Post individual reflections on one of the following topics from chapter 5 in the Science in Elementary Education text, as assigned: Group 1 (Dyads 1, 2) - Assessment and the 6E Model/Backwards Design; Group 2 (Dyads 3, 4) - Characteristics of Good Authenic Assessment; Group 3 (Dyads 5, 6) - Performance Based Assessment; Group 4 (Dyads 7, 8) - Project-Based Science and Assessment; Group 5 (Dyads 9, 10) - Portfolios and Journals as Assessment Tools; Group 6 (Dyads 11, 12) - Concept Maps as Assessment Tools. Post a synthesis-response describing a situation (per your assigned topic) where you would use authentic assessment in the Integrated Curriculum (Science plus other subject areas). How will your philosophy of teaching and learning affect your use of authentic assessment in the classroom? Describe a current lesson using authentic assessment in one of your PDS field placements. Provide three website links (references or resources) using authentic assessment tools and describe how each of those web sources are useful for inquiry-based lessons and authentic assessment. Post your responses individually (not as a group response). Note: For larger postings (more than 500 words), break them into two and post a first and second part. Don't forget to spell/grammar check your posting in Word first, then copy/paste it to this blog.
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Group 6 (Dyads 11, 12) - Concept Maps as Assessment Tools, Chapter 5
Part 1
1. Post a synthesis-response describing a situation (per your assigned topic) where you would use authentic assessment in the Integrated Curriculum (Science plus other subject areas).
Concept maps bring structure to students’ learning. In every subject, teachers can effectively use a variety of concept maps in order to increase their students’ knowledge. Here are a few examples of ways concepts could be used in the four main subject areas:
Science: When learning about the Water Cycle, the teacher could ask his/her students to create a “Bubble Map” in small groups using the words: water cycle, clouds, streams, oceans, mountains, plants, animals, and groundwater. While the students are working, the teacher could informally assess which students could link the terms in the appropriate order and which students needed more practice and/or assistance.
History: When learning about any of the wars, students could use a “Problem-Solving Chart” after reading and/or learning about a particular war. This concept map would ask the students to list the problems that they learned about in the first column and then list other solutions to the problems in the second column. This allows students to creatively brainstorm and reflect on the material they are learning.
Math: When students are learning how to work through word problems, students can create an “Ice Cream Cone” concept map. The cone would have the topic, so the strategy the students would use to solve word problems. For example, “BUGS”. Each scope would then describe the steps of the strategy. Going along with my example:
• Scoop 1: Brackets: place brackets around the question.
• Scoop 2: Underline: underline any important information.
• Scoop 3: Garbage: “throw away” any unimportant information.
• Scoop 4: Solve: solve and don’t forget to check your work!
This concept map, would give students a visual reminder of the different steps they need to take in order to successfully solve a word problem.
Language Arts: One concept map that could be used when students are reading a story would be a “Sequence Chart”. Through this chart, students will be able to list the order of events in a story by using words like, “first”, “next”, and “last”. This graphic organizer also helps introduce successful writing vocabulary.
Part 2
2. How will your philosophy of teaching and learning affect your use of authentic assessment in the classroom?
My personal philosophy of teaching is that I am not the only teacher in the classroom. Students can question, answer, and explain probing questions that lead to rich comprehension. I also believe that students should be up and doing something (i.e. inquiry-based teaching/learning) instead of sitting and listening to a lecture. Therefore, using concept maps would not effect my philosophy of teaching because one crucial way students can successfully learn in an inquiry-based environment, is if they are given structure to their learning, and fortunately, that is exactly what concepts maps do. Another reason I would easily be able to use graphic organizers on a regular basis is because students can complete concept maps with the class, within small groups, or individually.
3. Describe a current lesson using authentic assessment in one of your PDS field placements.
For my math course, I had to tutor a group of seven students over their multiplication facts. After speaking to my mentor teacher, I realized that every student needed to work on different multiplication facts. To reach their needs, I decided that they each needed to make a type of graphic organizer, “Hidden Doors”, that would help them reach their individual goals. “Hidden Doors” looks like a book. When you open it, you see two pages. These pages were divided into sections, which is where the students put their specific multiplication facts down. Additionally, those two pages opened themselves and provided the answers. Although, the students and I helped each other make their graphic organizer in the beginning, this was a great tool for the students to take home and study with. Over the course of my tutoring sessions, I was able to observe which students had to continuously look at the answers, and which students were beginning to know the facts automatically.
4. Provide three website links (references or resources) using authentic assessment tools and describe how each of those web sources are useful for inquiry-based lessons and authentic assessment.
1. http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
This website is a wonderful resource for teachers. The website provides 38 different concept maps that teachers can copy and print for free. Because there are so many different graphic organizers within this website, teachers can choose the concept map(s) that fit their specific inquiry-based lesson. Also, teachers can select the concept map(s) that aligns with their specific grading criteria.
2. http://www.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/~biology/misconceptions/ce/learn/concept_map.htm
This website contains an easy-to-read document by a Hong-Kong university student that explains what concept maps are, strategies to construct concept maps, types of concept maps, ways to use concept maps, and how to assess your students’ concept maps. Like stated above, not only does this document have suggestions on what kinds of concept maps should be used for inquiry-based lessons, but it also gives tips and ways teachers can assess their students from using concept maps.
3. http://www.graphic.org/concept.html
This website is another great resource for K-12 grade teachers. Graphic.org explains the Project-Based Approach and how to assess both informally and formally in this type of learning (i.e. inquiry-based learning), but it also gives free graphic organizers teache
Group 3 (Dyads 5, 6) Performance Based Assessment
Post a synthesis-response describing a situation (per your assigned topic) where you would use authentic assessment in the integrated curriculum. (Science plus other subject areas)
A performance based assessment will generate an answer by students. Assessment of performance task can be done through teacher observation, student interviews, a written outline for students to fill in, or daily journal entries.
One science performance based assessment would be an inquiry based assessment. Have students demonstrate process skills with concrete materials. For example a lesson may be to measure the difference of a mass of an object. The students will have different materials laid out for them including, a pen, rock, paper, paper clip and a spoon. There will also be a balance beam to measure. The students will then measure each of the items and record them on their recording sheet.
The students will identify the difference in weight, which one weighs the lowest and the highest and the student can write down why they think this is the answer. Another way is to ask the students to infer the identity of three other objects that could weigh more or less than the other ones. Furthermore is to make the students put the objects into two or more groups and state their property or properties used in grouping them.
Another lesson in performance based assessment could be used in Social Studies. In a Social Studies lesson about Native Americans, the teacher could bring different artifices from the Native Americans history and show to the students. The teacher could get the artifacts from museum that lets you borrow history artifact to show in the classroom. After the students had the chance to see and learn about each artifact, they will be given specific questions on what to look for on the computer, for their artifact that they picked and research new information, they could also include pictures. Then as a class they will present what they have learned more.
How will your philosophy of teaching and learning affect your use of authentic assessment in the classroom?
I love for my classroom to be involved through out the planning of my lessons. I think it is important for the students to know that you care and want their opinions on lessons and some grading. Telling your students on how you are going to grade them can give the opportunity to achieve better in class. They can have a better understanding on what you are looking for. I like performance based assessments because it is more about what the students know and will be able to tell you, for example it is more like using their own words instead of using the text book words. I believe it is important to engage students in their lives outside the classroom or make activities similar so each student can understand the material better. I think that is a good authentic assessment. I know when I was learning, I learned better by relating real world experiences.
Part 2.
Describe a Current lesson using authentic assessment in one of your PDS field placement.
A current lesson using authentic assessment is a science lesson on Gravity. The teacher uses power point first to show pictures and give definitions. The teacher asks probing questions, she asks the students what they know about gravity. Then the teacher sets up 4 activities for the students to do as a class. While doing the activities the teacher explains what is it is, the students do it and after they have talk about it. After the activities are finished the students are to write in their science journals and turn it in to the teacher. The 4 activities include:
The science behind the impossible leap: In the position of standing, you can jump backwards from one end of the room to the other, but you won’t be able to jump forward even a single leap. When we jump, we first sift our center of gravity in the direction we want to jump, and then we move our support base in the same direction to regain our balance. When you are holding onto your toes, jumping backwards is not a problem because you can use your heels. But to jump forward, you would have to use your toes… and your fingers are in the way.
The science behind the super glue chair: In sitting position, the center of gravity is at the base of your spine. By trying to stand up with your back straight, you prevent the center of gravity from moving to a position above your feet, which would be necessary to stand up. Therefore, you remain glued to your chair.
The science behind the pick up trick: When you stand straight against the wall, your center of gravity is over your feet. When you bend forward, you move your center of gravity forward. In order to keep your balance, you must move your feet forward too. This makes sure that the center of gravity is right above your feet to maintain stability. Since the rules of this trick do not allow you to move your feet, there is no way you can make the balance shift so that the center of gravity is maintained over your feet. That is why you are unable to pick up the object and if you insist on picking up the object, you will fall flat on your face.
The science behind the leg lift: You will not be able to lift your foot off the ground. This trick requires you to shift your center of gravity over your right foot. You cannot do this without moving the wall! In our everyday life, our body maintains balance with little adjustments that are so automatic that we never think about them.
Provide 3 websites links ( reference or resources) using authentic assessment tools and describe how each of those web sources are useful for inquiry based lessons and authentic assessment.
1. http://www.teachervision.fen.com/lesson-plan/resource/5775.html?detoured=1
This website provides teachers with resources, lesson plans and information about using authentic assessment tools. You will find lesson plans that are inquiry based. This website also provides information on different themes, graphic organizers, and all of this is printable and easy to use.
2. http://www.edutopia.org
This website shares assessment planes and rubrics, classroom projects, schedules, other web links and other resources to help teachers create their inquiry base lesson plans.
