This week's topic is student-centered assessment, or how this course has helped me think about it.
To be honest, I think that this module has helped me to take notice of the amount of formative assessment that I use in the class, or checkpoints. I think we hear the word assessment, and sometimes forget that it is ongoing. Often, the test or quiz is seen as the assessment, and I've been guilty of that. Planning for this unit has made me look at how I continually check on the students' progress with the project that they are doing.
In my unit, there are a few different formative assessments that I have. I'm journaling with them to get a feel for where they are with the assignments. I developed a checklist so that both the teacher and the student could keep tabs on what's been accomplished and what's left. Also, I developed two conferences so that I could keep a clear, personal check as to the student's progress. It lessens the art of surprise when I get to the end of the unit, and a student suddenly tells me that they're nowhere near done.
The key to this? Time. It takes a lot of time initially to get all of this set up. It clears up time at the end of the unit, but there are some beginning stages that will be slow at first. Have I done this before? Yes, but I'll be honest in saying that I haven't always followed through with it. I know that I need to be more consistent in this unit in order to ensure success. I'm confident that I will be able to keep up with my assessments for the next 5-6 weeks.
As always, please feel free to leave feedback or ideas for me.
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2 comments:
You are so right. We often do not pull back and notice how many assessments we use along the way. You are also correct to note how important those assessments are. They are initially time consuming but I agree with the point that you make regarding the "taking the surprise" out of the final evaluation. Good luck as you progress with this.
I agree with the time component. This is something that I am struggling with as well. I will be curious to see how you progress. Keep me posted and good luck!!
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