Journal Entry #8, chapter 13

            This entry is in response to chapter 13, which provides a lengthy discussion regarding methods of assessing student learning. The chapter begins with an explanation of instructional objectives and how they are used and the importance of evaluation. It goes on to explain how student learning is evaluated and how tests are constructed. Finally, the chapter explains alternative assessments such as portfolios and performance assessments and how grades are determined in various formats.

            This chapter directly relates to my classroom in terms of the process for setting objectives, evaluating, and grading my students. My first four years of teaching were in special education and I created hundreds of goals and objectives in that time. My students’ weaknesses were in all subject areas, social skills, organization, and behavior. The chapter discusses the three parts of a strong instructional objective, which I am very familiar with. Now that I have switched from special to general education, I only write objectives for students within the Response to Intervention program but the same 3 parts still apply.

            In general education, the frameworks and learning objectives are created for you and it is my job to clearly state those objectives so my lesson stays on topic and the students know what is expected of them when we finish. I am familiar with Bloom’s taxonomy and two or three charts with verbs that match each level to help create higher-order thinking skills and projects. I am also familiar with the affective objectives discussed in the chapter, that stress the importance of teaching a love for learning, confidence, and social skills, which I implement each year.

            Evaluations have often been discussed recently as my school switches to the TKES system for evaluating teachers. I know that students should be routinely evaluated through formative and summative assessments to give parents, teachers, and the students themselves an idea of their progress and overall achievement. I try to provide feedback on students’ performances as quickly as possible through weekly communication folders with student’s graded papers. We also use an online program that parents can access students’ grades as soon as I enter them. Norm-referenced and criterion-referenced evaluations are also familiar, as my students take the IOWAs and CRCT each year. My team also creates our own assessments frequently, and works hard to cover the important material with well-worded questions in a variety of formats. If a student appears to have shown effort and wants to re-take a test, I will provide an alternative assessment and either start them off with a 90 and subtract for missed questions or find the average of both.

            I learned quite a few things from this chapter that I would like to implement this year to improve my teaching. For example, the process of task analysis in which teachers should follow three steps to break down tasks or objectives into smaller components. We cover a lot of complex topics in fifth grade, and the three steps will help me break down the information into smaller pieces that will help students fully understand the content. I also learned that it is beneficial to prepare the test before starting the unit to help with determining the learning objectives for each day. The use of a behavior content matrix was new to me, and seems incredibly useful when planning out a unit and incorporating the levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.

            In terms of evaluations, I learned that providing written feedback along with the letter grade or percentage can help students realize it was their hard work and effort that led to the grade, not a lucky guess. I am going to start providing little comments on my summative assessments to build student’s confidence and self-esteem. I also learned that it is very powerful to share rubrics with the students before they complete a test. I have done this for projects, but never thought of showing them how I grade their short answer questions on summative assessments. I think this will help improve my students’ responses on those longer answers in any subject area. Finally, I learned about the strategy for average a missing assignment into a student’s grade by converting their other grades into a 1-5 scale (A=5, B=4, etc.) and then including the missing work as a 0. Previously I had just given them a 60, but this might provide a more accurate grade that represents their effort.

            Again, many topics within this chapter directly relate to my classroom and are very significant as I plan out the upcoming school year. I need to remember that setting out objectives at the beginning of a unit and of a lesson will keep me on-track and at the necessary pace. I need to be aware of subskills involved with skills I’m teaching so I can cover those before teaching students something they aren't ready to learn. It is also important for me to ensure that my students can apply or synthesize their skills in order to consider them proficient. When writing multiple-choice questions for assessments, I need to make sure a capable student could choose the right answer without being distracted by the other choices and minimize the chance that ignorant students will guess the correct answer.

Journal entry #7, chapter 11

The journal entry is in response to chapter 11, which discusses effective learning environments. The chapter begins with an explanation of effective learning environments and the impact of time on learning, including how to use it effectively and classroom management’s importance. The chapter then goes on the thoroughly describe effective classroom management and how to deal with misbehavior. The chapter wraps up with an explanation of the use of adaptive behavior analysis in managing serious behavior problems and how to prevent that type of behavior.

This chapter clearly has a direct impact on day-to-day teaching and provided many meaningful strategies and tips that I would like to use in the upcoming school year. I agree with the information in this chapter and felt that it was very beneficial for all teachers as they plan lessons, determine classroom management policies, and search for strategies to prevent and deal with persistent and more severe behavior issues. I think more teachers should be aware of this classroom management information and tactics explained in this section as it may prevent many behavior issues and provide a more effective and engaging classroom environment for all students.

While reading this section, I learned that increased amounts of time teaching have a minor impact of student achievement. The studies mentioned regarding the amount of time students actually spent learning were surprising, but then I thought about all the class time I’ve lost to special presentations, testing, and various other mandatory events. It adds up quickly. I also learned a strategy for student accountability that involves drawing other students into the performance of an individual student by showing the class that student’s work and asking for opinions or demonstrating the proper method. The final thing I learned from this chapter related to the ways in which student behavior is maintained. According to the book, the best way to prevent a persistent misbehavior is to prevent it by planning engaging lessons. Instead of constantly dealing with a behavior, I will try to prevent it by including lessons that are sure to keep that student focused.

Other things I learned that I would like to utilize that will improve my teaching are protecting instruction from interruptions by placing a “do not disturb” sign on the door, making sure I use the simplest form of intervention, and to try using repeated reminders to combat excuses and arguments. These strategies should keep my instruction at the rapid pace I strive for and deter misbehaving students from repeatedly acting out or arguing with me about assignments or procedures.

There were various portions of this chapter the confirmed my prior knowledge of effective lessons and classroom management. For instance, I know that effective and engaging instruction can prevent many behavior issues that typically result from boredom or disinterest. I enjoy using “student power” as much as possible, and assign each student a job that rotates quarterly. This provides them with a sense of responsibility and belonging, and also saves a lot of class time. In addition, I try to avoid disciplining students verbally in a way that would interrupt the flow of instruction, which I try to keep at a rapid pace to maintain focus. I move around the room frequently, stopping to help students and visually cue others to get back on track with eye contact or a hand signal. I try to keep my classroom running smoothly by holding all students accountable, demonstrating my “withitness” through consistent observation of behaviors, and ensuring that students always have a meaningful task to complete. Finally, I know that the first week of school sets the tone for the rest of the year, and procedures must be taught repeatedly and consistently to ensure each student understands the high expectations I set for them.