3. http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
This website gives teachers ideas and different graphic organizers for students to use in an inquiry lesson. It is important to have graphic organizers because it helps your students classify ideas and communicate more effectively. Use graphic organizers to structure writing projects, to help in problem solving, decision making, studying, planning research and brainstorming.
Group 2(Dyad 3)
Part 1 of 2:
Part 1-A situation where I would use authentic assessment in Integrated Curriculum:
Good authentic assessments reflect that learning has occurred from a collaborative effort by both the teacher and students. Authentic assessments require the students to gather and develop their answers, rather than just answering predetermined questions developed by the teacher. You can use authentic assessment during any type of curriculum planning. For example, you can put together and keep a portfolio of each of your students that shows progress in their learning throughout the school year for language arts, math, science, or social studies. For science curriculum, you can implement authentic assessments during their science experiments, student observations, journals, or their performance. For language arts curriculum, you could assess your students by keeping portfolios of papers they have written throughout the school year, journals, essays, or concept maps. Authentic assessments can be used during math lessons during group work or games, or math journals. Social Studies can be assessed authentically through role play, concept maps, projects, essays, or reports. Students can re-enact historical events through role play and act out facts that they have learned through research. This would be a great way for a teacher to authentically assess students because they would be reflecting knowledge they have gained and comprehended. For an authentic assessment to be good, it should assist both the teacher and students in reflecting on what they have or have not learned.
Part 2-My philosophy of teaching and use of authentic assessment:
My philosophy of teaching is that in order to be a successful teacher, you need to be a reflective teacher. Authentic assessment gives teachers and the students the opportunity to reflect on what they learned and what needs to be gone over again. Characteristics of good authentic assessment include being student structured, using a variety of methods, and applying real-life experiences to new material.
Constructivism makes sense of your students’ experiences. Teachers need to be understanding of the different ways their students learn the exact same content. I want to be able to organize my curriculum in ways that make sense to all of my students, even if it takes a little extra time and explanation. Teachers need to know their students on a personal level, similar to progressivism, if I do not care about my students, and how they learn, then they are more likely to shut down and fail in my classroom. Constructivism almost seems to go hand in hand with humanistic psychology because they both focus on the whole student, and not just specifics. I want to be able to meet all of my students’ needs, physical, social, emotional, and intellectual.
Group 2(Dyad 3)
Part 2 of 2:
Part 3-Current lesson using authentic assessment:
I am currently observing in a first grade classroom. In Plano ISD, they do not take formal grades on student work; instead they assess growth and performance-levels and needs. I recently worked with the class during a math lesson and I provided multiple ways to authentically assess the students. I introduced them to the concept of fractions and the following day they rotated centers to implement what they had learned. The students had three centers to rotate through; a computer game, a block game, and an “I spy” game. Through the computer game I was able to informally assess if the students understood what fractions looked like. Through the block game I was able to assess if the students were able to implement that a set of the whole amount were a certain color. Through the “I spy” game, I was able to authentically assess if the students would be able to recognize objects around the room that were broken up in to equal parts. Providing the students with multiple strategies to implement their knowledge gained, allowed me to authentically assess what they had learned and could apply to real life situations. In order for authentic assessment to be successful, you and your students need to be able to reflect on what they learned and implement it informally.
Part 4-Websites using authentic assessment tools:
1. http://thinkinglikeateacherblogedee4330003.blogspot.com/2011/11/reflection-3-due-november-10-2011.html This website is a great resource for teachers because it provides examples of authentic assessments, how to use authentic assessments, workshops, tasks, and standards that are required to measure the tasks students are performing. The website also shows the comparisons and differences between traditional and authentic assessment. By comparing the two types of assessments, this website provides teachers with evidence and support for using authentic assessment in your classroom.
2. http://www.teachervision.fen.com/assessment/resource/5946.html?detoured=1 Teacher Vision is a great tool for teachers to use in their classroom because it offers lesson plans, graphic organizers, and different examples of authentic assessment. This website defines authentic assessment and provides teachers with three different types of authentic assessment to view: performance, portfolio, and self-assessment. In order for teachers to provide good authentic assessment, they need to implement the multiple resources that are available online.
3. http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=2&n=2 This website is an article that was written by Grant Wiggins for the California Assessment Program. In this article, Mr. Wiggins gives examples of what authentic assessment provides for students and teachers, as well as teachers needing to invest in implementing authentic assessment strategies in their classrooms for optimal learning. He says in the article: “To improve student performance we must recognize that essential intellectual abilities are falling through the cracks of conventional testing.”
Group 5 (Dyads 9, 10) - Portfolios and Journals as Assessment Tools
Part 1
1..Where can you use portfolios and journals in the Integrated Curriculum (Science plus other subjects)?
Portfolios and Journals are both great ways to assess the students in the classroom where the assessment is non-threatening as you may find with chapter tests with questions assessing what they do not know. You can assess a student's work by grading their progress on an activity or throughout the school year with a portfolio, or you can grade their daily learning by reading what is assigned in the classroom from experiments to higher order thinking questions. The following is how you can use portfolios and journals in different subject areas:
Science: A student can use a portfolio in Science class to keep all the work and experiments they have completed. The student and the teacher will select different experiments, which will in turn make the student held more responsible for his/her own learning. The students will take ownership of their experiments and try their best when they know a piece of work is collected into their portfolio. Science journals are quite popular in the classrooms that I have observed. Students can write in their science journal the steps used to complete an experiment, what went right and what went wrong with the experiment, and what the student might have learned from the experiment.
Mathematics: A portfolio from mathematics might consist of all the math artifacts that the students has completed throughout the semester. The student would be allowed to choose a few pieces of his work to include in the portfolio, as well as the activities that the teacher would want to include. This could include math tests, math homework, or even math projects. The student and the teacher will be able to see all the accomplishments from the student, and how well his work progressed throughout the year. A daily journal in math can be used to record seat work given to the students when they walk into class, and/or at the end of class, asking the students to explain what they did and did not understand about the lesson taught that day. The teacher can use these journals to find out what lessons may need to be re-visited or what students comprehend the math material.
Language Arts: In Language Arts class, the students may complete many pieces of literacy through out each semester. The student may have many different forms of writing, such as poems, creative stories, or narratives. These literacy pieces can be kept in a portfolio for the teacher to assess and see how far a student is coming from the beginning to the end of the year. A type of journal that could be used in Language Arts is a reading journal that students can use to summarize a book. This could be a book that is being read to the class, or maybe an book that the student is currently reading. The teacher can assess these summaries to see what students are getting from the reading. Also, writing a summary will help the students comprehend a story plot even more than if they were just sitting and listening.
Social Studies: This subject contains many different learning experiences such as history of the United States, the U.S. Government, Geography, to name a few. A student may have a project or book report for each section of history. The student and teacher can both choose artifacts from each unit to keep in the portfolio. The teacher will be able to keep track of the students' progress, as well as the student being able to see all the unique topics that they have learned throughout their Social Studies class. The students can be provided with a prompt each day for the students to write about what they know of the subject they will be learning that day. This will activate students' prior knowledge before the lesson so that they will better comprehend the lesson. Students could also go a step further and share what they wrote so that all students can benefit from what the class knows about a subject.
Part 2
2. How will your philosophy of teaching and learning affect your use of authentic assessment in the classroom?
My philosophy of teaching and learning reflects that of a student actively involved in learning, and getting the most out of each lesson by tapping into prior knowledge while using a variety of Bloom's Questioning to ensure they understand the new knowledge. My classroom will not be one where we our reading out of a text book, answering questions, and then taking a quiz or test. There will be many choices for my students for many projects that they will be doing to help them learn and apply knowledge from lessons. Using the authentic assessments of portfolios and journal writing correlates with my philosophy and will be a big part of my classroom. If the students will have many projects that incorporates reading and writing with other subject areas, using a portfolio to keep record of all the assignments will be a useful tool in assessing the students. I also believe that when the students are involved in building their portfolio, they will put much more effort in an assignment and get more out of the lessons than making them learn a subject and quiz them over the material. I have always been nervous when taking a test, and it has caused me to fail test on numerous occasions. This is something I want to avoid with my students. In my teaching philosophy I also believe that writing is very useful in allowing students to get their feelings out, help them grasp concepts that need more thought process, and also show the teacher what the student is or is not getting out of the lesson. This is why I would want to use journal writing daily. Not only does it allow students to explain what they know and don't know, but it also is useful in recording information during a lesson, or summarizing a story. These are some of the ways I will be using authentic assessment in my classroom.
3. Describe a current lesson using authentic assessment in one of your PDS field placements.
I assisted one of my fifth grade students in special education, and would guide the student in his classes throughout the day. Each day in his Integrated Curriculum class, the teacher would have the students get out their science journals and they would answer a question on the board that relates to what the students will be learning that day. They would answer the question to the best of their knowledge. At the end of the lesson, the students were asked to get their science journals out again and add anymore information to what they wrote at the beginning of class. The students also had a section in their science journals where they would record information, make graphs, or other observations that were made during an experiment. This is a great use of authentic assessment during my PDS field placement. I have also had an opportunity to view a few student portfolios from the gifted and talented classroom. They complete many projects in this class, and the teacher keeps a folder with each student's name on the folder. All of the student's work throughout the year is put into this folder for a review at the end of the year. The teacher also uses these portfolio's to show to the parents when they visit the school during "Meet the Parent's" night. This is a great example of using a portfolio to keep record of students' accomplishments and document what students have learned.
