IDEA & Assessment

EDUC 350
In class this week we discussed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. We are switching gears and going to start focusing on laws that govern public education. We got to read about what the definitions of certain disabilities are and the 13 categories of disabilities. I found it very unfair how before IDEA came to be there were many children who did not have access to education because of a disability.  We learned what the 4 levels for LRE are; Inclusion, resource, self-contained and separate setting. There is also monitoring which involves an EC teacher coming to check the students progress. We learned that you have to modify instruction to be able to meet the needs of EC students. That goes directly with NCTCS 2d which states " Teachers adapt their teaching for the benefit of students with special needs". As teachers we have to make sure we are meeting every students needs if that involves changing an activity you had planned so a student with a disability can participate then you have to do it. I will use what I learned in class and take it with me to my future classroom. I will know what each disability is and learn how to spot it so that I can get my students the help they need. I will make sure each lesson incorporates things that every student can participate in and make every child feel accepted. For my outside research this week I tried to look up some tips for how to work with EC students, this article has a couple tips just to give a head start on how we can behave with these students.
 http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2012/10/15/8-important-tips-for-working-with-a-special-needs-child/

EDUC 410
In class we talked about rubrics. Rubrics are not something I thought of as an assessment tool until today. We learned that rubrics are very beneficial to both teachers and students. They help teachers be less biased, grade faster because they already know what they are looking for. It helps students to have that guideline of what are the expectations for the assignment. One of my classmates pointed out that it also helps to avoid a student saying that they were graded unfairly because you can look at the rubric and point out what they are lacking. I think our seminar was full of good thoughts. One of the articles talked about tips for creating rubrics and something that really stood out to me was that we should reflect what skills we are teaching onto the rubric. I know i hated when my teachers would put something on a rubric that we had not even discussed in class yet and those were the parts that I ended up doing bad at it because I had no idea what she was referring to. Using clear language that students understand is also very crucial they have to be able to understand exactly what you want. Use words that are in their appropriate age range. This directly comes from the NCTCS 4g which states "Teachers communicate effectively". I will use what I learned this week in my future classroom to ensure that I am clear and precise with my expectations from students. I will use rubrics to assess learning by comparing all my students and seeing what I need to address. 

Stressful game and Self-assessment

EDUC 350:

In class on Monday we played a life simulation game. We each had a profile of a character and we had to make life decisions. My character had little money which ended up limiting the decisions I could make. I ended up with about 12 illnesses and it seemed like nothing good was going to happen after that but then I finally got one bonus point, in the end it did not end up worth anything but it was something. Pretty much making life decisions is difficult and may sometimes have bad consequences. The first choice we had to make was what neighborhood we lived in and the school we attended. Those 2 choices was what pretty set the game for us and I chose wrong one in which to live in. I lost the game clearly but it was a good lesson to learn. On Wednesday In class we read an article about multicultural education. It mentioned how important including multicultural content in a curriculum is, such as using examples and data from a variety if cultures. We learned that this has to be throughout the whole year not just once or twice. We also need to keep in mind that the information is actually aiding in student learning and that we are not just giving it out to make students "feel good". This directly relates to the NCTCS 2b which states that "Teachers embrace divirsity in school community and in the world". As teachers we must make our students feel wanted and accepted just for who they are. For my outside research I read an article that kind of expanded on what we learned in class. It mentioned how making learning meaningful could make learning easier and increase engagement in the classroom. This is the link to the article; http://oureverydaylife.com/importance-multicultural-education-american-schools-3425.html. I will apply this to my future classroom by making sure I always include examples and information from different cultures. If I am talking about different scientists who have contributed to research I will include those who are from different cultures. I will make sure that my students feel represented in the curriculum. 

EDUC 410:
In class we talked about student self-assessment. We talked about the importance of summative and formative assessments and the difference between the two. we also discussed which one was better and I think we all kind of agreed that formative assessment is a bit better because you can assess before putting a grade on it. It gives you a chance to work on things that students are not comprehending.We also talked about feedback and how it is more beneficial if students receive immediate feedback and understand why it is that they receive that feedback. Feedback should also be purposeful instead of saying "great job" you could tell them exactly what they did correctly. We had a conversation about when we should start teaching students how to assess themselves and came to the consensus that they should start learning how to as young as kindergarten. Of course we have to make it appropriate for their age but we can make it possible. When students assess themselves they can also come up with solutions on how to improve or give us suggestions on how we can help. It is always said that we are our own biggest critic and it is very true. What we learned in class relates back to the NCTCS 4h which states that "Teachers use a variety of methods to assess what each student has learned". With what we learned this week we know that we can give effective feedback and not only can we assess students but they can assess themselves. I will use this in my future classroom to make sure that the feedback I am giving students means something to them. I will use the questioning technique Dr. Clark loves to help them think critically about what it is they might be missing. I will help use self-assessment to critique their own learning and ensure that they are getting the best out of my lessons.

