning Spanish, it would be helpful to me as a mentor to use a checklist with both Spanish and English. This would be a simple self-assessment, but would help to better define goals and if we are reaching our target together.

This is an ongoing process with constant communication between Mr. Amaya and Ms. Gabor. These conversations and discussions take longer because we are dealing with two languages. It is vital that we're on the same page and making sure our vocabulary is clearly understand by both of us. Throughout the entire process of discussing ideas, reading TEKS and determining which would be the best to cover in light of Scope and Sequence, creating and implementing the lesson, and assessing, we must thoroughly discuss each area. Mr. Amaya taught Kindergarten and this is his first year at 3rd grade. I have taught only 5th and 6th grades. We want to be sure we are stimulating students and challenging them, but not overwhelming them. This takes time and effort on both our parts.

Asking mentoring style questions will be part of the reflecting, but I also would like for Mr. Amaya to write in Spanish what he thinks about the lesson. This will give me an opportunity to work on my Spanish and it gives Mr. Amaya information that can be used again next year - what did he think, how he would improve lesson, etc. If we don't write this, we may forget it.

Having Mr. Amaya write his reflection gives us both a better sense of what he thinks about the various activities within the lesson. Which ones are the most effective? Which are the most efficient in terms of classroom time? What can be done to improve the lesson for next year? What would he do differently? These and other questions give Mr. Amaya and the Mentor (Gabor) a more concrete informal assessment of the lesson.

c) to determine your colleagues' needs for implementing a system for monitoring the effectiveness of their integration efforts

 

 

 Using the Classroom Performance System remotes will show if students are grasping the objectives. With the questions written simply and with students correctly answering questions, we can monitor how well the lesson has been used. In addition to the informal assessments, Mr. Amaya will create the formal assessment (as a test) on the computer using CPS software. He will determine how many questions to ask and the form for the questions, for example multiple choice (and how many possible answers), true-false, will graphics be included, etc. After planning the exam, he writes it and inserts any graphics that he desires. The exam is saved and he pulls it up as students are ready to take the formal exam. By using the CPS system, particularly if Mr. Amaya designs this to be similar to the 5th grade TAKS test, students get practice in answering science questions in the manner they will be asked when the students take the TAKS Science test in 5th grade. The more practice they get with this style of test (4 multiple choice), the more comfortable they will be in 5th grade. The questions can include the TEKS, if so desired. Typically with CPS, the teacher reads the questions aloud, since students read at very different speeds. This insures all students are getting the same question and if there is a problem with vocabulary, that can be addressed as Mr. Amaya reads the question.