Part 1 Dyad 2
Post a synthesis-response describing a situation (per your assigned topic) where you would use authentic assessment in the Integrated Curriculum (Science plus other subject areas): Good authentic assessment requires that students understanding of a concept be demonstrated using real world situations or authentic writings that relate the concept to the real world. Authentic assessment is not giving students a 5 question true false quiz; rather you need to assess what the student has learned through hands on activities or through collection of work into a portfolio. I would use authentic assessment in integrated curriculum by creating portfolios of students work. The students will work on a variety of activities throughout a unit and the work can be compiled into a portfolio for me to review at the end of the unit. Having a collection of work from an extended time period will help me see how the student is growing and what they still need extra help with. Another way to use authentic assessment is to have students do role play or act out certain processes or events. Allowing the students to come up with songs or poems that they can perform to the class not only allow the teacher to assess their knowledge but it also helps the other students learn the concepts as well. The whole goal of authentic assessment is to assess what the students know in an authentic setting, for instance in science you can test the students understanding of mass by having them sort objects of the same size but different mass. In this case the students may not even know they are being assessed because they are learning and exploring at the same time.
How will your philosophy of teaching and learning affect your use of authentic assessment in the classroom? – My philosophy of teaching is to have fun while learning and that is accomplished by using hands on activities that steer away from traditional multiple choice question assessments. I believe my philosophy of teaching lends itself naturally to using authentic assessment because authentic assessment allows students to demonstrate their knowledge in a variety of creative ways that are fun and educational. My goal as a teacher is to create a fun learning environment where students are interested and motivated to learn by using hands on activities and authentic assessments. I like to use creative activities to assess students understanding of concepts because it allows them to have fun while they are reinforcing and demonstrating what they learned. Using portfolios is one way that I will use authentic assessment because I need a place to compile a student’s work to assess their growth and their understanding of current topic of study. My philosophy of teaching also relies on creating an open environment where the students feel comfortable asking questions and guiding their learning. Allowing the students to help create their portfolios is a good way to form a good relationship with the students.
Group 4 (Dyads 7, 8) Project-Based Science and Assessment
Post a synthesis-response describing a situation (per your assigned topic) where you would use authentic assessment in the Integrated Curriculum (Science plus other subject areas).
This type of assessment really allows for the students to really discover and research an area that they have interest in. For more science based ideas there are multitudes of science experiments that students can do over a period of time. Students can gather data and form conclusions based on their observations. At the end of the experiment students can present their findings in a creative way. They can create posters, research papers, commercial or any other creative way that allow them to display their hard work. It is easy to apply this type of assessment to any area of teaching. For social studies students can research and create posters of other cultures. With their posters they can include music, food, crafts and clothes. For math students can track their spending every day and see how far their money takes them. Then they can report on what type of lifestyle they would like to live in the future, for example what type of home, location, car, family etc. Then based on the cost of these expenses and see how much money they will need to make in the future. This type of assessment can easily be applied to all areas of learning. This type of assessment allows students to work individually or in groups, Students put a lot of work into these projects so they really remember what they learn because they had to work so hard.
How will your philosophy of teaching and learning affect your use of authentic assessment in the classroom?
The more hands on the learning the better the experience in my opinion. Students do not learn from worksheets and hand outs. When a student reflects on their schooling experience they do not fondly recall worksheets, it is the cool projects and experiments they remember so well. Students get the opportunity to really learn and discover with project based assessment. They can learn more in depth information and not just scratch the surface of topic of interest. It allows the student to get carried away in their learning and they can truly enjoy learning. The students spend a lot of time and effort on the projects and as a result what they learn really and truly means something to them. Project based assessment really leans towards higher level learning. I feel a lot of day to day teaching focus on the lower end of a student’s learning. When a student has to research and create something they are evaluating, synthesizing and analyzing. They are really getting the opportunity to learn and discover for themselves. This idea of assessment is so much more authentic then a simple quiz or test. There is physical evidence of how much the student has learned and how much effort they have put in to something.
1. Post a synthesis-response describing a situation (per your assigned topic) where you would use authentic assessment in the Integrated Curriculum (Science plus other subject areas).
Performance based assessment relies heavily on student performance. This is an overall better representation of the students’ progress, including effective teacher lesson plans, work sheets, and study skills. This new authentic form of assessment is widely used to measure skills such as the ability to integrate knowledge across disciplines, contribute to the work of a group, and develop a plan of action when confronted with a new situation.
Science- Performance based testing could be useful here with experiments testing how well student understand scientific concepts and can carry out scientific processes through conducted classroom experiments. Group presentations are also a performance based assessment on how well the student can research and deliver information found. These types of experiences help develop schemata for the student and help scaffold their independent learning.
History- For this subject performance based testing will demonstrate the students’ knowledge skills by creating portfolios allowing students to provide a broad portrait of their performance through files that contain collections of students’ work, assembled over time, including essays written or pictures created. This would include their best pieces and the students’ evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of several others. This requires students actively developing their approach to the task. This form of active learning builds character and self esteem, leaving the student proud of the work accomplished.
Math- Alternative methods to demonstrate comprehension would be to conduct demonstrations on the board or in class, giving the students opportunities to show their mastery of subject area-content and procedures. This demonstrates students’ ability to perform mathematical operations accurately and in a worthwhile way.
Language Arts- To measure knowledge in this subject, essays would be appropriate for assessing students understanding of a subject through written description, analysis, explanation, or summary. Based on the accuracy of their responses and formatting the students skills are being put into practice. Writing and composition can represent many types of techniques over topics learned.
2. How will your philosophy of teaching and learning affect your use of authentic assessment in the classroom?
My personal philosophy includes students being actively engaged in their own learning. One key feature that I like about performance based testing is that it requires all students to be active participants; they also focus attention on how students arrive at their answers and require students to demonstrate the knowledge skill needed to obtain the correct outcome. This assessment can be applicable to both artistic and principle based learners over different subjects and utilizes a problem example that must be solved utilizing techniques discussed throughout the curriculum. This active demonstration revolves around what they know, leading them to feel good about themselves and aid in their personal growth.
Problem-Based Learning describes a learning environment where problems drive the learning. Learning begins with a problem to be solved, and the problem is modeled is such a way that students need to gain new knowledge before they can solve the problem. Rather than seeking a single correct answer, students interpret the problem, gather needed information, identify possible solutions, evaluate options, and present conclusions.
To use a science-based project, I would take the Water Cycle theme and have my students conduct an experiment showing the three main stages of the water cycle. This would be an extension to my lesson by having my students show me what they have learned. This is a way to informally assess my student’s knowledge about the water cycle. By doing this investigation themselves, it gives them an engaging way to explore the process.
A project in language arts is for the students to write their own book. After going over the elements it takes to have a complete book, the students can either individually or in a group write a book. They will need to include the whole process of their rough draft, revising, editing, and publishing to turn in. By having all of these elements, it gives you an informal way to assess their knowledge about what it takes to create a book.
Project based learning in Social Studies empowers students to make sense and consider broad concepts and themes such as conflict, interdependence, and reform, among others. After having a lesson about the voting process for an election and what it takes for the person running for office to win, I could make a project out of it. I would have the students write out a speech that they think would help them win in the election to be class president. They would have to include what they would do for their class and what experiences they went through to get to run for office. This would be an engaging way to informally assess their knowledge about the voting process and how officials are elected.
In math, students could explore the topic of landscaping to improve their school grounds using math skills for the purpose of choosing appropriate materials and reasonable costs. Students will be responsible for development of an action plan to map out the schedule, plan needed changes and/or additions to perimeter of school building, and the design of the budget needed to implement project. Students will organize data in an Excel spreadsheet.
How will your philosophy of teaching and learning affect your use of authentic assessment in the classroom?
My philosophy relates to this type of assessment because I believe students learn through experiences. Project based learning gives an opportunity for multisensory exploration and connects learning goals to curriculum. When projects are created, there is a lot of learning that happens along the way. A teacher’s job is to set a structure for making projects that yields results and fosters a learning environment that allows for many outcomes.
Describe a current lesson using authentic assessment in one of your PDS field placements.
In the 5th grade class I am in the students learned about solar energy. They were then given a project assignment to build a solar oven that would cook a hot dog outside. They were given materials such as a cardboard box, plastic wrap, foil, and scissors. The way the teacher assessed the project was to see if they created the oven in a way that solar energy could cook the hot dog.
Provide three website links (references or resources) using authentic assessment tools and describe how each of those web sources are useful for inquiry-based lessons and authentic assessment.
http://serc.carleton.edu/case/assessment.html
This website is a good resource for teachers because it gives ideas for projects and also reasons and arguments of why project based learning and assessment is important.
http://www.coloradoadulted.org/SS%20Lessons%20for%20Adult%20Learners/Curriculum%20Topics/lessontemplate.pdf
This website is a PDF format of how to create your own project based assessment. The first sentence in red on the website states, Students do not learn from what you do, but from what you have them do. The website gives lesson overviews with many ideas of assessments. It helps you go through the process of what to include in your lesson such as, think of an educational project where students can design, build, create, or otherwise use hands-on or production-oriented skills to make or do “something”.
http://kidseducationalwebsites.blogspot.com/2011/01/project-based-learning-language-arts.html
This website is an excellent resource for teachers. There is a place to type in what subject plus grade you are looking for to find a project-based assessment. You can choose from elementary, junior high, and high school. These are three of many websites I found about project-based learning.
1. Post a synthesis-response describing a situation (per your assigned topic) where you would use authentic assessment in the Integrated Curriculum (Science plus other subject areas).