Poverty and Assessment Data

EDUC 350

This week in class was a little overwhelming. On Monday our professor locked us out of the classroom and gave us a small piece of paper that pretty much told us if we were rich or poor. I turned out to be poor like the majority of my classmates. Our professor gave us an assignment which was to make a poster on poverty and education but there was a twist, we could only use the materials our groups had. Since we were poor my group only had an envelop, 2 markers, paperclip and a couple pieces of paper with information on poverty and education. The rich group had actual poster boards, a bucket of markers, feathers, etc... but what hit me hard was that they had snacks. While working on the poster I noticed that we would come up with good ideas for the poster but since we did not have the resources available we had to just settle. It really limited our potential and it was very frustrating to see the other group doing so well and then look at our miniature very colorless poster in disappointment. That taught us that when students do not have food in their bellies and school supplies and of course lots of love, they won't be focused on learning. Dr. Clark kept mentioning Maslow's hierarchy of needs and how you have to satisfy each level before you can move on to next & I finally realized the importance of that. If a child is hungry they will not be thinking about our solar system they will be thinking about how bad they want a hamburger. Once you meet those basic needs the focus will be turned into the actual lesson. On Wednesday in class we watched a video about a mother and her sons and how they lived in poverty. The young man had goals for himself and seemed like he might accomplish them. Once we saw what became of them it turned out that he did not even finish school and is also living in poverty. We learned that poverty is something that can be generational. 

The things we have learned in class this week related to NCTCS 1d which states that "teachers advocate for school and students". We as teachers have to look at our students and be their voice. If we think that our school can possibly do something to help a child in serious poverty we need to advocate and explain the situation. I will use what I learned this week in my future classroom because I need to understand that I will have students who do not have much, students whose only meal will be during school hours. I need to be sensitive about this topic and figure out ways in which I can help those students succeed. For my outside research I read an article about how poverty affects education: http://www.educationdive.com/news/measuring-the-impact-of-poverty-in-education/423321/

EDUC 410

In class this week we looked at some data from a math test taken by 4th graders. When I opened that file I was completely lost I had no idea what it was until I looked more into it and saw that they were test scores from a pretest and a post test. The teacher was very organized with the data she had every question and what standard it came from, it was very amazing actually. I learned that we should gather data from our students so we can compare the growth. It is a good thing to have data from the year just in case a parent or administrator wants to see the improvement of a certain student. We learned that by assessing our students it will help us see what we have to review and see the things our students have mastered. This relates back to the NCTCS 5a which states that "Teachers analyse student learning".

I will use this in my future classroom to ensure my students are learning what they need to learn and using data collected from assessments to review my teaching as well as student growth. This week has been an emotional roller coaster from talking about poverty and how having no money can already set some students up for failure to learning about data and how it is necessary to know that your students are actually learning the material. 

Racism & Assessment

EDUC 350
In class this week we discussed the 5 levels of prejudice. We also took a hidden bias test and the results actually shocked me. I had never thought of myself as having some kind of preference among people. It was a good thing to be aware of. Our professor gave us a list of scenarios and we talked about what we would do when put in that situations. It was nice to hear that I am not the only one who would prefer to stay out of confrontations dealing with race. On Wednesday we talked about a reading assignment we had for homework called "Narrative of Whiteness", it was a very interesting article. While reading this I realized that there are people in majority groups who do feel sorry and do comprehend the struggles of underrepresented groups. We watched a video that absolutely warmed my heart. This little boy was giving a speech about his teachers and administrators believing in him and it really opened my eyes to how much of an impact we can make to these amazing children. While that video was uplifting we also watched a video in which a teacher told her students that those who had blue eyes were superior to those who had brown eyes. It was heartbreaking to see how fast those children changed. The ones with blue eyes would call the brown eyed children names and there was even a fight between them because of this new "rule" within the classroom. The next day the teacher turned it around and told them that the brown eyed students were superior now of course there was a distasteful look on the students with blue eyes because they got used to being "better". In the end the students realized what being inferior felt like and they noticed and learned that you should not judge people by what they look like.

This week we focused on NCTCS standard 2b which states that "teachers embrace diversity in school community and the world". We have to be accepting of everyone of our students so that we can focus on teaching our content. I will apply everything I learned this week to my future classroom by making sure that I am aware of the 5 levels of prejudice and avoid them and prevent them at any cost. I will make sure that all my students feel accepted in the classroom. For my outside research this week I tried to look for ways to avoid prejudice and how to deal with your students asking you questions regarding differences between each other, I found this article that could help me.
http://www.understandingprejudice.org/teach/elemtips.htm

EDUC 410
This week in class talked about assessment and the importance of being able to assess our students. We also got a project in which we had to look up the different policies and laws that govern assessment. I had not realized how much of a controversy standardized testing had become until I started doing some research. I always knew there was some type of law which obligated me to take the EOG at the end of every school year but I had no idea that there were federal, state and local policies that governed assessment. As a student I hated tests but now that I realize that it was a necessity I thank my teachers for making sure that I was learning what I had to learn. I now know that  there are so many different ways of assessing your student learning besides just making them take a test. This is directly connected to the NCTCS standard 4h which states "teachers use a variety of methods to assess what each student has learned". Some of the methods that could be used are summative and formative assessment. I will use this in my future classroom because I can't just give out a test every time I want to check on my students. I can use different projects and activities  that relate to what we are learning so that we can maximize and strengthen comprehension.