Abstract:
This chapter is about tiering. Tiering is defined as how teachers adject assignments and assessments according to students' readiness levels, interests, and learner profiles. Tiering is basically changing the complexity or challenge of tasks more and more everyday, so that students are learning and gaining as they go. Teachers are encouraged to let students work at their own pace and comfort levels so that the ctudent can complete the assignment the best way for them. The RAFT method allows students to choose what tast they want to do.
Reaction:
The examples given of how teachers tiered assignments were very much liked in our group. Educators are able to change the complexity or challenge or tasks everyday so that students are able to slowly or gradually reach their goal. Rich has always loved when teachers have allowed him to work at his own pace. Everyone really reacted well to the RAFTS method.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Chapter 6
Abstract:
Chapter 6 is about creating good tests, and how every questions should be important enough to ask and clear enough to answer. To make the best tests, teachers should use a variety of different test questions and prompts including traditional and non traditional. Some examples for both given in the text include: matching, true/false, multiple choice, analogies, drawings, performances, and responses. By varying questions, we are able to get better pictures at what the students know and their mastery of the material. A lot of this chapter described strategies and format for different questions that are favorable to the students and their presentation of their knowledge. Also, by incorporating “fun” into test questions can make the tests not so dreaded by the students, and they may actually look forward to see what kind of outlandish situation the professor has put them in within the test. Though being creative is important, the book mentioned that we can not be so creative that we stray away from our goals in mind. Ever so often, we need to go back to the essential understandings and questions to see if we are teaching what needs to be taught.
Reflection:
We all found this chapter to be extremely helpful, and agreed that it might be one we continually come back to when creating a test. It reminded all of us some of the bad examples of test taking techniques we had used throughout school, and how they were very inconvenient and confusing. This chapter explained many positive ways to create a test by touching upon all the students’ strengths, and we believe that it is the best way to go, along with all of the straightforwardness. We liked the special questions at the end too, it will help us improve our future test and know what the students expect from our teaching techniques.
By: Tyler
Chapter 6 is about creating good tests, and how every questions should be important enough to ask and clear enough to answer. To make the best tests, teachers should use a variety of different test questions and prompts including traditional and non traditional. Some examples for both given in the text include: matching, true/false, multiple choice, analogies, drawings, performances, and responses. By varying questions, we are able to get better pictures at what the students know and their mastery of the material. A lot of this chapter described strategies and format for different questions that are favorable to the students and their presentation of their knowledge. Also, by incorporating “fun” into test questions can make the tests not so dreaded by the students, and they may actually look forward to see what kind of outlandish situation the professor has put them in within the test. Though being creative is important, the book mentioned that we can not be so creative that we stray away from our goals in mind. Ever so often, we need to go back to the essential understandings and questions to see if we are teaching what needs to be taught.
Reflection:
We all found this chapter to be extremely helpful, and agreed that it might be one we continually come back to when creating a test. It reminded all of us some of the bad examples of test taking techniques we had used throughout school, and how they were very inconvenient and confusing. This chapter explained many positive ways to create a test by touching upon all the students’ strengths, and we believe that it is the best way to go, along with all of the straightforwardness. We liked the special questions at the end too, it will help us improve our future test and know what the students expect from our teaching techniques.
By: Tyler
Chapter 1
Abstract:
The first chapter of this book talks about what differentiated instruction is. According to the book, differentiated instruction “is doing what’s fair for students. It’s a collection of best practices strategically employed to maximize students learning…” By employing differentiated instruction, we create competent students that are accepting of other learners and who understand that each student has their strengths and weaknesses, but they are all on the same path. The book then goes on to describe that contrary to some parents and educators beliefs, differentiated instruction is not something that students will become reliant on in the real world. The chapter explains of how differentiated instruction is the most effective method and then gives specific examples of how it is used in the real world.
Reflection:
The part I could really relate to, as well as my other group members, was the student who had their glasses removed so he couldn’t see the chalk board. By taking away the student’s glasses, he wasn’t able to see the material being taught; therefore he was given an excuse or cop out for not doing the work. This situation is a lot similar to students who need the “glasses” or differentiated instruction to learn the material, but don’t get it. In my years of education, I have experience a situation like this one. I was never great in math, so when I got a teacher in calculus that wasn’t willing to teach the material in any other way than he had in previous years, I struggled and was left with an excuse to not learn the material, and I never did. I feel like if this math teacher had given me a “crutch” or scaffolding, I would have not only been able to learn the material, but master the type of problems we were being taught.
In the long run our students benefit way more from differentiation because they can actually grasp what is being taught, even if instruction is not the same. If we only teach one way, and in a way that some students don’t understand, they have that cop out that prevents them from learning. However, if we give them the differentiation they need, they can not only grasp the knowledge but also synthesize and think about it in more complex ways.