The 6E model and backward design are a great way to teach and assess students in any subject area. When looking to create an integrated curriculum lesson plan that authentically assesses, one should first decide what the desired outcomes of the lesson are. This is the first step in the backward design model. By planning a lesson this way, the teacher is able to ensure that the lesson matches the objectives. So as an example, if I wanted to create an integrated science lesson for 3rd grade students, I would look at the TEKS and see that they are to learn about mixtures. I would then look and see what TEKS in the other subject areas I could incorporate that would work well in a lesson about mixtures. Once I had decided what objectives (using the TEKS) I wanted students to learn and reach, I would decide how I am going to assess the students. This way, the children are being assessed specifically on the objectives I want them to meet. It is not until after these two steps are complete that I create the lesson using the 6E model. This is effective because then the lesson is planned to specifically meet the desired outcome and to teach specifically what students are going to be assessed on so they learn effectively. My lesson may look as follows (integrated curriculum):
Identify Desired Results:
Science TEKS:
112.14 (b)(5)(D) Explore and recognize that a mixture is created when two materials are combined such as gravel and sand and metal and plastic paper clips.
Language Arts:
110.14 (b)(4) Students understand new vocabulary and use it when reading and writing.
Math:
111.15 (b)(15) (A) explain and record observations using objects, words, pictures, numbers, and technology
Art:
117.11 (b)(2) (A) create artworks based on personal observations and experiences.
Social Studies:
113.14 (b)(17) (A) express ideas orally based on knowledge and experiences
After deciding I wanted these TEKS to be my desired results for the students, I would plan the assessment. To assess, I would walk around during the lesson while students are working and observe to ensure that they understand the content and are heading in the right direction in their inquiry. I would also check their understanding in the writing and create a rubric for them to follow. To assess the art, the students would need to stay on topic (mixture) and write a description. They could use a checklist to ensure they do this. I would ensure that their description of a mixture is correct. I would check their journals to ensure they are making observations and explaining (math). To incorporate social studies, I would have students creatively present what they have learned about mixtures at the end of the lesson. After deciding how to assess, I would plan my 6E lesson.
Engage: Pour multiple snacks (raisins, m&m’s, pretzels, etc.) into a bag. Ask students what it is? (Mixture)
Explore: Give each group 5 different items: balloon, pencil, toothpick, eraser, pen. Allow students to mix them together and write their results in their science journal.
Explain: Ask closed ended and open ended questions about the mixtures. What happened to the items when you put them all into the bag? (Closed) What are some other items that could be put into a bag to create a mixture? (Open)
Elaborate: Give students art supplies and have them create their interpretation or a mixture, writing a description at the bottom or on the back of their art.
Evaluate: Look at the completed products of the students (mixture in bag, writing in science journal, artwork) to see if the desired results were met. Observe students presentations of what they have learned to ensure their information is correct and see what areas need to be taught again or reviewed. There is also an ongoing assessment because the teacher is walking around monitoring as the students work and asking questions. If the children are not on the right track or do not understand, the teacher adjusts the lesson to meet their learning needs.
2. How will your philosophy of teaching and learning affect your use of authentic assessment in the classroom?
My philosophy of teaching and learning will affect my use of authentic assessment because it is important to me that my students are truly grasping the content and learning at deep, meaningful levels, instead of just memorizing and then forgetting the material. By using authentic assessment through the 6E model and backward design, I will be able to see what my students already know, create lessons to assess what they need to know, and then assess throughout the lesson so that I can make changes along the way to ensure they are learning and understanding the content correctly. By assessing authentically, I will be ensuring that students are making connections and learning. I will not just be going through the motions and trying to have them all get 100’s on everything. Instead, I will be truly looking at what they know and deciding how I can push them further in their learning.
3. Describe a current lesson using authentic assessment in one of your PDS field placements.
During my first rotation in 3rd grade, my teacher prepared a lesson on states of matter by first looking at what objectives she wanted to meet, and then deciding how she would assess, then creating the lesson (just as in the 6E and backward design). My teacher placed the children in groups and had them explore the different states of matter with different materials (pencils, water, air) and record their observations about each in columns in their science journal. This was an effective authentic assessment because the students were learning from inquiry and acting as real scientists as they recorded what they were learning. The teacher was able to view their journals and assess if they understood the differences between the different states of matter. This was not all my teacher did to assess during this lesson however. She also had the students create a rap about the different states of matter and what they observed about them. This was a creative way for the teacher to see if the children really grasped what they just discovered.
4. Provide three website links (references or resources) using authentic assessment tools and describe how each of those web sources are useful for inquiry-based lessons and authentic assessment.
1. http://www.unm.edu/~devalenz/handouts/portfolio.html
This is a great website that explains the types of portfolios to teachers, how to use them in inquiry based lessons, and how to appropriately assess students using their portfolios.
2. http://www.beaconlearningcenter.com/documents/376_01.pdf
This website is a rubric that can be used to assess student journals. It is great because it gives examples of effective teacher comments to explain what the students need to improve upon next time while still encouraging them. Journals are great for inquiry based lessons because students are able to share what they have explored and learned and the teacher is able to truly see what they personally are learning.
3. http://www.emtech.net/Alternative_Assessment.html
This website gives teachers great, creative ideas for assess students, such as: story boards, recipes, maps, letters, journals, etc. to authentically assess during student centered inquiry learning.
Group 5 (Dyads 9, 10) - Portfolios and Journals as Assessment Tools
1. Where can you use portfolios and journals in the Integrated Curriculum (Science plus other subjects)?
Using a portfolio as an assessment allows the teacher to look at a students learning over a long period of time. The teacher isn’t basing one assessment off of performance but rather basing it off several. Portfolios are often used in the school system and every year the student’s portfolio moves up to their next grade level for teachers to see how they are doing. Several different artifacts should be chosen to give the teacher a wide variety of assessments. Using journals is another way for assessing students. It allows students to keep a record of data such as observations, procedures, or developing a hypothesis. It also allows for students to keep track of what they have been learning about and they take pride in writing in it if they know you are looking at it.
Science: In science, journals are often used while students are conducting experiments. Having a journal allows for students to keep record of everything they are learning from the beginning of the year until the end of the year. Teachers can look back on students science journals to check the students’ progress throughout the year.
Mathematics: So far during my student teaching I haven’t really observed a math portfolio. However, as a teacher I would have my students answer daily math problems in which they would keep in a journal. I would challenge them with different types of math problems. Having students keep this journal will allow them to look back on how they have grown as a math student as well as look back on how they may have solved a certain problem. Teachers would also be able grade these journals and see what students may need to be retaught as well as see how they have gown as a math student.
Language Arts: In language arts I have observed teachers keeping student’s writing samples throughout the year. Teachers often see what progress the student has made throughout the year by reading his/her writing pieces. Teacher sometimes publish several different writing pieces in a book for students to have as a keepsake. Also in language arts students have to keep a reading log and write in it every day when they read a book at home for homework. Students have to write a summary of what they read every night after reading. With this teachers can look back and see students’ progress when it comes to summarizing and comprehension.
continued....
Social Studies: In social studies students keep journals with notes and activities throughout the year. When a student is given a handout by the teacher they have to glue it in their notebook. By having notebooks in social studies students work can be evaluated daily to see what concepts may need to be retaught. Teachers can also randomly select students’ sample work that would be beneficial to track progress.
2. How will your philosophy of teaching and learning affect your use of authentic assessment in the classroom?
In my classroom I want to encourage students to have fun while learning. I do believe that students should be assessed, however, I think that if the teacher gives the students’ the assessment without them knowing is an assessment, it will decrease their anxiety and stress. Students are tested way too much today and students often get worked up when testing. If students are actively engaged in learning in my classroom I can assess them by watching, guiding, and asking questions about what they are doing. They don’t always have to sit down and take a paper and pen test. As a teacher you are always learning of new ways to teach. When I am a teacher I will also assess myself to make sure I am making progress as well.
3. Describe a current lesson using authentic assessment in one of your PDS field placements.
When teaching a math lesson, student created a graph as a group. Students had to look at the information, put it in order, and categorize it. Students were assessed on the final product of how they information was organized and why they put their information in certain categories. Students were engaged in a fun hands on activity, and at the same time they didn’t know that the final product would be used as an assessment tool.
4. Provide three website links (references or resources) using authentic assessment tools and describe how each of those web sources are useful for inquiry-based lessons and authentic assessment.
- http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=authentic%20assessment%20ideas&source=web&cd=7&ved=0CE0QFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fjove.geol.niu.edu%2Ffaculty%2Fkitts%2FGEOL401%2Finquiryassessment401.ppt&ei=PjW7TsyrIaiU2QWLoYnOBw&usg=AFQjCNFxolWYarfL4KkERB_ofhQl-e4HYw
This PowerPoint is a great tool for teachers to learn more about authentic assessment. It provides a great background of what it is, how to use it, and also gives examples of different types of assessment you can give to students.
- http://boe.ming.k12.wv.us/teachers/di/di_rubrics/authentic%20assessment.htm
This website provides teachers with assessment resources and ideas. It also explains how each can be used in the classroom as well as how to use it. One of the examples is giving a student a project to work in which goes with inquiry-based learning.
- http://www.lessonplanet.com/search?gclid=CJWbk72Fq6wCFQ8q7AodqSjpZA&keywords=inquiry-based&media=lesson
This website provides many great inquiry based lesson plans for teachers to use and get ideas from.
