P3 – Practice standards-based assessment.
This standard reflects how teacher candidates use standards-based assessments to inform their teaching practice, particularly in relation to progress monitoring [1]. This program standard was exemplified through an observation of an English teacher in a freshman composition class.
This image captures one student’s response to the workshop questions. His consideration that it is important to revisit these concepts may help him consider the importance of future units.
This particular instructor incorporated both technology and reflection as a self-assessment strategy for students at the end of a writing workshop. After the four-day segment, the teacher asked students to go to a page in their OneNote, a program for organizing class notes. Students were then asked to answer several questions relating to their performance throughout the workshop. The questions included the following: 1) Did you achieve the unit learning target? 2) Was this workshop helpful? Would you do it again? 3) What was the easiest part for you? The hardest?, and 4) What feedback can you provide your teacher about this project? This instructional strategy promoted student learning by having students reflect on their progress toward the learning objectives for the lesson segment. Additionally, it gave the teacher data about student understanding, allowing for him to make informed instructional decisions about how and when to revisit the material in the future. The use of technology allowed students to take more time than they may have if they had been handwriting out their responses [2].
This observation serves as evidence of learning as it provided me with a strong instructional practice for generating metacognition in my students as we end units [3]. Many teachers at my school employ this instructional practice and observing it within the classroom provided me with the opportunity to see its advantages for student learning. Several students permitted me to read their responses and I could see that many of them truly considered their own progress, thus promoting self-assessment. Interviewing the teacher also allowed me to see how the data was informative and helped the teacher make instructional decisions [4]. Ultimately, I liked the use of this strategy and think it is an excellent one to have in one’s toolbox. It improves student learning by enabling them to consider their own progress as well as provides useful qualitative data for the teacher about the lesson outcomes [5].
One suggestion I have for this instructional practice might be enabling students to visually express their thoughts in addition to written responses. One practice I have incorporated into my own exit tickets is the use of (appropriate!) memes or pictures in addition to responding to questions, because it allows visual learners to express themselves as well as promotes engagement and cultural relevancy [6].
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