Posted by Katie ;)
The first chapter of this book talks about what differentiated instruction is. According to the book, differentiated instruction “is doing what’s fair for students. It’s a collection of best practices strategically employed to maximize students learning…” By employing differentiated instruction, we create competent students that are accepting of other learners and who understand that each student has their strengths and weaknesses, but they are all on the same path. The book then goes on to describe that contrary to some parents and educators beliefs, differentiated instruction is not something that students will become reliant on in the real world. The chapter explains of how differentiated instruction is the most effective method and then gives specific examples of how it is used in the real world.
Reflection:
The part I could really relate to, as well as my other group members, was the student who had their glasses removed so he couldn’t see the chalk board. By taking away the student’s glasses, he wasn’t able to see the material being taught; therefore he was given an excuse or cop out for not doing the work. This situation is a lot similar to students who need the “glasses” or differentiated instruction to learn the material, but don’t get it. In my years of education, I have experience a situation like this one. I was never great in math, so when I got a teacher in calculus that wasn’t willing to teach the material in any other way than he had in previous years, I struggled and was left with an excuse to not learn the material, and I never did. I feel like if this math teacher had given me a “crutch” or scaffolding, I would have not only been able to learn the material, but master the type of problems we were being taught.
In the long run our students benefit way more from differentiation because they can actually grasp what is being taught, even if instruction is not the same. If we only teach one way, and in a way that some students don’t understand, they have that cop out that prevents them from learning. However, if we give them the differentiation they need, they can not only grasp the knowledge but also synthesize and think about it in more complex ways.
Posted by Katie ;)
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Chapter 4
This chapter talks mainly about three different types of assessment and they are portfolios, rubrics, and self assessments. Portfolios are used to show a students progress over a long period of time and they contain many works of the student. Say if you were to take a test you could have a bad day and fail the test. The portfolio shows that you had a bad day, but it also shows that you understand the material. You can never judge a person on one thing. It needs to be a series of things in order to get to the truth. Rubrics are also a big part in assessing a students work and allow room for feedback. When a student is given a rubric they know what to expect for a grade on the project and it allows them to work hard to get the better grade because they don't have to guess at what the teacher wants. They know what they need to do and they do it. Some teachers don't like to create rubric because creating a rubric is a long process. The only way to get better at creating a rubric and getting better student work is to make several drafts so that you get clearer. The last part of the chapter talks about self assessment and how it provides feedback to the students and how it allows the teacher to set individual goals for the student.
All of us in the group understand these three things and we all believe that we will incorporate these things in our classrooms on at least a weekly basis. The most liked assessment of the three is having the students create a portfolio of their work. We are all human and we believe that we are entitled to have a bad day and possibly a bad test score. By doing the portfolio we believe that we can eliminate the feeling that students have when they see a low grade on a test. This way the student knows that all the little pieces make up the bigger picture. We all have had a teacher that just gives tests and doesn't do anything else. We all felt ashamed about having the bad grade. With a portfolio you can say yes I did get a bad grade, but I have the ability to fix it and get a better overall grade. We want the student to believe that we are there to help them and we are. We want to see all of the students excel in whatever they do. We also do like the idea f using rubrics. We want the children to have an idea of what they need to do and we also believe that you need to show them examples of what you are looking for. As a group we didn't have a whole much to say about self assessment other than we think that they are important and that they can't be the only form of assessment. We like this because it shows students what they need to improve on! When it was all said and done we all agreed that this chapter was one of the best that we have read since the start of the semester!
All of us in the group understand these three things and we all believe that we will incorporate these things in our classrooms on at least a weekly basis. The most liked assessment of the three is having the students create a portfolio of their work. We are all human and we believe that we are entitled to have a bad day and possibly a bad test score. By doing the portfolio we believe that we can eliminate the feeling that students have when they see a low grade on a test. This way the student knows that all the little pieces make up the bigger picture. We all have had a teacher that just gives tests and doesn't do anything else. We all felt ashamed about having the bad grade. With a portfolio you can say yes I did get a bad grade, but I have the ability to fix it and get a better overall grade. We want the student to believe that we are there to help them and we are. We want to see all of the students excel in whatever they do. We also do like the idea f using rubrics. We want the children to have an idea of what they need to do and we also believe that you need to show them examples of what you are looking for. As a group we didn't have a whole much to say about self assessment other than we think that they are important and that they can't be the only form of assessment. We like this because it shows students what they need to improve on! When it was all said and done we all agreed that this chapter was one of the best that we have read since the start of the semester!
Monday, February 5, 2007
Chapter Two
Abstract:
This chapter breaks down the word mastey and how to detemine if a student has mastered a subject. Mastery is more than simply knowing information, mastery is about application of knowledge, a deeper understanding. The book's definition os mastery is brought together by using differen methods teachers can use to help their students master material, and apply it in a situatio where they have to do more than just repeat it. The book states that, "if we are literate in our subject, we can: access, analyze, evaluate, and create the subject or medium." It is imperative that as teachers we teach in a way that students will always remember it and are able to analyze it. The book relfects on the fact that it is hard to determine a student's mastery simply by one test, a better way is a collection of many different methods.