Group 3– Dyad 5 Performance Based Assessment
The use of authentic assessment is very beneficial to students as they are participating in projects or activities that give them the opportunity to research, perform tasks, and investigate questions. Performance based assessment can be used across the curriculum. For example, in a science class performance based assessment can be used by having students individually or in groups, conduct an experiment. By having students do the experiment by themselves, ask questions, and discover, they are able to learn by performing and be assessed by their oral or written results of their experience. Performance based assessment is meant to get away from traditional assessment and norm-references tests, so giving students the opportunity to do an experiment on their own fits into this category of assessment. In an English/ language arts class, students could be matched up with pen pals in other classrooms or even other schools if it could be organized, and practice their letter writing skills. They can practice this skill by having to create a real letter that will be sent to someone, so they will put effort into what they want to say, and perfect it, utilizing the skills learned in the lesson. The letter can be assessed for multiple things like grammar, correct salutation and closing and addressing the letter. To incorporate it in art, students could create artwork that reflects the style of the artist they are studying. As opposed to taking a written test and explaining what the artist’s style was and the meaning behind their art, they are able to experiment with different art materials and express their understanding of how the artwork was created and why. Students are expressing their understanding by doing this kind of project and even saving it in a portfolio. In a math class, students can solve an addition or subtraction problem with different strategies. Performance based assessment is beneficial because teachers can observe what strategy is working best for students and ask them to express their answers with a picture or manipulatives. The focus on this math performance based assessment is to figure out how the students arrived at the answer, not just what the answer is. Finally, performance based assessment could be used in a social studies classroom in an economics lesson where students pretend to make purchases and keep track of their money and spending. By keeping this kind of register, students are applying what they are learning to a real life situation and there is not just one right answer. Many outcomes could arise from this lesson, so students are able to explore possibilities and perform what they’ve learned through this project/ experience.
(part 2)
My philosophy of teaching will be shown through the use of authentic assessment because I believe that experience is one of the best ways to learn and that students learn best by actually doing/performing things rather than just answering convergent questions about them. Since I believe that students should construct their own meaning of things first by discovering them and having the opportunity to experiment, performance based assessments would work in my classroom. Since I plan to work with ESL students, this would be especially good for my class because they are not limited to express their knowledge and understanding just because their speech or writing is limited. If I can give my students with diverse learning styles or different needs a chance to show their understanding of things in innovative, flexible and exciting ways like through performance based assessment, it will hopefully help them succeed.
Currently, in my PDS1 field placement, I have witnessed the use of authentic assessment. In order to demonstrate their understanding of a symmetry lesson, the second graders worked as partners to construct buildings the were symmetrical, using wooden blocks. This was performance based since they were applying the knowledge they gained from the lesson to a tangible project. They were able to explore the concept that they just learned about symmetry, using 3D figures and the teacher was able to see if they understood by observing how they expanded their learning and created simple or elaborate buildings. Students had the freedom to use a variety of different shaped blocks and room to build so they were not limited in doing this project. Also, there were few guidelines, so they had the freedom to practice the concept however they needed. The teacher walked around and observed the partners’ creation and asked for explanations on how it was symmetrical.
1. I found an article called “Making the Grade: The Role of Assessment in Authentic Learning” at net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3019.pdf. This was a helpful resource to show the change in students and faculty as they use authentic assessment. It has a helpful comparison between authentic and traditional assessment and even provides sample rubrics.
2. http://www.projectappleseed.org/assesment.html This website is helpful in explaining the concept of performance based assessment to educators and parents. There are a variety of examples of what performance assessments are, how they can be used and the benefits of it.
3. Here, www.coloradoadulted.org, with the article “Make Your Own Project Based Lesson Plan”, it teaches you how to create lesson plans for all different subjects that differ from traditional assessments and have students doing things and performing rather than just answering questions with one expected answer. This is very resourceful for teachers who need help creating lessons and even shows ways to determine if your lesson/assessment is appropriate and going helpful.
Dyad 4 (Group 2 ) - Characteristics of Good Authentic Assessment
(Part 1)
1. Where you would use authentic assessment in the Integrated Curriculum.
Authentic assessment can be used in all curriculum areas. With authentic assessment the teacher is determining whether the students have learned how to apply their skills in authentic tasks. This requires higher-order thinking skills as the students are to discover the topic instead of just following the set answers to a study guide. Students are able to self-assess by asking questions such as: What do you think you should do next? If you could do this task again, what would you do differently? What did you learn from this project? Assessments that can be used in any classroom setting could be; student observations, student interviews, portfolios, and concept maps.
Some examples of other assessments that could be used in the classrooms are:
~Language Arts
Book Response Journals- a place for students to express personal reactions and to brainstorm out feelings about events, themes, and ideas in a book. Children are encouraged to react to everything they read. Teachers may use these journals to respond to each child individually for dialect.
~Social Studies
Demonstrations- concrete and observable representation through visual, audio, art, drama, movement, and/or music.
~Math
Problem Solving Activities- students must search for a means to find a solution, as well as for a solution to the problem. This activity requires consideration of both the thinking process and the final product.
~Science
Investigations- a collection of student writing, diagrams, graphs, tables, charts, posters, experiments and other products. When students become involved in practical or mathematic investigations, assessment activities and questions can be presented to students without their awareness in difference between the assessment and instruction.
These would be a great way for a teacher to authentically assess students because they would be reflecting on the knowledge the students have gained.
2. How will your philosophy of teaching and learning affect your use of authentic assessment in the classroom?
I feel that tests and quizzes have a place in the classroom but that should definitely not be the only type assessment used. How boring is it to always take fill in the blank, multiple choice, or essay questions? I believe that students should practice higher-order thinking skills for real life application. Answers in life are not always black and white like they are in a textbook. Authentic assessment helps the students build these skills as well as take ownership in what they are learning. The information from these assessments should help both teacher and students reflect on what they have or have not learned. I have learned the importance of being a reflective person. If you do not reflect then how are we supposed to change? Teachers should be able to implement the multiple resources that are available to assist with online assessment variety.
(Part 2)
3. Describe a current lesson using authentic assessment in one of your PDS field placements.
In my last placement I was able to observe that they used a portfolio system. They would place things that they felt that they did well in a folder and would later be assessed on it. The main example that comes to mind is the handwriting book. Every week the students are to complete a page a day. Each time the page focuses on one concept. Then at the end of the week the student is able to choose a page that they feel they did the best quality work on. They are able to get a sticker and then the teacher photocopies it into their folder.
Another method was that at the end of the lessons the students orally created "I Learned" statements. Their purpose is to give the student a chance to self-select one or more of the things they learned during a class lesson or investigation.
For this special education classroom the setup worked for the students. They were able to define what they learned while taking ownership in the things that they did well.
4. Provide three website links (references or resources) using authentic assessment tools and describe how each of those web sources are useful for inquiry-based lessons and authentic assessment.
1. http://www.teachervision.fen.com/teaching-methods-and-management/educational-testing/4911.html?page=1&detoured=1
This website defines authentic assessment and provides teachers with reasons and suggestions on how to use assessment in their classroom. They walk through helpful hints to get your students excited about using these type of products. The website requires membership but you have five free articles before then. I feel like it is worth checking out for further professional development.
2. http://www.rmcdenver.com/useguide/assessme/definiti.htm?
This website provides details on different assessments. They explain each one by telling how it is made up and how it benefit’s the students learning. The other links promote assistance with standards based instruction, sample lessons, design your own lesson, assessment, lesson bank, and success stories.
3. http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
Help students classify ideas and communicate more effectively with the use of different graphic organizers. Use these graphic organizers to structure writing projects, to help in problem solving, decision making, studying, planning research and brainstorming. There is a large variety of different visuals to work with. This is great for any learner, even ESL and special education.
Group 1 Dyad 2
Authentic assessment in the Integrated Curriculum would look like evaluating what students know and can do. It does not necessarily mean giving students a paper-and-pencil test, but it can include that if the skill and knowledge to be assessed fits that type of assessment. Authentic assessment of the Kindergarten Mathematics TEKS objective, “identify individual coins by name and value and describe relationships among them,” could be accomplished by observing the student sort coin manipulatives into a chart with the coins’ names and values listed. The student could also use an online interactive computer game to make change for different values of coins, such as 5 pennies for one nickel. For Language Arts, authentic assessment of the Kindergarten TEKS objective, “recognize the difference between a letter and a printed word,” could be accomplished by asking the student to point to one word in a text, then asking the student to point to a letter, and allowing the student to explain why those choices were made. An authentic assessment of the Social Studies Kindergarten TEKS objective, “identify customs associated with national patriotic holidays such as parades and fireworks on Independence Day ,” could be accomplished by the students acting out the different customs, and having their classmates guess which holiday the actions represented. An authentic assessment of the Science TEKS objective, “ask questions about organisms, objects, and events observed in the natural world,“ would be to have students go on a walk outdoors and encourage them to ask questions about what they see. In each content area, it is important to use authentic assessment that is based upon the desired objective.
Question 1: Authentic assessment should be the primary form of assessment because it shows what is being learned versus having student memorizing definitions with not relevancy for the students. Authentic assessment is shown through working portfolios, journals, discussions, graphic organizers, etc. These forms of assessment can be used in all subject areas and even the elective areas as well. Having something like a working portfolio shows the progress of the student over a period of time. This helps the teacher see what concepts the student is missing and also helps a teacher in the beginning of the year because they can look at the previous year's growth.
Question 2: Authentic assessment is something that I use and see in the classroom on a daily basis. I feel that the students perform better if the material and assessment have a personal and real life meaning to them. Especially when the students get older, they want to know why the material is important to them and if it has a real world application.
Question 3: One of the authentic assessments being used during my field placement is creating my professional working portfolio. It is a three checkpoint portfolio that shows my growth throguhout my college and field experiences. Checkpoint one was regarding the theory of teaching in the classroom. It shows that I understand what can and cannot be used within the classroom. Checkpoint two is about connecting theory to practice. This portion shows that I either do or do not see the theories I learned being practiced in the classroom. This is the portion I am currently working on. Checkpoint three, the last checkpoint, is about me practicing these theories and seeing how they work for me. This portfolio shows my growth for over a period of time regarding therories and practices of teaching.
Questions 4:
#1: http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/
This website has a variety of teacher resources regarding rubrics, portfolios, workshops and has several examples of these types.
#2: http://www.educause.edu/Resources/TheAuthenticAssessmentToolboxE/153920
This is another amazing resource that has even more examples of authentic assessments, guidelines to creating rubrics, real world tasks, and standards for measuring growth of a student's learning.
#3: http://www.park.edu/cetl2/quicktips/authassess.html
This source provides a table that shows what the traditional forms of assesment are and then has correlating authentic assessments that have more meaning to the students and their growth.
1. A concept map is a graphic organizer used to organize knowledge that the students have on a particular topic. It also demonstrates the relationship between any given topics. I feel that concept maps are a great tool to use in the classroom when teaching all the subjects because they allow the teacher the ability to assess along side the students and it is an ongoing process.
Math: I would use concept maps to teach new rules for math. For example, students could use a concept map to assess the differences between multiplying and dividing.
Social studies: I would use this in social studies to teach new concepts. For instance, students can use it to discover new explorers and their importance to history.
Science: concept maps could be used to understand new theories and theorist. It could also be used to understand properties of elements.
Language arts: I actually used concept maps in a lesson that focused on expository text had the students fill out two concept maps one about expository text and the other about narrative texts, then they compared the two. It was used to determine their knowledge about the two different texts.
2. Since I am getting certified in ESL I feel that I have always been taught to use as many graphic organizers to help my students grow and understand academic language and I feel that concept maps are helpful to use in a class. They are also a great tool to use with the students to determine their previous knowledge on a topic and to preform an assessment with the students. This will allow the teacher to modify, if needed, the lesson. I also feel that concept maps are a great tool for students to use and keep throughout the lesson to help refer to. While the teacher walks around the class during the lesson the teacher can assess the students’ retention of information.
3. I am currently in a kindergarten class and there is not too much use of concept maps during instruction. However, I do remember one that was used during my rotation in fourth grade. The unit that was being taught explored the different regions in Texas. The students were asked to break up into sections and each group filled out the concept map about the region they were assigned to. Then the students came back as a class and filled out descriptions about each region. The students referenced the concept map throughout the unit. I thought that the use of this was great because the teacher was able to assess along side the students on the spot while they described each region.
4. I found these websites to be helpful when deciding to use concept maps in the classroom for the following reasons:
• http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/concept_maps/
I found this website a great tool to use because it has instructions on how to teach using concept maps, examples of using concept maps, and books that one could use when teaching using concept maps.
• http://www.teachervision.fen.com/graphic-organizers/printable/6293.html
I really liked this website because it had several types of concept maps that a teacher could use and print out for the classroom. I also liked this website because it also included concept maps that were arranged for use in different grade levels.
• http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/printouts/concept-30699.html
I always like using this website because I know that there is always an abundance of information to use and it is a reliable source. When I looked up concept maps this website had one to print out and use and it also had ideas to teach when using a concept map and it also had related resources that a teacher could reference when teaching.
DYAY 9,10 - Portfolios and Journals
Using portfolios and journals as assessment tools encourages the students to reflect and work on self-directed learning. With this assessment tool students become responsible for reflecting on their learning and development over a period of time. Organizing a collection of the students work from over a period of time represents their efforts and academic acheivements in the form of a portfolio. Students are able to create a sense of responsibility when creating their own portfolio, which includes their personal work. An additional way to give student’s responsibility as well as assessing them is by using a reflective journal. Reflective journals contain the student’s thoughts and recording about their learning. Writing contributes to deeper learning and engagement within students and having them complete a journal gives them the opportunist to clarify and reflect on their thinking. Majority of the time a reflective journal is maintained regularly over a certain amount of time and can include description of events, experiences or issues associated with their learning.
Science: Students would be able to use a combination of a portfolio and journal in science by recording the different topics they are learning and creating visuals to include ink their portfolios. Currently in my observation class we are learning the life cycle of different animals. They use their journals to record the information they are learning with new vocabulary, definitions, and a KWL graphic organizer so they are able to reflect individually their progress. A portfolio for this topic could include the different images they created over the animals and they stages of life. Going further into the lesson they could add the food chains they create for these animals and elaborate more.
Math: This subject promotes the use of journals and portfolios, in mathematics class to improve communication between teacher and student, to monitor student progress, to make instructional decisions, and to evaluate student achievement. This can be a collection of their worksheets, journal entries, and other mathematical notes and procedures. Currently the students are creating different shapes and figures separated into equal parts to demonstrate fractions. They will be able to include this in their portfolios as well as being used to assess them. Teachers are able to circulate the classroom and observe the students working to see what they are learning and watch them demonstrate it.
Language Arts: Creating a writing portfolio could consist of the different methods of writing they have learned along with examples they have drafted, edited, revised, and are ready to publish. I think their journals should include the beginning stages of the writing process. While the writing that they created and are ready to publish will be included in the portfolio. Their journals could include the explaniations and process used to create different types of writing they have learned. My mentor teacher uses the Langauge Arts journals to have the students take notes over topics such as punctuation, proper nouns, capitalization and practicing their writing with examples.
Using the journals to take notes helps them review their progress with writing and they are able to simply flip a few pages back to use this as a reference.
History: Portfolios are useful in developing a personal set of rules for good communication and for reflecting on one's performance over time, this would be a good use as a timeline for their topics learned. As a purposeful, interrelated collection of student work the portfolio shows student efforts, progress, and self-reflection. This allows for students to build their self-esteem and be proud of their work. Which is a great way for the students to retain the information learned by relating it to their personal development.
The use of authentic assessment such as portfolios and journals will affect my philosophy of teaching and learning because I have learned how important it is to assess them in other ways then the old fashion or generic scantron tests with multiple choice answers. I will personally use portfolios in my classroom for open house and end of the six weeks reviews, the students can create them through out the unit and at the end of the unit we will be able to compile their work together to produce individual portfolios they are able to review and learn from. My students will have a journal for each subject to reflect on their learning and take notes to help them better comprehend. The classroom I am currently placed in for PDS they have journals for each subject and reflect, I feel it impacts their learning process greatly. My philosophy of teaching and learning will include the using authentic assessments such as portfolios and journals but not limited to these types to better assess their learning.
http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/jwbates/Journalsandportfolios.htm
This website describes alternative assessments for pre-service teachers. This is very helpful information for pre-service teachers, by discussing that the teachers are expected to adopt multiple assessment methods, and then they must experience them. By using multiple methods of assessment, such as portfolios, writing, presentations, and projects, the teacher educator not only models behavior for the eService teachers but also assesses their learning and understanding.
http://www.maa.org/saum/maanotes49/123.html
This website is for teachers but is designed to inform about the different types of portfolio assessment that benefit students and why. This also has success factors for reflective portfolios that help students assess their own growth, and project portfolios, which identify their interests and tackle more ambitious assignments.
http://www.bioassess.edu.au/assessment-types/portfolios-and-reflective-journals
This website is very important when integrating the use of technology in the classroom, on this website is information and the successes of using an e-portfolio or e-journal. There are four main types of portfolios or e-portfolios and it gives extensive detail on how to use them and strategies that are implemented. The journal can be used as a reference tool to help you monitor individual development and progress. This gives information on how to assess the journals, and how to make the assessment criteria clear.
Post 1
1. Assessment and 6E model-Synthesis Response
You will use the 6E model and assessment in your curriculum with every subject. The 6E lesson model is a lesson that is made up of engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate. Then assessment is best done throughout the lesson rather than a test at the end. For your evaluation is best to use the students work and discussions that they did during the lesson. I would use authentic assessment when I am creating my lesson plan. I would think about how I can assess the students while they are working during the lesson. I would use this assessment to build my lesson using the backwards design. This way I made sure I am assessing the students on information that they are being taught. Using authentic assessment in science would be for the teacher to walk around and observe them while they are doing an experiment. For example if they are creating homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures. You can walk around and see if they are creating the right mixtures. Then use their work that they completed to further evaluate. So some examples would be student observations, written reports, concept maps, attitude surveys and lab experiments. As for language arts you use authentic assessment all the time with their writing and when they are reading aloud. This way students are doing things other than just taking a spelling test or reading quiz all the time. This gives you get a better idea of where the student may be struggling. Then for social studies you can have the students create projects and songs about information for authentic assessments. Also you can use essays and reports.
2. Philosophy
My philosophy of education is strongly supported with the idea that all students learn differently and it’s up to you as the teacher to make sure you are supporting all your students learning styles. My philosophy of teaching is also that the students need to be engaged and actively involved in their learning. I want to make sure that they can relate to the information. Also you as the teacher need to make sure you are always assessing and revising lessons to fit your students. So the use of authentic assessment during my lessons will help me become a better teacher for my students. This information will give me a better idea of where my students are struggling. Since authentic assessment isn't just a test at the end of the week, I believe that ill be able to better understand the needs of my students. This will make learning more fun for them and the students will in turn be more excited about learning and growing as students.
Post 2
3. Current lesson
In my first rotation of a third grade classroom she did a lot of authentic assessment. One of the ones that i can really remember is one over solids, liquids, and gas. They had learned about the different states of matter and their characteristics the days before. So during their integrated curriculum time the students all got a big sheet of construction paper and had to section it into solid, liquid and gas. They all got a sheet of different characteristics and pictures that they had to cut out and place under the right category. This really gave the teacher an idea of the students’ idea of the different states of matter. While the activity was fun for the students and they didn't feel like they were being tested.
4. Websites
1http://www.teachervision.fen.com/graphic-organizers/printable/6293.html?detoured=1
This is a great website full of graphic organizers and lessons for all ages! It gives you free printables and project ideas for you to do with your students. They are interactive and great to use for authentic assessment in your classroom.
2
http://www.theteacherscorner.net/
This site is directly for teachers and also has forum where you can talk with other teachers. This is great when you are looking for an activity quickly and want to know what works and what doesn’t. They have an online collaboration project that the students work on together with technology. This is great use of inquiry learning as well as the students learning more about technology! They have new topics every time one is finished! Also they have daily writing prompts that you can use for authentic assessment. This site is full of great information and I’m so glad I found it.