Reflections:
Everyone found this chapter appealing and were convinced that mastery could not be determined simply by a test. Everyone in our group could remember having those teachers who gave the "memorization" tests and reflected on how quickly we all forgot the material we were supposed to learn. We also all agreed on the fact that application of the knowledge is particularlly important. Tyler really enjoyed this chapter because since he has decided to be a teacher he has known he will rarely have a written tests for students, he believes in other techniques. Rich believes that simply making students memorize the material is pointless and cheating the students. Kt and I both agreed that being able to apply the knowledge is the greatest tool and benefit of knowledge. Also, that mastery can best be determined by the ability to apply knowledge.
This chapter breaks down the word mastey and how to detemine if a student has mastered a subject. Mastery is more than simply knowing information, mastery is about application of knowledge, a deeper understanding. The book's definition os mastery is brought together by using differen methods teachers can use to help their students master material, and apply it in a situatio where they have to do more than just repeat it. The book states that, "if we are literate in our subject, we can: access, analyze, evaluate, and create the subject or medium." It is imperative that as teachers we teach in a way that students will always remember it and are able to analyze it. The book relfects on the fact that it is hard to determine a student's mastery simply by one test, a better way is a collection of many different methods.
Reflections:
Everyone found this chapter appealing and were convinced that mastery could not be determined simply by a test. Everyone in our group could remember having those teachers who gave the "memorization" tests and reflected on how quickly we all forgot the material we were supposed to learn. We also all agreed on the fact that application of the knowledge is particularlly important. Tyler really enjoyed this chapter because since he has decided to be a teacher he has known he will rarely have a written tests for students, he believes in other techniques. Rich believes that simply making students memorize the material is pointless and cheating the students. Kt and I both agreed that being able to apply the knowledge is the greatest tool and benefit of knowledge. Also, that mastery can best be determined by the ability to apply knowledge.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Chapter 3
ABSTRACT:
Chapter three outlines the principles of successful assessment in a differentiated classroom and how the assessment guides the practice. This chapter also emphasized that assessment is not about documenting deficiencies of the students, but guiding and shaping our instructional strategies. One of the bigger pictures in this chapter was that when constructing a unit, we should have the end in mind. If we can have a clear picture of expectations for the students, they will achieve more and put more effort into their work knowing the goals are.
Good assessment in a differentiated classroom focuses on essential and enduring knowledge, concepts, and skills. This enduring knowledge and essential understandings are often placed in broad essential questions that the students should be able to answer by the end of the unit. Determining what these essential questions and knowledge is takes time and may take guidance from a variety of different sources in order to create the most effective unit. Chapter three also mentions that we must determine how ready the students are to dive into a new unit, so a good pre assessment is a good way to determine this. Followed by the pre assessment is the formative and summative. Although the pre and formative come first, the summative assessment should be created first, and the others can be changed later.
REFLECTION:
We all believe that the backwards design makes more sense then creating a unit another way. By starting backwards, you can build off of your goals and surround the right understanding and questions so that it all comes together. Creating it differently might not allow it to flow as well, or force you to change ideas or thoughts. We all also felt a connection with the assessments. We believe that all three, diagnostic, formative and summative, are all essential throughout a semester. It gives us a better understanding of our students, our teaching methods, and how well everything is falling into place.
By: Tyler
Chapter three outlines the principles of successful assessment in a differentiated classroom and how the assessment guides the practice. This chapter also emphasized that assessment is not about documenting deficiencies of the students, but guiding and shaping our instructional strategies. One of the bigger pictures in this chapter was that when constructing a unit, we should have the end in mind. If we can have a clear picture of expectations for the students, they will achieve more and put more effort into their work knowing the goals are.
Good assessment in a differentiated classroom focuses on essential and enduring knowledge, concepts, and skills. This enduring knowledge and essential understandings are often placed in broad essential questions that the students should be able to answer by the end of the unit. Determining what these essential questions and knowledge is takes time and may take guidance from a variety of different sources in order to create the most effective unit. Chapter three also mentions that we must determine how ready the students are to dive into a new unit, so a good pre assessment is a good way to determine this. Followed by the pre assessment is the formative and summative. Although the pre and formative come first, the summative assessment should be created first, and the others can be changed later.
REFLECTION:
We all believe that the backwards design makes more sense then creating a unit another way. By starting backwards, you can build off of your goals and surround the right understanding and questions so that it all comes together. Creating it differently might not allow it to flow as well, or force you to change ideas or thoughts. We all also felt a connection with the assessments. We believe that all three, diagnostic, formative and summative, are all essential throughout a semester. It gives us a better understanding of our students, our teaching methods, and how well everything is falling into place.
By: Tyler
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