3http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/inventors-and-inventions-2-air-and-space.cfm
I had never seen this website before but I’m glad I found it! You can search by age and by subject. Then it pulls up lessons you can click on to look at and they are very detailed and have adaptations. The one I clicked on even used authentic assessment instead of grading the students on how well they did their paper airplane the teacher observed how they contributed to discussion. This website also has lessons that are inquiry based.
PART 1:
Assessment is a key role in all parts of the elementary curriculum and should be used in all subjects. Authentic assessment is where the present of education is leaning towards and what will be the norm in the future. Having students answer rout memory questions at the end of every subject can only tell a teacher what they don’t know, or how good at taking tests they are. Although, test taking skills are important, seeing what students do know and gearing each lesson following towards those strengths and building on their needs will most benefit the students. The backwards design 6E model is perfect for this type of assessment. The backwards design of the 6E model is beginning with the evaluation section, to know exactly which factors of the lesson you want the students to concentrate on, and build the lesson from there. Knowing what you’re learning targets are, and the way the students will be assessed following the lesson, prior to writing a lesson plan guarantees that your lesson content will relate to what the students should learn, rather than teaching mainly fluff but still expecting the knowledge to appear. I would use this design and authentic assessment while planning all of my integrated curriculum plans. The students participate in integrated every day, where the students will learn a science TEKS and while also growing in other subjects, such as math or language arts. Knowing how you will assess your students, such as how many facts can they list about a certain subject? Or create a replica of the landform we just studied? will help you as the teacher to create your lesson around that target. If the student are going to be expected to create a replica, then learning about the landform and its features would be most relevant, not the writing portion where students take notes in their notebook. In my second grade class in PDS 1, my mentor teacher and I taught a lesson over 8 different land and water forms, i.e. mountains, hills, rivers, lakes, etc. My teacher began her planning by stating that she wanted students to be able to create a 3D model of these land and water forms; the students had to choose 3-5 and place them all on their own “continent” (the amount of salt dough they were given.) My teacher did not want to know if her students could recite the exact definition of a hill and a mountain, rather shower her the difference between a mountain and a hill. This use of inquiry learning with the salt dough proved to have authentic assessment, making my teacher confident in her lesson and its success.
Group 5 (Dyads 9, 10) - Portfolios and Journals as Assessment Tools.
PART 1
1.Where can you use portfolios and journals in the Integrated Curriculum (Science plus other subjects)?
Using portfolios and journals as an assessment is a great way to determine the progress of a student. These types of assessment allow both the students and teachers to be involved in the process. When using portfolios students combine a collection of student’s work that represents their performance. Student accountability is one of the many advantages of portfolios. The student’s role is to choose pieces of work to showcase their progress and accomplishments. While the students play a large role in the use of portfolios, the teacher’s responsibilities are just as important. The main purpose of the teacher is to help guide the students’ progress. Portfolios are only useful for assessments when both the teacher and students are involved in the process.
I have seen first-hand how the use of portfolios and journals can easily be used as an assessment across all curricular areas. For example in my first grade classroom the students created an “All About Me” journal in which they collected their pieces of work during IC (integrated curriculum). These journals are going to be added to their portfolios that they will be presented to their parents at the end of the unit. In first grade the students achievement is assessed based on their ongoing progress. Within the students “All About Me” journals you will find responses to writing prompts, graphic organizers, illustrations, graphs, and a variety of other types of work. Although these journals are mainly used during IC, I noticed that my mentor teacher has the students write in them during language arts.
How will your philosophy of teaching and learning affect your use of authentic assessment in the classroom?
As a teacher I believe it is my job to make sure all students are learning and reaching their maximum potential. There are no two students that think exactly alike, which means differentiation is necessary in all classrooms. As a special education major, I realize it’s my responsibility to meet each student’s diverse needs. It’s important to design flexible activities that can be adapted. I think authentic assessments will be most appropriate for all students because of the variety of methods that can be used to assess.
Project-Based Science and Assessment
Project- Based Science and Assessment allows the students to become engaged in exploring the information to be learned through a meaningful process of investigation. Through this inquiry-based learning process, students have the opportunity to learn and see how science concepts and principles apply to real life. Projects can be self-directed activities such as a science fair project or they can be small group projects where students collaborate in learning. Project based learning therefore makes assessment simpler, less formal and more frequently used.
Project based assessment can be used in many different ways and in all subjects. First of all, students can be involved in the assessment process. Allowing students to design an authentic assessment has advantages. Allowing students to take part in the process will boost creativity. Although the assessments may not be as elaborate as an educator would create, the students are still taking an active role in their learning. They are more inclined to complete quality work, worthy of the assessment they have created. Through the procedure they will become more involved in the learning process and may develop useful assessments. When using the Project-Based Science approach of inquiry-based learning, it is helpful to know it can also be used cross-curricular. This project based method easily provides an opportunity for an integrated lesson in the classroom. For instance, with a 4th grade classroom learning about the phases and physical properties of matter, the students would need to use math to compare and contrast volume measures, mass and temperature measures. During the project, the students could be asked to create investigations of things at home or in the school that are in each of the phases of matter. The students could create booklets or tri-fold posters with the information they have collected. Language Arts becomes a natural integration with the writing process involved in the assignment. Another example would include a science lesson for 3rd grade involving the differences in landforms including hills, valleys, mountains and plains. To create an integrated Project-Based Science lesson, the students could create models for the different landforms and place them on a map. Social Studies becomes a natural integration as geography is included. For the assessment process, students would present their project/ creation to the class and the students would judge the projects as if they were a contest. The students would receive 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in various categories including information presented, creativity and neatness. Another way to change the assessment would be to create small groups for students to work in to complete the project. The students could evaluate the other group members in their contributions to the project.
An example of project-based science learning in my 2nd grade classroom involves saltwater vs. freshwater. The students conducted investigations with the different attributes of a drop of saltwater and a drop of freshwater. Students had to compare the droplets and the ways they rolled along wax paper. The students also recorded investigations of the project in a “science investigation” notebook. Language Arts becomes a component of the lesson with this process. The students used compare and contrast methods and recorded findings in this activity in their books.
This authentic assessment reflects my educational philosophy because of my beliefs in inquiry-based learning. Allowing the students to conduct their findings relates the information back to real world and also boosts their enthusiasm in the learning process. As an educator, I believe that students learn best when they are interested and involved in the learning process. Through project-based learning, students are conducting hands-on investigations which is beneficial to not only kinesthetic learners, but also all other learning types. Project-based assessments are fun and interesting for students and all them to take an active role in the assessment process. In turn, the students will complete quality work based on the assessment requirements they have provided.
A few authentic assessment website that are resourceful for educators to use are included. The authentic assessment toolbox (http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/) which is easy to navigate and how to create authentic tasks and rubrics is helpful. Also, the University of Central Florida (http://www.fctl.ucf.edu/TeachingAndLearningResources/CourseDesign/Assessment/AssessmentToolsResources/rubrics.php) provides many examples as well as http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/rubrics.htm which provides examples based on what you may be looking for in particular.
I have learned that authentic assessments not only help show how far the students have come in their learning but that it also gives teachers the feedback they need to differentiate instruction to encourage inquiry learning. Performance based assessments are student-centered and allow students’ to generate or create their own responses to questions rather than having the answers given to them. Since students are actively doing and constructing their own meaning, teachers are able to assess the process and procedures that students took to arrive at their answers. We can use authentic assessments in science and across the other disciplines as well. In science students can record their observations and procedures in their science journals. In math students can solve a problem on their own and discuss their thinking strategy to the whole class. Discussing their thinking strategy will allow the teacher to assess their procedures and helps teacher know which steps they need more help with. In social students the students can have a debate for teachers to assess their understanding and in language arts students can write a story about making a decision using the steps of the decision making process or problem solving process.
It is important for student and teachers to analyze both product and procedure. Many people often look at the end result and the answer rather than focusing on why and how the product developed. Traditional assessments usually evaluate students based on the product while performance based assessments evaluate the procedures the students use to find the product. We are currently using authentic assessments in my PDS placement classroom. Last week, our 3rd grade math lesson focused on multiplying to find the product. The teacher provided a graphic organizer for students to fill out while reading and answering the word problem. Students were responsible for the process they used to generate the product. In this activity students were instructed to write the number of groups, how much were in each group, the equation, and the product. While the students were solving a multiplication problem, I noticed that some students read the problem and wrote 5x4=20 while others wrote 4x 5=20. I had to explain that although 5x4 and 4x5 have the same product 20; it is not the same conceptually. To help students understand that the process to get the product is a completely different problem, I drew a picture. Since the problem said that there were 4 flowers and 5 petals on each flower, I actually drew four flowers and wrote the number of groups (flowers) in the graphic organizer. Once I drew the picture the students were able to see that five flowers with four petals is a completely different picture than four flowers with five petals on each flower.
I believe that my philosophy of teaching encourages the use of authentic assessments in the classroom because my educational philosophy focuses more on teaching students how to solve problems, make decisions, and connect what they are learning in the classroom to their everyday lives. An authentic assessment, like performance based assessments, focuses on the problem-solving process rather than on just obtaining the correct answer and provides experiences in the classroom that relate to situations they may encounter throughout their life.
I chose the website resource Rubistar because rubrics are authentic assessments that help both the teacher and student evaluate student performance. With Rubistar teachers are able to create and edit a rubric by using the online template. http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=CustomizeTemplate&bank_rubric_id=4§ion_id=1
I chose wikispaces as a resource because it is a great way to organize student work. I used wikispaces in the past as an online portfolio of the projects I have done. With this website you have the option to share or keep your work private. http://www.wikispaces.com/
I chose this link as a resource because it describes how important the use of authentic assessments is in the classroom. This website provides examples of how these assessments are used and how we can use authentic assessments with linguistically diverse students. http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_literacy_cluster_1/17/4549/1164794.cw/index.html
Part I:
1. Post a synthesis-response describing a situation (per your assigned topic) where you would use authentic assessment in the Integrated Curriculum (Science plus other subject areas).
When you are assessing the process skills during the performance based assessment, you need to make sure that the performance measure shows the students to demonstrate processing skills with concrete materials. Assessing through teacher observation is easiest when the students are doing inquiry work and you can walk around the classroom to see if the students are achieving the processing skill to do their tasks or in most cases experiments in science. Performance based assessment can also be implemented in other subjects such as math. When you have the students show their work on a problem in math, you can grade more heavily on the procedure, and the steps they took to get to the answer when the work is shown, than the answer. Also when the students show their work you can see where they may have missed a step or where they have done a wrong calculation; and you, the teacher, will be able to show the student where the mistake occurred and how to fix it. When observing you do not necessarily give them a number grade, especially for the younger grades you can observe if they have achieved the skill, continuing to improve the skill, or if they have trouble applying the skill. You can also use this grading method when reading their daily journals, through questions you ask the student during student interviews, and also through a written outline that the students can fill out and check off themselves. Having the students provide feedback during their performance based assessment is important. As a teacher, you will not know if the students achieve the skill unless you provide the right questions to initiate inquiry for the students.
2. How will your philosophy of teaching and learning affect your use of authentic assessment in the classroom?
From now on when I use performance based assessment, I will not always rely on my observation when assessing my students skills. I will make sure that I mix-up the ways I assess the students performance and can cut the risk of have bias in the grading. Teacher bias can be prevalent without me realizing it if I continually use teacher observation, but when I mix it up through student interview, daily journals, and outlines for the students to fill out; I can get more feedback and understand the students thought process. Once I figure out the students thought process while they are performing the skill, I can figure out where they do not understand the process and can fix it. Also as a teacher it is important to track their progress and record progress as the students develop new skills, so I will make sure and I reflect and record the students progress.
1.I would use authentic assessment in the integrated curriculum when I am trying to have a student use a concept mapping strategy in a Language Arts classroom. When I was observing in my PDS 1 school earlier this week; I used this method of helping to figure out and plan what the student wanted to say.
The assignment was for the student to look at the picture and write a story about what is happening in the picture. In this case, it was a picture of a clown trying to train his dog to jump through the hoop. There were lots of things that could happen in a picture, especially, when a student may have a difference of opinion about what is happening in the story. I had the student draw a large circle in the middle of a piece of scratch paper. I encouraged the student to write clown in the middle; then I finished it off by branching four other circles and connecting them with lines. This created a concept map for my student and he could figure out his ideas by planning what he wanted to say in his story.
Concept mapping is a great idea in any subject, but in Language Arts this could be the ultimate navigation tool for students to complete.
2. My philosophy of teaching will influence the use of authentic assessment in my classroom due to what my theory states. I believe that each child has the rights and abilities to learn; no matter what the circumstances my occur for the individual child. I believe that authentic assessment should and will be conducted in my classroom on a daily basis because it is a realistic assessment that can show improvements of the child or what they need to work towards. An authentic assessment that I will continue to try to commit to in the classroom is the idea of a portfolio from the first day of school to the end. This is a way to show the students work and be able to show how much they had improved throughout the year. It is great for the parent and child to be able to go back and see what they had accomplished that year. Authentic assessments is also a way to measure how much more the child might need to be able to succeed on their peers level.
3. A current lesson that I am that I am teaching in my PDS field experience that includes authentic assessment is the fact that give time each day to journal. This could be a journal that could be used as a free write for the students, but I also give topics that must be included in their journal, as well. Giving time for students to share their emotions and what they think about certain subjects, is a great way to understand the child more. Although, this journaling is a beneficial form of authentic assessment; it is a choice if they want the teacher to read their journals. This becomes tricky because I must be able to share improvements with parents. Each week I advise the students that I will be taking up their journal and they can pick one for me to read. This shows the students that I am respectful of their privacy, but still make sure that they are staying on task (using the authentic assessment).
4. 1. The website I listed below is very beneficial for all of us that want to learn more about the meaning of authentic assessment. This website could be useful for you guys, as well because it gives great examples of lesson plans using the method. http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm
2. http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/rubrics.htm This website could be a good resource if you needed to create a rubric. This website gives you lots of examples on how to create a rubric for including assessment in your classroom and is also downloadable for no extra charge!
3. http://boe.ming.k12.wv.us/teachers/di/di_rubrics/authentic%20assessment.htm This authentic assessment website using the theory of multiple intelligence could be a useful site to research. You can copy and paste some of the already finished boxes and assess in any way you would like to conduct your lesson.
4. Provide three website links (references or resources) using authentic assessment tools and describe how each of those web sources are useful for inquiry-based lessons and authentic assessment.
1. http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/197171/chapters/The-Types-of-Portfolios.aspx
This website discusses the different types of portfolio's, and goes into depth on the purpose, audience, and process of each portfolio type. After describing each portfolio, the article lists the challenges of the portfolio, and how to overcome these challenges. Then it discusses different uses for the portfolio. I think the ways a portfolio can be used would be very helpful in my classroom. I can show my students the purpose in doing their best. It isn't only for school, but the portfolios can be used for college admission or even employment. It provides more of a usefulness, especially to the older students, that I think will push them to work hard on the assignments that make up their portfolio.
2. http://www.teachervision.fen.com/assessment/teaching-methods/20153.html?detoured=1
I found this “Teacher Vision” website that lists an abundant amount of information about portfolio's, their uses, what types of work should be collected in the portfolio, and much more. Also included in this website is a portfolio assessment guide and different strategies of learning how to design and carry out a portfolio assessment program for the students. The website also provides different self-evaluations and rubrics for assessment portfolio's Students will need to assess how well they feel they did on a project, and a teacher can get the tools from this website. Also, a teacher should provide rubrics on any project so that students clearly understand what is expected of them on the assignment. Since I plan to use portfolio's in my classroom, this website will be very useful in showing me step by step how to effectively and successfully use portfolio's, and provide grading tools for myself and my students.
3. http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/journal-prompts.html
4. This wonderful website describes different writing prompts for each subject. This website will encourage teachers to use journals in their classroom every day. This website can also help teachers think of ideas for writing prompts. Even though there are broad prompts listed, a teacher might change the prompt in a way that makes the prompt match what the lesson is about. Not every day needs to be about the lesson, there are some days that students might need to just write about what is in their head, and this website provides a variety of prompts for all occasions including holidays, puzzles, and brain teasers. I will be using daily journal writing, and this website can inspire ideas and provide ideas that I will use in my classroom.
Reflection 3 and Quiz 4
1. Post a synthesis-response describing a situation (per your assigned topic) where you would use authentic assessment in the Integrated Curriculum (Science plus other subject areas).
Concept Maps are useful for students because they help students organize their thoughts, stages of learning, observations, comparing and contrasting, and plenty more. Concept maps can be used for a multitude of reasons for students and for teachers. Concept maps are essential for teachers when creating lessons, making modifications for English Language Learners and Gifted and Talented students, and for assessing students work and learning formally and informally. They are used not only in Science but also in other content areas as well.
Math: When students are learning about place value for ones and tens, a place-value chart for the tens and ones is useful for students to visualize the differences. The teacher could provide the concept map for lower grade levels and the teachers could have the older grade levels draw the maps in their math journals. The teacher could write two digit numbers and have the students break the number apart by the place value. This type of concept map could be used as an informal assessment as the students are completing the task correctly or incorrectly. This could be used in the beginning of the lesson for a quick and efficient form of assessment of students’ prior knowledge of the topic as well.
Science: Web graphic organizers could be used as a formal type of assessment when students are learning about the three forms of matter. The students would fill out the graphic organizers with the three forms (solids, liquids, and gas). They would then be asked to give a definition and example in the webs that stem off the three forms. This would ensure that students would be able to identify the differences and characteristics of the three forms.
Social Studies: Learning and assessing the students full mastery of identifying main characters in certain battles and wars can be difficult especially when students are learning about The Civil War. The teacher can have the students compare and contrast each side’s leaders by using a double character map. The teacher is then able to assess the students’ ability to identify, compare, and contrast the differences and similarities with the leaders of the Civil War The teacher can use the double character map as a pre and post assessment for the students so they are able to assess themselves as well.
Language Arts: A planning chart is a useful for teachers and students to both informally assess. The students are able to reflect on their focus of their paper, for example, the purpose and the audience. The planning chart concept map is useful for teachers to use as a authentic informal assessment to evaluate students’ work and thoughts because they are able to allow students to demonstrate their focus and is not teacher created. Each students planning chart will be different and at different writing levels, this will allow the teacher to assess the chart more individually for the students.
2. How will your philosophy of teaching and learning affect your use of authentic assessment in the classroom?
My philosophy of teaching and learning will affect my use of authentic assessment in my future classroom by ensuring that the students are able to complete and create concept maps to organize the students thoughts. The assessments will reflect the students best work and will be selected by the student. I will have the students compile their selected concept map in their portfolio or use their maps as aides for learning in the classroom. When the students are creating their concept maps, they will be fully aware of what expected of them during the lesson and what they desired outcomes are.
3. Describe a current lesson using authentic assessment in one of your PDS field placements.
I have seen authentic assessment in my second rotation in PDS1 when I was observing a fourth grade pace classroom. The teacher used the authentic assessment in an IC lesson. The students were asked to participate in a science fair. The assessment was authentic because the students demonstrated and displayed their understanding of a science topic they selected themselves. When assessing the students understanding of the topic, the teacher created a rubric with the students on what needs to be evaluated with each student that enters the science fair project. The students were able to select if they wanted to add the project into their portfolio or not, the teacher allowed the students to make the decision.
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